You can pursue a U.S. bank account while living abroad through a qualifying remote program such as East West Bank’s Velo, while other options depend on an upcoming move or a U.S. visit.
“Where can I open a US bank account as a non-resident and non-citizen who is not currently living in the US?”
Summary
You do not need to become a U.S. citizen or resident just to satisfy the federal bank-identification rule. The hard part is finding a bank whose actual account terms fit your documents, location, and plans—not meeting a universal immigration-status requirement.
Your practical route depends on whether you will remain abroad, are relocating for work or study, or can visit the United States.
If you will stay abroad, this is the clearest identified remote U.S.-bank option, subject to Velo’s accepted locations and documents. Its published list covers specified Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese identity-document combinations; an Indian PAN card is limited to the approved professional-employer referral route; it also lists a U.S. SSN option. You apply remotely, fund at least $25,000, and pay a $300 opening fee. (East West Bank, https://www.velobank.com/en/products/global-checking.html and https://www.velobank.com/en/products/global-checking/factsheet.html.)
If an employer is relocating you to the United States, City National Bank describes opening an account remotely before arrival. Its process asks for your current-address evidence, passport copy, and employment verification or assignment letter; start by emailing cbbteam@cnb.com with your name, telephone number, and email address. This is a relocation route, not an offer established for every person who intends to remain abroad. (City National Bank, https://www.cnb.com/content/dam/cnb/personal-banking/media/City-National-Bank-Expatriate-Banking.pdf.)
If you are moving to the United States and can meet its bank agreement’s -or- requirement, Zolve advertises online prearrival opening through FDIC-member Continental Bank. Its agreement, rather than the passport-only advertising, governs: you must activate by location verification while in the United States and provide proof of a U.S. mailing address within 120 days after activation. It is not a fully usable, indefinite stay-abroad account. (https://partners.zolve.com/; https://static.zolve.com/pdf/Zolve%20CB%20Deposit%20Agreement%20Final.pdf.)
If you can come to a U.S. financial center, Bank of America’s international-professional process describes applying in person with a foreign residential address, a U.S. mailing address, and two unexpired forms of identification; it says an SSN is not required. This does not let you complete the application while you remain abroad. (Bank of America, https://info.bankofamerica.com/en/international/professional-bank-account.html.)
Do not rely on older Zenus opening instructions: the bank announced its retail banking platform would be discontinued on October 22, 2025. (Zenus, https://zenus.com/newsroom/zenus-bank-announces-strategic-shift-to-focus-on-fintech-services.)
Wise may provide U.S.-dollar payment details, but Wise explicitly says its account is not a bank account. Use it only if payment functionality, rather than a U.S. bank deposit account, meets your needs. (Wise, https://wise.com/us/account/usd-account.)
Federal identification rules do not impose a blanket U.S.-citizenship, U.S.-residence, or SSN requirement; each bank still applies its own eligibility and verification rules. (31 CFR 1020.220(a)(2)(i)(A)(3)–(4).)
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Next steps
Match your documents and plans to an account route before paying a fee or arranging a U.S. visit.
Before applying
Identify your stay-abroad or relocation route
For an account you intend to use while remaining abroad, start with East West Bank Velo’s published eligibility at https://www.velobank.com/en/products/global-checking.html. If an employer is sending you to the U.S., use City National Bank’s prearrival process instead; if you will visit, Bank of America describes an in-person route. Federal rules accept a non-U.S. person’s passport number and country of issuance as an identification method, but each account has additional terms. (31 CFR 1020.220(a)(2)(i)(A)(4); the cited bank materials.)
Requirements
While outside the U.S.
Apply remotely through the route you qualify for
For Velo, begin at https://www.velobank.com/en/products/global-checking.html or its application link https://www.eastwestbank.com/en/forms/apply-in-app; its fact sheet allows 60 days for the $25,000 initial deposit, and the bank deducts a $300 opening fee. For City National Bank, email cbbteam@cnb.com with your name, phone number, and email address to begin its expatriate process. For a planned move, Zolve advertises online opening at https://partners.zolve.com/, but do not assume its passport-only advertisement waives the deposit agreement’s SSN-or-ITIN term. (The issuers’ pages and Continental Bank/Zolve Deposit Agreement.)
Requirements
After entering the U.S.
Complete Zolve’s arrival requirements if you chose it
Activate through the Zolve mobile application while physically in the United States. Supply the bank proof of your valid U.S. mailing address within 120 days after activation; the agreement says failure may freeze or terminate the account. This step is not satisfied by opening the application from abroad. (Continental Bank/Zolve Deposit Agreement, https://static.zolve.com/pdf/Zolve%20CB%20Deposit%20Agreement%20Final.pdf.)
Requirements
If you can travel to the U.S.
Book an in-person Bank of America appointment if needed
Use Bank of America’s international-professional page at https://info.bankofamerica.com/en/international/professional-bank-account.html to arrange a financial-center appointment. The bank says an SSN is not required, but its described process requires the appointment and the listed address and identification documents; it does not provide a completed-from-abroad alternative. (Bank of America, International Professional Banking.)
Requirements
Legal sources
This answer draws on federal bank-identification and FDIC rules, plus the banks’ own account materials, Zolve’s deposit agreement, and the providers’ published notices.
31 CFR 1020.220
The federal identification rule asks for an individual’s residential or business street address, rather than specifying a U.S. street address.
(a)(2)(i)(A)(3)
For an individual, a residential or business street address;
31 CFR 1020.220
Federal rules expressly provide passport-based identification for a non-U.S. person; a bank may nevertheless impose additional product requirements.
(a)(2)(i)(A)(4)(ii)
For a non-U.S. person, one or more of the following: A taxpayer identification number; passport number and country of issuance; alien identification card number; or number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard.
12 CFR 330.3(c)
A foreign depositor is not excluded from federal deposit insurance solely because of citizenship or residence.
(c)
The availability of deposit insurance is not limited to citizens and residents of the United States.
FDIC Your Insured Deposits
FDIC coverage has a per-depositor, per-insured-bank limit that also depends on account ownership category.
The standard maximum deposit insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category.
East West Bank Velo Global Checking
East West Bank advertises a remote application route through Velo; its page also identifies the eligible documentation.
No matter where you live, Velo lets you apply for a U.S. bank account directly from our Digital Platforms.
East West Bank Velo Global Checking
Velo states the required initial funding and opening charge for Global Checking.
Your Global Checking account must be funded with a minimum opening deposit of $25,000 or more. Upon receipt of your funding deposit, a $300 Account Opening Fee will be automatically deducted from your account balance.
East West Bank Velo Global Checking Fact Sheet
Velo gives an applicant 60 days to make the qualifying initial deposit.
Customers will have 60 days to fund their account with an initial funding deposit of $25,000 or more.
City National Bank Expatriate Banking
City National Bank describes a remote, prearrival account-opening route for its expatriate-banking customers.
Before arriving in the U.S., you can open accounts securely and remotely from the comfort of your home or ofce.
City National Bank Expatriate Banking
The bank gives a specific starting point for a relocating applicant.
To get started with a City National Bank U.S. bank account, email cbbteam@cnb.com and provide your name, telephone number and email address.
Zolve prearrival account advertising
Zolve’s public prearrival advertising uses broader passport-only language than its bank agreement.
Open a US checking account completely online from wherever you are - Just with your Passport (or) SSN (or) ITIN.
Continental Bank/Zolve Deposit Agreement
The actual deposit agreement requires an SSN or ITIN, so the advertisement alone is insufficient for a passport-only applicant.
31
Accordingly, you must certify your Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number as part of opening an Account.
Continental Bank/Zolve Deposit Agreement
Zolve’s agreement does not permit account activation while the applicant remains abroad.
Account activation
For the purpose of this Agreement, account activation means completing the required location-based verification within the Zolve mobile application while you are in the United States.
Continental Bank/Zolve Deposit Agreement
An activated Zolve account requires timely proof of a U.S. mailing address.
Account address requirements
Within 120 days of the Account activation as required, you must provide us with your valid U.S. mailing address and proof thereof (documentary or non-documentary). Failure to do so may result in freezing or termination of the Account.
Bank of America International Professional Banking
Bank of America’s international-professional opening route entails an in-person financial-center appointment.
Set an appointment to meet with an associate at a financial center.
Bank of America International Professional Banking
Bank of America expressly says an SSN is not necessary for its described account-opening process.
Bank of America does not require a SSN to open a bank account in the U.S.
Zenus retail banking discontinuation announcement
Zenus’s later discontinuation announcement supersedes its older personal-account marketing.
Retail banking platform will be discontinued on October 22nd, 2025.
Wise USD Account
Wise’s own description rules out treating its payment account as a U.S. bank deposit account.
The Wise account is not a bank account.
These are the official rules and providers’ published terms as available on the cited dates; rules and account offerings can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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