I don’t know this for sure, but I presume you can get a Turkish leave to remain or equivalent and be able to get an account that way.
Turkish banks generally require residence AFAIK, not even sure my dad has an account there and he’s a citizen lol
It wasn’t that long ago! 2001. Only ever had a card account from the Woolwich.
A friend has an account in Garanti BBVA and lives here in the UK. Owns a house in Turkey that he rents out, but doesn’t have residency there
Anyone got the Schwab account? Just verified my Wise account (community federal savings or something under the hood) but want to order the card and chequebook now it supports thingy…
Where do I find my account number?
I have one.
I am assuming you have downloaded the PDF from the Schwab website to do the order?
That is step one.
Then, to fill it in, use the account number from the Schwab app or online (look for the routing numbers section, and it’s the account number given under Direct Deposit).
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That’s not the account number. You want the one on your statement: it’s an eight digit number. You’ll need that when you’re calling them to activate the debit card.
PS it’s the last eight digits on the routing account number.
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Yes, that’s correct.
Sorry, I forgot that detail - although I think I did put it in full and the good people at Schwab worked it out!
Then you upload the pdf at the end to their Message Center for them to process it.
And when the card turns up you make a collect call to activate it and set the PIN.
Current cards aren’t contactless.
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My Schwab account was close due to inactivity and decided to reopen it and have a small amount in it - or one trade.
Debit card was sent automatically and arrived today! The first time I opened the account I had to order one. There’s a form on the website.
To get the account number you need to click “More” in the Accounts homepage:
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Yes, the cards are not contactless but can now be added to Apple Pay.
Also, if you don’t want to make a collect call, you can use the UK toll-free number listed on the Schwab International numbers page above. If necessary, they will then transfer you to other departments without any issue.
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They won’t generate any statements for me due to the balance being $0, which is a pickle.
So I can just take the last 8 digits of my routing number? I will have to add $100 to get the chequebook/card too according to that form, so it’s not a problem.
Part of the reason I’m a little more interested in the account. I might buy American stocks in there and buy directly via registrar for UK ones. Registrars seem to only require a UK address and NINO rather than UK residency.
I think the Schwab investing themes are quite an interesting idea apart from the high minimum entry point of $250.
My debit card turned up after a short while but I still haven’t had my checkbook arrive since March or so even after chasing it, this has reminded me to do so again.
This seems to be a popular option in Latin America for a online non-resident US bank account. It a Puerto Rican bank
Plasma (crypto thing) offers an IBAN from Luxembourg, US, UK and Mexican details (and Colombian iirc) (in own name for US/Lux/Mexican) and can receive USD, while offering more perks than this place (probably).
Can transfer money in via USDC or via the GBP details. If you lock away 100k of their Plasma Token it even provides 10% cashback on airlines.
Seems to only be available for citizens of Latin American countries and Spain.
An acquaintance of mine from Japan recently traveled to mainland China, opened a bank account, and obtained a debit card. Around 2024, it had become extremely difficult for foreigners to open new bank accounts there, but apparently, the process has now become as easy as it was twenty years ago. I find myself strongly tempted to take on the challenge of seeing how many new debit cards I can acquire during a four-day, three-night stay in Guangzhou.
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In China, for foreign passport holders, only Bank of China and ICBC are relatively well-versed in opening accounts for foreigners; other banks are largely unfamiliar with the process, even for Hong Kong residents. If a foreigner simply wants a Chinese bank account to facilitate setting up local payment apps, local foreign banks are the best option—particularly HSBC China. They are thoroughly acquainted with the account-opening procedures for foreigners and accept a full set of foreign details, including overseas mobile numbers.
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All the Chinese debit cards shown in the photo above were accounts I opened using only my passport. Up until around 2010, if I happened to spot a bank branch while traveling in China, I could simply walk in and obtain a debit card within 30 minutes—even with my very limited Chinese conversational skills. It seems that opening a Chinese bank account is becoming easy again, much like it was back then. However, dealing with the hassle of precautions—such as the possibility of having the contents of your smartphone inspected upon entry into China—is a bit of a nuisance.