Does anyone know if it is possible for a non-American citizen who is not resident in the USA to have an american bank account? If so, could you please give me details of how to apply for one?
The reason I want to know is that we are using ebay and not all sellers accept bidpay or billpoint or credit cards. Some want US dollars cash or US cheque…I don’t want credit or loan facilities, just to have a small account that I’ll transfer funds from England to it to write cheques on in US Dollars…
I did try a websearch, but all the sites were aimed at US people.
I can’t say for sure, but my WAG is that you’d have to unspool reels of red tape in order to do it. Similarly, a bank probably wouldn’t be willing to jump through all of the international tax hoops unless the amount in question was in the millions.
If you live in a major city you may be able to find a bank that can write a check in U.S. dollars
Otherwise, if you want I can check with my bank and see what their policy is. Give me your e-mail address and I’ll let you know some time Monday.
This is something in which I too would like to know, my UK bank charges me £9.00 ( $13.41 @ $1.49 to the £1.00 ) each time I pay a dollar check into my Sterling a/c
In truth I’ve been meaning to contact a branch of a US bank in London, ( whichever is listed in the yellow pages ), and check them out on the subject, but judging by my experiences with the UK banking establishment, ( a curse upon all their houses ), alas, my hopes are not high
My roomate is here on a student visa from Taiwan, and from what I can tell has never had a problem having a bank account in this country. I think he uses the campus branch of HSBC. I have no idea what sort of paperwork he had to go through to get it, but it seems possible.
I’m not sure if a non-resident can get a social security number, but s/he can get a taxpayer ID number (TIN), which serves the same purpose in this case.
Sublight is right on track. Just apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) by filing form W-7 with the Internal Revenue Service. Then, you will have no problems opening a bank account. You should be able to open an account through the phone or through the bank’s web site, although some signatures have to be submitted through the mail or by fax.
By the way, to answer Sublight’s question, a non-resident alien can get a social security number, but he or she has to have a valid reason for needing one (such as pending employment within the United States or territories; or a formal request for a social security number from a government agency such as a state Department of Motor Vehicles).
In theory, you could open a U.S. bank account without a social security number or an ITIN. However, even if the bank does not balk at the idea (most will), it will be a hassle for tax reasons. You are better off applying for an ITIN from start.
when I was a resident alien in the US, I just walked in and opened the account - didn’t need a special IRS form, and for Social Security I just used my Canadian Social Insurance number. No-one at the bank noticed that our SIN number has one less digit than the American SS number.
May be less simple if you don’t have a US residence.
If I needed US chequing facilities now, I’d just open a US dollar account with a Canadian bank. Deposit Canadian money to the account, it’s automatically converted to US dollars (I believe the technical banking term is “shrinkage”), and then the cheques are automatically in US dollars. Can you find a British bank that offers that option?
Are you receiving checks from the US, from, say, friends or family? Ask them to send an International Money Order instead, made out to you c/o the bank instead. The going rate for IMOs in the UK is about £1.50; I don’t know what it is in the US.
I know one thing though–US banks are a bit tetchy about having customers who are not resident in the US…that is, at least so far as allowing them accounts where the money is easily available. I have an investment account in the US, but whether I would be allowed to have it there if I wasn’t a US citizen, I don’t know.
For Duke,
I’m a UK based webmaster, all my sponsors are american ( yet to find a european, let alone a UK sponsor ) and they all pay, by cheque, in US dollars.
FYI, Dollar accounts are available from any high street bank, all you need is £2000.00 ( or equivelent ), and the interest rate is 0.25% PA.
British banking is a cartel, and way too profitable for ANY UK government to touch ( as in legislate against )
having bank accounts in several countries I can tell you my experience. I have had a bank account in the US for years but I did open it in person. I would travel to the US often and found it easier to have an account there rather than exchanging money back and forth.
The issue is how much do you need it. if it is for a very occassional payment it may not be worth the while. Take into consideration that you may be required to keep a minimum balance to avoid maintenance charges.
Some ideas you might want to look into:
Check American banks in Britain (like Citibank) and ask them if you can open a local account in dollars.
Alternatively find out if you can open an account at an american bank by sending in the required paperwork. I am sure you could do it in person. Maybe the British branch of the bank can receive the documents and forward them.
You can also look into opening an account in dollars in the Channel Islands or some such place. That can be done quite easily without going there in person.
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You can also look into opening an account in dollars in the Channel Islands or some such place. That can be done
quite easily without going there in person.
Alas again, all the major UK banks have branches in the CI,
unfortunately the rules for opening a dollar account are the same as for a dollar account on the UK mainland. ( see my post above )
Well, most American banks will also have some minimum balance you need to keep in order to avoid fees. That’s why I’m saying that, if all you need to pay are small amounts here and there, a bank account is NOT the way to go.
BTW, I regularly us Travelers checks to send payments to people by mail. The limitation, of course, is that they only come in set denominations, but they obviate the question about where is it drawn etc.
They will require this form regardless of if the account actually pays interest. (Allows them to justify to their compliance why no Taxpayer ID is on record.)
Where a bank may have the problem is your foreign residency.
I would check out one of the online banking organizations.
