You can keep your U.S. bank account while living abroad. No federal law forces it closed when you move, and your deposits stay FDIC-insured as long as the account sits at a branch in the United States or its territories.1FDIC. Understanding Deposit Insurance The work is on your side: keeping a valid U.S. street address on file, setting up a way to log in without a U.S. phone number, and picking up the extra tax reporting that begins the moment you also open an account in your new country.
Can Your Bank Close the Account Because You Moved
Yes. Federal law doesn’t require closure, but your deposit agreement almost certainly lets the bank end the relationship for any reason not prohibited by law. Customers without a primary U.S. address cost banks more to serve, because tracking foreign regulations and mailing disclosures overseas is expensive, and some banks close those accounts rather than absorb the compliance work. Large multinational banks tend to handle overseas customers better than small regional banks and credit unions.
If your account receives direct deposits of federal benefits such as Social Security, the bank must give you at least 30 days’ notice before closing. For everything else, the notice period comes from your deposit agreement and any state law that applies. Read the terms before you move. If the policy looks unfavorable, switch to a bank that openly serves international customers while you still have a U.S. address and phone number to work with.
Brokerage Accounts Are a Separate Question
Don’t assume your brokerage will follow your bank’s approach. Foreign countries regulate the sale of financial products inside their borders, and U.S.-registered mutual funds usually aren’t registered for distribution abroad. Some brokerages block new mutual fund purchases when you move, some restrict trading, and some close the account outright to avoid fines from foreign regulators. Check the brokerage’s international residency policy directly.
The U.S. Street Address Requirement
Federal anti-money-laundering rules require every bank to run a Customer Identification Program, and under that program the bank has to collect a residential or business street address for each individual account holder before opening or continuing the account.2eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks This is the single biggest hurdle for expats.
A P.O. Box does not satisfy the rule. The regulation calls for a residential or business street address, and the only carve-out is for someone with no street address at all, who may use an APO or FPO box or the street address of a next of kin.
Virtual mailboxes and mail-forwarding services look like solutions and aren’t. They give you a street-style address like “123 Main St, Suite 456,” but the Postal Service classifies these as Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies, banks can detect that classification, and most reject them. Coworking spaces and virtual offices raise the same flag because banks treat them as temporary. The workable approach is to use a trusted family member’s home as your primary U.S. address, and list your foreign address separately as the mailing address for cards and correspondence.
Setting Up the Account Before You Leave
Do the paperwork while you still have a working U.S. phone number and can walk into a branch if something goes wrong. Have this ready:
- A domestic street address that will hold up under bank verification, typically a family member’s home.
- Your foreign mailing address, for anything the bank physically sends you.
- An international phone number, though be aware some banks accept it only for callback purposes and not for verification codes.3U.S. Bank. Can I Add an International Phone Number to My Profile?
- An email address you actually monitor.
- Your Social Security Number or ITIN, which stays on the account for tax reporting on any interest earned.4Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN)
Most banks let you update your profile online. Put the domestic street address in the primary residence field and your foreign address in the mailing or secondary field. After the online change goes through, call the bank’s international services line and confirm the update was processed correctly and that the new mailing arrangement won’t trigger an automatic review. That call is much easier from a U.S. number than from overseas.
Logging In From Overseas
Online banking works from any country with an internet connection. Two things trip people up: verification codes and location-based fraud alerts.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Most banks text a one-time code when you log in from a new device or country. If your U.S. number stops working after you move, those codes stop arriving. Alternatives to line up before you go:
- An authenticator app such as Google Authenticator or Authy, which generates codes on your phone without needing cell service. Not every bank supports these, so check yours.
- A hardware security key. Bank of America, for example, accepts FIDO-2 certified USB keys as an alternative to SMS codes, and the keys generally run $18 to $50.5Bank of America. USB Security Key
- A U.S. phone number you keep alive on an eSIM or prepaid plan just for bank texts.
Foreign IP Addresses and VPNs
Banks watch login locations. A sudden jump from your usual U.S. city to a foreign country can freeze your cards until you clear a verification call. A VPN pointed at a U.S. server doesn’t always fix the problem, because banks can often spot VPN traffic. Notify your bank of your travel plans, keep your contact information current, and expect the occasional lockout.
Fees When You Use the Account Abroad
Keeping the account open and using it cheaply are different problems. Two fees show up most often:
- Foreign transaction fees of roughly 1 to 3 percent on purchases in a foreign currency. Some travel-focused accounts waive them.
- International ATM fees, usually a flat charge plus a currency conversion percentage from your bank, with the local ATM operator often adding its own fee on top.
If you’ll spend and withdraw locally every week, compare your bank’s fees against opening an account in your new country. Many expats end up running both: the U.S. account for income and U.S. bills, a local account for daily spending.
Tax Reporting Once You Bank in Two Countries
Moving abroad doesn’t reduce your U.S. tax obligations, and once you open a local account overseas, you pick up new reporting rules on top of your ordinary return. Your U.S. account by itself doesn’t trigger any of this, because it isn’t a foreign account. The thresholds below cover the accounts you open abroad.
FBAR
If the combined value of all your foreign financial accounts tops $10,000 at any point in the year, you have to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts with FinCEN.6Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) The threshold is aggregate, not per account, and the FBAR goes to FinCEN separately from your tax return. Penalties are steep, starting at a $10,000 base statutory penalty for non-willful violations and climbing sharply for willful ones.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5321 – Civil Penalties
Form 8938
Form 8938 is a separate report attached to your annual tax return and covers a broader set of foreign assets than the FBAR, including foreign stocks and partnership interests. The thresholds are higher for taxpayers living abroad: if you’re single or married filing separately outside the country, you file when foreign financial assets exceed $200,000 on the last day of the year or $300,000 at any point during it. For joint filers abroad, the thresholds double to $400,000 and $600,000.8Internal Revenue Service. Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR Requirements Missing the filing carries a $10,000 penalty, with more accruing after IRS notice.9Internal Revenue Service. International Information Reporting Penalties
The Foreign Bank Will Report You Too
Under FATCA, foreign financial institutions that want to avoid a 30 percent withholding tax on certain U.S.-source payments have to identify their U.S. account holders and report those accounts to the IRS.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1471 – Withholdable Payments to Foreign Financial Institutions Expect the local bank to ask whether you’re a U.S. person, and expect it to report you to the IRS on its own schedule. Some foreign banks refuse U.S. customers entirely rather than take on the compliance work.
Social Security Direct Deposit
If you collect Social Security retirement, survivor, or disability benefits, you can keep having them deposited into your U.S. account from abroad. The Social Security Administration also offers international direct deposit into banks in countries that have an agreement with the United States for this purpose.11Social Security Administration. Can I Use Direct Deposit if I Live Outside the United States? If your new country isn’t in that program, holding onto the U.S. account is often the cleanest way to keep the payments arriving on time.