Schwab Investment account - few questions

[11223344]

I see quite a few users here have an account with Schwab to trade US stocks

 

I would like to ask several questions

 

1) They require a utility bill with your name and address to open an account - water, gas, or electricity ... well not even one of these has my name on it - what did you do?

 

2) They give you debit card for the investment account - no fees, even refund all atm fees, mid exchange rate - is all of it correct?

 

3) To deposit money it can be sent in number of different currencies and they will exchange it to USD - but what is the exchange rate? I can't find it anywhere and I don't have USD. I see they charge 1% convert fee for under $100k, but the exchange rate can make big difference - some banks markup 5% or more

 

Thanks

 

 

[11223344]

btw: I'm talking about Schwab HK or Schwab International... not US

[Orac]

For Schwab Intl 2-3 years back they said they would accept a letter from my bank confirming my address in Thailand. SCB provided one for 100 baht 'commision' but I then ran into problems with Scwab wanting to confirm the letter was genuine - they phoned my branch several times but nobody would confirm they had issued the letter including the person who printed and signed it. Gave up in the end as had E-Trade and TD Direct accounts sorted at that point who were more lenient on documents required.