I need a U.S. mobile account in my name for U.S. banking security codes -- specific advice needed (help!)

[Jingthing]

OK, push has come to shove and not having a U.S. mobile phone in my name for two factor banking codes has now become a more urgent problem for me. 

 

Yes, I know, I know, there have been other topics about this general topic, but my request here is more specific (yet I imagine solutions would be helpful to others in similar situations). 

 

Yes I have looked into other topics yet I always seem to end up dazed and confused about which option to choose, what will really work, and exactly how to get it done.

 

So kindly indulge me on this more tailored request.

 

First the parameters:

 

No VOIP.

 

No Google Voice

 

I really need a real U.S. mobile number in my name. The trend is for banks to stop accepting anything else and this has become real to me. 

 

So advice needs to be about getting an actual U.S. mobile number in my name.

 

I do have a U.S. credit card with a U.S. address. 

 

I have no plans to travel to the U.S. Any advice that involves the need to actually be in the U.S. won't help me. 

 

I do have a U.S. contact that can help me with any needed U.S. setup, having things shipped there etc.

 

I assume this will be a SIM card that gets mailed to me instead of a SIM attached to a specific physical phone in the U.S.

 

I want the monthly cost to be minimal as I only need this for bank codes.

 

Ideally you have done something similar to this successfully yourself, and it would be better if fairly recently such as within the last year or two. 

 

OK, I think that pretty much covers it.

 

Any information that you can share that fit the parameters listed above will be most welcome.

 

Thank you for reading this and posting help if you do indeed have info that can help.

 

 

 

 

[EVENKEEL]

I use Ting. They will send the sim to your US address. And you can have it sent to Thailand. They advertise $3.00/mo but with all the surcharges bill comes to an average of $15./mo which they want hooked up to an account for auto pay. I'm sure others will have better solutions. 

 

On the website they tell you which phone are compatible with Ting sim.

[soi3eddie]

Why do USA Telcos make it so difficult to get a global roaming SIM at a reasonable fee for receiving SMS 2FA codes? Surely $10 per month should be easily attainable. They seem to make any form of international communication an impossible mystery. From the UK, just about every pre-paid SIM card will work internationally and even the minimum credit stays activated for 3-6 months so long as at least one text is sent. Even Thai SIMs can work overseas with no ongoing monthly charges (I used to use DTAC pre-paid for over 10 years when in the UK for receiving 2FA codes). Good luck in your quest. There must be a viable option for you.

 

[mania]

Ooops:deleted

No VOIP

[GinBoy2]

The most bulletproof and cheapest option is to go with one of the MVNO providers like Cricket that support WiFi calling.

 

I used Cricket, I think it was $20/month. You attach the phone to your home WiFi network and it stays in your house and for all intents and purposes you are sitting in the US with phone and messages enabled.

 

This was my 'bite the bullet' solution after BoA got all antsy about all the VOIP solutions.

 

All of the MVNO providers like Cricket & Metro are month to month, and they are a fixed price so you don't buy a $20 plan only to discover the added fees and taxes take it closer to $30

 

One last thing, I just bought their cheapest handset, since I knew it would be fully configured and I wasn't going to have to dick around with a dual SIM phone in Thailand, which may or may not have worked.

 

 

[bamnutsak]

UltraMobile PAYG

T-Mobile MVNO

$13 for SIM and one month on eBay

$3 month going forward for 100 min/100 SMS/100 MB

Supports WiFi calling (assume your phone does and you have WiFi), so no roaming issues

Great dashboard/UI and customer service

 

You do need a friend in the U.S. to activate the SIM in their phone, quite easy to do.

 

I just activated my second UltraMobile SIM this week, I ported an exisiting prepaid mobile number to this new SIM. I actually did the activation from here using a VPN, while my brother sent the activation code and used a spare handset.

 

 

You can choose an area code, based on a billing zip code.

 

Note that I did also recently change my older UltraMobile number to a more accurate area code, just called up and they did it on the spot.

 

https://www.ultramobile.com/paygo/

 

has link to eBay.

 

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Ultra-Mobile-Pay-As-You-Go-SIM-Kit.html?aid=upKs8lb2QYE&soid=1130967958097

 

 

You can have it mailed to you for $1.40, or $40.85 for USPS Flat Rate International Priority (6-10 days).

 

 

I'd search here for UltraMobile where you'll find a lot more detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GypsyT]

I also have Ultra PayGo $ 3/m deal.

I get everything done in two US banks with it. They SMS "security codes" to it to transfer money and don't know I'm overseas.

I never use it to talk. That's very expensive from/to overseas.

I keep $ 30 in Ultra Wallet with Auto-pay $ 3/month.

Cheap & easy.

 

[bamnutsak]

6 minutes ago, GypsyT said:

I never use it to talk. That's very expensive from/to overseas.

100 minutes (includes inbound and outbound calls) are FREE each month, assumes you've got WiFi Calling enabled (on the UM Dashboard) and within your handset, and you have WiFi.

 

And you could use it if you return to the U.S for a trip, you can add data and voice packs.

 

 

[GypsyT]

I don't they are for International calls.

 

International Roaming is supported on your plan and is charged from money in your PayGo wallet. Rates for international roaming are located at ultramobile.com/paygo/international-roaming.

 

[bamnutsak]

27 minutes ago, GypsyT said:

I don't they are for International calls.

Yes, if you are ROAMING on a partner's network via a GSM signal.

 

However if you have WiFi Calling enabled there are no roaming charges. That's the whole point of WiFi calling.

 

And no fee for receiving or sending SMSes either

 

At least that's how it's worked for me since 2018 when I first got a UltraMobile PAYG SIM.

 

Are you being charged for SMSes?

 

From the Dashboard click WiFi Talk & Text, then "enable" radio button.

 

 

[bamnutsak]

Clarification, the free 100 minutes apply to calls between the UM phone and numbers in the U.S.

 

So people can call you from the U.S., and you can call numbers in the U.S.

 

Calls to other countries would come out of you wallet/balance.

 

 

[Jingthing]

I decided to let some of these suggestions collect before looking at them. Thank y'all so much for the different suggestions so far. Frankly, this entire topic makes my brain hurt. My confidence on the technical aspects of all this is low. 

 

As I suspected there isn't one clean and pat answer for this. I'm going to have to look into any and all promising suggestions and try to figure out how they might work for me.

[Jingthing]

19 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I use Ting. They will send the sim to your US address. And you can have it sent to Thailand. They advertise $3.00/mo but with all the surcharges bill comes to an average of $15./mo which they want hooked up to an account for auto pay. I'm sure others will have better solutions. 

 

On the website they tell you which phone are compatible with Ting sim.

I looked a bit at their website and this looks kind of problematic. Did you set this up first in the U.S.? 

They seem to only operate in a limited number of U.S. cities. I would want a phone number in a specific area code to match my U.S. address on record. Also the compatible phone thing is weird. They have number you can call from your phone to see if it's compatible. I assume that's a call from the U.S. Of course I want a SIM that will work on any unlocked phone that I might have in Thailand.

[Jingthing]

17 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

The most bulletproof and cheapest option is to go with one of the MVNO providers like Cricket that support WiFi calling.

 

I used Cricket, I think it was $20/month. You attach the phone to your home WiFi network and it stays in your house and for all intents and purposes you are sitting in the US with phone and messages enabled.

 

This was my 'bite the bullet' solution after BoA got all antsy about all the VOIP solutions.

 

All of the MVNO providers like Cricket & Metro are month to month, and they are a fixed price so you don't buy a $20 plan only to discover the added fees and taxes take it closer to $30

 

One last thing, I just bought their cheapest handset, since I knew it would be fully configured and I wasn't going to have to dick around with a dual SIM phone in Thailand, which may or may not have worked.

 

 

Interesting. The compatible phone issue again. I don't have a home WIFI network. I was planning on setting up my primary mobile as a hotspot when I need 2FA and stick a SIM in an old phone. I suppose that would work with a preconfigured phone from the U.S. Don't know about shipping a new phone here as far as customs. 

[Jingthing]

3 hours ago, andy said:

Are you comfortable sharing which bank/brokerage you need this for?   Just curious, as I have been surviving with TextNow (paid version $5/year) for the past several years with my US bank and brokerage.  No problems yet but I'm dreading the day that this stops working...

I'm having issues with:

U.S. Bank (google voice not OK)

Etrade

Truist

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

I do google voice works for most of my banking back home but nonetheless--but...

 

i also have my address and mail go to my sisters and use her # to get codes before...

The trend and it is real is to require a U.S. mobile number in YOUR NAME. If people are still getting away with VOIP and voice for now, they are just lucky, for now. 

 

Future expats should get this sorted BEFORE they move abroad. 

[Jingthing]

15 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

UltraMobile PAYG

T-Mobile MVNO

$13 for SIM and one month on eBay

$3 month going forward for 100 min/100 SMS/100 MB

Supports WiFi calling (assume your phone does and you have WiFi), so no roaming issues

Great dashboard/UI and customer service

 

You do need a friend in the U.S. to activate the SIM in their phone, quite easy to do.

 

I just activated my second UltraMobile SIM this week, I ported an exisiting prepaid mobile number to this new SIM. I actually did the activation from here using a VPN, while my brother sent the activation code and used a spare handset.

 

 

You can choose an area code, based on a billing zip code.

 

Note that I did also recently change my older UltraMobile number to a more accurate area code, just called up and they did it on the spot.

 

https://www.ultramobile.com/paygo/

 

has link to eBay.

 

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Ultra-Mobile-Pay-As-You-Go-SIM-Kit.html?aid=upKs8lb2QYE&soid=1130967958097

 

 

You can have it mailed to you for $1.40, or $40.85 for USPS Flat Rate International Priority (6-10 days).

 

 

I'd search here for UltraMobile where you'll find a lot more detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, this is sounding promising.

Any comments on which is better, 

UltraMobile PAYG or

T-Mobile MVNO?

[Jingthing]

12 hours ago, GypsyT said:

I also have Ultra PayGo $ 3/m deal.

I get everything done in two US banks with it. They SMS "security codes" to it to transfer money and don't know I'm overseas.

I never use it to talk. That's very expensive from/to overseas.

I keep $ 30 in Ultra Wallet with Auto-pay $ 3/month.

Cheap & easy.

 

Another "vote" for Ultra, ha ha.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

the google voice has been working well for free texts and calls back home.....and of course for my banking texts..yes needs to be done before,,,is why i use my sisters # for emerg.

Again specific banking policies change and the real and definite trend is NOT accepting VOIP or google voice for security codes. You can hear about this issue online among U.S. expats globally. Sooner or later this issue is hitting most U.S. expats.

[Khyron]

This is a great discussion. 

What I will probably end up doing when we move is to keep my existing cell phone number which is already used as the primary for everything. Figure out a way to keep it as a wifi number (I have Mint now; they have an international roaming and/or wifi phone plan) and keep doing what I do now. The other phone plans that are being thrown out there are something to look into. I really remember only calling the bank in the last 20 years for something I can't recall. Everything I can do online via data, not voice. I have two banks/brokerages and will consolidate them to one. That way it will be easier to access everything. This is how I hope it should work, YMMV.

 

[bamnutsak]

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I don't have a home WIFI network.

 

Ouch. This means no VoIP/WiFi Calling solutions. (You can't use mobile data to spoof WiFi in case you were going to go there.)

 

With UltraMobile you'll have to roam on a T-Mo partner here, no problems there, using a spare handset. And pay 10 cents per SMS received from your wallet.  These won't come out of your 100 SMS monthly allotment as they would if using WiFi Calling & Text.

 

USMobile is another option that gets good reviews here. You can build your own plan, for as little as $4/month (maybe less). They also support WiFi Calling.

 

https://www.usmobile.com/plans

 

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Future expats should get this sorted BEFORE they move abroad. 

We did.

 

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

UltraMobile PAYG or

T-Mobile MVNO?

UltraMobile is the recommended option. They operate as a T-Mo MVNO, they resell service on the T-Mo network (which includes T-Mo's global partners). This makes it easy to port out of T-Mo to UltraMobile, no temporary PIN needed and instantaneous switchover.

 

T-Mobile is not really a PAYG option now; yes, they maintain exisiting customers who have legacy prepaid plans.

 

4 hours ago, Khyron said:

Figure out a way to keep it as a wifi number (I have Mint now; they have an international roaming and/or wifi phone plan) and keep doing what I do now.

Mint is also a T-Mobile MVNO, and they support WiFi Calling. I'd stick with them for a while after your relo to here, maybe minimize the calling plan cost, going go for the $15/mo option?

 

[EVENKEEL]

4 hours ago, Khyron said:

This is a great discussion. 

What I will probably end up doing when we move is to keep my existing cell phone number which is already used as the primary for everything. Figure out a way to keep it as a wifi number (I have Mint now; they have an international roaming and/or wifi phone plan) and keep doing what I do now. The other phone plans that are being thrown out there are something to look into. I really remember only calling the bank in the last 20 years for something I can't recall. Everything I can do online via data, not voice. I have two banks/brokerages and will consolidate them to one. That way it will be easier to access everything. This is how I hope it should work, YMMV.

 

I only want to say for T-mobile customers you can switch to Ting Sim which is international and costs about $15./mo without really using it except for messages.

[bamnutsak]

1 hour ago, andy said:

Just lucky at this point, maybe I can squeeze a few more years out of TextNow for 2FA.

Not luck, using their premium service guarantees delivery of any/all SMSs incl short-code.

 

In fact, this may be the best option for the OP. Simple, easy, can start NOW, no need for a SIM.

 

https://www.textnow.com/blog/textnow-add-ons-plans-and-sims-explained

 

$4.99 per year.

 

I assume you're using the no-SIM option? And that SMSes get delivered via the app, regardless of data conenction type (4G or WiFi)?

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enflick.android.TextNow

 

Thanks for raising this option.

 

[pomchop]

21 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

Not luck, using their premium service guarantees delivery of any/all SMSs incl short-code.

 

In fact, this may be the best option for the OP. Simple, easy, can start NOW, no need for a SIM.

 

https://www.textnow.com/blog/textnow-add-ons-plans-and-sims-explained

 

$4.99 per year.

 

I assume you're using the no-SIM option? And that SMSes get delivered via the app, regardless of data conenction type (4G or WiFi)?

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enflick.android.TextNow

 

Thanks for raising this option.

 

appreciate this topic as i also need to figure it out...i am not great with his type stuff...all i want is to be able to get a text from my usa bank to be able to then enter code into their website to transfer $$ around...won't use it for anything other than that so hope to have a simple cheap service that will pass muster with the bank...

 

Could you please tell me step by step as if explaining to a 5th grader exactly how i do this?  right now i have an i phone 6 in usa that uses verizon...when i go to thailand i take that sim out and get a dtac sim and new thai number on my iphpone 6...i usually just suspend my usa verizon account while in thailand and then reinstate it when i return to usa...so not sure do i need to buy another burner type phone  that somehow uses my verizon number which all the banks text too or do i get a different number than my normal verizon usa number and give that number to the banks or??

 

thanks for sharing your expertise.

[Thailand J]

The solution to this issue is brokerage accounts.

Local Dtac phone number works fine with me to receive security codes from Schwab, Interactive Brokers, Fido and Vanguard accounts.

Use you US bank accounts only when you are in US, or sign in to your brokerage account  to deposit or withdraw from your US bank accounts.

 

[GypsyT]

One thing to know is some banks, like mine, can lock up account if they see you are in foreign country and sending or receiving amount is large. That happened to me.

That's why I use an old NOKIA 4G GSM phone (no tracking, no location). You still can get a new 4G but be sure it's LTE type so it's usable for few more years. They already got rid of 2 & 3G frequencies. Dual SIM type is best. They are less than $ 50. You need phone with 850 & 1900 for US and 900 & 1800 Europe and rest of the world but they are changing soon. It's a mess...

 

Or, if you use SmartPhone, switch off "Location" and use Firefox browser so there's no tracking.

 

 

 

[taxout]

It's been iffy for me receiving SMSs with Ultra while using wifi.

 

Also, wifi calling itself is iffy. Sometimes there's a connection, sometimes not.

 

Not at all happy that you can't get an itemization from Ultra. They just take whatever from your wallet.

[bamnutsak]

Can you define "iffy"?

 

Maybe you're WiFI is "iffy"? This is your private, home, dedicated WiFi network used only by yourself?

 

Are you definitely using WiFi? And not 4G? And you've enabled WiFi Talk & Text on your dashboard?

 

I don't use UM a lot for voice calls (to/from the U.S.); I use LINE, Google Voice. But I have used it for ~ 45 minutes each billing period, and maybe 15 texts, no issue whatsoever.

 

And I have no issues with billing; just the $3 deducted each period.

 

[GypsyT]

2 hours ago, taxout said:

Not at all happy that you can't get an itemization from Ultra. They just take whatever from your wallet.

I agree, poor web site.

They only take $ 3/month but show it twice! Stupid.

1st is; "Monthly renewal". 2nd "Plan recharge Wallet" (what a hell is that?).

Both show $ 3/each but as I said, only one $ 3 charge a month.

 

PS. I don't let them have my CC on file. I pay and delete CC number.

PPS. I don't trust them neither. They are part of Tmobile. I had Tmobile "PayAsGo". I had $ 135 in to get 12m service between fill ups. Then they changed it to 6m without notifying. I lost my # and $ 135.

 

 

.

[taxout]

Duh. Yes I know perfectly well what I'm doing. Sometimes SMSs don't come through when connected "via wifi." And sometimes "via wifi" just switches off or never comes on.

 

"Iffy," for those unfamiliar with slang, means "not completely dependable."