Can Open US Bank Account in the DR?

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Is there any way to open an account in a US bank without going to the US to open it? Based on exchanges of email with PayPal we thought condo owners could use that service to send their monthly maintenance fees, but now find there is no way to do this unless the condominium has a US bank account.
 

alanflamenco

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Jan 2, 2006
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I did it from the UK with Wachovia by email, I got an office number from their website near to my address in the US, called and got an email address, all they asked for was a specimen signature, which I sent by fax and they set everything up for me.
 

Robert

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Jan 2, 1999
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dr1.com
http://bpdbank.com (New York based/ FDIC Insured) They have an office here in the main Banco Popular building in Santo Domingo. They have online banking and you can open an account from the DR. We use them at DR1, so do a few other DR1 people. If you need any help, send me a PM.
 

sunshine_79

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Jun 1, 2005
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Yes!

Anyone who is in the military, a veteran, a military family member or a government employee can open up a checking or savings account with USAA. I will not say too much on the subject but USAA does not exactly verify if you meet the above criteria so what you do with that information is entirely up to you.

You can open up a cheking account with a minimum deposit of $25 USD and they give you the option of adding the funnds with a credit or debit card or by doing an online transfer from another bank account.

The website is www.usaa.com

You do not even have to have a US address for this; USAA accepts customers from just about every country in the world.
 

juanita

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Apr 22, 2004
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Banco Popular offer US and EUR accounts; to open an Euro account you need a minimum balance of $300EUR so US should be about the same. With a passport you can open an account!
 

Bob K

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Aug 16, 2004
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If you are over go 5o www.bankofinternet.com can be set up via e-mail and bank transfers. They have a senior checking that is paying 3.5% interest. Not bad for a checking account.

Bob K
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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juanita said:
Banco Popular offer US and EUR accounts; to open an Euro account you need a minimum balance of $300EUR so US should be about the same. With a passport you can open an account!

I am aware of that, Juanita. For our purposes, we need to be associated with a bank with a bank that is located in the US. From PayPal, "Customers in any country or region may withdraw funds to a U.S. bank account. Only U.S. bank accounts, from a branch located within the U.S., denominated in U.S. Dollars can be added to a PayPal account"

Robert, I'll be PMing you. Alamflemenco, Bob K and Larry, I'll be following up on your suggestions, too. Sunshine_79, I'm a veteran, but this account is not for me. It is for the condominium where I live.
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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Ken,
In any case I think the condo association will have to get a Taxpayer Identification Number. I believe all US banks are required to get either a Social Security number or TIN for any account. Better off getting a non-interest paying account so as not to generate any 1099's.
 
Jan 21, 2006
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Okay... I help my friend set this up.... I am not sure if you are a US citizen or not - but he is not we paid that $27 usd for one of those (lets show you how to open a bank account and not be a US Citizen websites) it actually worked and I am not going to plug any website - but mainly there is a bank in the US that has a specific type of account set up that as long as you have a valid passport you are approved - if it is a US passport you must provide a social security number - anyway you cannot apply via the internet but it is an application you download and mail in - I have them downloaded to my computer still. You mail it in and they mail you a welcome packet in like 10 days with online banking user id and access code.

It works with paypal - he set it up. The trick in order to get a Visa Check Card and Checks you have to have deposited $1000 usd. You do not have to maintain this minimum balance, but at the time of request (you do not get your visa check card and checks automatically - a signature card is sent to you in the welcome packet and it says check here if you want a visa check card, check here if you want a second one and check here if you want checks (first 50 checks free) and then you sign and date and another authorized user signs and dates) and then you mail in a deposit of $1000 us with the request or you make sure to have gotten $1000 usd transferred in before. He had it in his paypal account so before he sent his request he transferred $1000 us into his new bank account. After that about 14 days later he got his card and checks and withdraws all over the DR with his card.

They say you do not have to have US Mailing address but he set up a Business Mail Account anyway (for lack of safety of mailing things to him here), so his physical address is his house in the DR and his mailing address is the Business Mail in Miami.

I do not know if this is anything like you are looking for, but I figured that I would let everyone know that those websites really work if you follow the directions and take the time and have about a months patience, and I wonder if I could get in any trouble giving away the applications that I downloaded for free??? I downloaded it from there service but it is not there application - it is an application from the actual bank - so if anything they should not have been charging for it and helping others not have to waste their money is okay? Thoughts, Comments?

Sorry for the long winded.
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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HOWMAR said:
Ken,
In any case I think the condo association will have to get a Taxpayer Identification Number. I believe all US banks are required to get either a Social Security number or TIN for any account. Better off getting a non-interest paying account so as not to generate any 1099's.

Good poin, Howmar. We'll keep that in mind.

HIWAMHI, thanks for the information, but how do we contact these people if we are interested in pursuing this option?
 
Jan 21, 2006
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E Trade is the bank that was used... it is a brokerage checking account rather than a regular checking account...

the service that gives you the applications and everything was:

www.findusbank.com

it was just 2 pages downloaded of E Trade official applications and instructions on how to complete the form for guaranteed approval - it worked.
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
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Just a head's up!

I would AVOID E*Trade Bank.
Although they have since tried to clean up their act,there were about half a dozen reported security breaches over the past year. Funds were "inadvertantly" wired out of several brokerage accounts.
As a former customer, I can attest to the fact that they are a Mickey Mouse financial institution.

Stick with a PAYPAL setup and draw in/out of a Bricks and Mortar US bank.
The BP option works as they are FDIC insured and are domiciled in NY.
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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Tamborista said:
Stick with a PAYPAL setup and draw in/out of a Bricks and Mortar US bank.
The BP option works as they are FDIC insured and are domiciled in NY.

Looks best to us, too. We are going to contact them next week. I sent an email to Wachovia bank, suggested by a poster, and could open a personal account because I have a social security number. But to get an account for the condominium, somebody would have to go to the US.
 
Jan 21, 2006
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E Trade seems to work well with what he does... he just transfers money via wire from his BP account here to his E Trade account there and then can buy whatever he wants via paypal. He also if gets paypal payment w/d's it to his E Trade account and takes it out here with his ATM card from E Trade - he has not ever had a problem - he has only been using it now for about a month and a half but it seems to work well.

Maybe as long as no trading is done it is okay...
 

McCool

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Feb 1, 2002
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Ken, In the fall of 2005 we opened an online banking account thru citibank.com We choose this online service because this site was rated in Forbes.com as "Forbes Favorite" for online banking. We travel between US and DR and have had no problems with the web site. All activity has been accomplished online (No need to go to bank in US).
La Vanda McCool
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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McCool said:
Ken, In the fall of 2005 we opened an online banking account thru citibank.com We choose this online service because this site was rated in Forbes.com as "Forbes Favorite" for online banking. We travel between US and DR and have had no problems with the web site. All activity has been accomplished online (No need to go to bank in US).
La Vanda McCool

Thanks for the information. However, for purposes of PayPal I need a bank in the US. I know Citibank is, but I wonder about their online bank. However, it is another option to check out. Thanks.