Why Keep an American Bank Account

For U.S. citizens living abroad, referred to as expats, RIPpers (retiree in paradise) or Farangs in Thailand, maintaining checking and other financial accounts in the United States provides several advantages, including the convenience of paying bills or making payments in the country and the ease of direct deposits for employment or Social Security payments.

Of course you’ll still want a bank account in your new country for day-to-day living – and even for savings accounts. Sometimes the interest rate is even more favorable. Be careful, however, of currency fluctuations and trends if you’re planning on moving a substantial amount of money to Thailand. If the value of the dollar in Thailand is on a downward trend, you could lose a substantial amount during its slide. Some countries’ currency is more volatile than others – make sure and research this thoroughly before you decide to move a large chunk of your money (and remember that even though you move money offshore, you can still be taxed on foreign investment income in the U.S.).

To keep your current primary American checking account and some credit card accounts active all you have to do, to keep it intact, is have the address on the account changed to a relative or friend’s address in America and have your statements sent to you online.

To begin with, maintaining your USA account keeps your American credit score alive and well (as long as, of course, you pay your American credit card bills on time) by proving you've been financially active in the U.S. even though you're living elsewhere. Also if or when you return to America, this will ensure that you have no problem obtaining a mortgage, car loan, or other loan that requires a credit history report.

Another bonus is that you can still take advantage of American-only purchases and offers. For example, when the initial iTunes store opened up for the iPod, it was not available in many countries besides America. By opening an account with an American credit card, however, an expat could still have access to iTunes even though no one else in the new country could.

Also, it’s much easier to pay American bills, do bank transfers and send checks to U.S. friends and/or relatives by having an American account that features online bill payment (as virtually all do at this point). 

The Two Step Process to Open an American Bank Account from Thailand

For US citizens living abroad, opening and maintaining a US bank account has been a BIG problem. Many US citizens still need and want US banking services to manage US based investments, receive their Social Security benefits, maintain US credit - the list goes on. ACA provides the solution with the ACA-Members/SDFCU Account, developed by ACA in cooperation with the State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU).

ACA has teamed up with the State Department Federal Credit Union to provide SDFCU accounts for Americans residing abroad. This is the same type of account used by Americans working at US embassies, as well as many other people around the world.

The State Department Federal Credit Union is not affiliated with the State Department nor in any way with the US Government and you don’t have to be connected in any way with the Federal Government to qualify.

Credit unions are member-owned financial cooperatives which exist for the benefit of their customers. Like banks, credit unions accept deposits, make loans and provide a wide array of financial services to their members.

The ACA-Members/SDFCU account is simple to open and maintain. Everything can be done online. The most up-to-date EMV secure (Chip enabled) cards are available.

• You can reside full-time or part-time abroad and still qualify.
• You don’t have to have a residential address in the US.

Member “deposits” and savings – technically “shares” – are insured by the National Credit Union Insurance Fund, in a similar way to the way bank deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This Fund is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. SDFCU, like other federally chartered credit unions in the US, is regulated and supervised by the National Credit Union Administration, an independent federal agency.

A large number of financial planning and investment alternatives are available. These include “Share Certificates,” similar to Certificates of Deposit (“CD's”). These come in a variety of forms and yield different rates. Rates are reset monthly. Complete information is available online.

It’s easy to maintain an IRA or one of the other types of tax-advantaged deferred compensation accounts alongside your ACA-Members/SDFCU account.

SDFCU offers the opportunity to work with a certified financial counselor, if you like. This is a free service. Also, you can appoint your own investment advisor, using a power of attorney.

So first off you must be an ACA member. In order to activate your ACA-Members/SDFCU account, you must be an ACA member and a US citizen. You need not provide SDFCU with your ACA membership. SDFCU will work with ACA to confirm your membership with ACA as part of the application process. SDFCU application processing time is approximately one week.

*Please note that once paid, ACA membership dues are not refundable. Joining ACA does not guarantee you an SDFCU account. SDFCU is solely responsible for the SDFCU application process and applicants must meet SDFCU requirements in order to qualify.

 Have more questions? Contact SDFCU at: newaccounts@sdfcu.org.