Opening An Account In Us

[kwiz117]

I am looking to open a savings or a checking account in US? I am not a US citizen.

Any help will be highly appreciated.

kwiz

[thaihome]

I am looking to open a savings or a checking account in US? I am not a US citizen.

Any help will be highly appreciated.

kwiz

You basically will need to show identification and a US address.

Where in the US? The banking industry is primarily regulated at the state level so depending on the state the requirements could vary. There is no requirement to be a US citizen, but you will probably need to be a legal resident. You probably will also need a Social Security number for tax purposes.

TH

TH

[ProThaiExpat]

There issue of opening accounts in the U.S. received some attnetion a month ago and you might find that thread with a little effort.

While I have a U.S. bank account, I am unhappy with the banks policy toward those not reisdent in the U.S. so have looked elswere to accomplish my objective, storing money in the U.S. at favorable interest rates or very conservative bank paper such as money market accounts.

First Internet Bank of Inidana was suggested by a poster as they pay a little more interest than a bank and have all services of wire transfer, debit card, etc. I applied to them and they did require a social security number and a U.S. address, since I had the social security number a friend in the U.S. suddenly had a phantom room-mate. They require a piece of mail going to the U.S. address, to prove its legitamacy. I merely on line changed the billing address on a credit card account to my phantom room-mates address for one cycle, and then let it become an electronic account, no paper statement, so he wouldn't have to deal with future statements.

I haven't gone the final step yet as I have renewed my relationship with Charles Schwab & Co. a U.S. low cost brokerage that provides all the benefits of a bank with investment vehicles paying a lot more than bank interest rates.

In the process, I had to re-apply for an account, as my old account had been closed for more than a year. In the process of applying for the new account, I learned a lot about Charles Schwab International, and it certainly appears friendly to expats and foreigners.

Log on to their web page, Schwab.com, or seach for it through google and click on the tab "international". You will see how freindly they are and they run the international divison out of their headquarters in San Franciso, with 24 hour collect call telephone numbers and multi-lingual staff.

The international division doesn't require U.S. citizenship but will withhold a third of any earnings for U.S. taxes unless you go to their off-shore services, but then you wouldn't have your funds in the U.S.

The will require a bank reference, a copy of the I.D. portion of your passport, and not much else. $25,000 is required to open the account and it must accompany your application.

They sent me all the documents required to apply via e-mail but they do require a local telephone number so they can call you, and they will, if you want them to. They really appear to be interested in international clients and I see no hinderance to your establishing an account with them even if you are not a U.S. citizen or ever intend on traveling there. They also have exchange services and international wire services at only $25, much cheaper than banks. They have Visa debit cards and online services including a bill pay system.

They have a money link service to U.S. banks, so I can initiate transfers between my bank and Charles Schwab, but that isn't of interest to you unless you find a bank friendly to interenational customers.

If you are in BKK you might try Citibank, I do know they are international and you may be able to get answers from them regarding an account with them in New York.

I had trouble entering a telephone number in their online e-mail service, as my phones are all cellular, so I put a neighbor's just to get the form to accept my e-mail to them. My message covered my issues and they were quick to respond via e-mail and it was all done via e-mail, I never talked to them once I decided to open the account.

If you decide this alternative to a bank is for you, PM if you hit a snag and I will try to help.

Good Luck.

[kwiz117]

Actually why I want to open this Account is not to deposit money. It's only for Paypal transactions. I opened this Paypal account recently and already have money in it.

They need a US Bank account for me to transfer this money. That is why I thought to find out a way to open this Account.

Any other way to do this? I am not sure.

Thank you for all the feedbacks..

[Darknight]

check with citybank in Bkk kasun , they can open an account in HKK or singapore for you.

minimum deposit 2500 dollars i think, then transfer your paypal account to either country.

presto.

[kenk3z]

Without a doubt, the first thing any bank must ask of you is a USA Social Security number when you create an account.

If you want, you can spend some time at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ and review information directly from the government agency that administers SSNs. Near the top of the page, there is a "Questions About" pull down menu, and one choice there is "Social Security Number & Card".

According to the information I saw there, you do not have to be a citizen to get a SSN and card, but you may have to give a reason why you need one.

Also, I suggest you spend some time at the PayPal web site to see if there's any workaround for having a bank account. Almost anything useful you would want to do in terms of collecting payment from other people is going to require their "Premier" level account - and with this account you can get an ATM card to withdraw money from many places in Thailand.

It used to be that you could buy things using PayPal using only a credit card, and you did not need to have any bank account associated with PayPal. That may have changed, and they surely do everything they can to encourage you to use a bank account instead of a credit card. You see, in the USA you can dispute any credit card transaction. If someone steals your information and takes a lot of money from your credit card, you can dispute it and typically win (really, almost always if they don't have your signature for the transaction). If someone steals from your bank account, its usually gone for good.

Much of determining what you need depends on whether you are a buyer or seller using PayPal, or both.

kenk3z

[kwiz117]

Thanks kenk3z,

Appreciate your advice.

[merchant]

spam

Edited July 18, 2004 by huski

[fuly]

I am looking to open a savings or a checking account in US? I am not a US citizen.

Any help will be highly appreciated.

kwiz

everyone can open a US-bank account,just buy the guide (very simple)

<snip>

works for me !

/Mod edit - please do not post URL's leading to commercial sites.

Edited June 21, 2006 by Jai Dee

[Totster]

I am looking to open a savings or a checking account in US? I am not a US citizen.

Any help will be highly appreciated.

kwiz

everyone can open a US-bank account,just buy the guide (very simple)

<snip>

works for me !

My word.. this thread is nearly two years old..

totster

Edited June 21, 2006 by Jai Dee

[Maestro]

My word.. this thread is nearly two years old..

And to me it looks like a spammer revived it.

Guards!

---------------

Maestro

[Totster]

My word.. this thread is nearly two years old..

And to me it looks like a spammer revived it.

Guards!

---------------

Maestro

Pity the spammer couldn't get the link correct.. 55555555

totster

[Jeff1]

Phew ! For a moment there I thought he was back