Englishmum

Sorry.....yet another banking thread!

Our son will be 18 next month and I guess it's time for him to have a current account so he canbe set up ready for college and have a debit card to pay for petrol, movie tickets etc. instead of having to give him cash handouts.

He doesn't have a social security # and ineligible to work as he has an L2 visa (we've just started the green card process....took us six years to decide to do so LOL!). Then again, foreign students on courses here must be able to open US bank accounts I would think.

Hopefully he should be able to get an SSN before too long....but I was wondering what most people do when their teenagers need to open a new account......will we have to link it to our current/checking account?

Jerseygirl

I had this problem with our daughter. If they are under 18 yes it has to be linked to you account...I was told that is the law for NJ. Unfortunately banks here do not have the foresight to cultivate new clients that are willing to get a degree...they will have to pay bank charges unless you have a few $K to leave sitting in the checking account.

Elvira

My sons had BoA accounts looooooooooooooong before they got SSNs. We are with BoA, and our friendly BoA person simply opened savings accounts for them, which came with ATM/debit cards. All we needed was their TINs - though I expect if she hadn't known me so well, they would have had to show their passports as well.

They did not have to pay anything, btw. Once they turned 18, they were offered free checking accounts in addition to the savings accounts. Those will remain free whilstthey are in college.

Jerseygirl

Don't know about the SSN coz my daughter had one from day 1 but banking rules differ from state to state.

TouristTrap

But that's because you came here in the good old days, when you literally got off the plane, walked down to the SSN and hey presto, you'd have a card in your hand within no time.

Jerseygirl

I only said I couldn't help with the SSN...I wasn't making a point.

Englishmum

Thanks for the replies.

Actually most of the shops in our small town now seem to be replaced by new bank branches; we have PNC, Wachovia, Sovereign, Independent, Investor's Savings, Hudson City Savings plus a couple of others I can't remember and a new Chase branch, with HSBC moving into the video store....

Perhaps I'll just wander in to some of them and see who wants a new customer LOL!

(A credit union would have been ideal to get my son started but my husband's company doesn't have links with any and as we aren't members of any 'religious institutions' I can't find any which make us eligible to join LOL!).

Jerseygirl

Haha...yes that's just what's happened to the town nearest to me...you know which one I mean. Even Gap and Starbucks have been closed to make room for new banks. I forget the number of banks there now...but its in double figures.

scrubbedexpat097

You might want to check some of the Credit Unions as a lot of them have changed their rules and regulations and you don't always have to have employment links to them now. Around here as long as you live in the county you can open an account, and this is at The Dow CU which is probably the biggest employer around this area. It might be worth checking again.

TouristTrap

Time to get up to par with those handshakes.....

Elvira

problem is CUs are less clued up re legal status and all that. I was refused an account when I did not have a SSN. They even suggested that I was illegal!!

I think big banks are easier if you're a round peg trying to fit into their square holes...

Pony

I didn't need a SSN to open an account at 'Bank of America'. I didn't need to deposit a large amount to get free banking. I had just landed and my money was still in my UK bank. I think I just used a $10 bill I had in my pocket (a $20 at the most). If he holds a US drivers license that should be all he needs.

scrubbedexpat097

Hmm...no problem with SSN here. I helped one of my Child Advocates last week, he is 17 years old and I'm helping to prepare him for independant living. Opening a checking account for him was no problem.

paddingtongreen

.
With your selection of banks, you could be a neighbour. Your list covers many of the banks here.

Yorkieabroad

Same round here, although they're all new development rather than change of use. Every time a pad site gets sold, it becomes a bank. Its freakin annoying - I just cannot see how the market supports so many...but it seems to....

Dont know about SSN as all of our kids have them, but when I looked at opening savings accounts for them last year, they didn't need to be linked to mine, adn there were no charges as long as they kept a min balance of $100. I was looking at opening them to start teaching them the value of saving, but given the 0.25% interest rate meant they'd get a whole quarter back at the end of the year for every 100 bucks, I figured I may be shooting myself in the foot.....