Opening an online bank account in the US (foreigner from abroad)

M

marsman

Hi,
as we all know, foreigners can open a broker account in the US. And that is a good thing I find, thx US.

Is it possible to also open a normal online bank account the same way?

Reason is for saving fees. Ie. then these foreigners could use the automatic ACH method used between the banks and brokerages in the US to transfer money to/from these accounts inside the US without any costs (as I understand it, I don't have any experience yet with ACH), because otherwise an international wire-transfer is IMO a relatively costly matter ($20 to $30 fee).

Anybody can recommend a normal online US bank for this purpose for foreigners in other countries?
 
marsman said:
Hi,
as we all know, foreigners can open a broker account in the US. And that is a good thing I find, thx US.

Is it possible to also open a normal online bank account the same way?

Reason is for saving fees. Ie. then these foreigners could use the automatic ACH method used between the banks and brokerages in the US to transfer money to/from these accounts inside the US without any costs (as I understand it, I don't have any experience yet with ACH), because otherwise an international wire-transfer is IMO a relatively costly matter ($20 to $30 fee).

Anybody can recommend a normal online US bank for this purpose for foreigners in other countries?
More...
The easiest way to do this is to find a bank with operations in your country and the U.S. and talk to their high-end private banking group. If you just try to open an account with a random online bank they're going to choke on the "know your customer" part where you have to provide them ID. Unless you have a U.S. driver's license or passport, their automated risk mgt system is going to reject you and the type of people they have for compliance officers aren't going to take a risk on you.
 
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