Hello all, I’m a US citizen living in Asia; and I haven’t returned to the US since I left more than two decades ago.
I’d like to open a US Bank account while living abroad that I can access online for basic personal finance and possible business ventures in the future. Ideally I would be able to connect a debit card and possibly get a US PayPal account, too.
What I have:
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Original US birth certificate
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US passport
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Social Security number
What I don’t have:
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A residential address in the US (or any close family whose address I can use)
-
A phone number in the US
I’m really clueless about my options for doing this and would be grateful for any tips you can offer. Thanks.
you can use banks like Revolut which provide a dollar account.
I have accounts in multiple currencies and use my German address.
Mmm bank of the west used to do it, but they been purchased so I don’t know anymore
No US bank will open an account without an address.
What country are you in. Many US banks have branches in Asia.
Very, very unlikely. Banks must obey “Know Your Customer” rules and they interpret these as saying they must physically see you walk in the door. A quick visit would probably work. Another excellent possibility. would be to file an LLC and then have it open the account. There are online services that do this and they can provide the bank account as well. Cost you a few hundred, though.
Wut. There are so many internet banks that don’t even have physical locations you could walk into if you wanted.
Banks must obey “Know Your Customer” rules and they interpret these as saying they must physically see you walk in the door.
This is not true. Specifically that a human sees you physically in a branch.
Many banks have no branches, like charles schwab.
No, it’s absolutely true and done to prevent “money laundering”. I don’t write the rules, I just report them.
Well, you report them wrong.
I’ve never had to go into a bank to open an account, even at a new bank.
So you never had to provide a signature card? I know it hurts to be wrong but I find it extremely hard to believe you can open an account in the way you describe. Perhaps times have changed, though?
I don’t even know what that is.
I’ve only had to go on site to open a bank account in Korea with KB*. I also opened an account with KakaoBank and that was online only.
Look into ally bank. Was able to open one from Philippines but i used my address at home.
I believe that would not be allowed.
Banks check your IP to prevent fraud, they would detect your IP being outside country and deny it.
yeah? VPN they know about that those are usually blocked for new accounts too.
since you have documentation, and all that why not come home for Christmas and open an account here?
Banks check your IP to prevent fraud, they would detect your IP being outside country and deny it.
Not true.
Like nothing about being outside the US means you would be blocked.
and how do you come by your info “not true”
have you worked at Bank of America, Chase, Citi, CapitalOne ?
have you tested to see if you VPN to an IP outlet in say Europe your experience at chase dot com is different?
I think like much of the people that suppose they “know” things… you probably know nothing about what you are talking about.
how do you come by your info “not true”
I’ve literally connected to my Chase account from many countries. My address on my Chase account isn’t in the US, I’ve had Chase ship replacement cards to me in 5 different countries.
I’ve opened new accounts when outside the country.
I think like much of the people that suppose they “know” things… you probably know nothing about what you are talking about.
Okay, how do you “know” it is true?
Get a virtual address at physicaladdress.com then a us phone number from ultra mobile.
Try mercury.com. They specialize in accounts for foreigners.
Time hago payoneer was allowing this to people with no conexiOn with USA( no passport, address, etc), check it, maybe it is still the case.
But why do you need this?, you can get an account in dollars with a lot of banks that have no lonk with usa( transferwise, revolut, etc)
You’re in luck, I’ve got the answer for you. Open an account with the State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU):
https://www.sdfcu.org/membership-frequently-asked-questions
Can I open a SDFCU account if I live abroad?
Yes, SDFCU is one of the few credit unions in the United States which accepts members who live outside the country. SDFCU and American Citizens Abroad (ACA) have partnered to provide ACA members with a US Banking solution. ACA qualifies as an approved affiliate for SDFCU. Learn more by visiting the ACA SDFCU Account FAQ’s.
https://www.sdfcu.org/about-us
State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU) was chartered in 1935 through the efforts of eight employees of the United States Department of State. Now, decades later, our membership has grown to more than 90,000 members worldwide, and we have over $2.4 billion in assets.
US Department of State employees stationed abroad had the same problem. So they started a credit union to let US citizens living abroad have a US bank account.
So that takes care of the address problem. Now as for the phone number, just get a Google Voice number or pay $5 per month for something like Tello. Aim for carriers that have an eSIM that you can activate from abroad. And for the address (that nothing will be shipped to) just use your most recent address in the US (even if it’s from 20 years ago…)
Since I have many addresses in the US from friends & family I’ve never opened an account with SDFCU myself, but if you do let me know how it goes!
A UPS physical address (ups box) will work, done it before. You can try calling some UPS locations and see if they’ll let you open up a UPS box virtually. I think some do (though not all). Alternatively, a virtual physical address company should work. As far as receiving your debit card from the bank you open up an account with, they should be able to mail it abroad… if not, maybe pay to have UPS send it to you once it arrives to your UPS box
Yes.
You might have issues not having a US residential address, but every major US bank allows their customers (that are US citizens) to not actually reside in the US.
My US friends couldn’t do it from Mexico The reason was they don’t have a USA address
Chime Bank and tons of other services like that. US number issue can be resolved using eSIM.