U.S. Bank Account Options for Foreign Sellers

A U.S. Bank account will save you money when it comes to remitting U.S. sales tax. Are you able to do Business in the U.S. without a U.S. bank account? You absolutely can do Business without a U.S. bank account, but it will cost you more in fees without one.

Most use Payoneer (or similar options) to move their money from Amazon back to their home country, saving approximately 50% in fees. However, this does not provide a U.S. business debit card or the ability to do an ACH pull.

U.S. Bank Account

The Steps to Open a U.S. Bank Account are Changing. We are here to help.

Foreign sellers need to set up several additional steps to have success when selling in the U.S. 

As a foreign seller on an e-commerce platform such as Amazon, it is your responsibility to collect and remit sales tax in the states where you have nexus. 

Because of marketplace nexus,  Amazon is collecting and remitting in 44 of the 44 marketplace nexus states. This leaves three states you may have sale tax nexus and need to collect and remit sales tax, plus three others that require registration even if the marketplace is collecting and remitting (as of July 2020).

To collect and remit, one is to remit or give the sales tax you collect back to the state and file a state sales tax return. 

There are several sales tax remitting companies that have software to automate this process. BUT for them to automate the process, you MUST have a U.S. bank account for an ACH (automatic withdrawal). If you do not have a U.S. bank account, you will have to manually file your own sales tax returns or work with a company or tax firm that allows you to wire your sales tax and file on your behalf.

The unfortunate challenge with these companies is that you will end up paying DOUBLE the fees to file a sales tax return.

Since profits are the key to any business, having a U.S. bank account for your business, you will save filing fees each month. This is especially important for Shopify sellers who may need to register in up to 45 states where they cross economic nexus. 

Sales Tax Remitting Costs without a U.S. Bank Account

Here is the math for Shopify Sellers. Most remitting companies charge between $20 to $30 to file a sales tax return per state when they do an ACH pull from your U.S. bank account. If you do not have a U.S. bank account, the filing will not be automatic, and it requires a manual process that costs more. The cost per return without a U.S. bank account will range from $50 to $100 per return. Let’s use a spread of $30 per state ($20 vs. $50 per return). That is $30 X  (the number of states with nexus) x reporting frequency per year.

Travel is Usually Required, BUT Now We have an Option Without Travel when You Form a U.S. Entity*

[New] U.S. Banking (Non-Travel Option)

Non-travel option. Fee: $197.00. We have been introduced to a new tech company with a banking platform that has found a Midwestern U.S. bank. It is a fully functioning bank. It is not Payoneer.

Our 100% money-back guarantee is simple. If you submit all the correct forms below and submit, and your bank account is not opened, we will refund your money within 48 hours that our bank has confirmed they cannot open your account. At this point, we would let the bank know to close out your account as you cannot complete the setup process.

By the way, this is not Payoneer, which is a great option to have also. They provide an excellent service, but they do not offer a fully functioning U.S. bank account with the ability of an ACH pull and debit card.

Here are the details…

We have been introduced to a new tech company with a banking platform that has found a Midwestern U.S. bank looking for more clients, both in and outside the U.S., and is not requiring that you go to the bank in person.

Requirements to open our NEW U.S. Bank Account without Travel:

  • U.S. Entity and EIN (any of the 50 states). If you do not have either set up (especially correctly), we provide those services on our website on this page.
  • The owner must be a foreign individual (not a foreign company).
  • U.S. Entity Operating Agreement for an LLC or Bylaws for a Corporation.
  • IRS Letter with your EIN. If you do not have it, we will provide you the steps to call the IRS to have them fax it to you. The challenge now is with COVID-19. You cannot call, so you would need to fax, but this may take 2-3 weeks to receive the letter you need.
  • U.S. business address is a real address, NOT a UPS store or P.O. box. If you do not have an address, we provide one for $397 for a year. We only offer the year in full address with the bank account (not our month to month option for $37.00 per month for 12 months). Learn more here.
  • U.S. phone number. A skype number will work. Go to this link to set up.
  • Personal information on all owners that are more than 25% of the U.S. company.
  • A Government-issued passport in COLOR.

Time Frame to Open U.S. Account:

  • After payment and completing our web form with all your details for the U.S. bank account, we will create your account within 72 hours. You will receive a welcome email with the steps to fund your account. You may add signers later.
  • The debit card will be mailed separately to your business address. You will receive that within 15 business days after your account is opened.

After you get started, you will receive a welcome email with a link to fill out your details for your new bank account, and our team will set up the account on your behalf.

Go to the link to get started. Our sister company, NCP, will be providing support and service.

Questions on our process to open a U.S. bank account? Reach out to our team via email at  [email protected] 

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