

Ask HN: I have an Aussie startup and I need to bank in the USA. Where do I start? - jacques_chester

I've been working on a startup idea for a few months. The tech side is quite easy and I've done a few prototypes. But the business side is killing me.<p>I need to be able to accept at least USD payments and keep it in USD, rather than having it exchanged into AUD when it gets to my Australian bank account. Right now it looks like the easiest way to do that would be to open a US bank account.<p>* How do I (or my company) do that as a foreigner?
* Which banks are good for startups (ie, easy to get merchant services)?<p>If anyone has any tips or experiences they could share, I'm all ears.<p>You can see my story so far, if you like: http://clubtroppo.com.au/category/startup/
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jkent
HSBC in Australia will allow you to open a USD bank account. This is likely
the easiest way to keep money in USD.

<http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/personal/savings/foreign-currency>

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mmp1
HSBC will do dual currency accounts - they have US offices as well. Go and see
them. Infact their dual currency is better than NAB (it can be say Euro and
US) - you can even move between currencies and make money on any exchange
changes as well as plain interest.

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mmp1
<http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/personal/savings/foreign>

I haven't looked at NAB in awhile but you used to need 100K for multi
currency. The limits to get started are less with HSBC i think (again that
could have changed)

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Luc
I'm in Belgium, and have USD 'currency compartments' on bank accounts with
several banks. They're free, and I have set them up so all USD payments
automatically go into the USD compartment. I can then use the USD to pay
foreign contractors without incurrent the exchange cost (and risk). The
compartment isn't a separate account from my normal EUR accounts, it's some
extra numbers added at the end. I realize this may not apply to your situation
since you're an antipode, but it gives you an idea what's possible...

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jacques_chester
Which bank are you with? They may have an Australian partner / subsidiary /
branch.

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Luc
Dexia and ING

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jacques_chester
Thanks. Doesn't look like Dexia operate here and ING don't offer the foreign-
currency merchant services I need.

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Luc
Okay, but it's actually every bank in Belgium that offers this, it's not
exclusive to these two. Sorry, not very helpful as such.

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NonEUCitizen
I believe dontronics is an Australian company that sells internationally. Here
are the payment options they offer:

[http://www.dontronics-shop.com/dontronics-payment-
options.ht...](http://www.dontronics-shop.com/dontronics-payment-options.html)

Also, check with international banks that have operations in Australia and USA
(e.g. HSBC). Drop by a branch and ask their business accounts people.

~~~
jacques_chester
It's easy enough to set up a merchant service that accepts foreign currencies
and deposits them as Australian Dollars. But only one bank based in Australia
(NAB, for you locals) lets me accept foreign currency _and_ bank it in that
currency.

(Updated original to reflect this clarification)

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mhp
Australia is part of the commonwealth (although it's not in N. America) so
this might help: [http://dan.matan.ca/US-Bank-Account-For-Canadians-Save-on-
Cu...](http://dan.matan.ca/US-Bank-Account-For-Canadians-Save-on-Currency-
Exchange-Paypal)

Alternatively, opening a Canadian bank account and merchant service might be
really easy for you and it may have the option to operate entirely in USD.

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jacques_chester
I rang HSBC, no good unfortunately. They don't offer merchant services -- ie,
they'll bank foreign currency but won't let me accept card payments. I'm a bit
shocked by that actually.

