AUD account for US LLC

[Roo]

Hi,

What options would I have to open an AUD account for a non-resident US LLC (disregarded entity) without in person visit ?

I know Wise and Airwallex should work if they will approve my account but not sure what other options or better options are out there. I would prefer a US based EMI/bank so no CRS.

 

[daniels27]

OFX would work too.

Real banks would not work unless you register with ISIC. An‌ ABN is not sufficient. You can check but this was the regulation 3 years ago.‍ A person visit does not help either.

 

[Sols]

Assuming you have an actual presence in the US (you're a US resident/have a US‌ office), have a legitimate need for AUD/banking in Australia (customers/suppliers in Australia), aren't engaged in‍ anything questionable/high-risk, and plan to make it worth the banks' time, you can try CBA,⁠ ANZ, and Westpac. Have had success with overseas companies with them before.

Converting a few⁤ million AUD to USD/EUR per year is a good way for the bank to be⁣ interested. They prefer it if you set up a branch in Australia or register a⁢ subsidiary but that's not a firm requirement.

But if we're talking about a US LLC︀ owned by a non-resident foreign citizen turning over less than few hundred thousand AUD/year, no︁ bank will probably be interested.

OFX is likely a good suggestion in this case.

Zen has AUD via CurrencyCloud. Might want to look into Worldfirst/ANT, Currenxie, and Statrys as well.︂

 

[daniels27]

They did not ask for any ABN nor ISIC registration? When was that?⁤ Good to know, last time I checked in 2020 they were quite not open to⁣ such endeavour.

 

[Sols]

I'm almost 100% sure ABNs were obtained in each case⁠ since it's required for doing business in Australia and if you're opening an Australian bank⁤ account, you're probably doing business in Australia. IIRC, quite easy to do yourself online or⁣ via an agent.

I'm not sure what ISIC is. Do you mean ASIC? If so,⁢ none of these businesses were in scope for ASIC registration. Have done ASIC registrations but︀ not in combination with opening accounts with CBA, ANZ, or Westpac.

 

[Roo]

@Sols I invoice clients from Australia, have no ABN, don't want an account in the‌ country, would prefer an EMI. Turnover is not millions.

 

[daniels27]

Then OFX. I now mainly use WorldFirst there, but they are Chinese, which is not‌ what you asked for.

 

[Roo]

Thanks, will look into them!

 

[Roo]

I also found Zyla (Home) in case anyone is interested. It's the partner‌ for WorldFirst for the US.

@daniels27 I read around here about issues with banking for‍ US LLCs recently for non-residents. Do you know if it is becoming an issue or⁠ banking is still pretty easy to solve?

 

[daniels27]

Is it their partner or‍ the same company? Looks somewhat similar:

https://zyla.com/cashback-promotion/https://www.worldfirst.com/eu/campaign/splendid-spring-cashback-promo/
https://portal.zyla.com/registerhttps://portal.worldfirst.com/register
I received quite some messages in regards to that. I am not a⁣ service provider and don't do this for income for others. But I am getting the⁢ impression that if Mercury etc. don't like you, you may not fit the risk appetite︀ of other hand either and probably need to show up on person.

On the other︁ hand even for foreign companies it is possible to open accounts if you are from︂ countries with reputation. I probably have to call around again to find the good banks.︃

 

[ilke]

They are both owned by ANT Group (Alibaba, Alipay, Zyla,‌ Worldfirst, ANT Bank, Anext Bank etc.)

 

[Forester]

Just a small amendment:
Currenxie, unfortunately, do not onboard‍ US companies.
Interpolitan Money also worth checking, although non-US.
Well understandable... would you mind sharing what's⁣ your business?
Zyla is OK,︀ the problem is that they do not onboard LLC's from all states (e.g. Nevada is︁ not accepted).

Well, I think it is really︈ a longer story, worth some dedicated thread. I am personally under impression that the situation︉ is really getting worse, especially if you do not have US operations.
Yes, I agree.

 

[Roo]

@Forester I do software development, nothing shady or high risk I would say 🙂

 

[Forester]

Well, personally I agree with you – nevertheless, be advised that software‍ services/development are, unfortunately, in many cases taken as a high, or at least higher, risk⁠ business by financial institutions. Reasons: the product is intangible and it is quite difficult to⁤ check e.g. what are the real costs of the production or what is a real⁣ value of the product... (Tax avoidance links are obvious.)

However, if you do not have⁢ success with getting some local AUD account – I believe you will have – share︀ it here. A certain idea how to evt. bypass it has just appeared in my︁ mind but it's more complicated and unnecessary to discuss now.

Not to forget:
Do you have any personal experience with OFX? I do︃ not but from what I have heard the experiences are mixed (I mean it seriously,︄ not as a understatement for trash 😉 ) ...

 

[daniels27]

You mean real︁ bank without the ASIC registration? Have you had any success recently?

I used them a couple of times. I was good with︄ OFX, but I also did not do any high risk etc. business with them. I︅ normally take those with less fees. May use OFX again sometime. They now also have︆ personal accounts, which is a big advantage.

 

[Forester]

No, I‌ haven't in mind this. Just some possibility how to gain access to a collection AUD‍ account with some bank via EMI. But I really hope that @Roo will solve it⁠ in some straightforward way.
I have not needed it, so have not tried (I mean standard account with some⁣ high-street bank).
OK, thanks for sharing.
I agree at 100%. (There is much less options for personal︂ accounts of such a type than for business ones, so any new option is welcome...)︃