Or just use your US account but show Moneybookers or a similar sort of payment processor that you are authorized to reside in Thailand and see if they will allow it. Since you’re not in the US they might be agreeable. On the other hand, gambling is illegal in Thailand so they might not be too hip to that.

thank you D

That is an very uninformed statement to make. I have had substantial amounts of money in offshore accounts for at least 3 or 4 years now and I have never been audited once. I always declare the existence of the accounts which I am required to do by law and I also accurately declare the balances when I file my IRS forms. All the banks except for my Thai bank asked me to sign a form allowing them to share data with the US government if requested and I signed the forms.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to have offshore accounts. Many US citizens live overseas. Many have business interests overseas. And the IRS has very easy to follow rules on declaring your money that if followed will do not raise any suspicions with the IRS and especially with the Dept of Homeland Security (where in the world did you ever get that one?).

Try HSBC. They are used to dealing with Americans. There are many other well recognized banks that will open accounts for Americans as well. HSBC just happens to be one that I’ve heard some other players say they’ve used.

In reality you’ll probably need to go outside the country and open the account personally as you’ll be wanting to convince them that you have a legitimate need for the account.

That’s where things might become a little sticky. If you’re opening an account in a foreign country many banks want to know that you’re in the country legally which means residency and/or work permit. But the whole thing is that many banks don’t have this requirement.

For instance, although I don’t recommend a Thai bank for online gaming transactions since all forms of gambling are illegal in Thailand I was able to ask some expats where they would let me open an account without residency as I am legally only a tourist here until I get a different class of visa.

They recommended a specific bank and a specific branch as being farang (westerner) friendly with minimal questions. Fortunately for me, they didn’t ask for anything other than the basic name, birthdate (seems I was born in 2510 in the Buddhist calendar year), address, and for a copy of my passport.

I think the closest option for you would be Canada. You might try looking at some of the expat communities for Canada and trying to hunt around for some advice on foreigners setting up bank accounts there. It’s a common problem a lot of expats face wherever they move in the world so if you find an expat community you’ll find people talking about which banks are friendly to foreigners.

I’m sure there are some 2+2 threads on this right now and going back to the days right after passage of the UIGEA. They might have some info on banks who will allow you to do it online and never leave the US but if I remember correctly the ones I read didn’t find that option to be very easy.

Bill

-Scott