Key takeaways
- A USD account is a balance in US dollars plus account details that payers use to reach it. The details show where to send money, not who holds it.
- The ACH Network reaches all US bank and credit union accounts and settles payments four times a day, according to Nacha, which publishes the network's rules.
- US accounts have no IBAN. The IBAN Registry that Swift publishes listed 89 national formats when we read it on , and the United States was not among them.
- Four fees decide the cost: opening or issuance, monthly, incoming payment, and conversion or payout.
- A non-bank provider is not covered by deposit insurance in its own right. The US insurer says such companies are “never FDIC-insured”.
What a USD account is
A USD account is a balance held in US dollars together with account details that other people use to pay you. The two parts do different jobs. The details are an address on a payment network: they tell a payer's bank where to send the money. The balance is a record of what the provider owes you once the money has arrived.
People open one for a plain reason: the payer is in the United States and they are not. Freelancers put the details on an invoice, remote employees give them to payroll, and small exporters use them to collect from US buyers. The payer makes an ordinary domestic transfer, and the receiver holds dollars until they choose to convert them.
The name hides the question that matters most. A USD account at a bank is a bank account. A USD account in an app may be something else, and the difference decides what happens to your money if the provider fails. This guide, part of the Fasset Learn hub, explains the details, the networks, the fees and that difference.
Three terms used in this guide
Account details are the numbers a payer needs to reach an account: a routing number and account number, or an IBAN and a SWIFT code. A payment rail is the network that carries a payment, such as ACH or SWIFT. A balance is the amount the provider records as owed to you.
Three kinds of provider: bank, e-money institution, stablecoin platform
Three kinds of company offer USD accounts: banks, e-money institutions and stablecoin platforms. They can hand you details that look identical. They differ in who holds your money and in what protects it, and the table sets the three side by side.
| Point | Bank | E-money institution | Stablecoin platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who holds the money | The bank. Your balance is a deposit: a debt the bank owes you. | The institution owes you the balance. Matching funds sit in a safeguarding account at a bank or are covered by insurance. | The platform or its custodian holds tokens issued by a third party. Their value rests on the issuer's reserves. |
| What the account details are | The bank's own routing number or IBAN, with an account in your name. | Usually issued through a partner bank. They may be in your name, or shared and matched by a reference code. | Supplied by a third-party payments provider. Incoming dollars may be converted into a stablecoin. |
| Protection scheme | Deposit insurance in the bank's country. In the United States the FDIC insures deposits up to at least $250,000 at an insured bank. | Safeguarding, not deposit insurance. The UK regulator says you “should get most of your money back”, though it may come late and not in full. | No deposit guarantee scheme. A stablecoin is not a bank deposit. |
| What to check | That the bank is in the insurer's own list. The FDIC's is called BankFind. | The firm's entry in its regulator's register, and which bank holds the safeguarded funds. | Which legal entity you contract with, who supplies the details, and whether the balance is dollars or tokens. |
Sources: FDIC, “Banking With Third-Party Apps”; FCA, “Using payment service providers”; the USDT disclosure on Fasset's Reserve page. The examples come from the United States and the United Kingdom, and rules differ by country. Read on .
A fourth arrangement sits between the columns. In the United States a non-bank app can place customers' money at an FDIC-insured bank. The FDIC's guidance on banking with third-party apps says that such companies are “never FDIC-insured” themselves, that cover can pass through to customers only when ownership records and other conditions are met, and that deposit insurance does not protect anyone against the failure of the non-bank company.
Fasset is a non-bank provider, so the second and third columns are the ones to read. Its Global VIBAN Services terms say that the contract is with Fasset Labuan Limited, that the services are “powered by a third-party provider” and that they are outside the “regulated or licensed activities” of that company. The terms do not name the provider. Fasset does not publish whether a balance is held as dollars or as USDT. It is not a bank account.
Account details tell a payer where to send dollars. They do not tell you who holds them.
Account details explained
Account details are identifiers that steer a payment to one account, and the set you need depends on the network the payer uses. A US payer on ACH needs a routing number and an account number. A payer sending an international wire needs an IBAN or an account number, plus a SWIFT code.
Routing number and account number
A routing number identifies the US institution that holds an account, and the account number identifies the account inside it. Together they are what a US payroll system or accounting package asks for. The routing number belongs to the institution, not to you: every customer whose details come from the same institution sees the same one. The account number is the part that is yours. When a provider says the details are in your name, it means that the account name the payer sees matches your own.
IBAN
An IBAN, or International Bank Account Number, is a standard way of writing an account number so that banks in other countries can read and check it. Swift's page on the IBAN standard explains that ISO 13616 sets the structure and that each country registers its own national format with Swift. An IBAN starts with a two-letter country code and two check digits, followed by the domestic bank and account identifiers. The registry's example for the United Kingdom is GB29 NWBK 6016 1331 9268 19, which has 22 characters. A UAE IBAN has 23, a Pakistani one 24 and a Turkish one 26.
SWIFT or BIC code
A SWIFT code, formally a Business Identifier Code or BIC, identifies an institution and not an account. The format comes from the ISO 9362 standard, and Swift issues the codes. A BIC has 8 characters: a four-character party prefix, a two-letter country code and a two-character suffix. An optional three-character branch identifier makes it 11. The payer's bank uses the code to address the payment, and your IBAN or account number then identifies you. Swift's description of the BIC adds that not every BIC is connected to its messaging network, so ask a provider to confirm that it accepts international wires.
Do US accounts have an IBAN?
No. The United States does not use IBANs. The IBAN Registry that Swift publishes listed 89 national formats when we read it on 12 October 2026, and the United States was not among them. A US account is identified by its routing number and account number for domestic payments, and by the bank's BIC plus the account number for international wires.
Some providers still advertise a “USD IBAN”. It is an IBAN issued under another country's format for an account kept in dollars, and its first two letters show which country that is. Fasset calls its product a dedicated USD IBAN. Its guide does not say which country's format the number uses or which institution issues it. Before you rely on any USD IBAN, ask the provider which networks can reach it: ACH, international wire or both.
ACH and SWIFT compared
ACH is the domestic US network that moves money between accounts in batches, and SWIFT is the messaging network that banks use to instruct payments across borders. Most of the difference in cost and speed follows from that. An ACH payment stays inside one national system. An international wire is passed from bank to bank.
ACH transfer
SWIFT wire
The Federal Reserve Board's description of ACH calls it a nationwide network through which institutions send each other batches of credit and debit transfers, with two national operators: the Reserve Banks and the Electronic Payments Network. Nacha's overview of the ACH Network says it reaches all US bank and credit union accounts, settles payments four times a day and does not settle at weekends or on federal holidays. Same Day ACH has a limit of $1 million per payment, which Nacha says will rise to $10 million on .
A wire sent over SWIFT has no single operator. The sending bank instructs a bank it has a relationship with, and the payment may pass through one or more correspondent banks before it reaches the beneficiary's institution. Each bank on the route can take a charge from the amount. US rules for consumer transfers abroad, summarised in the CFPB's guide to remittance transfers, require the sender to be told where further fees and foreign taxes “may be deducted”. No neutral body publishes an average for these charges. Fasset's own guide puts them at “$15 to $50 or more per transfer”, which is the company's statement and not a measurement.
| Point | ACH | International wire over SWIFT |
|---|---|---|
| Network reach | All US bank and credit union accounts. It is a domestic network: the payer sends from a US account to US account details. | Institutions in other countries that hold a BIC connected to the Swift network. |
| Typical route | Sending bank, ACH operator, receiving institution. | Sending bank, one or more correspondent banks, beneficiary institution. |
| Who charges | Each institution sets its own fee for sending and for receiving. | The sending bank, the banks on the route and the receiving institution may each charge. |
| When money settles | The network settles four times a day on business days. A payment is processed the same business day or one to two business days later. | There is no network timetable. Timing depends on the banks on the route, their cut-off times and their checks. |
| What the payer needs | Routing number, account number and account name. | BIC, IBAN or account number, and account name. |
ACH column: Nacha and the Federal Reserve Board. Wire column: Swift's BIC page and the CFPB. Read on .
For a receiver outside the United States the practical point is this. ACH reaches only US account details, so you need a provider that can issue them. A wire can reach the local account you already have, but you pay for the route, and a bank sets the exchange rate, not you.
What it costs: four fees to check
Four fees decide what a USD account costs: the opening or issuance fee, the monthly fee, the incoming payment fee, and the conversion or payout fee. Providers tend to advertise the first three, and the fourth is the one that grows with every payment. The examples below use the amounts Fasset publishes, and the full schedule is on the page for Fasset fees and limits.
Opening or issuance fee
This is a one-time charge for creating the account or its details. Some providers charge nothing, and some charge for each set of details. Fasset publishes a one-time issuance fee of $9.99 for a dedicated USD IBAN.
Monthly fee
This is a charge for keeping the account open, whether or not you use it. It matters most if you are paid irregularly, because an empty month still costs money. Fasset publishes a monthly fee of $0. Ask any provider whether it also charges for inactivity.
Incoming payment fee
This is what the provider takes when a payment arrives, as a fixed amount or a percentage. It can differ by network, so ask about ACH and wires separately. Fasset says that receiving a payment from a US bank by ACH is free. It publishes no fee for incoming wires.
Conversion and payout fee
This is the cost of turning dollars into your own currency and moving them to a local account. It has two parts: a stated fee and the exchange rate applied. Fasset publishes a 0.35% FX fee when you send from the USD balance to an account in another currency, and no FX fee when you send dollars to a USD account. Its guide states the fee and does not say how the exchange rate is set.
Worked example (illustrative)
Suppose a freelancer is paid $1,000 a month by a US client for 12 months and converts every payment to a local currency. The fees are the ones Fasset publishes. The freelancer and the payments are invented for the sum.
| Fee | Published amount | Over 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Issuance of the USD IBAN | $9.99, once | $9.99 |
| Monthly fee | $0 | $0.00 |
| Incoming ACH payments | Free | $0.00 |
| FX fee on conversion | 0.35%, or $3.50 on each $1,000 | $42.00 |
| Total | 0.43% of $12,000 | $51.99 |
The sum leaves out everything that is not published: an exchange-rate margin, a payout fee where one applies and any charge by the bank that receives the local currency. Use it as a method, not as a quote.
What a provider checks before it issues account details
Every regulated provider verifies who you are before it issues account details, so the time it takes to open an account is the time the identity check takes. The steps are much the same everywhere.
- Identity document. A passport or national identity card, photographed in the app.
- Selfie or liveness check. A photo or short video that shows the person applying is the person on the document.
- Address. Your home address, sometimes with a document that shows it.
- Review. Screening of your name against sanctions lists, and questions about your work and where the money will come from.
Three things slow approval: a name on the application that does not match the document, a country or document type the provider does not support, and a manual review. A cropped or blurred photograph sends the application back to the start.
Claims of instant opening usually leave out two things. The clock starts after verification, not when you download the app. And account details can arrive later than the account, because the institution that issues them may run its own check. Fasset's guide says its account “opens instantly” and its home page says “60 seconds”. Neither is a measured time. No neutral body publishes an average, so ask a provider what share of applicants it approves on the same day.
Risks and limits
A USD account from a non-bank provider carries risks that a bank deposit does not, and the main one is the absence of deposit insurance. Five points deserve a look before you route your income through one.
- No deposit guarantee scheme. A non-bank provider is not covered by deposit insurance in its own right. The FDIC says its insurance does not protect against the insolvency of a non-bank company, and that recovering money through a court process “may take some time”.
- Paused payments. Providers screen incoming payments. A new payer, an unusual amount or a mismatched name can lead a provider to hold a payment while it asks questions, or to return it to the sender.
- Dependence on a third party. When account details come from a partner institution, a change in that partnership can change your details or interrupt the service. Your contract is usually with the app, not with the partner.
- Stablecoin price. If a provider keeps your balance in a stablecoin, the token can trade below one dollar. Fasset's own disclosure says that USDT “isn't a bank deposit” and is not covered by a deposit guarantee scheme.
- Tax and reporting. A USD account does not change where your income is taxed. Declaring it under the rules of your country, and keeping the records, stays your responsibility.
One limit is built into the network itself. ACH is domestic, so a client who pays from a bank outside the United States cannot use your routing number and will need wire details. Fasset sets out the risks of its own services in the Fasset risk disclosure.
Is a USD account halal?
The question turns on interest. An account that pays or charges interest raises the issue of riba, and an account that does neither avoids the most common objection. This guide gives no religious ruling.
Fasset states on its About page that all its accounts, services and investments are “delivered without interest”. That is the company's description of its own services. No Shariah board or certificate is named on fasset.com, so this guide does not call the account halal.
A second question arises when a provider holds your balance in a stablecoin. Scholars differ on digital assets, and the answer can depend on the token. Our guide on whether crypto and stablecoins are halal sets out both views. For a decision about your own money, ask a scholar you trust.
Where Fasset fits
Fasset offers a USD account inside its app: account details in your own name for payments by ACH, and a dedicated USD IBAN on request. The published costs are $9.99 once for the IBAN, $0 a month, free incoming ACH payments and a 0.35% FX fee on sends to a non-USD account.
The scope is the one given in the provider table. The Fasset USD account is not a bank account. The contract is with Fasset Labuan Limited, a third-party provider powers the service, and no deposit guarantee scheme covers the balance. Fasset FZE holds licence VL/23/07/002 from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai for Broker-Dealer Services in virtual assets, and that licence does not extend to this account. Before you decide, read about the legal entities behind Fasset and, for the rules that licence sits under, whether crypto is legal in the UAE.
To open an account, or to follow a freelance payment from invoice to balance, go to the product page for the Fasset USD account for freelancers. Those steps live there and are not repeated here. For everyday payments you can spend a balance with the Fasset Card, a separate prepaid Visa card that is topped up in USDT. Both are managed in the Fasset app.
Frequently asked questions
Are USD account details real bank account details?
Sometimes. The routing number or IBAN always points to an institution that is connected to the payment network, because nothing else can receive the payment. Whether the account behind it is a bank account in your name depends on the provider. A bank gives you one. A non-bank app gives you receiving details issued through a partner, and a balance that is a claim on the app or its provider. Ask whose name the account is held in.
How long does it take to open a USD account?
It takes as long as the identity check. The application form is short, and an automated check of a clear document and selfie can finish while you wait. A name that does not match the document, an unsupported country or a manual review can add days. No neutral body publishes an average, so treat a promise of instant opening as the fastest case and not the usual one.
Can I receive ACH payments if I live outside the US?
Yes, if a provider issues you a US routing number and account number. The ACH Network reaches US bank and credit union accounts, so the payer sees an ordinary domestic account and the network takes no account of where you live. The provider does: it decides which countries it serves and checks your identity first. The payer must send from an account in the United States.
Do I need a US address?
Not to receive a payment. An ACH transfer needs a routing number, an account number and the name on the account. Whether you need a US address to open the account is the provider's own rule. Providers that serve non-residents accept a home address and an identity document from your country. Never give an address that is not yours: it breaks the provider's terms and can get the account closed.
What is the difference between a USD IBAN and a routing number?
They belong to different systems. A routing number and an account number identify a US account on domestic networks such as ACH. An IBAN is the international format, with 89 national versions in the registry that Swift publishes, and the United States is not among them. A USD IBAN is therefore a non-US IBAN for a dollar balance. Ask the provider which networks can reach it before you put it on an invoice.
Why open a USD account instead of receiving a wire in local currency?
To choose when and how your dollars are converted. When a US client wires money to a local-currency account, a bank converts it at its own rate on arrival, and banks on the route may deduct charges. With a USD account the client makes a domestic transfer, the money stays in dollars, and you convert at a fee you can read in advance. The trade-off is one more provider you have to trust.
Sources
- Nacha, “The ABCs of ACH”, nacha.org/content/abcs-ach, accessed 12 October 2026. Network reach, settlement four times a day, Same Day ACH limit.
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Automated Clearinghouse Services”, federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fedach_about.htm, accessed 12 October 2026. Batches and the two national ACH operators.
- Swift, “International Bank Account Number (IBAN)” and the IBAN Registry published on that page (text version, 89 national formats), swift.com/standards/data-standards/iban-international-bank-account-number, accessed 12 October 2026.
- Swift, “Business Identifier Code (BIC)”, swift.com/standards/data-standards/bic-business-identifier-code, accessed 12 October 2026.
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, “Banking With Third-Party Apps”, last updated 31 May 2024, fdic.gov/consumer-resource-center/2024-06/banking-third-party-apps, accessed 12 October 2026.
- Financial Conduct Authority (UK), “Using payment service providers”, fca.org.uk/consumers/using-payment-service-providers, accessed 12 October 2026. Safeguarding at e-money institutions.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “What is a remittance transfer and what are my rights?”, last reviewed 3 October 2024, consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-remittance-transfer-en-1161/, accessed 12 October 2026.
- Fasset, the company's own pages, read on 6 and 12 October 2026 and quoted as its statements: the guides “Getting paid from the US just got cheaper: Meet ACH” (17 August 2026) and “How to Get a Dedicated USD IBAN” (18 August 2026) on fasset.com/blog/, the Global VIBAN Services Terms & Conditions on fasset.com/docs/, the Reserve page and the About page.
Not investment advice
For information only. Not investment, legal, tax or religious advice. Fees, limits and rules change, so check a provider's current terms before you act.