Banking

U.S. Financial Institutions

Financial institutions in the United States are required to verify the identity of every individual who opens a bank account. In compliance with federal regulations, all banks operating in the United States have established a Customer Identification Program (CIP) that they must follow for anyone who seeks to open an account. While the specifics of the CIP may vary from one bank to another, Department of Treasury regulations set forth the following minimal information that the banks must obtain from you before allowing you to open an account:

• Proof of your name
• Proof of your date of birth
• Proof of your street address
• An Identification number. Regulations clarify that a non–U.S. citizen must provide one of the following:
  • Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
  • Passport number and country of issuance
  • Alien identification card number
  • Number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or other similar safeguard

Each bank establishes its own customer identification program and may ask you for more documentation than is described above.

The following documents should be taken to open a bank account:

• Unexpired passport
• I-94 card
• DS 2019, I-20, or employment visa (H1B/O/TN)
• Any secondary form of identification you may have (e.g., Student ID)

There are several area banks on the Bard Shuttle route; KeyBank is the most popular among international visitors. There is an ATM located in the Bertelsmann Campus Center that is owned and operated by KeyBank and charges a service fee for ATM cards from all other banks.