/Office of Global Affairs
International Student Success

Money, Payments, and Scams

Understanding your financial security in the United States is an important step for many new international students. This page can help you learn about common banking terms in the U.S., how to open a bank account, and how to avoid being scammed.

Common U.S. Banking Terms

Below are a list of common banking terms you may hear while banking in the United States.

  • Balance - The amount of money in your account at a given time.
  • Credit - An amount of money being added to your account. This may also be called a deposit.
  • Credit Card - A type of payment card that you can purchase with immediately, but will not have the amount taken out of your account until the credit card's payment date, which usually occurs monthly.
  • Debit - An amount of money being taken out of your account. This may also be called a withdrawal.
  • Debit Card - A type of payment card that immediately takes money out of your accounts as you make purchases.
  • Deposit - An amount of money being added to your account. This may also be called a credit.
  • Interest or Interest Bearing- Interest typically refers to a monetary charge you incur by borrowing money, such as loans. However, some bank accounts pay the person with the account interest for keeping their checking or savings account above a minimum balance set by the bank. These accounts are called interest bearing and can grow your money a small amount each month.
  • Minimum Daily Balance - The lowest balance you can have in your account without being charged a fee.
  • Service Charge - Money charged for various banking transactions and services. See the below tab "Fee Terms" for more information.
  • Transaction - Term for any action you take that may affect your account balance. This can be making a purchase with a debt card, adding money to your accounts, taking money out of your accounts, moving money between your accounts or to another person's account, and more.
  • Withdrawal - An amount of money being taken out of your account. This may also be called a debit.

  • Account Maintenance Fee - A monthly service fee charged for the use of your account. Some banks waive this fee for students and/or if you have a recurring direct deposit into your account.
  • ATM Fee- Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) can charge fees if the machine is not owned by the bank where you have your account. In many cases you will be charged two fees, one by the owner of the ATM and one by your bank. Avoid these fees by using ATMs owned by your bank. Many banks provide a website or app to locate their ATMs.
  • Insufficient Funds Fee - These fees may occur if you try to make a payment without enough funds in your account to cover the cost. Most of the time, the banks will block the charge from occurring and still charge you a fee. However, sometimes the payment will be approved, but then your bank will charge you for both the amount of the payment and for an insufficient funds fee. This can also be called overdraft fee.
  • Overdraft Fee - Some banks will allow you to continue making purchases even if you do not have enough money in your account. You will then be charged a fee for each overdraft transaction. Your bank may have a limited number of overdraft transaction you are allowed to make in a statement period. This can also be called insufficient funds fee.
  • Service Fees - Money charged for various banking transactions and services. May also be called Penalty fees.

The two most basic and common types of banking accounts offered in the United States are checking or savings. Other types of accounts are available, but are often versions of a checking or savings account.

Basic Accounts
  • Checking Account - This type of account provides convenient access to your funds. You can open a checking account by filling out an application with the bank of your choice and depositing a sum of money.
    • Most banks offer debit cards with their checking accounts that can be used for purchases whenever credit cards are accepted. Although debit cards look like credit cards and are accepted in many of the same places, it is important to remember that the debit card is connected directly to your checking account. When you use the debit card to pay for items, the money is immediately removed from your account. It is important to keep track of your account balance to avoid paying overdraft or insufficient fund fees!
    • Although they are less common now, you can use personal checks attached to your checking account to spend funds.
    • Many banks offer student checking accounts where the monthly maintenance fee is waived.
  • Savings Account- This type of account is an interest bearing account - your money will grow over time. These accounts are useful for storing funds that you may not need to access regularly. Many savings accounts limit the number of withdrawals or transfers you can make within a specific time limit.
Other Account Types
  • Certificate of Deposit (CD) - This is a type of savings account where you deposit a sum of money and earn higher rates of interest than would be available in a regular savings account. However, you typically deposit these funds for a specific amount of time, such as 12 or 18 months. You cannot withdraw the funds during that time unless you pay significant penalty fees.
  • High Yield Savings Accounts - Similar to a standard savings account, this account can grow your money through interest payments. You receive higher interest payments with this account. However, they often require a higher amount of money to be in the account. 
  • Money Market Account - A money market account is a type of interest bearing savings account that yields higher interest than a regular savings account. However, these types of accounts carry minimum daily balance requirements and also have limits on the number of transactions you can perform.

Making Accounts and Payments

Making payments as an international student can be more difficult than for some other students. Review the tips below to avoid common issues.

Payments made to Stony Brook University will go through the Student Financial Services, which is often also called the Bursar's Office.

Student Financial Services has partnered with Flywire to provide a streamlined way to make international payments that is both simple and cost-effective. After you view your bill in SOLAR and proceed to make a payment, simply select the "Flywire" option from the drop-down menu. If you have questions regarding Flywire, visit the Flywire website. Flywire provides information and customer service in a number of languages.

Avoid Being Scammed
Please take the following steps to avoid being a victim of a payment scam.
  • Never give your SOLAR ID and Password to anyone else. Our Student Financial Service team may ask for your Stony Brook ID number when assisting you, but this is different than your SOLAR ID and SBU workers will never ask for your SOLAR ID.
  • Never use an anonymous third party individual to pay your tuition for you. If you are scammed, Stony Brook University is not able to assist you and you will still be expected to make a timely payment.
  • Never use credit card or bank account information provided to you by someone else. Stony Brook officials will never ask you to make payments to individual bank accounts. You should not use other people's credit cards to prevent potentially being accused of fraud yourself.
  • Do not assume that someone can get a better currency exchange rate for you. Using official channels to convert currency can help you avoid being scammed.

Students with questions or concerns regarding payments to Stony Brook University are encouraged to make use of the many ways to contact the Student Financial Services Office, including their live chat, email, calling, or visiting in person. The Student Financial Services Office can be located on campus in the Union, 2nd floor, Suite 207.

Banks in the United States require a certain amount of documentation when opening an account. Below is a list of things commonly needed. We suggest you bring these documents with you. Please note that some banks may require additional documentation.
  • Passport
  • Visa
  • Form I-20 (F visa holders) or Form DS-2019 (J visa holders)
  • Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record)
  • The minimum dollar amount in either cash or check required to open the account
  • Proof of your U.S. Address
    • If you live on campus, your residence hall and mailbox information is needed. You can find this on SOLAR.
    • If you live off campus, you will need something like your lease agreement or utility bill that shows you are actively living at that address. 

Opening an account in a bank near to Stony Brook is important so you can easily access the bank as needed and to reduce possible international fee charges.

There are many banks in the Stony Brook area to choose from. Some of these options are listed below in alphabetical order.

  • Bank of America 
    • Website: bankofamerica.com
    • Phone number: (800) 432-1000
    • Address: 15 Bennets Road, Setauket-East Setauket, NY 11733
  • Capital One Bank
    • Website: capitalonebank.com
    • Phone number: (631) 724-3400
    • Address: 2003 Smith Haven Plaza, Lake Grove, NY 11755
  • Chase
    • Website: chase.com
    • Phone number: (631) 941-3800
    • Address: 1395 Route 25A, Setauket, NY 11733
  • Citibank
    • Website: citibank.com
    • Phone number: (631) 240-0019
    • Address: 131 Alexander Avenue, Lake Grove, NY 11755
  • Island Federal Credit Union
    • Website: islandfcu.org
    • Phone number: (631) 851-1100
    • Address: 430 Route 25A, East Setauket, NY 11733
  • TD Bank
    • Website: td.com
    • Phone number: (631) 584-6357
    • Address: 621 Lake Avenue, St. James, NY 11780
  • Teacher's Federal Credit Union
    • Website: teachersfcu.org
    • Phone number: (631) 698-7000
    • Address: 1113 North Country Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790

Avoiding Scams

Although scammers in the United States are considered generally rare, they are becoming more common. International students are often targeted by these scammers due to their lack of familiarity with the United States' various systems. Review the tips below to help yourself avoid being scammed!

A scam is a dishonest attempt to obtain money, information, or something else of value. 

Scammers are people who will lie and misrepresent themselves as people with authority, often using intimidation to manipulate individuals into doing what they want.

  • Do not answer phone calls from numbers you do not know.
    • Let the unknown call go to voicemail first. Prior to calling back, check to verify that you are calling a listed number. 
    • For example, if someone leaves a voicemail claiming to be from your doctor's office, make sure the return number is listed on your doctor's website or previous documentation the doctor's office has provided you.
  • Watch out for "spoofed" numbers.
    • Number spoofing makes the victim's caller ID display a legitimate phone number even though the call is originating from somewhere entirely different. 
    • If you have doubts about the caller's true identity, trust your feelings. Hang up and call the listed number for the agency/business to speak to a representative. If the caller tries to intimidate you to stay on the phone, kindly but firmly explain that you will call back using the listed number. Do not allow someone to talk you out of trusting your feelings.
  • If you receive a suspicious email, check the validity before responding or clicking on any links.
    • If the contents seem unusual or too good to be true, do not respond directly to that email. Find the official email listed on the website or create your own new email chain without copying the suspicious email's sender information. In an effort to make you accidentally click their bad links, some of these emails will have fake "unsubscribe" links in them that appear larger or more obvious than a usual unsubscribe link. You should avoid clicking that button directly as it may download spyware on your computer/phone.
    • For example, if your supervisor suddenly emails you asking you to send them gift cards, this is an unusual email. If you receive an offer to make $1,000/week for only three hours of work, that is too good to be true. Both of these emails should not be trusted.
  • Never give personal or financial information to someone over the phone or email that you do not know.
    • If you have an online relationship partner that is asking you for money (in the form of gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency), no matter the reason, do not send them money. Many fall for this scam as they believe they have video called with the person or know them well. Unfortunately, this is a common scam and can cause the loss of large amounts of money. 
  • No government official will ever demand money over the phone or online. These types of scammers often pretend to have the power to revoke your immigration status for non-payment. They do not have that ability.
    • If you receive any form of communications (such as calls, emails, etc) from someone claiming to represent the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, a law enforcement officer, a tax agent, or any other government or university authority demanding money or confidential personal details, exercise extreme caution as it is likely a scam.
    • Before responding to suspicious messages or calls, check with SBU's Visa and Immigration (VIS) department or the University Police. They will guide you on if these are legitimate requests.
If you are unsure if a request is a scam or not, please contact the University Police Department at (631)632-6350 or Visa and Immigration Services (VIS) at (631) 632-4685 or via email at vis@stonybrook.edu.

Remember, no matter what situation you are in, SBU is here to help you.

Taxes
Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams. Scammers reach them through mail, telephone calls, or emails. These scammers target individuals, businesses, payroll, and tax professionals. 

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not initiate contact with taxpayers via email, text messages, or social media channels to request personal or financial information. Learn to recognize the telltale signs of a scam by visiting the IRS's how to know it's the IRS website.

Threatening Calls from Someone Claiming to be a Government Official
Additional Resources
• USCIS Scam Information
• Study in the States: Tips to Avoid Scams
• Tips from the Inspector General’s Office
• Where to report a scam - usa.gov
• Preventing Identity Theft - usa.gov
• Types of Imposter Scams