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Offshore Financial Centers originally grew out of a desire to minimize taxes. According to The Economist, "Two decades ago, they were mainly passive repositories of the cash of large companies, rich individuals and rogues." And to some degree some offshore financial centers did become havens to scammers and shady businesses, giving a blackeye to the offshore industry.

However, the image of most offshore financial centers has been cleaned up and even have developed expertise in certain niche markets such as insurance or structured finance. Today they play an important role in global financial system possibly involving half of the world's financial transactions by value.

Below is a list of jurisdictions where offshore financial centers are located.

Western Hemisphere: Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States, Uruguay, and the West Indies.