Open a bank account in the US and build credit history/score

[hk.main]

Do you have any existing credit records in the US from previous stays - education / work etc?

Reason I ask - longevity and gaps are also factored in from what I understand.

I don't know how long credit records are kept, but the last time I had a credit card, balance, or activity in the US banking/credit system was more than 10 years ago.

[Guy_in_HK]

I don't know how long credit records are kept, but the last time I had a credit card, balance, or activity in the US banking/credit system was more than 10 years ago.

Generally, good stuff stays on your US credit report indefinitely. Bad stuff, I believe, is generally supposed to come off after 7 years. You can use a VPN to try to get your current US credit reports. Experian seems to be the easiest to get online. Remember by law, all US citizens (can't remember if it applies to non-US citizens/green card holders) get at least one annual free credit report from each of the major credit agencies (there are 3 main ones). However, some agencies make getting it more cumbersome than others.

Also these days there are tons of tools to get as many soft-pulls on your US credit history as you can click. Again you might need a VPN and/or a 'real' US phone number and the ability to use a trusted person's US address or paying for a US address might be necessary. I refuse to get a 'real' US number, but the financial institutions I choose to deal with are all okay with a VoIP US number.

[hk.main]

If you have a social security number as well as a residential address in US (with proof like utility bill in your name sent to that address), then yes I think every major bank these days allows you to open an account online. If you have this information, just try it, go to the banks website and click on the "Open an account" button.

If you dont have this information, are not US resident, you can still open a US bank account in seconds using Wise, but not if your wise account address is set to a Hong Kong address. I am Australian and set my wise to an Australian address, now can get the US bank account. The account is provided by the Community Federal Savings Bank of New York, provides you with a checking account, routing number (for wire and ACH domestic transfers within US) and Swift/BIC number for international transfers. I am not sure your reason for wanting a US account, but if its for business reasons to send and receive USD domestically within US, then this option should be fine.

Hmm, I'll try wise, but not sure what address to put, as the only address I have proof of is my current Hong Kong address.

[bdw]

Hmm, I'll try wise, but not sure what address to put, as the only address I have proof of is my current Hong Kong address.

Wise is restricted for Hong Kong residents. I think its just a way to send money overseas, eg you deposit HKD into their HK bank account and then they deposit foreign currency into foreign bank account for you. This is great, but thats all it does.

But if you go into wise settings, change your address to another country like Aus, UK, etc, you get so many more features. You can open accounts in many countries including US as you are asking for, order a physical Visa debit card, get another 4 virtual visa cards for your family to add to their apple/google wallets, etc. This is especially good for travelling.

But you will probably need to show address proof to wise after changing the address. For many expats in HK that have an address overseas as well, this wont be an issue. But if you are a local HK'er with no overseas address proof to show then you are probably screwed.