I do some stock photography and so far I have been receiving all the payments from my agency through my bank here in Macedonia, but recently the bank started charging a ridiculous amount of money just to receive the money on my bank account, which made me think in another direction.
As this is not my sole income (I do some work for a magazine) I'm starting to think that opening a savings bank account in the states, preferably one offering paypal services, might be a good idea.
Now my question - is it possible to open a bank account in the states via the internet and have all my income arrive there ? Has anyone ever done something similar ? Any tips as to what are the safest banks and which to avoid ?
Having a paypal account would also be of great help as I could buy my equipment via internet or ebay and avoid all the losses I suffer because of the weak dollar. Any advice or suggestion would be much appreciated.
I think in the age of the Patriot Act, you probably will not be able to open a US bank account.
THere's a multitude of banks that operate essentially Internet-only - you might look up ING Direct and see what they say about foreign account holders.
All banks (US) are safe.
When I open an account i'm there in person - have to provide photo ID and sign papers, so how you do that long distance I do not know.
You should be able to open a paypal account from anywhere - i did it all over the internet and have used 3 different bank accounts over the years, no problems.
I had a bride from england use paypal to pay her US vendors for her wedding - she got one of the debit cards from paypal and used it like a visa.
Paypal can send you a check as well as the debit card and electronic transfer to a bank account.
If you want a US bank I'd check for banks in NYC or Washing DC as they'll be more used to international accounts and the like. So many banks here in the US have been combining and selling off parts so I have no clue what is left. Chase Manhattan was a good choice, but they are split into Chase and JPMorgan Chase, and perhaps others, and I have no clue if they even do normal banking anymore. Mellon is large and was a local bank as well other stuff. they sold off their 'retail banking' to anohter outfit and now I think all they do is large corporate finance type of stuff.
Thanks for the replies but unfortunately Macedonia is not in the countries listed where paypal operates and that's why I'm looking for a US based bank.I'll check the banks you mentioned though. Thanks again, Ljupco
PeterBerressem wrote:
I'd check the Macedonian Post Bank. In this article they explicitly mention " international payment coordination".
www.unet.com.mk/mbc/posta.htm
Yep they offer international payment coordination but only via SWIFT, no paypal. Thanks for your help though. Regards, Ljupco
