Opening an American Bank Account?

[Astrid]

Not sure whether anyone on here can help me but I thought I'd make this my first stop!

I shortly hope to be receiving a cheque which will be in US$ and, taking into consideration my trips to the US, I was toying with the idea of opening up an American Bank account with the money.

However, I would prefer to get this done before I go out there at the end of May and wondered if anyone had any pointers on where to start!

I've done some searching on the internet but haven't come up with a great deal to help. I could easily go to the London branch of an American bank to open the account but don't even know which banks are around the Orlando/WDW area for access to the money whilst I was out there.

Can anyone help in any way, shape or form?

Thanks!

Astrid

 

[Janice]

Hi Astrid

I just typed in Banks/Kissimmee to the SmartPages and it brought up 45 banks in Osceola area.

Would it be worthwhile picking a couple out and emailing them?

Perhaps one of our Resident American visitors can help?

Or Vernon??

 

[Olaf]

I bank at Bank of America. It think it's one of the biggest. I know I can always find an ATM for them. I think it's:

www.bankofamerica.com

 

[Olaf]

I just thought of something. You order Disney checks for them.

 

[Enright78]

I have a feeling that you need proof of a US address and utility bills before you can do this?? I may be wrong, I am sure someone will come along soon to correct me!

 

[Astrid]

Thanks Steph and everyone !

I've found the Bank of America in London and will give them a call.


Astrid x

 

[athurstance]

You can easily open an account in the US - you will need your passport but the main problem is they don't seem to have the same 'free banking' we do. So a US account will charge you a monthly fee - we have one with Suntrust which only charges us if the balance is below $1000 in any month which works ok.
You can have whatever design of checks you like - you don't have to order them from the particular bank there are lots of companies who print them.

Angela

 

[Olaf]

Angela's right. Most US banks require a minimum deposit on hand at all times, else they charge you a service fee.

I get my Disney checks from:

www.checksunlimited.com

 

[psharrock]

Hi Astrid

I have a US bank account with www.thebancorp.com

You need a minimum of $500 in the account at all times otherwise there is an approx $5 monthly service fee. You get a cheque book and a mastercard debit card.

Everything is accessed online so its straight forward.

Its easy to setup monthly debits from the account if required.

I now use the debit card to buy anything sold in dollars and transfer money to account using www.xe.com

Hope this helps

Paul

 

[athurstance]

Most high street banks will do a straightforward transfer from UK bank account to a US bank account over the telephone. For larger transfers it is worth looking out for a good commercial rate.

 

[Astrid]

Thanks everyone for all the advice.

I contacted Bank of America in the City and that was a non-starter as I can't set anything up here, I would have to do it in the States unless it's a business account. However, they gave me the number of Citibank who I then contacted.

Citibank said yes no problem but I would need to earn over 30k per year and pay my salary into the account - er, no, that's no good either!!

Next stop Barclays, who said I can open up a Dollar account by just going into my local branch. They will let me have a cheque book (but no cards) and also the facility to take out cash and travellers cheques. I'm heading down there tomorrow to see about all the fees etc - I'll keep you posted!

Astrid

 

[richard3330]

Hi Astrid,

We also have a US bank account with The Bank Corp.

They are extremely helpful and we have never had any problems with them at all, whenever we have a query we just phone them up and they are more than happy to help.

Like Paul said it is really easy to setup monthly debits from the account.

If you want to contact them there is a telephone number (U.S) on their website or you can e-mail them: info@TheBancorp.com#

They also offer rebates on ATM charges.

HTH

Richard.

 

[Mskanga]

OK now I'm really confused. How can someone open a US bank account without a social security number? I remember years ago that was a requirement for me to open an checking account , without it you can't basically do anything. Did they change this? I know you can open a savings account without a problem but a checking? I don't know.

 

[psharrock]

They asked for my passport number and a copy of it to prove who I was

Paul

 

[Music Mole]

Not sure if this would be helpful (I lurk here in the UK Forums beacuse my husband is British, but am usually too shy to post)

anyway, Bank of America is currently running commercials about their accounts being completely free (as compared to their competitors). You might check out the Bank of America website that is aimed at US residents for more details. Good Luck! Hopefully something will work out so you can depsit your US funds and access them in the US without having to pay currency exchange fees.