Opening a US bank account

[godspeed1208]

Hi there everyone, i need to open up a US bank account in the United States. Does anyone know how i could do so or which bank i could open one with ?

Also without going to the United States personally... So far i could not find any info regarding this. If anyone here could advise me... i'll appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[dante-z]

Some local banks have USD account , does that help ?

 

[godspeed1208]

Some local banks have USD account , does that help ?

Hi , what you mention is the bank is still based in singapore only thing is it's in USD currency. I'm looking for a way to open up a bank account in the United States..

 

[icyfirey]

You have to be there in person if you want to do it. No one can do it on your behalf because you'd need to have a valid US address, and an ID card. To verify that you have a US address, most banks would require 2 copies of bills with your name and address on it.

 

[dante-z]

Hi , what you mention is the bank is still based in singapore only thing is it's in USD currency. I'm looking for a way to open up a bank account in the United States..

oh OK , i thought you need a USD account only.

 

[Shiny Things]

Hi , what you mention is the bank is still based in singapore only thing is it's in USD currency. I'm looking for a way to open up a bank account in the United States..

Probably not possible unfortunately. The only thing that might be able to get you close is Citibank IFS; if you're a serious heavy-hitter (I'm talking private-bank-customer grade) then they might be able to sort you out with a US-domiciled account.

Seriously, though - if you want a US bank account, just hop on a plane to San Francisco! The Chase branch at 101 Montgomery sorted me out in about an hour, and all they needed was a passport and two Singaporean utility bills (I used my SP Services bill and a Starhub bill) - you don't need a US address at all. A buddy of mine used some random Chase branch out in the suburbs and they were just as quick. Literally - just rock into any Chase branch in downtown San Francisco and you'll be in and out in under an hour with a US bank account.

If you end up doing this - or, for anyone else who stumbles across this thread - you want to go with Chase. Bank of America is awful; Citibank is meh; and Wells Fargo is good but Chase is better.

First Republic Bank is quite good as well (and they refund your ATM fees anywhere in the world, so you can use your First Republic ATM card in Singapore without running up any fees), but they don't have much presence outside the Bay Area.

 

[godspeed1208]

Thanks for all the tips and advice.. looks like i don't have other choice but to head down to the US...

 

[FP_IFA]

Thanks for all the tips and advice.. looks like i don't have other choice but to head down to the US...

Maybe if you can tell us why you need to open a US bank account, people here might give you better suggestion.

 

[dowzkeh]

Maybe if you can tell us why you need to open a US bank account, people here might give you better suggestion.

I have also been trying to open a US bank account, unfortunately i didn't have much success as well.

For me, i have a fully paid up apartment in Florida, and i am looking to re-finance. Unfortunately, banks in Singapore don't seem to keen to let me mortgage that US apartment.

 

[Slowdown]

To TS.

You may want to do some research on which bank you want to open the account with before you hop onto the plane.

I wanted to open an account two years back and my preference was to be with Citibank. Unfortunately they required a minimum balance of 1500usd to be maintained on a monthly basis. In the end I opened an account with Wells Fargo which only needed 500usd.

I wanted a US Bank account so that I can get a debit card to pay for gas at the gas station. Automated self-service counter save a lot of time especially when we go to the pump station late at night with minimum staff.

I am now exploring to create new paypal account that is linked to my US bank account so that I don't incur exchange rate when I pay USD transaction.

Having an USD account in the US is quite useful actually.

Probably not possible unfortunately. The only thing that might be able to get you close is Citibank IFS; if you're a serious heavy-hitter (I'm talking private-bank-customer grade) then they might be able to sort you out with a US-domiciled account.

Seriously, though - if you want a US bank account, just hop on a plane to San Francisco! The Chase branch at 101 Montgomery sorted me out in about an hour, and all they needed was a passport and two Singaporean utility bills (I used my SP Services bill and a Starhub bill) - you don't need a US address at all. A buddy of mine used some random Chase branch out in the suburbs and they were just as quick. Literally - just rock into any Chase branch in downtown San Francisco and you'll be in and out in under an hour with a US bank account.

If you end up doing this - or, for anyone else who stumbles across this thread - you want to go with Chase. Bank of America is awful; Citibank is meh; and Wells Fargo is good but Chase is better.

First Republic Bank is quite good as well (and they refund your ATM fees anywhere in the world, so you can use your First Republic ATM card in Singapore without running up any fees), but they don't have much presence outside the Bay Area.

 

[zoossh]

I am now exploring to create new paypal account that is linked to my US bank account so that I don't incur exchange rate when I pay USD transaction.

Having an USD account in the US is quite useful actually.

but when u convert sgd to usd and wiring it from sg to usa, there will be cost involved. is it worth it versus the forex fee of 2.5-3.5%?

 

[epigram]

Probably not possible unfortunately. The only thing that might be able to get you close is Citibank IFS; if you're a serious heavy-hitter (I'm talking private-bank-customer grade) then they might be able to sort you out with a US-domiciled account.

Seriously, though - if you want a US bank account, just hop on a plane to San Francisco! The Chase branch at 101 Montgomery sorted me out in about an hour, and all they needed was a passport and two Singaporean utility bills (I used my SP Services bill and a Starhub bill) - you don't need a US address at all. A buddy of mine used some random Chase branch out in the suburbs and they were just as quick. Literally - just rock into any Chase branch in downtown San Francisco and you'll be in and out in under an hour with a US bank account.

If you end up doing this - or, for anyone else who stumbles across this thread - you want to go with Chase. Bank of America is awful; Citibank is meh; and Wells Fargo is good but Chase is better.

First Republic Bank is quite good as well (and they refund your ATM fees anywhere in the world, so you can use your First Republic ATM card in Singapore without running up any fees), but they don't have much presence outside the Bay Area.

THUMBS UP for a great reply. What is the minimum deposit required for Chase?

 

[zuoom]

What's the main reason for a U.S. Account?

 

[epigram]

Us debit card for geo restricted sites

 

[Shiny Things]

THUMBS UP for a great reply. What is the minimum deposit required for Chase?

$25 to open it, $1500 to get a waiver on the monthly fee. It's all right here.

 

[godspeed1208]

I need a online merchant account to accept payments from credit cards .. so most of them require that i have a US bank account for them to send me payments etc.. and there are other other options but more expensive. So that's my reason to try get a US bank account.

P.s : i have problem taking planes due to long travelling hours as well...

 

[goldsilvercity]

I need a online merchant account to accept payments from credit cards .. so most of them require that i have a US bank account for them to send me payments etc.. and there are other other options but more expensive. So that's my reason to try get a US bank account.

P.s : i have problem taking planes due to long travelling hours as well...

Is it to open an Amazon account to sell goods to americans?

 

[godspeed1208]

Is it to open an Amazon account to sell goods to americans?

Hi no it's for my own website to accept online payment from credit cards and i need a US bank account to apply for a particular merchant account...

 

[zoossh]

is it a good idea to maintain a 1.5k usd account with citibank usa and get a usa citibank debit card to pay for usd online deals? once in a while when usd drops in price, buy usd from citibank sg at a price lower than moneychanger, free wiretransfer from citibank sg usd account to citibank usa account, then slowly use it to pay the debit card?

i'm in usa now but had no ssn. maybe can try opening an account with cash at new york.

 

[jchua010]

is it a good idea to maintain a 1.5k usd account with citibank usa and get a usa citibank debit card to pay for usd online deals? once in a while when usd drops in price, buy usd from citibank sg at a price lower than moneychanger, free wiretransfer from citibank sg usd account to citibank usa account, then slowly use it to pay the debit card?

i'm in usa now but had no ssn. maybe can try opening an account with cash at new york.

Yes it sounds feasible but as for whether is worth it, you need to compare the exact % of admin / forex / e.t.c. charges of citibank but it's good if there's huge fluctuations in the USD - SGD currencies and you capitalize on that.