US Currency Credit Card for non US Residents

[mrpackethead]

I maybe late to the party but MasterCard offers something called a Borderless Prepaid card. It’s isually used if you are traveling to another country and want to be able to make transactions in local currency. You load the card in USD and then spend it in just about any currency. Not sure if you can use the card online though. Also there are no transaction fees, just the currency conversion fees when you load the card.

Thanks. this ones a bit like the cards i have from AirNZ,   It lets me add cash in the base currency of issue, which i choose what it gets to converted to.   

Looks like the best thing i can do is open a bank account in the US.    I might contact a few and tell them i'm coming and ask if they will open an accoutn for me. No harm in trying.

 

[orin]

Looks like the best thing i can do is open a bank account in the US.    I might contact a few and tell them i'm coming and ask if they will open an accoutn for me. No harm in trying.

No harm indeed.  But do your research on the accounts available at the banks in question.  You might find ridiculous minimum balances or even worse monthly fees!  Read the fine print.  Often they require a monthly direct deposit...  For that reason, my salary is deposited into two different banks.  (I opened the second account so I could do a direct transfer of my rent; what's more, they gave both me and my 'referrer' $100 [taxable as interest] each for doing it!)  Unfortunately, it's unlikely you'll get a fee free account at a big national bank.

[ebclr]

I have 2 accounts that I pay nothing for maintenance, The only thing you need a balance of more than USD ,1500 for me isn't that much since I bought much more than that one simple scope is at least 500USD

[thermistor-guy]

https://www.hsbc.co.nz/saving/savings-account/premier-multi-currency-account/more-details

Sadly, this one wont' work.  While you can have the multi-currency accounts,  there is no way to connect that to a card. I gave them a call today and asked..

Best option so far is to set up in Hong Kong.

Maybe talk to HSBC in Australia:

https://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/personal/savings/multicurrency

...Automatically accessing the correct currency to make a purchase
In Hong Kong, to make a purchase of HKD3,000 from your HKD7,000 balance, simply swipe your Everyday Global Visa Debit Card and enter your PIN to complete the transaction. HKD3,000 will automatically be deducted from your Hong Kong Dollars balance. No currency exchange is required and no overseas transaction fees will be incurred. An ATM withdrawal would work the same way.

Immediately after completing the transaction, you will see that the 'available balance' in your Everyday Global Account will reflect the transaction using HSBC Online or Mobile Banking.

One thing I've found with with bank staff is often they don't know much about banking, so they give misleading and inaccurate advice. The setup you want should be possible to arrange, but you may need to talk to someone who has genuine expertise.

Re banking expertise: I often do wire transfers from a local USD account to foreign USD accounts. All sorts of things can go wrong with wire transfers, especially if they involve an intermediate bank. The local branch staff will tell me fairy tales about what's involved, how long it takes and how much it costs. I know they're fairy tales because I've established a personal contact in that bank's operational centre who manages the actual transfers, someone with genuine expertise. These days, when something goes wrong, I contact my expert directly.

[tooki]

I’m still unconvinced that no bank in Australia offers USD credit cards.

Thermistor-guy’s point about bank staff not knowing what’s possible and/or how to do it cannot be emphasized enough.

[mrpackethead]

Im in NZ.  I can get a card that works in USD, the problem is that i cnat' pay the bill in USD. they will only let me pay it in NZD.

[tooki]

Oops, sorry, I misread the little country icon!

I still think that thermistor-guy could be right, that the bank employees might not know about obscure products, and that some bank there might indeed have “native” USD cards (by which I mean payable in USD; everyone knows you can pay USD with any card, nobody was confused on this point), especially for businesses.

[Gary.M]

What about PayPal? Receive money into your PayPal account in usd. Buy from supplier using PayPal in usd. Increasingly I'm finding us suppliers all seem to accept it. BTW, where in NZ are you?

[forrestc]

Wondering what a reason why card issuers allow this service where they are very likely loosing money (assuming no annual fees at all)?! Did they assume a customer would not able to settle a balance by the end of a interest-free period and start charge nn% interest...?

Some of it is 'earn your business', I.E. I'm more likely to carry a card with this feature.

But another part is that the banks do make money off of every transaction.   Visa/MC in particular charge up to 2-3% to the merchant when accepting credit cards.   International can even be more.   So it probably doesn't cost them all that much to not charge add-on chargers for international fees.

[mrpackethead]

What about PayPal? Receive money into your PayPal account in usd. Buy from supplier using PayPal in usd. Increasingly I'm finding us suppliers all seem to accept it. BTW, where in NZ are you?

Paypal fees are quite high.  3% to receive a payment..     Thats not going to fly, compared to $25USD For a wiretransfer.   ( 3% of $10k is 300, vs $25 )..   Paypal good for low value payments. though.

Im in Porirua.

[Gary.M]

What about PayPal? Receive money into your PayPal account in usd. Buy from supplier using PayPal in usd. Increasingly I'm finding us suppliers all seem to accept it. BTW, where in NZ are you?

Paypal fees are quite high.  3% to receive a payment..     Thats not going to fly, compared to $25USD For a wiretransfer.   ( 3% of $10k is 300, vs $25 )..   Paypal good for low value payments. though.

Im in Porirua.

Porirua. I spent a few years commuting out there when I worked for AWA.

[Gary.M]

Came across this service today. It has a borderless account facility, and says it will be offering a debit mastercard sometime soon..

https://transferwise.com

[tpowell1830]

Sorry, more questions. So you get paid in $, does that mean you work for a US company? Also, do you get paid direct deposit into your account? if you say yes to both, then you should not have a problem opening a US bank account. Does NZ have Wells Fargo, Capital One, B of A?

[mrpackethead]

Sorry, more questions. So you get paid in $, does that mean you work for a US company? Also, do you get paid direct deposit into your account? if you say yes to both, then you should not have a problem opening a US bank account. Does NZ have Wells Fargo, Capital One, B of A?

No.  The company is a NZ company.   We have a USD account ( in New Zealand ) which we receive $USD into.            I do not have a US address.

[tpowell1830]

Sorry, more questions. So you get paid in $, does that mean you work for a US company? Also, do you get paid direct deposit into your account? if you say yes to both, then you should not have a problem opening a US bank account. Does NZ have Wells Fargo, Capital One, B of A?

No.  The company is a NZ company.   We have a USD account ( in New Zealand ) which we receive $USD into.            I do not have a US address.

Again, sorry, you don't have to answer, but, since it is a NZ company, why do they pay you in US$? Also, if it is because you asked for it, wouldn't it be cheaper if you got paid in NZ dollars and then convert to US$?


Here is a website with some info. 
https://www.business.com/articles/what-non-residents-need-to-consider-when-forming-a-company-here-in-the-us/

[mrpackethead]

Again, sorry, you don't have to answer, but, since it is a NZ company, why do they pay you in US$? Also, if it is because you asked for it, wouldn't it be cheaper if you got paid in NZ dollars and then convert to US$?

So, the vast majority of my business is done with compays who are US based.  ( and china ).    Having them pay in $NZD is just too hard logstically and from a sales perspective hard work.       Thats one reason.   The 2nd reason is that a lot of my costs are in $USD..   ( materials for example )..          Theres no point in converting USD --> NZD and then back to USD again.   ( to pay my bills! ).    Keeping it in USD makes a lot of sense.     All i need to do, is to convert my margin in $NZD.. ( aka my profit ).  It potentially saves 5%. 

[mrpackethead]

Came across this service today. It has a borderless account facility, and says it will be offering a debit mastercard sometime soon..

https://transferwise.com

This looks like exactly what we want!  Unforuantly right now, its not avaialble if you are outside of Europe. :-(

[tautech]

Came across this service today. It has a borderless account facility, and says it will be offering a debit mastercard sometime soon..

https://transferwise.com

This looks like exactly what we want!  Unforuantly right now, its not avaialble if you are outside of Europe. :-(

Just looked at the rates for https://transferwise.com and they're lower than what I use for shifting NZD funds in USD to suppliers:
https://www.ofx.com/en-nz/
Used to be NZ Forex but after a name change is now OFX = OZ Forex.
NZD10k+, zero fees. 
Better spot currency conversion rates than banks !

US version:
https://www.ofx.com/en-us/

You do the spot deal then pay OFX from whatever A/C you wish to whatever recipient you wish in the currency of your choice. Bit of fluffing around to get all your recipients setup and become comfortable with the process but it's really a breeze after a bit.
Initially they'll ring you soon after doing a spot deal just to check it's all above board and when they see you've got a handle on it they'll leave you alone to get on with it. eg. one night I did a late deal and they rang me from the UK within a few minutes as it must have seemed outside my normal deal hours.

Very satisfied OFX user !

PS. A buddy that was shifting enough funds overseas yearly put me onto OFX as they were saving him $25K/year with better conversion rates ! 

[tpowell1830]

Again, sorry, you don't have to answer, but, since it is a NZ company, why do they pay you in US$? Also, if it is because you asked for it, wouldn't it be cheaper if you got paid in NZ dollars and then convert to US$?

So, the vast majority of my business is done with compays who are US based.  ( and china ).    Having them pay in $NZD is just too hard logstically and from a sales perspective hard work.       Thats one reason.   The 2nd reason is that a lot of my costs are in $USD..   ( materials for example )..          Theres no point in converting USD --> NZD and then back to USD again.   ( to pay my bills! ).    Keeping it in USD makes a lot of sense.     All i need to do, is to convert my margin in $NZD.. ( aka my profit ).  It potentially saves 5%.

Ok, so what is your business, what does it do? The reason that I ask is that, other than the suggestions in the article that I sent you, you could consider partnering with a US business that is complementary to yours. This would get you an address and a business license in the US. If we knew what your business was, perhaps it could be an EEVBlog member who could partner with you, maybe someone who wants NZ/AUS business, or needs your expertise/service/technology?

[mrpackethead]

"Transfers to most countries take 1-2 business days. To stay in the loop, track your transfer online."

Meh. I often get transfers from NZ-->Hong Kong in a couple of hours.

[forrestc]

Came across this service today. It has a borderless account facility, and says it will be offering a debit mastercard sometime soon..

https://transferwise.com

This looks like exactly what we want!  Unforuantly right now, its not avaialble if you are outside of Europe. :-(

I'm in the US....  I opened one of their borderless accounts and have had 2 customers globally send money to it.   So far, we've found it to be very useful and transfers are much faster.     One transfer was in AUD to via an Australian bank transfer, and the other was in EU using an IBAN.    So far it's cost us nothing, but I've also not moved any money between currencies or sent it anywhere.