Looking for an on-line bank

[thurgood]

I am an American citizen currently living in Europe. I would like to open an on-line account with an American bank. Is this possible to do from here? thank you

[lorraineb]

You should probably be contacting the online banks to see if this is possible...

[kork13]

It is POSSIBLE, however it can sometimes be difficult, depending on the policies of the specific bank you work with. Due to Patriot Act requirements, you will have to provide a stateside physical address. Depending on the specific bank's policies, they might accept a home of record address, or the address of a parent/relative living in the US. You can then specify your mailing address as your present address in Europe. The requirement to provide a phone number can also be problematic. If you have a MagicJack, Skype, Vonage, or similar VOIP telephone service, that is an easy solution. Otherwise, you might again consider a relative. There are other complications, but as long as you can manage your account online, it's totally doable. I went through this process while I was living in Japan for 2 years. It's a bit of a pain sometimes, but you can make it work.

Bottom line, you just need to call them and ask. Some banks will work with you, others will simply say "Sorry, can't help you."