Bank account

• Tip: Take a credit card (Visa, Master Card, American Express) from your home country to cover your costs until the opening of your American bank account.
• Which bank?
  • Select banks near your home and compare their conditions (costs –ATM’s network – opening hours – …).
  • An alternative to banks are “Credit Unions”. A Credit Union is a cooperative financial institution and their services are less expensive than banks. Usually, people choose Credit Unions of their employer. Look here to find a Credit Union close to your home or job.
  • What we did and why? We opened a bank account in the Credit Union of our employer, Key Point Credit Union. We are very happy with the quality of their services and their availability.
• Accounts?
  • They are basically of two types:
    • Checking account (with no interest)
    • Saving account (with interest)
  • Generally most people open a checking account first.
  • To open a bank account, you need a social security number. However since it takes 4 weeks to get your SSN, one can request the bank to verify the passport and open an account. Later do remember to inform the bank once you received your SSN.
• You will get: an ATM card (debit card), a checkbook, monthly statements. You will probably also get: the option of overdraft protection, the option of conducting transactions and accessing your account online by computer.
• Debit/Credit Card:
  • Debit Card allows you to spend from your available resources only.
  • Credit Card allows you to spend without bothering if you have enough available resources on your account. The Credit company pays for you and send you later a spending statement. They charge you and you can pay them with checks. Visa and Master Card are the most widely accepted cards.
• You should know that costs for bank’s transfer are approximately 30$.
• Checks are not often accepted by small storekeepers. Nevertheless, in case of acceptance, you must provide two forms of identification (mostly the driving license, the passport, or a credit card).