Because of new regulations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), banks are asking some customers to fill out a W-9 form or a W-8BEN form. If your bank asks you to fill out the form, please fill it out as completely as you can and return it to your bank. FATCA does NOT require you to pay taxes if you are exempt (see link in box above to find out if you are exempt). FATCA just requires foreign banks to report information about U.S. persons who have accounts. Your bank might require this form if you have U.S. citizenship or residence, if you were born in the U.S., if you have a U.S. address or phone number, or if your account transfers funds regularly to an account in the U.S. See FATCA page.