Setting up a US bank account from the UK...

October 10, 2005 1:14 PM

I need help in setting up a US bank account from the UK.

I currently get all of my money for my website through my UK bank account. This is becoming a real problem because it should all really be organised in the US, as I have actually registered the company there.

The problem is that I do not have a bank account in the US to associate with my US company. I would really like to make this all organised so that nothing looks out of place for both UK inland revenue and the IRS (at the moment there are no issues as it is all in the UK).

Does anyone know of companies that can setup bank accounts and the like? It is really important to me because I do not like having PayPal (and other payment companies) double charge me when I have to convert USD->GBP and then convert back if I send people USD checks and the like.

posted by viiviiviivii to Work & Money (11 answers total)

What nationality are you? Will probably make a difference to the answer.

I think the rules probably changed for furriners since 11 Sept. I went to open another savings account last year with my bank, and before they'd even talk with me they wanted passport, social security card, proof of employment blah blah despite the fact I've lived and worked in the US for seven years and banked with them the same amount of time.
posted by jamesonandwater at 1:55 PM on October 10, 2005

Best answer: You can open a separate US dollar account with Citibank in the UK.
posted by forallmankind at 1:59 PM on October 10, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks for your reply jamesonandwater.

Well, actually to complicate matters further, I am an Aussie, stuck in Pommie land. But, I would hope that wouldn't matter.

Thanks forallmankind, I will follow that one up!
posted by viiviiviivii at 2:04 PM on October 10, 2005

Being Australian doesn't matter. Being from Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the UNITA faction in Angola, Syria and Burma (Myanmar), would, though. (I've seen some online US bank places refuse Canadians, tho'.)

Technically, all the bank should need is a photocopy of your passport. They have to hold this on file. Then they'll run your name against The Big List Of Names The USA Doesn't Like. If they don't get a match, there's not really much they can do to refuse you an account.
posted by scruss at 2:14 PM on October 10, 2005

The problem with opening a US dollar account with a UK bank is that it doesn't work as seamlessly as one would hope -- or, at least, it didn't for me. My company in the UK opened a US$ account with Barclays, and I brought a reasonably sizeable cheque (or check) with me to fund a US bank account when I started a US subsidiary over here. The account was with CalFed, which has since been taken over by Citibank. I paid in the check, but was told that it would take *four weeks* or more for the funds to be credited, since it was not a check drawn on a US bank (despite the fact that Barclays has branches in the US). I ended up just using a bank transfer to move the money from the UK to the US -- takes two days or less. So, although that doesn't really help in terms of the original question, I'd caution against assuming that a US$ account with a UK bank will be a great solution.

You say, though, that you have registered a US company. If this is a corporation, I wouldn't have thought you'd have too much trouble opening a US bank account for the corporation; if you incorporated through an attorney, they should be able to set it up for you. (My immigration attorney opened my corporate bank account for me as part of setting up the US subsidiary, before I moved over. All that was required was my signature as a director of the company.)
posted by littleme at 2:19 PM on October 10, 2005

Second Citibank, if you're prepared to use it for your UK banking as well. It's pretty much seamless.
posted by holgate at 4:00 PM on October 10, 2005

As a Brit living in the US, let me tell you that it has all changed as a result of the Patriot Act. They will now require an interview not only with you but with someone who knows you and knows that you are not a terrorist. They have to do this by law and they pass it on to Homeland Security. I would go with a dollar account with a British bank. Most of the major banks can do that in the UK.
posted by TheRaven at 5:45 PM on October 10, 2005

To second Raven and others (as another Brit alien in the US) banks will want your US social security number or tax id. So you need to get those before trying for an account. You can probably get a deposit account ok.

Of course, if you're rich then there's usually no problem at all, just bring _plenty_ of money (if it's over $10,000 --and if it isn't ten times that it's not 'rich'-- then you must report it to the taxman.) And there's always the question: can you get it out again?
posted by anadem at 9:12 PM on October 10, 2005

Valis Savings (www.valissavings.com) used to handle setting up US accounts for foreigners. They set up two for me, which were very convenient for me when I wanted to pay in small cheques drawn on US bank accounts. The Patriot Act and US Homeland security has forced these banks to close accounts like the ones that Valis set up for me.

I know that it is fairly easy to get USD accounts with UK banks, but I presume that these are not part of the US clearing system (do not have ABA routing numbers etc.) and therefore are pretty useless for doing small US transactions with customers who are based in the US.

It is possible to open a securities trading account with someone like ETrade. This offers a lot of the facilities of a US checking account, but not all I think. Valis was happy to act as agent to do this, but after having to supply certified copies of my passport and lots of other docco twice I decided that it wasn't worth it and now simply endorse the checks and post them to a friend who is based in the US.

The other problem is that PayPal severed the link between my US checking account and my PayPal account, presumably also because of this wretched Patriot Act. You may want to watch out for this, because obviously having to move receipts to your PayPal account to your USD account via a GBP account is going to be fairly painful in terms of the fees and exchange rate losses.
posted by stevehem at 11:57 PM on October 10, 2005

I did some research a little while ago about the hoops one now has to jump through to get a US account if you're not a US resident. It might make things easier if you set up a Delaware LLC and follow these guidelines. Note that the LLC is considered a "Domestic Entity" and you would be the owner without an SSN.

Thanks to the Patriot Act, the paperwork is now massive. I suspect it's now almost impossible to get a bank account as an individual non-resident alien.
posted by lowlife at 5:42 AM on October 11, 2005

Open an HSBC UK account. Then it will be really easy to open an HSBC US account over the web.
posted by grouse at 11:03 AM on October 11, 2005