US Financial Institutions And 2FA

What do people in the UK do when their US financial institutions require two factor authentication when logging in?  I'm fortunate at the moment that my US bank will send a one-time code via email and that works OK - although I can imagine a day when it'll be via mobile only.  My IRA provider, Fidelity, doesn't require 2FA at the moment but it looks like they may be introducing it in future.  I don't believe that any US institution will accept a UK mobile number when providing a one-time code.  I'm OK for now but are there any clever ways to get around the requirement to have a US mobile number if that situation arises?

I’m sure someone will come along with a VOIP or web based US phone service that one can use. I used to use Skype to get my one time pass codes for logging onto Vanguard but a couple of years ago they started accepting UK mobile numbers so no problem there. My bank is HSBC US and it uses an authentication code on its mobile app. (As does HSBC UK)

My Wise USD account also uses my UK mobile phone for 2FA and I have it linked to my Vanguard account to receive distributions.

I’m sure someone will come along with a VOIP or web based US phone service that one can use. I used to use Skype to get my one time pass codes for logging onto Vanguard but a couple of years ago they started accepting UK mobile numbers so no problem there. My bank is HSBC US and it uses an authentication code on its mobile app. (As does HSBC UK)

My Wise USD account also uses my UK mobile phone for 2FA and I have it linked to my Vanguard account to receive distributions.

Thanks.  I can imagine Fidelity would accept a UK mobile number but my US bank is unlikely to - it's not one of the big banks and I've already tried.  Fidelity also mention some software, which I forget the name of, that they use for authentication (but for all I know that may only work in the US).

I also have a Wise account which authenticates via my UK mobile so that's an option for receiving my IRA distributions.  I've read elsewhere that it's difficult to get Fidelity to recognise a Wise account because they normally require a voided cheque (check) as evidence - which Wise don't provide.

Maybe other solutions will emerge as technology improves, although in my experience the US banking system is fairly slow to catch on.

Thanks.  I can imagine Fidelity would accept a UK mobile number but my US bank is unlikely to - it's not one of the big banks and I've already tried.  Fidelity also mention some software, which I forget the name of, that they use for authentication (but for all I know that may only work in the US).

I also have a Wise account which authenticates via my UK mobile so that's an option for receiving my IRA distributions.  I've read elsewhere that it's difficult to get Fidelity to recognise a Wise account because they normally require a voided cheque (check) as evidence - which Wise don't provide.

Maybe other solutions will emerge as technology improves, although in my experience the US banking system is fairly slow to catch on.

Vanguard use the method of sending tiny amounts and having you verify exactly the value of those amounts. I am surprised that Fidelity would require paper checks to set up the account. Anyone can acquire someone else’s paper checks but are very unlikely to have access to the account to verify transfers. I had a Fidelity account for many years in the US but I don’t recall how I linked my bank accounts.

I've been wondering for a while whether I should have Fidelity send distributions to my Wise account rather than my US bank account.  I presume, as long as Fidelity will accept the accounts details, that they can send to Wise using EFT in the same way as they send to my existing bank. (Turns out I haven't yet added a USD account to my Wise account - but I daresay it's easy).  In that way, I'd no longer have a need for my existing US bank account - although there is some comfort in having it, since I've had it for 30 years or so.

Do you know of any limitations with a Wise USD account?  Are there transactions limits?  More than likely, I'd transfer my Fidelity distribution from USD to GBP (to my UK bank) pretty soon after it arrived at Wise.

My understanding is that Wise USD accounts don't have a cheque facility, and you couldn't deposit one.  Although it rarely happens, I am able to deposit a USD cheque to my current US bank (via the app by cheque imaging).

As fate would have it, today is one of those days when I transfer money from my US bank account to the UK, using Wise.  USD funds are taken by Wise using ACH.  Normally the whole "transfer" to the UK happens in minutes - never more than an hour.  Today, it said the transfer will take longer than normal - up to 6 days.  This has never happened before.  I don't know what's up with that, but Wise customer support told me that ACH can take up to 4 working days.

Presumably, you avoid all that faff if you have your distributions paid directly into Wise.

I've been wondering for a while whether I should have Fidelity send distributions to my Wise account rather than my US bank account.  I presume, as long as Fidelity will accept the accounts details, that they can send to Wise using EFT in the same way as they send to my existing bank. (Turns out I haven't yet added a USD account to my Wise account - but I daresay it's easy).  In that way, I'd no longer have a need for my existing US bank account - although there is some comfort in having it, since I've had it for 30 years or so.

Do you know of any limitations with a Wise USD account?  Are there transactions limits?  More than likely, I'd transfer my Fidelity distribution from USD to GBP (to my UK bank) pretty soon after it arrived at Wise.

My understanding is that Wise USD accounts don't have a cheque facility, and you couldn't deposit one.  Although it rarely happens, I am able to deposit a USD cheque to my current US bank (via the app by cheque imaging).

As fate would have it, today is one of those days when I transfer money from my US bank account to the UK, using Wise.  USD funds are taken by Wise using ACH.  Normally the whole "transfer" to the UK happens in minutes - never more than an hour.  Today, it said the transfer will take longer than normal - up to 6 days.  This has never happened before.  I don't know what's up with that, but Wise customer support told me that ACH can take up to 4 working days.

Presumably, you avoid all that faff if you have your distributions paid directly into Wise.

It is very easy to create a Wise USD account and you are correct that limitations are a lack of paper checks and mobile deposit. Does Fidelity not provide mobile check deposit? I think it does. My daughter just deposited a paper check for $126,000 into her Vanguard account (limit for mobile check deposit is $500,000. I’m sure Fidelity has a similar facility.

I have never been close to any limits on my Wise account and my daughter recently sent hundreds of thousands through her Wise account to buy a house in England. Neither of us keep much money in our Wise accounts as a matter of course.

Yesterday , using the Wise app on my phone, I transferred $10,000 from my US bank to my Wise USD account using ACH and it took seconds. I then transferred all of it to my UK bank and although I got a message saying it was taking longer than usual it still only took a minute rather than seconds. When moving money via ACH it is available immediately even though it takes a full day or more to come out of my US bank. (That’s the nature of ACH)

If you require 2FA without having a US cell number, an alternative is using a disposable SMS code - it's been debated on other threads in the forum.

Here's one to try if you need a code:

https://smsreceivefree.com/?utm_content=cmp-true


What you need to ensure is that you can change your mobile number with your US bank/institution immediately prior to making a transfer or logging on - a bit Heath Robinson, but it works. I've used it to retrieve my Tax Act account in the past. Good luck.

It is very easy to create a Wise USD account and you are correct that limitations are a lack of paper checks and mobile deposit. Does Fidelity not provide mobile check deposit? I think it does. My daughter just deposited a paper check for $126,000 into her Vanguard account (limit for mobile check deposit is $500,000. I’m sure Fidelity has a similar facility.

I have never been close to any limits on my Wise account and my daughter recently sent hundreds of thousands through her Wise account to buy a house in England. Neither of us keep much money in our Wise accounts as a matter of course.

Yesterday , using the Wise app on my phone, I transferred $10,000 from my US bank to my Wise USD account using ACH and it took seconds. I then transferred all of it to my UK bank and although I got a message saying it was taking longer than usual it still only took a minute rather than seconds. When moving money via ACH it is available immediately even though it takes a full day or more to come out of my US bank. (That’s the nature of ACH)

Thanks for the info.

I'll certainly look into mobile check deposit at Fidelity.  Not sure if it matters but I only have a Rollover IRA, so it would have to be deposited into that.

My ACH transfer is still saying it won't occur until Tuesday (another 2 working days).  It was all a bit strange yesterday.  Firstly, I had to re-verify myself with Wise - passport photo and selfie.  Then I tried my normal transfer and it said it would "take longer than normal" - like you, it had said that before but still occurred within the hour.  Not so this time.  I actually cancelled the transfer a couple of times and then called Wise customer support to see what was up.  All he could tell me was that ACH can take upto 4 working days.  I'm just delving into the details of ACH at the moment.  Seems like when those transfers happen "immediately", Wise are transferring funds to you/me before they've actually received them from the originator.  Apart from the re-verify, the only other difference was that I initiated the transfer after lunch our time and I normally do it in the morning.  More ACH reading to do.

Thanks for the info.

I'll certainly look into mobile check deposit at Fidelity.  Not sure if it matters but I only have a Rollover IRA, so it would have to be deposited into that.

My ACH transfer is still saying it won't occur until Tuesday (another 2 working days).  It was all a bit strange yesterday.  Firstly, I had to re-verify myself with Wise - passport photo and selfie.  Then I tried my normal transfer and it said it would "take longer than normal" - like you, it had said that before but still occurred within the hour.  Not so this time.  I actually cancelled the transfer a couple of times and then called Wise customer support to see what was up.  All he could tell me was that ACH can take upto 4 working days.  I'm just delving into the details of ACH at the moment.  Seems like when those transfers happen "immediately", Wise are transferring funds to you/me before they've actually received them from the originator.  Apart from the re-verify, the only other difference was that I initiated the transfer after lunch our time and I normally do it in the morning.  More ACH reading to do.

I also had to do the re-verification process yesterday with photos of driving licence and a selfie. I wonder if there is a limit to the amount transferred via ACH that they will guarantee. Same day ACH has happened twice for me now.  The usual ACH (Automated Clearing House) process is done through the Federal Bank somehow. If you request an ACH transfer on a Friday then it won't happen before Monday at the earliest, or Tuesday if Monday is a Federal holiday.  When I initiate a transfer from my Vanguard account to either my US bank account or Wise account then it can definitely take up to 4 business days unless I choose to wire it from Vanguard.

For larger amounts I always wire the money to Wise which is both cheaper and if done on a weekday morning means the money will be in my UK bank that day. 

Not sure if you can deposit money into your Roth as that would only be allowed if you had earned income and were eligible to make Roth contributions.  We still have after-tax Vanguard accounts so we can deposit into the money-market account.

I also had to do the re-verification process yesterday with photos of driving licence and a selfie. I wonder if there is a limit to the amount transferred via ACH that they will guarantee. Same day ACH has happened twice for me now.  The usual ACH (Automated Clearing House) process is done through the Federal Bank somehow. If you request an ACH transfer on a Friday then it won't happen before Monday at the earliest, or Tuesday if Monday is a Federal holiday.  When I initiate a transfer from my Vanguard account to either my US bank account or Wise account then it can definitely take up to 4 business days unless I choose to wire it from Vanguard.

For larger amounts I always wire the money to Wise which is both cheaper and if done on a weekday morning means the money will be in my UK bank that day. 

Not sure if you can deposit money into your Roth as that would only be allowed if you had earned income and were eligible to make Roth contributions.  We still have after-tax Vanguard accounts so we can deposit into the money-market account.

My transfer yesterday was quite small - just over $3K - so I doubt it was an issue with the amount.  I normally send over twice that amount.

Interestingly, I've now received an email from my US bank (the source of the funds) confirming the pre-authorised payment so I'm happy that the transfer will happen in due course.  This email normally arrives after Wise have already credited my UK account - normally at least a day later!

It's hard to know whether the delay this time is caused by Wise, my US bank, or the ACH middle-men.

Vanguard use the method of sending tiny amounts and having you verify exactly the value of those amounts. I am surprised that Fidelity would require paper checks to set up the account. Anyone can acquire someone else’s paper checks but are very unlikely to have access to the account to verify transfers. I had a Fidelity account for many years in the US but I don’t recall how I linked my bank accounts.

May or may not be relevant:  I have had a retirement account with Fidelity for years.  To roll a 403b from another institution into that original account they required that I have a paper check sent to me, and then I had to forward the paper check to them. The other institution did offer to send everything electronically, but Fidelity said it had to do with the arrangements set up by my original employer when that original retirement account was set up. So I had to get TIAA to send a check and then overnighted the check to Fidelity, where it now appears in the balance of my account.

It still doesn't make sense. 

May or may not be relevant:  I have had a retirement account with Fidelity for years.  To roll a 403b from another institution into that original account they required that I have a paper check sent to me, and then I had to forward the paper check to them. The other institution did offer to send everything electronically, but Fidelity said it had to do with the arrangements set up by my original employer when that original retirement account was set up. So I had to get TIAA to send a check and then overnighted the check to Fidelity, where it now appears in the balance of my account.

It still doesn't make sense. 

Lots of things about US banking make no sense!  It never ceases to amaze me.

Oops - just occurred to me that this conversation has taken a bit of a deviation from my original question about 2FA.  My fault.

May or may not be relevant:  I have had a retirement account with Fidelity for years.  To roll a 403b from another institution into that original account they required that I have a paper check sent to me, and then I had to forward the paper check to them. The other institution did offer to send everything electronically, but Fidelity said it had to do with the arrangements set up by my original employer when that original retirement account was set up. So I had to get TIAA to send a check and then overnighted the check to Fidelity, where it now appears in the balance of my account.

It still doesn't make sense. 

Yeah, that happened to me as well when I rolled over my 401k to an IRA at Vanguard. Initially the 401k custodians Schwab said they could do a direct electronic transfer but then got back to me to say that the 401k rules said paper checks only to the employees address on record. Like you I had to immediately rush out to FedEx the check to Vanguard once it arrived from Schwab.

Yeah, that happened to me as well when I rolled over my 401k to an IRA at Vanguard. Initially the 401k custodians Schwab said they could do a direct electronic transfer but then got back to me to say that the 401k rules said paper checks only to the employees address on record. Like you I had to immediately rush out to FedEx the check to Vanguard once it arrived from Schwab.

I have to say, I felt nervous as heck with a check that size in my purse, and the while it wended its way to Fidelity!