Are you a non-US resident and desperately want a US bank account so you can open a Paypal account and start selling online? Getting a US bank account is simple, easy and, yes, free. I see so many people on internet forums who need a bank account in the United States. I needed one.
Do you want to know how I did it?
Have you caught yourself saying this many times?I am here in South Africa (or in India) and nobody wants us. Especially not PayPal.“Well, here’s the good news. I am from India and got a bank account in the US, linked it to Paypal, got verified, got a VISA debit card, got a Paypal debit card and now I happily withdraw my cash at an ATM anytime .
It’s no secret. Just a few simple steps. Follow them like this and you’ll soon have your own “US Bank Account.” and a “Paypal Account”.
Step 1: First, you will need a US mailing address. This is so that you can receive all your letters, cards, etc. It’s not very fast to send you mail, but it works.
Here are some of the best mail services:
· http://www.usa2me.com – Highly recommended!
http://www.myus.com
Step 2: Next you will need a Paypal account. Paypal.com is the place, and it’s free. Sign up for free and use your mailing address provided to you by the US Mail Forwarding service.
If you have already registered with Paypal, please register again with a different email or delete your account and start over with a new one.
Step 3 – Now is the time to get a US bank account. We will use electronic commerce. http://www.etrade.com. I enclose the forms that you must fill out and send.
Follow my instructions below and you will have an account with them sooner than you expected.
How to fill in the forms:
Download the form from here: [http://myimlab.com/uploads/emea_us_brokerage_application.pdf]
Note: A more recent version of the form can be downloaded from https://us.etrade.com/e/t/home/openanaccount
Fill in ONLY the things in the steps and NOTHING else.
1. Account Type: Check the box labeled Individual Account.
2. Enter your First Name, Middle Initial, and Last Name in the fields below “Primary Account Holder.” Leave the entire “Co-Account Owner” side of the form blank.
3. Put your “HOME” address below the address. NOT your US address.
4. Enter your home and business phone numbers in the field below. The format must be “+91(0)9910670401”. Copy the format.
5. Check the “no” boxes under the next three options on this side of the form and continue to the next page.
6. Type your passport number below the passport number field.
7. Put your country under the “country of issuance of the passport and the “country of legal residence” and the “country of citizenship”
8. Go to “create your investment profile” just below this.
9. Check the boxes for “capital preservation”, “none”, “your income”, “your approximate net worth” and “your approximate net worth”. I would select a median income so all of this is safe.
10. In (4) “Select your account characteristics”, under “taxable income”, select the Etrade Financial sweep deposit account. It is the first option on the list.
11.Leave the “Tax-Exempt Income” field blank.
12. Cash management features, select “free check writing” and NOT the debit card option. This will come later and you will be charged if you select it now.
13.Leave the rest of the form blank and continue.
14. On page 3, under “Funding your account”, select the last option “I plan to transfer funds from another financial institution”.
15. Under “Sign and date your application”, select “I am not a US citizen”
16.Sign this page and go to page 4.
17. Leave page 4 blank, but sign and include.
18. Under “Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding”
19. In “Name of the person or organization that is the beneficial owner” write your own name
20.Under “Country of incorporation or organization”, put your own country.
21.Under “Permanent Residence Address,” write your mailing address.
22. Under “City or town, state or province. Include zip code where applicable.” Enter your city, then state/province, then zip code
23. In “country”, put your country.
24. “Claim for tax treaty benefits (if applicable)” check box a) and enter your country.
25. Leave the rest of the form blank. Expect to put “I” in the “category under which you act.”
26. Sign and date the form.
Now you are done with the forms.
Next steps:
#1: PRINT ALL PAGES (5 pages total)
– 4 page application form – in JPEG format
– Declaration of non-US resident form 1 page – in PDF format
Note: You MUST use Adobe Reader to open the declaration form.
The latest version is recommended.
Adobe Reader is freely available at http://www.adobe.com
(If you are not using the latest version of Adobe Reader, your personal information (such as your name and address) may not display or print correctly.)
#2: VERIFY ALL PERSONAL DATA
Make sure your name is spelled correctly, address, passport number, etc. are correct Page 4 of 4 of the application form is completely blank. leave it like this But sign it.
#3: SIGNATURE; WRITE your name in CAPITAL LETTERS and today’s DATE on page 3 of the application form.
#4: SIGN and write today’s DATE on the declaration form
#5: MAKE A PHOTOCOPY of your passport photo-page. Please make sure it is very clear! – Make two copies – you will need two.
#6: PUT THEM IN AN ENVELOPE AND MAIL to the address on the top left of page 1 of the application form. DO NOT enclose a check or cash as an initial deposit. Wait for your account number to be issued first, then make your initial deposit by bank transfer or add it to your PayPal account.
Once you have your account number, you can immediately add it to your PayPal account for confirmation and verification.
When E*Trade Financial receives your request, your account will be opened within 1 week.
You will receive an email notification at the provided email address.
For FASTEST service, I recommend using UPS or Fedex.
Once you’ve done that, sign in to your account and request a debit card. It arrives via FedEx in a couple of days. Download PayPal money to your Etrade account and withdraw it at your local ATM.
Piece of cake!