US Bank Account for UK Citizen?
 

I need a US bank account, with good online banking facilities.. I do NOT want to setup a company in the US and do not have a US tax id..

Any advice or recomendations?

The account will recieve several incoming wiretransfers per week, and a couple of outgoings.

Thanks

Alan.

is this to try and stop those dam exchange rates?

No, it's so I can fund my epass account easier and pay my designers and content providers.

Exchange rates do suck... But I have been investing very heavily lately, so it's swings and roundabouts at the moment for me. I do miss the days when it was 1.6 to 1 :)

god..1.6 would be like getting a double pay raise

There are "issues" with banks actually in the US and not worth the hassle including the DNA sample blah, so throw these options into the pot...

(a) Simply get a dollar account where you bank now and if payment is expected in dollars - pay em with a dollar cheque or wire direct from the dollar account.

(b) You could go a stage further and have an offshore corp with dollar banking, tho that seems an overkill, but could be useful depending on your biz background.

The closest I ever found was opening up an offshore dollar (Jersey) account with NatWest (I think it was them).

They hook str8 into the US banking system, so in theory you can use all the US banking features. Its going back a while that I looked into it , but that was the only way it was possible then.

Most major banks in the UK (or elsewhere) have dollar accounts if you ask for them Sambo - and they all link up globally. They will also issue dollar cheque books etc..

PS Some of our accounts offer almost all relevant currencies and they are stored under one master account - but they can tell ya daily what the balance is in a currency of your choice - amazing system - far better than major banks

I think he would need an account that is actually IN the US system to use it to fund epass though - They can all do transactions by wire etc but thats not enough to fund Epass.

Ah.. got ya!! Don't deal with or know about the specifics of epass "topup" methods...

bizarre i think what that guy said about jersey is right, you can have a great us dollar account in jersey

patriot act...pretty much forget it

TD Bank North has what you want, but fees are a killer ...

Incoming wires: 16.00 each
ATM withdrawl : 3.00 + 1%


I don"t know about outgoing wires, but probably 30.00+


http://www.tdbanknorth.com

The main reason I need this is to fund my epassporte account.. would any of the suggestions so far be viable?

About 8 years ago, I have an account with HSBC Delaware, Through my local UK HSBC bank.. Times have changed, but I will ring my bank manager in the morning to find out.

As far as incoming wires... That is no worse than I am paying now.. I am sure HSBC are ripping me off.

theres no way you can get a private bank account in the US being a non US citizen - period

not true at all.

But what most banks say is you have to show up in person. with ID, passport, etc.

Fill out some irs form or something, no ss# required.

They will open then..

As usual this thread - and any other bank account thread - is full of bs again.

Are you saying my post was BS?

I have been in local banks with biz ppl from other countries and they setup a us checking account no problem with passport, etc.

a private bank account and people from outside the US - not canadians or so - and the last 2-3 yrs?

Yes, you don't have to be a resident or citizen to have a US Bank account.

He showed passport, I think some local ID (Euro Country) filled out some irs form I belive, forget the form # and got a checking account, send visa check card, etc.

Oh of course he did have to put a US address down....

Aren't Canadians people 'outside the US'?

they are but there are still a lotta special rules left for Canadians like the crossing borders etc thats why I mentioned that

K thanks thats what I thought.

np at all.

for the US address, what alot of people do is goto a local mailbox etc, or that type of store, get a box, and then use that for there us address. Mail can be fwd for a fee, etc.

not sure if this is a scam or not but might be worth checking out - http://www2.valisinternational.com/?pg=personal

... I am chocking .... LOL ....

What if I told you I have one .... ( private bank account to my personnal name )

What If I told you I am a Canadian Citizen ...

Ever heard of " non-resident alien " ....

Whatever bet you want to wage, I cover ... :1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

depends ... when they ( the USA ) feels like it, we are considered " domestic " , when they don't feel like it, we are " foreign " ....

Not sure about post 911 but as a foreign citizen tourist you used to be able to go to SS office and tell them you needed a SS # to open a bank account as you travel here often. Put a friend's US address down. Card would arrive a couple weeks later and they would issue you a number on the spot and you could use the number until the card arrived.

Try it on your next trip here, nothing to lose.

A US address ...

THAT IS BULLSHIT

I receive my bank statment at my Montreal Address .... When I communicate with them, I give them my Canadian SSN ... and my local canadian address ...

I will agree with Thinxxx on one thing:

So much BS in a bank thread :1orglaugh

Did you setup of prior to the Patriot Act?

No, after ... I did it when the Visa stuff happened.