BOA CC w/o SS#

[ead79]

I'm really curious about how BOA is planning to run potential credit card account holders without socials through the OFAC database (Office of Foreign Asset Control--it contains a list of known or suspected terrorists). This was a requirement at a financial company where I used to work, and was pretty much the reason preventing the company from offering their products to those without socials, so I'm curious how they plan to be Patriot Act compliant.

 

[LukenDC]

Hey BOC saw an emerging market and did the capitalist thing.

Exactly. There are 11 million+ undocumented immigrants in the USA and once again our free market economy has evolved to accommodate them. Where there's a market, there's a way.

 

[Disneydreaming6]

BOA isn't giving cc to illegal immigrants. when a legal resident alien comes into the country , they don't have a ss#. they have to wait til they are here, then apply for one. But until they do receive their new ss# they can apply for jobs, bank accounts, including cc. with what they are given until a ss# is assigned and that is a tax id #. It is on their passports, registered with the consulate etc. When they receive the number, they have to give it to the banking ctr. so it can be added to their file. That is how they are getting accounts without having a ss#.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My original point was not a legal v. illegal customer issue, it was that BOA could subject itself to a claim of discrimination if they require some customers to provide SSN/credit report, while others have absolutely nothing but a simple card readily purchased from a consulate with very little documentation required. Remember how banks were sued (and rightfully so) for making loans more difficult for some (based on race, etc.) than others? This would be akin to that.

Today everyone (if a US citizen, no matter what your age) has a SSN to open an account; those days of being a child and opening one under a parent's SSN have been over for years, basically because kids must have a SSN to be a deduction on their parents' tax return. My point was not the legal status of the individual (although National origin is one of the Title VII bases of Discrimination); it was the difference in providing a service to those without a SSN or credit report, but at the same time requiring those same articles of identification from others. An unsecured cc is not automatically provided all customers; thus, unless BOA makes that same process available to everyone, there is a problem.

That was what I wondered about: how was BOA going to "fix" an apparent discrepancy in services based on discriminatory criteria?

Sharon

An illegal immigrant is not an Amercian Citizen. So an American Citizen would not win an "anti-discrimination" anything b/c legally an AMERICAN citizen MUST have a SSN per the Patriot Act. A Non-American would produce whatever documentation they have and it would vary from person to person.

It isn't discriminatory at all b/c nothing has really changed.


Did you read the requirements for non-citizens?

Because there is no uniform identification number that non-U.S. persons are able to provide to a bank, a bank has the option to obtain a variety of identification numbers from non-U.S. persons, including passport numbers and country of issuance and alien identification numbers. A bank must decide for itself, based upon appropriate risk factors, whether the information presented by the customer enables the bank to establish a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of the customer.

I still don't understand the validity of your statements when nothing has changed other than making a particular CC easier to obtain.

I think it is much ado about nothing.....

And just as an illegal could feasibly use false documentation in order to get an account....so too can an American Citizen.

 

[claudia]

they require a tax ID number in lieu of a SS#. The person wanting the credit would have to go to the IRS and file for this number. No one can be denied credit because of being an illegal alien, but the bank could deny credit if they decided the person was not credit worthy.

 

[mill4023]

I'm really curious about how BOA is planning to run potential credit card account holders without socials through the OFAC database (Office of Foreign Asset Control--it contains a list of known or suspected terrorists). This was a requirement at a financial company where I used to work, and was pretty much the reason preventing the company from offering their products to those without socials, so I'm curious how they plan to be Patriot Act compliant.

Most of the listings in OFAC only contain a name, address, and sometimes date of birth. So wouldn't you just be searching by name? I haven't seen SSN's in there.

The big news story here isn't about the checking accounts, it's about the credit cards. Typically, you must have a ssn to get a credit card. That is how your history is tracked by the credit reporting agencies. BofA's decision to provide credit cards (not debit) to people without SSN's is clearly aimed at the illegal immigrant population, regardless of what their official statement is. I think people are upset because they don't think a company should be providing services to criminals. People are also upset because they think it is unfair that when they want to get a credit card, they have to prove that they are credit-worthy by providing an SSN and allowing the lender to check their credit history, while illegals will now be able to get credit cards without any evidence of credit worthiness.

 

[DancingBear]

People are also upset because they think it is unfair that when they want to get a credit card, they have to prove that they are credit-worthy by providing an SSN and allowing the lender to check their credit history, while illegals will now be able to get credit cards without any evidence of credit worthiness.

How is this true? Isn't the product available to everyone? Chances are those that are upset wouldn't want this product, which likely has a low maximum balance, high fees and interest rates, and maybe requires a minimum checking account balance.

 

[mill4023]

How is this true? Isn't the product available to everyone? Chances are those that are upset wouldn't want this product, which likely has a low maximum balance, high fees and interest rates, and maybe requires a minimum checking account balance.

That depends on whether or not people who have a SSN will be required to provide it. If anyone can just walk in and get a card without providing a SSN, then you are right. I had assumed, but could be wrong, that people with a SSN would have to provide it. If that is the case, it means that legal us citizens will have to provide proof of their credit worthiness, while illegals will not.

 

[brerrabbit]

Double Post Sorry!

 

[brerrabbit]

Without looking into the details of this or any other rules about it the issue seems two fold really. First since the US taxes everyone in the country on earnings you have to have a tax identification number. For most of us that simply is your SSN. If you have no SSN as is the case with Aliens in the country then they want a government issued tax id. This is just so they make sure they get whatever taxes are due from you. The second issue boils down to "are you credit worthy?" This one is the banks problem, and for the most part the way financial institutes track that is through your unique identifier which in the US is your SSN. Now if the bank is satisfied as to your earnings and net worth without a SSN to check your credit history against then fine they can give you a CC. As far as what the laws require I know that a SSN is not required for a foriegner in the US to open a bank account. I know this because I work with a lot of them and they have accounts, credit cards, IRS's, checking accounts etc.