Looking for a bank where an account can be opened w/out disclosing a social security number to them?

Question

I'm in the Bay Area of California. Seems like every bank wants to know what your social security number is. I'm helping a friend who is behind in his bills to try to avoid his account from being frozen. I was thinking if the SS isn't attached to it, it can't be touched,,, Any banks to suggest?

By the way, he is paying his bills off, not trying to get over in any way. He is just having a hard time and doesn't want his acocunt froze while he works things out. Such harshness with only a small amount of info? wow!

Answer 1

I used to work for a major bank for 4 years, opening accounts. It is a U.S. Govt. requirement through the Patriot Act that this information be collected before an account is opened. The only way you can open an account without one is if you just moved from a foreign country and have proof that you are a citizen of that country and that is where your main residence is.

The bank will use the Social Security number to verify your friend's identity and to run it against Chex Systems, an interbank company set up to alert a bank if there's been an issue with another bank, like if the person was writing a bunch of bad checks and had their account closed by the bank. If you're on Chex Systems, you're kind of screwed. You have to either find a manager to sign off on opening the account, or you have to clear things up with the offended bank, and even then you usually have to wait for a year. However, this system is for monitoring negative activity on deposit accounts. So unless your checking account was closed by another bank and you still owe them money, you shouldn't worry about it.

The other thing the bank will use the SSN for is to check your credit score. They will turn down the account if the score is VERY low, considering you a high risk person for them. At my bank the minimum credit score was 480, which is very low. If your friend is behind on some bills, his score is probably in low to mid 500s, so unless it's been going on for a long time, the score shouldn't be that much of a concern.

Now, onto the whole freezing of assets question. Unless your friend owes money to the same bank where he's trying to open an account, no one can touch that account without legal action. Only if a court rules that his assets are to be seized, can someone go after his accounts. A bill collector does not have such authority, so I wouldn't worry about it, unless he's being sued. One word of caution though, if he uses this new account to pay one of his past due bills, then that company might charge his account without permission, since they already have his info on file. So he needs to not use this account to pay any credit bills, just pay the power/rent bills and buy groceries, etc. Have another account for credit bills.

Finally, if he IS somehow on Chex Systems, or his credit score is too low to open an account, then he needs to ask a friend or relative to open an account in their name and appoint him as a Power of Attorney on that account. This way he legally doesn't have ownership of that account (so his credit is not a factor, and it cannot be seized), but he has access to the account. There are limitations to this though. He'll have to sign over the checks payable to him in front of the teller before they can be deposited into an account, so he'll be making all of his deposits in person. Also, he can't have a debit card with his name on it, so he'll have to use the debit card with his friend's name on it.

Shoot me a message if you have more questions.

Answer 2

I have a friend who got his accounts before 9-11 without a SS number, but when he tried to open an account in other banks he had to use his new number,(recent citizen).
This country is locked down so all the honest people suffer. The crooks and terrorists know how to get around this stuff so it doesn't bother them.
The banks don't really care about your SS number, but the dam*ed Patriot Act has put them behind the 8-ball as well.
There is legislation pending that would allow people without a SS number to open accounts with a pic or fingerprint.
That would be fine, because they are here, all 12-30 million of them, and they need work, and they might as well put their money in our banks.
Also it's so darned fascist in this country now that if anyone were to suggest a bank that wasn't following the rules they would soon get a heavy knock on their door and be hauled off as an "enemy combatant."

Answer 3

A bank won't open an account unless there's a SS# attached. He may as well pay off the bills and put money in a cardboard box.

Answer 4

You can pay by money order or get a bank account in another country. Switzerland is the classic favorite, but there are lots of offshore banks, mostly on islands like Nevis, Bermuda, the Isle of Man, etc. Check offshore banking on Google.

Answer 5

If you get a credit score report, it will have to record every account that you've got open with your social safety number, so ones that were opened with out your permission will probably be on the credit score file.

Answer 6

Well, in any of the states its pretty much illegal to not have a SSN on the account. I mean, about the only way for him to have an account and not be "linked" to it is to have someone else open it up and give him the PIN # to the ATM card. Sorry man.

Answer 7

All banks are required by federal law to have the SSAN of their depositors. So if you find a bank which doesn't require be very careful. The feds could shut them down any time.

Answer 8

see you in 10-20 years

Answer 9

Maybe another country. The MAN keeps track of you here.

Answer 10

ARE YOU NUTS?!?!?!?!?!? Don't get involved with people who don't pay their bills and look for ways to cheat the system. People like that lack integrity and will drag you down!