Nobody wants to fly to America for a bank account and fly home without one. What you need to bring follows from two levels. The first is the minimum that US anti-money-laundering law sets for every bank. The second is everything your particular bank asks for on top.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, every US bank must run a written Customer Identification Program. The rule behind it, 31 CFR 1020.220, says what the bank must collect before it opens an account, and that it must verify it with risk-based procedures, as far as is reasonable and practicable. The aim, in the rule's own words, is a "reasonable belief" that the bank knows who you truly are.
How a bank gets there is largely up to the bank. That is why two banks on the same street can ask you for different things. The law is the floor. What the person at the desk wants beyond it, and whether the account is opened at all, is the bank's decision.
That is good news and bad news. The good news: the floor is short and it expressly covers people from abroad. The bad news: there is no single list that works at every bank. Arrive with a complete file that goes beyond the floor, and your chances are at their best.
The same rule applies to you as a person and to your company, with different details. For a company, a second rule adds the people behind it.
| You, as a person living abroad | Your US company | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Yes |
| Date of birth | Yes | Not applicable |
| Address | A residential or business street address. Without one, the street address of next of kin or another contact person | Principal place of business, a local office or another physical location |
| Identification number | One or more of: a US taxpayer identification number, your passport number and issuing country, an alien identification card number, or the number and issuing country of another government photo ID | Its US taxpayer identification number, the EIN |
| Verification | An unexpired government photo ID such as a passport or driver's license, or checks against other sources | Documents showing the company exists, such as the papers filed with the state or a partnership agreement |
| People behind it | Not applicable | Every individual owning 25 percent or more, and one person who controls the company |
31 CFR 1020.220(a)(2) (Customer Identification Program) and 31 CFR 1010.230 (beneficial ownership), eCFR, read 25 October 2026.
Six things decide most account openings for owners who live abroad. Prepare all six before you book a flight.
Your passport is the core document: photo, number, issuing country. It must be unexpired on the day. Many banks also ask for a second government photo ID, such as your national identity card or driver's license. Bring the originals.
The rule asks for a residential street address. A PO box is not one, and a mail-forwarding service with no home behind it is not one either. Bring something that shows your name and that address: a utility bill, a lease, a statement from your bank at home.
For a company account, the bank must identify every individual who owns 25 percent or more, directly or indirectly, and one person with significant control, such as the managing member or the CEO. Each of them shows ID. If a holding company sits in between, bring a simple chart.
Expect questions about the money you will deposit and what will flow through the account. For larger amounts, bring evidence: the sale of a business, savings, a capital contribution from your European company. Short, honest answers work best.
No EIN, no company account. The IRS issues it free. Its online application is open only when the principal place of business is in the US and the responsible party has an SSN or ITIN. Everyone else applies by phone, fax or mail.
What does the company do, for whom, in which countries, at roughly what volume? A bank that understands your business tends to open. A bank that has to guess tends not to. A clear description, a website that matches it and a first contract help more than anything else.
They are two different customers. For a company account, the company is the customer, and you appear as its owner and the person who signs.
A bank rarely tells you why it said no. It is almost always one of these, and almost all of them can be fixed before you apply.
A couple from Germany already had a US LLC when they came to us. Two online providers had turned down their account application. Our advice was not to start over with a new company. Keep the one you have, describe what it actually does, clearly and completely, and put up a simple website that says the same thing. Then open the accounts in person at a large US bank.
The lesson travels well. A decline is usually about the file, not about you.
Not always. Business banking platforms open accounts for US companies online, and many of them accept owners who live abroad and a principal place of business outside the US. You can be up and running without a trip. Ask one question first: many of these platforms are technology companies, not banks, and the money sits with partner banks. Find out which bank holds your deposits and how deposit insurance applies.
A traditional bank with branches usually wants to see you, with your original documents, at a desk. In return you get a relationship: cash and checks, wires, a person who knows your file, and later the bank that may give your company cards and credit lines.
Many owners use both: a platform for daily business from day one, and a branch bank as the second leg once the company has some history. If you want the branch account, we can arrange an appointment with a bank in Austin, so you travel once. Whether an account is opened, and on what terms, is always the bank's decision.
We look at banks by type, not by brand. Policies change, and the right fit depends on your business.
| Type | How you open | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large national banks | In a branch, in person, with originals | Branches everywhere, wires, cards, and later credit for the company | Strict on address and documents; branch staff vary; personal accounts for nonresidents are not offered everywhere |
| Regional and community banks | Usually in person, often through an introduction | A personal relationship and local decisions, for a company with real operations nearby | A smaller footprint, and sometimes little experience with owners abroad |
| Banks with an international desk | In person or through a relationship manager | Owners with regular cross-border payments and larger balances | Minimum balances or relationship requirements are common |
| Business banking platforms | Online, no trip | A fast start for a US company owned from abroad | Often not a bank itself; check the partner bank and the deposit insurance; accounts can be closed with little explanation |
Our assessment as of October 2026. Every bank sets its own rules and decides each application itself.
Sources: FDIC, Understanding Deposit Insurance; 31 CFR 1010.230(d), eCFR. Read 25 October 2026.
Decide before the appointment which address you will give and bring the matching proof. Some banks take your European address. Others want a US address for the debit card, the PIN and the statements. If you give a US address, post has to reach you there. A card mailed to an address where nobody collects the post is a quick way to lose an account.
No law requires a US phone number. The bank will still want one, because it sends security codes for online banking and payments. Bring a number you will keep for years and can receive in Europe. A holiday prepaid SIM that expires after three months will lock you out of your own account.
At the desk you will usually sign a tax form. As a person who is not a US person, that is Form W-8BEN. It goes to the bank, not to the IRS, and it generally stays valid until the end of the third calendar year after you sign it. If something on it becomes wrong, for instance because you move to the US, you must tell the bank within 30 days and give it a new form.
One more point. If you have applied for a tax number but not yet received it, the identification rule allows a bank to open the account and collect the number within a reasonable time afterwards, if its own program provides for that. Many banks still prefer to wait for the number.
Personal account, company account or both, and which type of bank fits what your company will do.
Documents, a clear description of the business, an ownership chart, the story of the money. We check that names, dates and addresses agree everywhere.
If the company has no EIN yet, we apply for it with you by the route open to owners abroad. If an ITIN makes sense for you, we tell you.
An online application with a business banking platform, or an appointment we arrange with a bank in Austin. You travel once, with everything in one folder.
Once the account is open, the bookkeeping, the tax calendar and the returns follow. See tax and ongoing operations.
Run every company payment through the company account, and pay nothing private from it. Take money out only in defined ways: a distribution, a salary or a dividend, depending on the structure and how it is taxed.
For a US LLC owned by one person abroad, this is more than tidiness. Such a company files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year and must keep records of its dealings with you as the owner. Failing to file, or to keep the records, carries a $25,000 penalty under the IRS instructions for Form 5472 (read 25 October 2026). One account that carries every transaction is the simplest bookkeeping there is. More on this under company tax.
Legally, yes. For a person who is not a US person, the identification rule accepts a passport number with its issuing country instead of a US tax number. Whether a particular bank does so is its own decision, and an ITIN helps with many banks and card issuers.
For a company account with a business banking platform, usually not. For a traditional bank with branches, expect one appointment in person with your original documents. We can arrange that appointment in Austin.
Every individual who owns 25 percent or more, directly or indirectly, and one person with significant responsibility to control the company. That is at most four owners plus one controller. In a single-member LLC it is often one person in both roles.
At an FDIC-insured bank, deposits are insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category. If you bank through a platform that is not itself a bank, ask which bank holds your deposits and how the insurance applies.
Find out what the file looked like from the bank's side. Usually the description of the business, the ownership or the address was unclear. Fix that before you apply again, rather than starting over with a new company.
No. Nobody can. Every bank decides every application itself. What we can do is make sure your file answers the questions a bank asks, before it asks them.
Which account, for which company, from where. We tell you what your file needs and which type of bank fits.
Mount Bonnell Advisors, Austin
+1 512 647 1128Our office in Austin, TexasFree potential analysisIs your US plan one for us? A short written view