Getting a US bank account for online business

[wendywen]

People who earn from internet and receive large payments will tell you that how important is to have a US bank account to facilitate money flow. Nowadays, there's a lot of sites that pay using checks, so getting a US bank account is probably a good idea since I can save a lot on deductions.

Any good recommendation on how to get a US bank account for non-citizen and which bank provide that kind of service?

[pendelton]

Banking laws have become very very strict in the US, most banks require a lot of information from a person, and even more from a business, to open any kind of account. It is also very risky for any person or business to have an account with anyone off shore having access, or even knowing too much about it, as it can cause major problems. The off shore person can make a huge withdrawal for tens of thousands of dollars leaving the person, or business, in the US holding the bag.
Imagine getting a letter from the bank stating you are overdrawn $20,000.00. There could be jail time for that kind of thing.

[Fergal]

Wendy have you considered the possibility of getting a US Dollar bank account in your own country?

[wormy]

It depends on which country you are in. Go to a big international bank like Citi or HSBC and talk to a banker and ask him your options. One way you could facilitate the opening of a business account in the US is to quite simply become a business in the US. Just create a Nevada or Delaware LLC and then open a US based account with Chase, HSBC or Citi etc as a business. This way you have an extra layer of protection with the company as well as a chance to establish lines of credit as a foreign registered corporation too.

The main reason the banks are strict with opening new accounts is because of money-laundering regulations in their respective countries but if you can provide positive ID in the form of a passport or other government issued ID then you can easily get started. International commerce is expanding every year and the US is the largest economy in the world as well as the world's largest trader. It cannot do this by boycotting the financial system of the rest of the world, think about that.

Start at your local branches of large international banks, you may be surprised to find that you don't even need a US based account for absolutely every transaction if you can also establish accounts at companies like paypal, moneybookers, e-gold etc.

[crystalbrite]

I think there are numerous information floating around saying that Etrade financial allows account opening for non US. I'm not sure in details how it works out but you could google around for more help. It is something like a brokerage account or some sort.

[wendywen]

Thanks for the positive response. For your information, I contacted a lot of US banks and all of them requires that you have to be in person in US to open that account so this is not one of the option that I can fulfill. I'm looking a for US bank so that my paypal earnings from ebay can be withdrawn to the US bank account.

I think the suggestion on Etrade financial is one of the solution but I prefer having checking account instead of a brokerage account. I've heard of it but not yet try. I'll look into this one.