Answer

What do you need to open a bank account?

Updated August 2026. Evergreen page — refreshed in place as facts change.

The complete checklist

Nearly every US bank, credit union, and fintech asks for the same core set:

• Government-issued photo ID — a driver's license, state ID card, or passport. Some institutions accept other government IDs; expired documents generally fail.
• Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
• Date of birth — you must generally be 18 to open an account alone; minors need a joint or custodial account with an adult.
• A residential address — a P.O. box can receive mail but does not satisfy the residential requirement.
• Contact information — phone and email, where verification codes and status updates go.
• Funding details if you choose to add money at opening — a linked account, debit card, or cash, depending on the institution.

Why do banks ask for all this?

It is federal law, not curiosity. US customer-identification rules — part of the Bank Secrecy Act framework — require financial institutions to collect and verify each new customer's name, date of birth, address, and identification number before opening the account. Every legitimate institution, from the largest bank to a licensed money services business like Anytime Capital, runs the same checks.

That makes the requirement itself a useful fraud test in reverse: a 'bank' that will open an account with no identity verification at all is telling you what kind of operation it is.

What if you don't have a Social Security number?

An ITIN — the IRS-issued Individual Taxpayer Identification Number — satisfies the identification-number requirement at many banks and credit unions, and some institutions accept a passport with supporting documents under their customer-identification program. Policies genuinely vary here, so check the institution's requirements before applying rather than discovering them at the document-upload step.

What no legitimate US institution offers is an account with no identifying number at all; offshore or 'no-verification' pitches are where account-opening scams live.

Do you need money to open an account?

Less often than people assume. Many online banks and fintechs — Anytime Capital included — have no monthly fees and no minimums, and let you fund the account after it opens rather than demanding a deposit at signup. Traditional banks more commonly ask for an opening deposit, frequently $25–$100 in 2026. If the deposit requirement is the obstacle, our guide to bank accounts with no opening deposit lists what to look for.

Online vs in-branch: does the paperwork differ?

The required information is identical; the verification method differs. Online, your details are checked electronically — most applications finish in minutes, with a document upload (a photo of your ID) requested only when something needs a second look. In a branch, a banker inspects the physical documents. At Anytime Capital, applications are online, most accounts open in minutes, and verification that needs review typically completes within 1–2 business days with email updates along the way.

Either way, accuracy is the accelerant: your legal name exactly as the ID shows it, your current residential address, and a phone in your own name clear electronic verification far more often than not.

What can stop an application — and what to do about it?

The two common blockers are identity details that will not verify (fix: correct typos, use the address your records actually show, respond to document requests promptly) and a negative record in account-screening systems from a past account closed with unpaid fees. For the second, you can request your consumer report from the screening company, dispute errors, or settle old balances — and some institutions offer accounts designed to accept applicants rebuilding their banking history.

Names are the quiet third blocker: applications under nicknames, maiden names, or missing suffixes verify poorly against official records. Apply with the name your Social Security records carry, and after a legal name change, update those records first — an application filed mid-change tends to land in manual review.