US Online Banks

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 minute ago, NCC1701A said:

yes ok. and the subject is drifting here a bit, but very recently Schwab would not let me open a savings account on line without a drivers license with a US address.

 

 

Yep, I wasn't suggesting it's easy to open a U.S. BANK account without a local address or ID... But brokerage accounts per se seem to be a bit of a different animal, with brokerages being willing to open foreign brokerage accounts for folks that U.S. banks won't open checking or savings accounts for.

[Hank Gunn]

9 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

yes ok. and the subject is drifting here a bit, but very recently Schwab would not let me open a savings account on line without a drivers license with a US address. (Which I no longer have) And I have a brokerage account with them already but no go with savings. I will look into using my Schwab brokerage account for international. Thanks.

 

In fact the only "bank" so far I have found that allowed me to open a account on line was Capitol One without a state ID. But no international transfers allowed, can only transfer to domestic checking accounts, not savings. So no use for Thailand.

 

Anyway this was started as a question by me about someone opening accounts on line which is something I am constantly looking for.

 

I will be returning to the US soon for the sole purpose of getting a new state ID card so I can open another bank account to do international transfers.   

 

 

If you have a Schwab One brokerage acct. you can open a Schwab checking acct. The beauty of that is that you can use it to do ACH or wire transfers, like any other bank acct. (checking), you get paper checks (for the rare case you need one), and an ATM card. They, Schwab, will reimburse any and all ATM fees from anywhere in the world, so as long as you put a travel notice on the acct. (easily done online) you can get cash at practically any ATM in the world. Also, although I don't pay attention to it, I believe on another topic some poster mentioned that the FX rate that Schwab uses through such ATM withdrawals are quite favorable.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Hank Gunn

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

Why do they need to "authorize" it? I sent an ACH transfer (push) from my Bank of America account to a bank account and all I told BoA was an ACH routing number and account number. Transferwise was never mentioned. BoA never attempted to "authorize" it. All done in the standard ACH transfer "window" of a couple of days

 

As I mentioned above, there's sometimes a blurry line between what banks call domestic ACH transfers vs what they also call bill pay payments.

 

Generally, ACH transfers involve two accounts where the sender is the owner of both the sending and receiving accounts, and the transfer link that's created can allow both pulling and pushing funds. The link between the two accounts is normally verified upon establishment by trial deposits verification by the account owner.

 

Whereas bill pay, which can merely mean sending funds to another person, even a family member and such, usually doesn't involve any linking or trial deposits, and thus the permitted transaction is only sending money from the owner's account to the 3rd party recipient's account.

 

Though it's not very common, there are some banks (I don't know if BofA is one of them) that allow ACH account linking via means other than trial deposits. I've run into a few where the system prompts you to log-into online banking of the recipient account and enter the required user ID and password for the recipient account as confirmation.

 

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[NCC1701A]

2 minutes ago, Hank Gunn said:

If you have a Schwab One brokerage acct. you can open a Schwab checking acct.

after I return to the USA and I get a new ID card I will do this. I had a BofA account but they closed it. When asked why they said they have no responsibly to inform their customers why. I think it had to do with my California DL expiring and just using the account for international transfers. 

[AAArdvark]

38 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

As I mentioned above, there's sometimes a blurry line between what banks call domestic ACH transfers vs what they also call bill pay payments.

 

Generally, ACH transfers involve two accounts where the sender is the owner of both the sending and receiving accounts, and the transfer link that's created can allow both pulling and pushing funds. The link between the two accounts is normally verified upon establishment by trial deposits verification by the account owner.

 

Whereas bill pay, which can merely mean sending funds to another person, even a family member and such, usually doesn't involve any linking or trial deposits, and thus the permitted transaction is only sending money from the owner's account to the 3rd party recipient's account.

 

Though it's not very common, there are some banks (I don't know if BofA is one of them) that allow ACH account linking via means other than trial deposits. I've run into a few where the system prompts you to log-into online banking of the recipient account and enter the required user ID and password for the recipient account as confirmation.

 

 

OK, TW support has woken up for the day.  They are aware of the issue with Ally and had me download a document which is supposed to make Ally happy.  Which I will send Ally when I hear from them again, probably next week.

In the mean time, I added funds with a different bank, Wells Fargo.  They also did a verification but in this case it worked and I successfully added USD to my borderless account.

[NCC1701A]

14 minutes ago, AAArdvark said:

OK, TW support has woken up for the day.  They are aware of the issue with Ally and had me download a document which is supposed to make Ally happy.  Which I will send Ally when I hear from them again, probably next week.

In the mean time, I added funds with a different bank, Wells Fargo.  They also did a verification but in this case it worked and I successfully added USD to my borderless account. 

is this considered a foreign account?

[AAArdvark]

14 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

is this considered a foreign account?

I have not used it yet, so for me it is TBD.  Others here could probably inform both of us.

 

BTW, your earlier post about not finding a Bank that can be applied for with a foreign address, I can now confirm that SDFCU will accept foreign address with some sort of a bill with that address on it. They will do online applications and emailed copies of IDs etc.  They will do ACH with Transferwise.

 

If you are not eligible for SDFCU membership through a SEG or through a family member, you can still join SDFCU through the American Consumer Council (ACC). By joining the American Consumer Council, a nonprofit advocacy group established in 1987 to protect consumers, you can simultaneously join SDFCU and open an account. There are no hidden fees to join the ACC through your membership at SDFCU. If you would like to receive more information on ACC before joining SDFCU, you can view their website at www.americanconsumercouncil.org.

 

Can I apply entirely online with a foreign address?

To begin the process of opening an account with us, you may either:

 

• Use our Online Application – visit www.sdfcu.org and click on Join in the top tool bar then Join Now
• Complete and return the attached form to our New Accounts Department as a scanned attachment to [email protected]. We will also need a copy of your government issued photo ID which can be a driver's license, state ID or passport.

You may apply online with a foreign address. When applying online please provide a copy of your government issued photo ID which can be a driver's license, state ID or passport. And a utility bill confirming your address. Our New Accounts Department may also request additional information for verification purposes.

 

Do you allow ACH transfers to Transferwise?

Yes.

 

Can I create new transfers online?

Members may initiate external transfers in their online banking accounts.

 

Did you know SDFCU also has an Advantage Checking account, which reimburses members $15.00 in ATM/ISA fees monthly?  Additionally, our Advantage Checking account allows members to earn dividends. You currently are not earning any dividends on the funds in your checking account. Upgrading your account would allow you to earn dividends, a current rate up to 0.40 APY. The minimum balance required to earn dividends is $2,000.00.  The requirements to earn dividends and ATM/ISA reimbursements are below:

• Minimum checking account balance of $2000 for Advantage Checking 
• $200 direct deposit monthly into checking account 
• Ten debit card transactions per month  
• Signed up for SDFCU online and eStatements

For additional information please click here. 

 

If we can be of further assistance, please contact us at [email protected] or call 703-706-5000 (800-296-8882), press 5 to speak with a member service representative.

 

 

 

 

[AAArdvark]

On 5/3/2019 at 8:35 PM, NCC1701A said:

is this considered a foreign account?

I did a $100 transfer from my borderless account to Bangkok Bank and it show up as International transfer.