hi there —

does anyone know of a reputable bank which will allow me to open an american bank account online? ideally i would like one with online brokerage services.

thanks! =)

@yopopo
1. you'll need a VPN, which I'm guessing you do NOT have, cuz if you did, you could use google to find a infinitude of online trading companies. PS - you're too late to buy Alibaba at USD 67 per share (currently trading at over USD 90).

You could explore ameritrade - they're a historical and well-known brokerage - but don't take my word for it - do your own due diligence.

Things to look for - publicly traded company as opposed to glossy semi-pro looking website. Ameritrade is a publicly traded firm (aka NYSE).

As an online brokerage - they are experienced with the sending and receiving of funds from multiple sources.

You can look this stuff up on wikipedia.org (including ameritrade and their websites).

Banks with online brokerage services tend to charge higher fees for brokerage services, which may or may not matter depending on the volume of trading you expect to do.

Good luck - and don't forget - day trading is gambling, regardless of your formula, technique, skill etc.

thanks for your condescending reply. 0_o

i already have an online brokerage of the type you suggested but am seeking one which specifically caters to non-resident american citizens.

i guess you are not aware that most online banks and brokerage firms are not permitted to accept investments from non-resident americans and maintain their accounts.

hence what i am enquiring about is whether anyone on this forum knows of a company which is designed to accept money and allow investments from non-resident american citizens. =)

@yopopo
Apologies if the response appeared condescending It wasn't the intent. I suspected you were NOT a US citizen - MOST sovereign based banks, including China, Japan, etc can NOT legally accept deposits or accounts unless the person is resident with a valid visa and passport. Been this way for quite some time - it's part of the international UN sponsored anti-money laundering efforts - initially designed to stem the flow of drug money, but now significantly expanded to try to clamp down on global terrorism.

So the short answer to your question is, "No, shouldn't exist".

The long answer(s) to this bizarre US logic are stated and summarized below.

The USA is especially onerous, as they like to collect capital gains taxes from any money flowing in the USA from we little people (while large corporations, oil companies, the the new wave of para-military security services companies park their off-shore revenues ... off-shore.

Mainline US bank accounts are protected by FDIC deposit insurance, should a bank become insolvent, etc.

If you can actually find a US-based trading firm that will take your off-shore account - chances are high they're doing it illegally.

This being said and depending on the size and volume of your proposed investments - it's a simple matter to locate off-shore investment companies which specialize in legally purchasing US-based and denominated securities on behalf of high net worth off-shore clients - proxy companies, if you will.

The USA has a rather extensive shadow banking (which essentially covers any banking like transactions not regulated by law) which is phenomenally huge - estimates are in the USD 20-30 trillion range in assets, with some recent studies estimating the USA's shadow banking sector approaching USD 100 trillion. This includes hedge funds, etc etc etc.

If you're focused on US investments from off-shore - your best legal option is to work with any of the off-shore sovereign wealth boutique firms to are prolific to Hong Kong.

The US banking and securities are highly regulated at the individual level, so it would be difficult to find a reputable firm to DIRECTLY accomplish your stated goals.

As with all US and international laws - there's ALWAYS a LEGAL work-around to defeat the spirit and intent of the law...but the taxation issues are nightmarish for nominal investors - the profit margins unattractive compared to other domestic investment instruments.

I'm always wary of advising either professionally, informally, or referring people with non-mainline request (aka boutique) as the US government is ruthless in persecuting citizens who knowingly or unknowingly aid or abet criminal or terrorist activities (NSA/CIA spy crap aside).

To continue - this issue was broached in the USA a few decades ago when futures and foreign currency exchanges were in vogue. As you're specifically targeting the US securities industry - you would then be searching for off-shore brokerage firms which specialize in US securities and this falls under the realm of the SEC and by waterfall - a wide gamut of other federal agencies (IRS, Homeland Security, FBI, etc ad infinitum).

In theory - these off-shore companies - if they achieved sufficient critical mass - could influence US trading practices without government oversight or regulation. Example - I could manipulate the S&P or DJIA index firms - which is a sovereign national security issue and as you may have noticed recently - US national security is currently used for rendition (international kidnapping) and aggressive interrogation (torture)...I know you're nowhere near this level of market manipulation - but that makes you a perfect target for these security organizations - defenseless and powerless to protect yourself should you appear on their persecution radar - you're an easy target.

Again - if you're a high net worth individual (if you were, you DEFINITELY wouldn't be asking this question on THIS forum), there are a WEALTH of institutional proxy firms in HK, the UK, Belize and other tax havens who handle proxy transactions through a legal/financial technique known as a MANDATE, which comes with hefty fees...

eeks! i just want to invest a few thousand dollars of my savings and have an brokerage and bank account with an atm i can operate online.

i have such a setup now but was informed by the company's minions that i may not be able to keep the account open, even though i have had it since the 90's and have not lived in the states much since then...

so i just wonder how other american citizens with relatively small chunks of money they want to keep invested in dollars go about doing it. i want a long-term, completely legal, and as simple as possible solution as i cannot know for sure when or if i may live in the u.s. again and have and may continue to live in more than one country.

i am just a regular kinda working guy earning nominal sums of money who loves to travel and is good at saving money. :)

As noted lengthily above, brokerage accounts - can't help you there.

For multinational banking - from Kunming to the world, your best bet is the local HSBC office - but they require a minimum CNY 100k deposit - or they'll charge NOT trivial service fees.

They MAY be able to help you open an off-shore USD/Yen/GBP denominated account through their international HKG office (they'll help fill out the paperwork, take care of the passport stuff, and send & receive your account details, ATM cards, etc.

They pay competitive (aka crappy) interest on savings accounts and the international accounts can send/receive cash from online brokerage accounts with some tinkering. They international accounts have a plethora of available services - check with the local HSBC (or online would be about the same effort, as the local office not too experienced with international accounts - they're focused on HSBC China).

As for online brokerage accounts - look at the two largest in the USA - ameritrade.com and e-trade.com. They require a minimum deposit to open - but aside from that - I'm unaware of any residency requirements unless you need a street address/phone number, which can be resolved using virtual office services.

E-trade allows non-resident, non-US citizens to open accounts - but you'll have to research that yourself. If e-trade can do it, ameritrade can do it too...