Making Computers and Internet work for you.
Posted on 06.06.08 10:12AM under Money Making Online
If you do a lot of online business and and don’t leave in the US you are probably searching ways to get your self a US bank account. The convenience of having one cannot be overestimated. You probably need one to collect online payments or to transfer your Pay Pal funds so you can withdraw them. Pay Pal cash withdrawals are restricted to certain countries only. One way to access your Pay Pal cash at no cost is to have a US Account.
Those that have tried to get a US Account will tell you that its not easy to find a US Bank that will allow you a foreigner to open an account for not too much a cost. Those that do demand outrageous minimum balances and deposits making it impossible for most small online business people like you and me.
A number of websites have taken advantage of this and are selling what they call US account opening kits for as much as $140 for the kit which is basically forms and simple instructions of how to go about opening a US Account. The forms will work fine but what they don’t tell you are the details of the agreements with the banks concerned. You only realize that you are paying hefty fees monthly when its too late.
One of these kits is a bunch of forms from E Trade Securities LLC. They allow you to open a brokerage account as a foreigner and it works fine for all intents and purposes but you need to be very careful read every agreement in detail and check the fee schedules properly before you proceed. All these forms that you pay for when you are buying the kits are completely free and can be downloaded from the bank website. Do you think a bank thats looking for customers will make it so had for them to find the necessary forms to open an account? Think again!
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