Opening a US bank account and transferring savings

[W199 333]

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. 

This is because they have decided to largely exit the US banking market except for their Premier and brokerage customers.  This is actually a very good sign that they are cleaning up their non-profitable business units. With my personal banker, secure email,, fedex, I have only needed to go into a local branch one time when I wanted them to open up my foreign non-resident bank account,. Some of the biggest and most famous US banks and investment companies have had some of the biggest scandals ever too.  In anycase, just make sure, for any bank, that you keep any cash assets under the max government insurance limits. In some countries, that is surprisingly a small amount, 

Edited April 8, 2023 by W199

[W199 333]

5 hours ago, Hohverdgguu said:

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

Thanks for confirming! 

[Wahid Younis 5]

18 hours ago, W199 said:

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. 

This is great. I'll do this instead. I actually bank with HSBC anyway and also have a premier account with them, so this should work out. Thank you!

[Thunderbolt 172]

What's the S stands for then? 

They left US because they were in business of money laundering. Paid penalties in billions of dollars and people stopped using them here.

The only thing for them linking them with UK is that they have office there. You've got lots to learn.  

[TBoneTX 45,273]

A post violating the Terms of Service has been removed.

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VJ Moderation

[W199 333]

2 hours ago, Thunderbolt said:

What's the S stands for then? 

They left US because they were in business of money laundering. Paid penalties in billions of dollars and people stopped using them here.

The only thing for them linking them with UK is that they have office there. You've got lots to learn.  

LOL ... There is too much rhetortic out there.   They are still in USA, they are just focusing on their international customers and premier customers which is what HSBC specializes in.  Not the nickel and dime money losing ones. Their UK branch is far more than some offices. In fact their UK division just bought and bailed out the UK arm of the failed SVB bank. For comparison,    Bank of America paid a  22 Billion file, much more than the 1.2 Billion file of HSBC, and its still one of the most popular banks in USA.

 

I used HSBC quite a bit, and I can persionally confirm it has the strictest compliance and security measures I've seen, admittedly due to all the cleanup that  is being done for their past compliance failures. But that is gone now. 

 

[W199 333]

3 hours ago, Wahid Younis said:

This is great. I'll do this instead. I actually bank with HSBC anyway and also have a premier account with them, so this should work out. Thank you!

I'm glad my info was useful to you.  HSBC also gives free premier status to any of your international bank accounts as long as just one of them is premier.  In addition, anyone in your household gets free premier status.   Various other nice perks too. 

[Wahid Younis 5]

Hi, does anyone know if the IRS tax the money that's transferred from a UK bank account to a US bank account? Or is it covered under the US UK double taxation treaty?

[Chancy 6,241]

2 hours ago, Wahid Younis said:

does anyone know if the IRS tax the money that's transferred from a UK bank account to a US bank account?

 

No US tax for money transfers.  But the banks/companies involved may charge service fees.

 

[W199 333]

On 4/11/2023 at 7:22 AM, Wahid Younis said:

Hi, does anyone know if the IRS tax the money that's transferred from a UK bank account to a US bank account? Or is it covered under the US UK double taxation treaty?

You will just need to pay tax on any interest, dividend. or capital gains that is earned on the money in the USA.  But if you buy a Treasury bill/note, then the interest is only taxable at the Federal level, not the State.

[Wahid Younis 5]

On 4/15/2023 at 1:08 AM, W199 said:

You will just need to pay tax on any interest, dividend. or capital gains that is earned on the money in the USA.  But if you buy a Treasury bill/note, then the interest is only taxable at the Federal level, not the State.

Hi W199,

 

I'm completing the application online to open a non US resident HSBC Premier checking account and it's asking for my FTIN, which I don't have atm. I'm assuming that I just tick the box that says "FTIN not legally required"?

 

Thanks

[W199 333]

7 hours ago, Wahid Younis said:

Hi W199,

 

I'm completing the application online to open a non US resident HSBC Premier checking account and it's asking for my FTIN, which I don't have atm. I'm assuming that I just tick the box that says "FTIN not legally required"?

 

Thanks

If you are legally required in your country to get an FTIN, then you need to get one.  If not legally required or if your Country does not issue them,  then "FTIN is not legally required" is an valid explanation that the IRS will accept.