Most banks seem to allow sole prop activity. However, hsbc is apparently the only usa bank that disallows this. Unfortunately that’s my usa bank account. Gah.
What about Taiwan? Do they allow sole prop activity? As a foreigner? I have a China Trust and HSBC Taiwan (they act completely different than USA one) account.
HSBC is a uk bank, although they have a presence in the USA just as they do here.
But, what is it you want to do exactly ? I personally haven’t bothered opening accounts here as I find it troublesome
I been here about 9 months now, and managed fine without local bank account.
“prop” could imply “proprietary” (as in prop traders at places like Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley) or “property” . The use of either one still doesn’t make any clear sense in your phrase.
Please define “sole prop activity” for readers who might be able to offer advice.
Sole Proprietor
Paid out contractors via wires after our online product launched and hsbc said to stop since the wires were not personal. Then said to have a business account, I need to physically be within 20 miles of 1 of 5 obscure business branch locations around New York.
Change banks, HSBC isn’t all its cracked up to be.
Ironic they hit you up with this, since HSBC was the bank to go for laundering money for all sorts of criminals and other shady business ventures.
Not implying you are doing anything illegal
Countless people use HSBC. If I had shady money (I don’t), it sure wouldn’t be in FATCA bank lol.
It’s still currently the only bank where I can easily transfer between HSBC USA (USD) and HSBC Taiwan (NTD) and have an account with both USD + NTD. There’s an HSBC in TianMu. I can transfer back and forth online for free (unlike other Taiwan banks where I’d need to make a dramatic in-person, on-paper wire transfer for $$$$). HSBC is still very large and no other bank has allowed this type of USA<>TW ezpz bank service yet.
I ended up going with BofA for LLC account, but took a co-signer permanently residing in the states.
LLC? Please explain acronyms …
Limited Liability Corporation
I assume that these were U.S. based contractors that you paid? I wonder why you can’t just go to a Taiwan branch for business activities? Is it because you are a U.S. resident in relation to your business? I don’t understand really …
Saves about 15% on taxes and makes it easier to deal with annual reports, taxes, etc.
This also allows me to actually utilize my LLC (the “limited liability” part) by officially separating my business from personal. If I got sued and lost, they could only touch whatever’s involved with the LLC and not my personal assets.
As a gamedev, we moderate and have to ban people sometimes. This is nice in case we ever get a “crazy” trying to come after us.
We also had a trademark troll try to give us a hard time, too. So this helps.
Ok, that makes more sense. I am interested in the online HSBC accounts and their ability to transfer between accounts (I wonder if it would work with Canadian HSBC accounts?). The cumbersome, antiquated manner that most Taiwanese banks deal with money transfers is just ridiculous really, and I am looking for a better way.
I must warn you, though. Ever since their lawsuits, they’re paranoid. I once wired a contractor like $2000 for a game trailer and got a nasty, scary letter from HSBC saying they’ll close the account “If I do business transactions on a personal account”. Which isn’t illegal at ALL (it’s just called “sole proprietor” if you do business on a personal account), but the ONLY bank that doesn’t allow business transactions on it. It’s realllyyy weird. It’s why we had trouble in the 1st place.
HSBC has been a savior for a personal account, but it’s also not the most “stable” from stories I’ve read. Just don’t 100% rely on it. Maybe <50%.
I wonder if they would care if the “businessing” was on the Taiwan side, as a Taiwan resident, with income / expenses coming from the Taiwan account? As a sole proprietor, as you noted, there is no need for a separate business account.
Don’t do anything with HSBC if you plan to do any form of Sole Prop transactions. They’ll just flat up close your account. I got lucky and got a letter. It’s legal but it’s against their terms of use (which is RIDICULOUS. But yea just use the account personally).
Good to know. It would be easy enough to have one account set up on the Taiwan end for Taiwan business dealings (at a different bank), and then HSBC solely as a “transfer account”. If they allow non-residents in Canada to maintain their account, that is.
Yep, that’s what you do:
Use any bank that allows business transactions >> Pay yourself to HSBC >> Only use this account for personal stuff and to transfer to your Taiwan side.
Note that you have to have a long-term ARC here to open your Taiwan account and need some form of physical presence for USA side. If you’re married to a Taiwanese spouse, that helps. It’s still very difficult to open an HSBC account in Taiwan - but I did it. So can you.
Even if you’re American, it’s damn hard to open any account thanks to FATCA laws. Even Americans don’t want your business because FATCA is so troublesome. Best of luck. It took me an entire year to get both accounts open with all the documentation and craziness required.