Various banks in the US give loans to students. Most banks require the loan applicant to have a social Security Number (SSN). Citibank is one bank which does not have this requirement. One requirement that is standard for all banks is that all of them require a guarantor or co signer when giving a loan to an International student. A co-signer must be a US citizen or permanent resident, with good credit and income history.
The current interest rate ranges from 5% to 7% depending on the credit history of the co-signer and the duration of repayments is usually around 20 years.
The banks that offer loans are:
a. Citibank
b. Bank Of America
c. TFCU (Teacher's Federal Credit Union)
d. Chase
TFCU is situated on campus at Students Activities center. They offer to open an account without SSN and minimum payment of $1 in your account.
Bank Of America and Chase Bank come to the university once the semester starts. You can open an account in these banks but beware of the charges involved. For more information the website is as follows
https://www1.bankofamerica.com/efulfillment/documents/51-11-3000ED.20090605.htm
The nearest Branch of Bank Of America is near the Long Island Railroad (10 min walk from railroad).
Branches of Bank Of America are found all over US which is not the case with TFCU.
When you open your account you are given a debit card as one of the means to operate the account. Unfortunately to apply for a credit card an SSN is required.
a. Passport
b. Visa
c. I20
d. Money.
A wire transfer (i.e. money transfer from one account [Bank 1 in US] to other [Bank 2 in US]) is charged. TFCU charges $12. TFCU does not charge for money transfers within its bank although, others might charge.
For money transfer to India, Western union is a safe and hassle free option. It has many centers all over India. They charge $10 for a transfer of up to $500 and after that the cost goes up by $5 for each increment of $500. For more information their website is as follows.
http://www.westernunion.com/
Another option for money transfer to India is through ICICI NRI Money2India. For this you require to have an account with ICICI. The money transfer happens immediately but the security clearance can take some time.
Citibank is also an option to consider for money transfer to India. They charge a flat rate of Rs. 500 for the same.
Money transfer from India, if wired in, is preferred to TFCU as destination account, since TFCU does not charge incoming wire transfer fee. Wire transfer is simple and safe.
Another option to transfer from India to US is SBI Vishwa Yatra Card, which is to be taken from India after visa interview (valid visa is required). Money is loaded (Rs.80 per load) onto the card from any SBI Forex branch in India, and the USD equivalent is added to your account. It can be used as a credit card anywhere in the world (for no service charge), and can be used as debit card to withdraw cash from any ATM ($2 per transaction + any ATM fees that might apply)
Inter-currency conversion is always carried out based on Rate of Exchange (RoE) of that particular day. This rate of exchange is usually coupled with transaction processing fee, taking the effective conversion rate higher by approximately 1.5% per dollar.(usually Rs.47 - Rs.51)
Forex for cash in India is obtainable at various nationalized banks. SBI and CBI give best deals. Forex can also be bought from within the airport lounge, in any international airport, but at higher cost.
Conversion back to rupee is the same procedure as above, and usually wire transfer back to account in India is preferred for amounts larger than $500.
Cash transactions are usually avoided in the US. Credit/Debit cards are the most preferred means of payment anywhere in the US
*The information above is purely for indicative purposes. IGSA bares no responsibility or liability for any variation in cost or quality.
