American Bank account

[Jump123]

Hi, I am trying to find a way to set up a bank account with an address in the USA. A potential opportunity would require that I have an American Account and an Address. The only problem is that I am based in South Africa. Any suggestions would be massively appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any advice and/or assistance.

 

[anotherone]

I have heard you can open a business account at Jp morgan. YOu need a virtual office based in the USA. There are plenty in delaware. Then, someone has to physically go to the USA to open a bank account. I think a US mobile phone number is required.

 

[Jump123]

anotherone said:
I have heard you can open a business account at Jp morgan. YOu need a virtual office based in the USA. There are plenty in delaware. Then, someone has to physically go to the USA to open a bank account. I think a US mobile phone number is required.
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Hi thanks for your reply, at this stage I am looking for as many options and suggestions as I can get

 

[Mark Rucken]

Your best option is to obtain US phone number and local address. If you can obtain utility bill or rental agreement it would be ideal. When you obtain it, walk in any US bank and see how it goes. Dress fancy and act like you have lots of money 🙂

Chase should be your first choice as I know people who made it following the above-mentioned steps.

 

[Tax Cow]

Note that the US just slashed interest rates. It will get substantially harder to open and maintain US bank accounts as a non-res with an unclear or insufficient connection to the US. Unless you're looking into premium services and higher deposits.

For some of my US corporate accounts, I just received a "friendly" bank letter. They cite risk and lack of US residency as the reason for account closure, but it's not the only (or even the main) reason.

Non-Resident Business Banking: One Question To Increase Your Success

 

[Jump123]

I have spoken to some people who have set up with TransferWise and are using this facility.
Can anybody comment on this?

 

[KJK]

Jump123 said:
I have spoken to some people who have set up with TransferWise and are using this facility.
Can anybody comment on this?
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Should work, with some restrictions. For example Direct Debit is not allowed.

 

[JohnLocke]

I would appreciate if you post back here OP IF you really get a US Bank account setup.

So far we have endless numbers of threads at OffshoreCorpTalk with really good advise on how to set this up. But no evidence that anyone ever got an account.

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[Mark Rucken]

Admin said:
I would appreciate if you post back here OP IF you really get a US Bank account setup.

So far we have endless numbers of threads at OffshoreCorpTalk with really good advise on how to set this up. But no evidence that anyone ever got an account.
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How exactly should one prove they got a US bank account? Should I upload my bank statement? 😀

 

[JohnLocke]

No but you could explain how you get it and who you used etc etc. reading your explanation can most often help and also it would be possible to read if it is real.

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[Mark Rucken]

Admin said:
No but you could explain how you get it and who you used etc etc. reading your explanation can most often help and also it would be possible to read if it is real.
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As I mentioned, I purchased US phone number and obtained rental agreement from a friend, in my name, for card delivery and correspondence with the bank. There are thousands of providers for mail handling, rental of address and US phone number. I got the account a few years ago and it works amazing. I have US payments though.

 

[Jump123]

KJK said:
Should work, with some restrictions. For example Direct Debit is not allowed.
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Morning KGK by Direct Debit I am assuming you mean that you can do a payment into this account? Sorry I am not quite sure what you mean by that.

 

[Jump123]

Admin said:
No but you could explain how you get it and who you used etc etc. reading your explanation can most often help and also it would be possible to read if it is real.
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Morning Admin, I agree with you on this as I have gone through 100's of posts with nothing that gives me a definitive answer on this issue.

 

[Tax Cow]

If you're having issues, look up professional US account opening service providers. Costs start at 2K for account opening assistance. Plenty of choice there, especially in Delaware and Florida. There's absolutely no argument to think or suggest that it's not possible.

Second, why would you want to open an account with a U.S. address as a South African resident? If you're trying to hide from South African gov. with a U.S. address, it's doable, but you'll get in trouble with the IRS if you make the bank believe that you're a U.S. person. They'll treat you as such.

You've outlined what you want to do, but your ultimate goals are still unclear. If you're not hiding anything, your optimal choice is to open a U.S. account with your South African address.

Due to low interest rates (which now hit the U.S.) quality high street banks will become a little pickier, similar to how they've been in Singapore and HK over the last 3 years. For high street banking as a non-U.S. person, look to deposit 100K+ USD, use a bit of FX at their crappy rates, and you'll get your personal account. For anything less, trashy options like TransferWise and Payoneer are available.

 

[Jump123]

xzars said:
If you're having issues, look up professional US account opening service providers. Costs start at 2K for account opening assistance. Plenty of choice there, especially in Delaware and Florida. There's absolutely no argument to think or suggest that it's not possible.

Second, why would you want to open an account with a U.S. address as a South African resident? If you're trying to hide from South African gov. with a U.S. address, it's doable, but you'll get in trouble with the IRS if you make the bank believe you're a U.S. person. You outlined what you want to do, but your ultimate goals are still unclear.

If you're not hiding anything, your optimal choice is to open a U.S. account with your South African address.

Due to low interest rates (which now hit the U.S.) quality high street banks will become a little pickier, similar to how they've been Singapore and HK over the last 3 years. For high street banking as a non-U.S. person, look to deposit 100K+ USD, use a bit of FX at their crappy rates, and you'll get your personal account. For anything less, trashy options like TransferWise and Payoneer are available.
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My biggest challenge is that I don't have a US address or access to one and I am not in the US and not planning on going there anytime soon either especially not while we live in the world of Corona. I am busy trying to work with a US company and build an additional income stream (and a USD income stream on top of that). They require that I have a US bank account so that they can pay me.

 

[Tax Cow]

Given your constraints, look up remote-opening service providers. Upgrade to a proper bank later. Transferwise should be OK for the time being. Or Mercury.co if you work via your own US LLC.

 

[iloveyouguys]

xzars said:
Note that the US just slashed interest rates. It will get substantially harder to open and maintain US bank accounts as a non-res with an unclear or insufficient connection to the US. Unless you're looking into premium services and higher deposits.

For some of my US corporate accounts, I just received a "friendly" bank letter. They cite risk and lack of US residency as the reason for account closure, but it's not the only (or even the main) reason.

Non-Resident Business Banking: One Question To Increase Your Success
Click to expand...

What do you expect to happen next if we relive 2008?

What's a high deposit?

 

[daxbr]

All US banks use postal software to detect convenience addresses now. Even reject address change for exiting accounts.

 

[Mark Rucken]

Jump123 said:
My biggest challenge is that I don't have a US address or access to one and I am not in the US and not planning on going there anytime soon either especially not while we live in the world of Corona. I am busy trying to work with a US company and build an additional income stream (and a USD income stream on top of that). They require that I have a US bank account so that they can pay me.
Click to expand...

If you expect good salary from the US, I think it is worth to invest a few thousand dollars to set things up and right. Travelling to the US is an absolute must, so do not even continue posting in this thread if you do not intend to go to the US physically and open bank account, when Corona is gone, of course 😀

 

[Jump123]

Mark firstly, thank you for your opinion and advice. However, I am going to leave this post running as I think that while your opinion is not only valid and an option I also believe that I am not only the only person who keeps as asking this question and this group provides a platform for different opinions and solutions. If coming to the US was an option for me right now I would have been there right now unfortunately it is not an option for me at the present stage and not just because of the Corona situation.