How to open a US bank account as a non-resident?

Can't you just open a US denominated account at your local bank? Most major banks offer accounts in other major currencies or they do in the UK.

Rich

Go to Bank of America or Chase site. You should find help there.
Or just call them direct using your Skype.

Since 9/11 it is almost impossible for a non-US national to get a US bank account.

In your case though with your credentials I am sure you could open an account if you could provide a US address even if a friend or relative.

You may need to travel to the US in person though.

Hey Cyrus, could you let me know these methods. If you prefer, by PM. I just messaged you.

I inquired with my german bank and they say it could only be done with a major international bank. And maybe Western Union. I'll have to look into that. As far as cashing in a check from the US I was told it's not advisable. It could take up to 8 weeks to clear and there's at least $100 fees involved! Yikes.

From what I can tell opening/running a us bank account with a major international bank can be quite tricky - like a certain minimum transfer each month, plus monthly fees of at least $50. Oh well, I'm not giving up.

If I am not mistaking all you need is a SS number and two forms of ID (one could be a DL and another a major credit card). When I came to the US on a student visa ten years ago I was able to get a SS card immediately; then I went to Bank of America and opened a bank account with no problems at all. Since then they've stopped issuing SS cards to students but I became a resident a long time ago. As long as you have a SS card, you can go and open an account and no one will ask if you live in the US permanently.

You definetly need SSN(Social Security Number) to open an account with any decent bank in US. The rest can be compramised like address proof etc..passport copy would be fine. May be if u know someone here close..get him / her open the account and later make in a joint account. after all the rest is all online banking..

Can you share with us what kinds of fees would be payable for opening a US Bank Account as a non-US resident?

And what about the options for withdrawing the money from the account? What's the easiest way to do it, and again what are the fees we can expect to pay per withdrawal?

Well, judging by my own experience, the key here is having a social security number. I'm not a U.S. resident, but I worked in the U.S. two years ago - I had no problems whatsoever opening a bank account there (I still have it, btw). I don't know if the procedure is that easy via internet, but it's possible IMO. Check what they have at bankofamerica.com (or the site of any other major bank), you might have a lot of your questions answered.

How about starting a company and open a corporate bank account?

Tyrus

I opened a US bank account as a Canadian through my bank. They just happened to own an American bank and our bank rep set it up for us on the spot.
Perhaps the bank you deal with doesn't have any American associate banks but there must be some who do.
I see Deutsche Bank has many American locations. Maybe they're worth talking to.
Welcome to Deutsche Bank!

you can open a US acct but the fees are $$ sometimes to maintain it .. most people have has success with Citibank .. see if they have a German correspondant bank

I will try to ask some "german-US" banks. But preferably because of the fees, I'm working on the option of having someone close in the US just open an account for me.

So Cyrus, what should we do to open a US a/c as non-residents?

Hey, thanks Nathan

Have you any experience with any of them?

I've done this before, but it wasn't cheap. I used a company called Nevada LLC or Wyoming LLC for $69 plus filing fees, Corp95 files your Nevada corporation or Wyoming Corporation for $69 plus filing fees. and they created a US corporation for me. Once I got that done, they went and spoke to Bank of America, who then let me open an account. I don't know how they did it, but it works fine. Might cost $1500 or so, but it can be done.

Sean

I looked into this a few months back and found that it's virtually impossible to open a US bank account if you're a non-US resident.

The only ones who would consider it need all kinds of things from you, including you taking a trip there with multiple forms of ID.

Can't you just have your PayPal payments sent to your current bank? It seems to work for most people, and shouldn't really slow down things too much.

Hey, thanks you guys. You think HSBC could do it for me?

I am in the process of opening a US bank account with HSBC at the moment. Our local branch in Hong Kong refered our request to their US international banking offices directly. So far, one of their officers have e-mailed back but it seems that they will need to talk to you directly by phone before they can take things further.

Derek

No problem, get an address in US (many ways to do so!) and open a bank account! I do this in many countries!

I just got off the Phone/Skype with Bank of America (their call center at any rate) and they need me to be physically present there with my passport and another form of ID [the man said credit card would do].

I think I better approach my local HSBC branch.

@Makabongwe Maseko - What documents did they require you to submit?

I recommend Suntrust. As they are Florida based, they deal a LOT with foreign nationals.

Hmmm, I think WILL call up the local HSBC branch asap.

Some information you will find helpful.

(a) You do NOT need a Social-Security # to open a Non-Resident US Bank Account. Its an added benefit, but not required.
(b) You can open an account with any brokerage firm (E-trade, Charles Schwab, Ameritrade, Scott Trade, etc.) will all open a bank account for you also, the minimum investment for this is $5,000
(c) LLC route, register a company (cost about $200), Lawyer fees (depends - $100-$500-$1000), and cost of opening account $300-$1000 (that is the deposit), you will get an EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS instead of an SSN. Yearly fees about $300.
(d) If you have been an HSBC customer for over 12 months, you will qualify by HSBC for them to open an account where ever HSBC operates.
(e) Deutsche Bank will open an account for you in NY, provided you have been banking with them for over 24 months.
(f) and lastly as someone suggested Wachovia will open an account, however, it is a long and tedious process if you can convince them of why you need it - its all about KYC (Know Your Customer) regulation arrangement and verification between your current bank and Wachovia.
(g) Bank of America will open a corporate account for you.
(h) Citibank allows global deposits (you will need their corporate services for this, minimum balance of US$ 25,000 is allowed), deposits can be made into any Citibank branch worldwide, Fees of US$ 45 is applicable per deposit and mid-bank deduction fees may apply. You have to be a Citibank customer in good standing for over 12 months.

@Babushka99 - Now that's some good info! What's a corporate account please?

By the way all those websites out there on the Internet, that are citing/selling books to tell you how to open a US bank account for non-residents, it is the same LLC roue. They are simply providing you a list of accounts of Bank that allow via proxy account opening. Via proxy means, a registered LLC and attorney is representing your company's interests and opens an account for you.

@ babushka99

This is Wachovia.

I first sent them an email explaining that I'm doing internet marketing and that I'd like to receive payments but its impossible because paypal can't send payments to my countries bank account.

I Told them all I wanted to do with this account and told them I will supply all details and documents they may need about me.

They then replied and told me to phone a customer representative. Phoned and the customer representative who is now my personal account representative opened a file for me and sent me the documents to fill-up and return to them.

No fax, only secure mail.

hi, I have some need too, I want to open a US bank account ,but wherever you ask the bank custmer service online or phone, they ask SSN first, if not, then you have to pay a personal visit. someone tell that has open a account successfully, but I can not verify reality. still watching

Ok - this is being made way to complicated. You can open a U.S. Business account WITH a Tax ID (EIN ) number. One signer on the account needs a social. Any transfers over $10k are reported federally. You might want to check with the larger banks because all you need is a U.S. routing number for the transfers to occur quicker.

get a payoneer card and then upgrade to virtual us account and you can get ach payment from amazon or any other ach payment company.
you can get a payoneer from many sites, e.g. markethealth, copeac etc

so I sent an email to Citibank in my country and they have requested that I send them my phone number so that they "can give me the details".

Ill post here if its possible or not after I talk to them.

I think you will want a credit card from Mastercard/Visa first because this is global market and can help verify your bank account. If you have credit card info it should help make getting a US bank account easy

It should be fairly mainstream to set up US bank account in other country..Most of these banks have become global market and even encourage such accounts.

well Citibank called me back today and they said that the most common method and easiest is if I could just take a trip to the USA and sign the papers in person, BUT
the lady also said that there are some other exceptions that are done from time to time and that she would contact me back once she has some real facts to tell me.

Keeping my fingers crossed hope I don't have to take a trip to the US just to sign some papers

You can open one as a non resident ,all you need is ID proof,a letter from your local bank in Germany if you have an account with this bank .just check more info
with : everbank.com

If you have someone in the US that you trust have them open the account. Once it is opened have them add your name to the acct. Most banks provide online services and they can send you a debit card, etc. It would save a heck of a lot of time.

Citibank & wachovia are both very responsive. They will send documents via courier, which you need to fill up to open an account. So focus on these banks only.

IIRC, if you open account in a bank that has a branch in the US, don't you automatically have a US bank account?

Hi
take a look at this
US Dollar Current Account | Euro Current Account - Citibank

WOW I wish I came and read this post when I was doing my US account from australia here.

They wanted blood and my first born to be able to open it.. Might have had soemthing to do with sept 11th or whatever, but still I wont be doing it again.

You can open a bank account with Bank of America easily (I have French passport and live in Australia), you just have to be able to walk into the bank anywhere in the States. Because that's what I did so now I can finally get my Amazon commissions and was able to link my Paypal and iTunes account.

So maybe you should plan a little holiday to the States...

This thread will be evergreen as long as PayPal and Clickbank still ban some countries from opening account.

This is one reason why old threads should not be locked.

Back to the topic, I'm interested in having or opening a US bank account now, maybe later, I will.

Is it really a $100 fee for cashing a US check in Germany? In the UK it's only around £10 for most banks.

It is possible! I am from the UK and have an American Bank account! Not just a bank account in the UK in $ currency, but a proper American bank account.

I got rejected by Barclays, HSBC, and I forget, someone else.

It took me 6 months of research and getting rejected and faxing things back and forwards. Eventually I got accepted by chase - look into them, they have a division which accepts foreign businesses. They will profile you, research you and require a LOT of documentation and signitures, but as long as you are totally above board they will accept you.

A lot of the banks only accept BIG foreign businesses, but Chase have a setup where they allow small foreign businesses to open accounts IF they are above board... get in touch with them. CHASE BANK FOR THE WIN!

Little Secret...

1) Online mail management including online postal mail, po boxes, mail forwarding and more | Earth Class Mail

2) NetSpend Visa Prepaid Card Application - Apply Online (they give you bank account # and everything...)

Mmm...wonder how many people got their Paypal Debit Card while currently leaving outside the United States

This should solve your verification issues.

I was going to recommend something ALREADY recommended. Deutsche bank is a good choice. THEY, like most big national banks, etc... have a presence in the US. I'm of the understanding that they can deal with everything right down to conversion to euros in your account. They are a big bank, either do business with you or can validate your credit, can deal in both currencies, AND do business with both countries. So they would be my FIRST choice if I were you. They may EVEN be able to get you a US credit card.

Steve

It's pretty tough to open a US bank account if your a non resident, with the concerns about terrorism and money laundering at an all time high. Your better off just trying to use paypal or some other payment system, I'm not sure what payment services are available in Germany.

I have a USA virtual bank account from payoneer. It's so easy to get cash from paypal, CPA networks. I'm pretty sure that amazon will work with it. Don't buy crappy products called "how to get usa account". Get a payoneer card and try at least 3 payments from the vendor and ask a USA bank account from feedback@payoneer.com
They will ask few questions and let you

You can actually open a US Bank Account through Payoneer. Contact them and they will explain the whole thing.

That's putting it mildly!

But that's par for the course, on this subject. :rolleyes:

Try out Payoneer Affiliates..

I just signed up with them. They offer a mastercard debit card with an online USD account which is accepted by lots of major affiliate networks. Amazon, paypal and Clickbank are who i will be using them for.

This^^^^^

I do the IM for a company here that specialises in opening companies abroad. I just spoke to one of the sales people as they do this daily.

If you have a company in a country outside the US, you can come to the company I do work for and they'll set up a company for you in the States.

Then you can you apply for a US bank account.

According to the chap I spoke to I couldn't do that as an individual and I couldn't do it with my company here. I'd need a company in the USA. I assume I also could if I was in the States working or living, as Bowerboy has pointed out.

I want to point out I have NEVER been to the US, but do intend on going in the future and I live in North London, UK.

To open a bank account is quite simple, ONLY if you know how, the good news is the US wants more business grow in most states, in fact they encourage it. The point I am making is if you were to incorporate a business in the US would the banks be willing to finally listen..?

Well, I will tell my store and hopefully you can see its possible, not impossible. I too was calling around in the US to try and find a bank that will accept my application over the phone and electronically, plus, asking if they would open a personal free checking account without a SSN and no history of me whatsoever, this was becoming impossible.

Until, I read somewhere, the US states are desperate for economic grow for business. Then a light bulb went off.

Why not form an LLC (where the tax, pass through rates will be less expensive) so i searched around and found New Mexico, this seems the state that is in direr need for more business because they will waive tax fees, ANY annual fees whatsoever, so I pay NOTHING in the US, however i still need to pay tax in the UK. Plus I still need to file in NM but i will be billed for nothing.

So, I set up an LLC $300 with a street forwarding address and including registered agent (R.A) for one year and my EIN. I then contact afew more banks they asked to see me articles of incorporation, passport and I could send them a copy of my bank statement from my UK bank to proof my address and also to verify a relationship with my bank, if I were to try anything i.e fraud, the bank i was applying to would contact my bank in the UK and prosecute.

I was fine about that. They sent Docs UPS to my home address in the UK, I read over everything and signed it sent it back (They paid for the return shipping,) 3 days later my account was opened, they sent my card to my US address and pin details and routing number and cheeking account nember, I just forwarded the mail.

I know most people believe this is an impossible task but its not. Just to show I have a US debit business card (mastercard) here is a screenshot.

2012-04-14_0921 - DarrenJM's library.

MyUSBusiness.com helps to get the job done.

Also, storecoach.com forum has been involved too check out the conversation.

I hope this helps others around the world

You don't need a company to open a Payoneer account ajguille.

The only link i have is the link for the main site or m own affiliate link to the main site.

I would suggest sending an email to David Stein on davist@payoneer.com or waiting for nissim to get back to you. But i think you may be confusing the different types of accounts with them.

They have the standard debit card account which can be used with some affiliate networks and then the US Payment Service which is for companies like amazon who want to direct deposit into a us account. They link the two accounts together under the same card for you

Thank you guys. Very useful information. Been thinking of ways of opening a US account.

Here is what I did to open a U.S. Bank account as a non U.S. resident

Travel to the United States legally
Get a U.S. address
Go to a U.S. bank
Provide your passport and U.S. border pass
Bank account opened

I now have 2 bank of america accounts
One checking and one savings

Another way of doing it is to get a U.S. address that will forward to you in Germany
Apply with accountnow or visionprepaid using your social security number
If approved they will mail you a bank account number and debit card

Yeah, Amazon delays payment for those non US Residents. Having a US denominated account in our home country is a good solution I got here. Thanks Warriors. Let me have one!

In summer 2011 I started publishing books on Kindle Desktop Publishing platform . Because I am from Slovenia (European country) , the only way of getting payed for the books I sold in the US is by check. A payment is carried out 60 days after the end of the month in which the sales have been made. At that time Amazon sends me a check in the mail. I carry this check to my local bank in Slovenia and have to wait for the check to clear. After some time( depending on the bank) the bank transfers funds to my personal account. They charge of course a commission, which again vary depending on the bank. Entire procedure takes some time, it can be months, so I searched for a better solution.
Here it is :
Payoneer offers a prepayed Mastercard US credit card. You can pay with this card on points of sale and withdraw money from ATMs across the globe. After you get a Payoneer credit card they invite you to the program called "US Payment Service" which is actually a virtual US bank account. You can't transfer money from this account(pay bills for instance), the only purpose of it is to get payments( from certain companies), and the money is automatically transferred to your Payoneer credit card.

payoneer-affiliates dot com

Can the payoneer "US Payment Service" works for Amazon seller? They need a U.S account. Thanks

Yes it works for Amazon associates. I have been using them for a while now.

I think the best solution is to go there by yourself. Book 2 weeks apartment in some us city, go to back open account provide information and address of your apartment, then they will send you all the papers to that apartment and you are good to go.

Payoneer sounds good initially, but it's even more expensive than recieving checks so it doesn't seem worth it.

There is a $29.95 annual card maintainence fee plus you have to pay 1% on each transfer and pay $3.15 for a cash withdrawel. So if you earn $10,000 a year, you need to pay $129.95 in fees and that isn't even including the cost of cash withdrawels. It's cheaper to recieve checks, if you opt to not recieve them monthly.

May countries apply processing fees to cash checks, and in general the payment method is far less convenient than electronic fund transfers.

Of course, no one payment method is the best for everyone, and you should choose the payment method that best suits your specific needs.

Usually, you'll have a very tough time getting a US bank account without residency or without establishing a US business identity. I have not used them (I live in the US), but I have heard very good things about myusbusiness.com.

I'm in the UK and I get my payments very quickly. I'm surpised that Germany isn't equally as quick.

It was mentioned in previous post about....if you have a family member
in the U.S then you can use them to help you open up a bank account.

this is very simple and not complicated to do. You still need a good US contact to help you do this.

1. Get a UPS store Address in any of the 50 states
2. Get a US phone number from like Google Voice
3. You will need is what they call a "Registered Agent" to help you register your business
to any one of the 50 states.
4. Someone from the US will need to get your an EIN tax number

A US person will take those Articles of Incorporation papers, EIN number and open up a bank account on your behalf.

I personally opened up many businesses on behalf of people. PM if you still need any help or questions

If you dont know what banks to apply to and more importantly have the right documents such as US address, you will have a very tough tough time. I have opened bank accounts for many people because I have a system in place for my business.