Opening a US Bank Account

[Trilkop]

So, a while ago I heard that it was extremely easy to open a US bank account as a foreigner not living or working in the US or having any residency visa. So, the past holiday I decided to test this myself.

All you need is:

1. Your passport
2. A proof of residence in South Africa.

We went on holiday for a week to Disney World in Orlando.

One morning I popped into Wells Fargo bank and told them I wanted to open an account as a foreigner. Told them I was on holiday and am not working or living in the US. Extremely friendly, they told me this was not a problem and they could assist. They wanted to know what my reason for the account is, and I told them that I planned to move my investments to the US account and also have my Paypal earnings paid into it and save it there. Then, all they needed was my passport and a proof of residence for my address in South Africa, which I had.

So, we did the paperwork and in less than 15 minutes my account Wells Fargo Cheque account was opened. I was issued with a temporary card which I used in the US and worked perfectly at ATMs, in stores and online. The permanent card will apparently be shipped to my South African address. I registered for online banking, which happened flawlessly.

Fees are not too bad. It is around US$10 a month. But, if you have more than US$1,500, then they waive the fee.

Before we returned to South Africa, I heard some people complain that they could not use their cards abroad and that you needed to activate international use in person at the bank. So, before we returned I popped back into the branch and they activated it for me.

So, for those interested in having a real US bank account, and you plan on travelling there in future, try this out. The same is possible at other banks like Citi Bank too.

 

[Tomtomtom]

I thought it had got a lot harder since 9/11 but I suppose it is 18 years later...

I would be interested to know whether there are any problems a few years down the line. I used to have a UK account. I was logging in to online banking periodically. One day the account was simply locked. The explanation was that they "don't do business in Sudan."

They were obviously doing some basic geo-IP stuff and if you didn't have a UK IP address, you were suspicious. I did explain that SA and Sudan were different countries that admittedly both happen to be in Africa and start with "S", but to no avail. So this is a possible risk with "hacker-style" foreign accounts.

There are ways to set up with off-shore USD using institutions specifically designed for ex-pats and the like. I feel more comfortable taking that approach.

 

[Tman*]

Cool writeup. Wonder how hard it would be to do remotely?

 

[Gaz{M}]

Get a VPN, then login from a server in the country you bank with.

 

[Trilkop]

Cool writeup. Wonder how hard it would be to do remotely?

Not sure it can be done remotely. You have to visit the bank in person. I asked about this while I had my meeting and I was told that they have no problem opening accounts for foreigners who are on holiday in the US, but you have to open it in person.

 

[Priapus]

So, a while ago I heard that it was extremely easy to open a US bank account as a foreigner not living or working in the US or having any residency visa. So, the past holiday I decided to test this myself.

All you need is:

1. Your passport
2. A proof of residence in South Africa.

We went on holiday for a week to Disney World in Orlando.

One morning I popped into Wells Fargo bank and told them I wanted to open an account as a foreigner. Told them I was on holiday and am not working or living in the US. Extremely friendly, they told me this was not a problem and they could assist. They wanted to know what my reason for the account is, and I told them that I planned to move my investments to the US account and also have my Paypal earnings paid into it and save it there. Then, all they needed was my passport and a proof of residence for my address in South Africa, which I had.

So, we did the paperwork and in less than 15 minutes my account Wells Fargo Cheque account was opened. I was issued with a temporary card which I used in the US and worked perfectly at ATMs, in stores and online. The permanent card will apparently be shipped to my South African address. I registered for online banking, which happened flawlessly.

Fees are not too bad. It is around US$10 a month. But, if you have more than US$1,500, then they waive the fee.

Before we returned to South Africa, I heard some people complain that they could not use their cards abroad and that you needed to activate international use in person at the bank. So, before we returned I popped back into the branch and they activated it for me.

So, for those interested in having a real US bank account, and you plan on travelling there in future, try this out. The same is possible at other banks like Citi Bank too.

Great write up. I'll be in the States for two weeks later this year, I'm definitely going to give this a try!

 

[Trilkop]

Great write up. I'll be in the States for two weeks later this year, I'm definitely going to give this a try!

Enjoy your trip! Just remember to take a recent proof of residence with and also be sure to activate international payments once the account is opened (if you will be making use of Wells Fargo) as this cannot be done online or telephonically after you have left. I know Citi works the same, a friend of mine opened his in New York, also using his SA passport and SA Proof of Residence, but he never said anything about having to activate international payments on his card.

 

[Priapus]

Enjoy your trip! Just remember to take a recent proof of residence with and also be sure to activate international payments once the account is opened (if you will be making use of Wells Fargo) as this cannot be done online or telephonically after you have left. I know Citi works the same, a friend of mine opened his in New York, also using his SA passport and SA Proof of Residence, but he never said anything about having to activate international payments on his card.

What did you use as proof of address?

 

[Trilkop]

What did you use as proof of address?

My Telkom statement.