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US citizens in the UK · Institutions

Which Charles Schwab accounts accept US citizens

Last checked

Charles Schwab has been checked for US citizens across 2 account types. Both are open to a US person (both with strings).

If you already have an account with Charles Schwab, a second one there is usually the easier application, because Charles Schwab has already checked who you are. Each account below carries its verdict, the evidence behind it and the date it was checked.

At a glance

Account Verdict Last checked
Brokerage accounts Charles Schwab International With strings
Multi-currency accounts Charles Schwab (High-Yield Investor Checking) With strings

Brokerage accounts

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Charles Schwab International

With strings

US persons: a US-domiciled dollar account with SIPC rather than FSCS, and a W-9

The cleanest answer on this page, and it avoids the US address trap that closes Schwab's domestic checking account to someone who has moved: it accepts a UK utility bill, council tax demand or HMRC coding notice as proof of residence. The string is what kind of account it is. This is a US-domiciled dollar account reporting on a 1099, so you are protected by SIPC and not by the FSCS.

SIPC $500,000 including $250,000 cash, plus excess cover at Lloyd's. No FSCS

Account Terms The catch
Schwab One International Account
Annual fee
None. No service fee and no minimum to open
Dealing fee
$0 on online US stock and ETF trades, $25 broker-assisted, options $0.65 a contract
Can hold
US-listed shares, US-domiciled ETFs, options, bonds and offshore funds. The only account here where the US funds are actually available, which answers the PFIC problem outright rather than working around it.
Individual shares
Yes
US-domiciled ETFs
Yes
 UCITS ETFs are not available online at all and cost $50 broker-assisted. Sterling converts on the way in and out by wire, with no separate conversion commission published and $25 on outgoing wires.

Source: Schwab International US expat investing pages, 2026-08-17 Last checked Charles Schwab International's own page

Multi-currency accounts

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Charles Schwab (High-Yield Investor Checking)

With strings

US persons: needs a US mailing address, so it turns on whether you kept one

Now sold as Schwab Bank Investor Checking, it holds dollars only, and every account holder must give a US mailing address. Whether that rules you out depends on your own circumstances rather than your citizenship: plenty of Americans in the UK keep a genuine US address, and plenty do not. It charges no foreign transaction fee and rebates cash machine fees worldwide, so it is worth keeping if you already hold one.

FDIC $250,000, no UK protection · online and app

Account Terms The catch
Bank Investor Checking
Monthly fee
Free
Interest
Pays credit interest, and rebates cash machine fees worldwide
Currencies
US dollars only
Cost to convert
No foreign transaction fee
Rate as of
 You must give a US mailing address, and the account is opened alongside a Schwab brokerage account.

Source: Schwab Bank Investor Checking, 2026-08-17 Last checked Charles Schwab (High-Yield Investor Checking)'s own page

Account names link to the provider's own site. momo has no active affiliate partnerships; if that changes it will be disclosed and will never change a verdict. Every institution, A to Z.

Confirm your own position with a cross-border specialist. Acceptance policies and tax rules change, and your facts may differ from the general case. Rates and terms here are the provider's published figures rather than an offer, and the provider decides each application on its own criteria. Use this as a map, not a ruling. Last checked .
Tax

FATCA

FATCA makes UK banks report accounts held by US persons to the IRS. It is not a tax; it is a reporting trail. Where it bites is access.

 Tax

PFIC

Almost every UK-domiciled fund is a PFIC, taxed by the US at punitive rates with heavy filing. This is why US citizens hold individual shares, not UK funds.

 Tax

FBAR

If your foreign accounts top $10,000 combined at any point in the year, you file an FBAR. What counts, when it is due, and what happens if you miss it.