Opening a US bank account and transferring savings

[Wahid Younis 5]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm going to be moving to NYC towards the end of May/beginning of June and I would like to transfer some of my savings before I depart. What's the best way to go about this? Can I open a US bank account with an SSN? What's the most cost effective way of transferring my money to minimise any fees etc?

 

Thanks for you help

[Mike E 11,727]

19 minutes ago, Wahid Younis said:

Hi everyone,

 

I'm going to be moving to NYC towards the end of May/beginning of June and I would like to transfer some of my savings before I depart. What's the best way to go about this? Can I open a US bank account with an SSN? What's the most cost effective way of transferring my money to minimise any fees etc?

 

Thanks for you help

IME, you will not be able to open a US bank account unless:

 

* you are physically present in the U.S. 

 

* you have an unexpired I-94 or I-551. Not all banks will accept an I-94 though. Wells Fargo will IME.

 

* you apply in person

 

Some banks will require an SSN.

 

I do not see how you can transfer ahead of time. You can ask for a U.S. dollar bank draft from your bank. While this will work, note:

 

* if you lose the bank draft, it can be impossible to replace

 

* if it exceeds $10,000 USD, it must be declared to CBP. And possibly to UK border force.

 

Instead see if your UK bank account supports international online transfers. My Canadian bank does. 
 

Or if you have a personal banker assigned to you, ask the banker if wire transfer orders by phone are possible.

 

Also ask if you can change your address on your UK bank account to your U.S. address as well as the mobile number used for 2FA.

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Mike E

[davidvs 320]

Wire the money into your wife's bank account.

[Adventine 3,187]

I recommend opening a multi-currency account with Wise.com (used to be TransferWise). You can open a USD + GBP + other major currency account while you're still in the UK. 

[Timona 3,970]

If it's less then an the limit, just carry it. Or even if it is more. 

 

There's a VJer here with ties to the Philippines who's said he has carried above limit couple of times and had no issue at customs. I don't remember his name

Edited April 7, 2023 by Timona

[TBoneTX 43,426]

4 hours ago, Timona said:

even if it is more

Be sure to declare it, in this case.

[RLA 323]

5 hours ago, Adventine said:

I recommend opening a multi-currency account with Wise.com (used to be TransferWise). You can open a USD + GBP + other major currency account while you're still in the UK. 

Another vote for wise.com.  Their fees are pretty low, certainly lower than many regular banks'.

[Wahid Younis 5]

Thanks everyone. This has been very helpful. I called my bank today and they said I can do the international transfer using the mobile banking app and it only costs £5. I'm going to transfer it to my wife's account for the time being, until I get my own account.

[W199 265]

5 hours ago, Wahid Younis said:

Thanks everyone. This has been very helpful. I called my bank today and they said I can do the international transfer using the mobile banking app and it only costs £5. I'm going to transfer it to my wife's account for the time being, until I get my own account.

Then most likely a $15-$50 USD fee that the bank will charge your wife upon receiving an international wire transfer.  But this will be waived if she has a premium account at some bank.s

[W199 265]

13 hours ago, Mike E said:

IME, you will not be able to open a US bank account unless:

 

* you are physically present in the U.S. 

 

* you have an unexpired I-94 or I-551. Not all banks will accept an I-94 though. Wells Fargo will IME.

 

* you apply in person

 

Some banks will require an SSN.

 

I do not see how you can transfer ahead of time. You can ask for a U.S. dollar bank draft from your bank. While this will work, note:

 

* if you lose the bank draft, it can be impossible to replace

 

* if it exceeds $10,000 USD, it must be declared to CBP. And possibly to UK border force.

 

Instead see if your UK bank account supports international online transfers. My Canadian bank does. 
 

Or if you have a personal banker assigned to you, ask the banker if wire transfer orders by phone are possible.

 

Also ask if you can change your address on your UK bank account to your U.S. address as well as the mobile number used for 2FA.

 

 

I am not sure if this is really correct.  I am in USA and opened a HSBC premier account in the USA.  They then opened me a HSBC bank account in the Philippines for free while I was in the USA. This allows me to transfer money back and forth to the Philippines literally instantly and for free as well get a personal banker in the Philippines. I can then easily transfer money from the Philippines to my fiancee's local bank account for free and quickly with a better foreign currency exchange rate then xoom, remity, etc... This is a nice luxury when I do travel there too.  They also have multi-currency accounts..

 

They then also said my Fiancee in the Philippines can open a non-resident USA bank account while she is still in the Philippines. They said she can can do it with zoom, without even leaving her house in the Philippines if she uses the hsbc international office. Another method would be to have the local HSBC bank do it for her but that takes longer. I'm pretty sure they know what they were talking about since it was there international banking division' experts.  Check this link, https://www.us.hsbc.com/international-banking/moving-to-america/  They specialize in getting you set up in USA before you arrive.  

 

Or even if you didn't set up your HSBC account in the USA before you left home, you can just do it when you arrive with an ITIN or SSN.  Then you can link it to your global HSBC and do instant transfers back and forth for free.   

 

Only thing to note, they made a recent change is that you must be premier member to do this now. And that requires a  total of $75K in assets, But most people just open an HSBC brokerage account to keep that money, so the cash doesn't sit in the account. If you don't have that much, year there are many easier ways to deal with it.  Note, if you do carry cash over $10K, you not only have to declare it but need prove the source such as your bank statements where you withdrew it. 

Edited April 8, 2023 by W199
typos

[Mike E 11,727]

1 hour ago, W199 said:

I am not sure if this is really correct

I tried Wells, BofA, Discover, and Ally to open a bank account for my wife online and all refused because she did not have a green card.

 

Did not try hsbc.

This is what hsbc’s web site tells me:

 

https://www.us.hsbc.com/checking-accounts/products/premier/#get-started

 

How to apply

 

If you have lived in the U.S. for at least one year

What you need to apply online:

• You must be 18 years of age and have a Social Security Number
• U.S. mobile number
• Current U.S. residential address and lived in the U.S. for more than one year
   

 

Good luck with that. I am out.

Edited April 8, 2023 by Mike E

[W199 265]

7 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I tried Wells, BofA, Discover, and Ally to open a bank account for my wife online and all refused because she did not have a green card.

 

Did not try hsbc.

This is what hsbc’s web site tells me:

 

https://www.us.hsbc.com/checking-accounts/products/premier/#get-started

 

How to apply

 

If you have lived in the U.S. for at least one year

What you need to apply online:

• You must be 18 years of age and have a Social Security Number
• U.S. mobile number
• Current U.S. residential address and lived in the U.S. for more than one year
   

 

Good luck with that. I am out.

Those other banks you listed won't do it because they are not international banks.

 

The HSBC link you posted is the wrong link. That is for the HSBC USA for a resident bank account.  You need to use HSBC international department. They are the ones that will open a non-resident USA bank account.  I have talk to the latter on the phone, my personal banker, and I have used them myself to open foreign non-resident bank accounts. I am not just guessing based on a link I found.

 

And this was the link I had posted. Did you even check it?  https://www.us.hsbc.com/international-banking/moving-to-america/

 

But to clarify. the international cross-border banking rules are very restrictive.  I am not saying that you can do this from the UK.  But I know someone from the Philippines is able to open up a non-resident USA bank account while they are still in the Philippines.  Their website seems to imply this might not apply for the European Union.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by W199

[Hohverdgguu 6]

The HSBC option works from the UK - I did it just last week

[Thunderbolt 163]

4 hours ago, Hohverdgguu said:

The HSBC option works from the UK - I did it just last week

I just looked at the map and I see only 2 of the branches left around DC area. I would think twice before opening account in this Chinese bank. 

They had big big problems in the past. Not only in US but around the world. 

[Adventine 3,187]

1 hour ago, Thunderbolt said:

I just looked at the map and I see only 2 of the branches left around DC area. I would think twice before opening account in this Chinese bank. 

They had big big problems in the past. Not only in US but around the world. 

Dude. HSBC's headquarters is in the UK. The main holding company is also incorporated there. Source: https://www.hsbc.com/investors/investing-in-hsbc/group-structure

 

It's called HSBC because it started in Hong Kong. But it was founded by a Scotsman: https://www.hsbc.com/who-we-are/our-history/history-timeline

 

Just because it's got that name, don't assume it's a Chinese bank.

 

***

 

Back on topic, I'm another of those people who was able to open a US bank account without being physically present in the US. No SSN or ITIN at the time, either. But it was because my fiance had a good relationship with his personal banker at his regional bank. I communicated with the banker through secure mail and opened the bank account remotely.