A US business bank account for non-residents: who accepts founders abroad

For a founder outside the US, the bank account is usually the hardest step after forming the company. Traditional US banks tend to want you in a branch. Fintechs open accounts online, but each one has its own rules on who it will serve, and some of those rules only show up months after the account is open.

This guide covers the four online options founders abroad most often use, Mercury, Relay, Wise Business Business and Airwallex, with what each one asks for and where each one draws its line. It assumes you already have a US company and its EIN. If you don't yet, start with starting a US company from abroad.

What to have ready before you apply

Every provider asks for much the same set of documents, and an application stalls fastest when one of them is missing or doesn't match.

For the company, have the formation documents from the state, the IRS letter confirming the EIN, a description of what the business does and who its customers are, and a principal business address. Mercury also asks for details of your current or planned US operations.^⁠[1]

For the people, have a passport for every person who owns 25% or more, along with their home address. Ownership counts through holding companies, so if a parent company owns your US company, you list the people behind it, not the parent. You'll also name one senior person, usually the CEO, who becomes the account's administrator.^⁠[1]

Addresses trip up more founders than anything else. Mercury accepts a residential or international address for the business but not a registered agent's address, a PO box or a UPS Store box. For each owner's home address, it won't accept a PO box, a mail drop or a virtual address.^⁠[1] Relay doesn't accept scanned copies, temporary IDs or expired IDs, and for owners who aren't US citizens it accepts only a passport.^⁠[5]

Mercury

Mercury supports US companies with founders anywhere in the world, and says you don't need to be a US citizen or resident to apply. The company must be formed and registered in the US or a US territory, have existing or planned US operations, and give a principal business address that isn't a registered agent, PO box or UPS Store address.^⁠[1]

There are two limits to check first. Mercury publishes a list of countries and regions where it can't serve founders, so confirm yours isn't on it.^⁠[3] And it can't open accounts for money services businesses, crypto exchanges, adult entertainment, cannabis or internet gambling.^⁠[1]

The rule that catches founders out comes after approval. If a company has no US workplace, no owner living in the US and no owner with a US-issued ID, Mercury may ask it to prove a real US connection, during the application or by email later. Acceptable proof includes a record of a sale to a US customer, an invoice or contract with a US customer, partner or supplier, a signed investment agreement, US payroll or a US office lease, and the evidence has to match activity in the account. Mercury says plainly that US operations are required to keep the account, and an account without them may be locked or eventually closed.^⁠[2]

On cost, Mercury's business checking and savings accounts are free, with no minimum balance or monthly fee. ACH payments and domestic wires are free to send and receive, and international wires in other currencies carry a 1% conversion fee.^⁠[4] Mercury is a fintech company, and its accounts are held at its partner banks, Choice Financial Group and Column N.A.^⁠[1]

Relay

Relay accepts US-registered businesses owned by people who aren't US citizens or residents, as long as the business has an operating presence in the US. Owners who live abroad are asked for the source of the money that started the business, whether it's new or established, their annual personal income and the countries the business operates in.^⁠[5]

The obstacle for most founders abroad is the address. Relay's document list asks every beneficial owner for a physical US address, with no PO boxes or virtual mailboxes, and either an SSN or a passport number.^⁠[5] That makes Relay a good fit when at least one co-founder lives in the US, and a hard one when nobody does.

Our comparison of Mercury, Relay and Bluevine covers the fees and features of each in more depth.

Wise Business

Wise isn't a bank. It's a money services business that holds, converts and sends money in many currencies.^⁠[7] For a US company, that means USD account details for receiving payments, plus cheap conversion when money needs to go home.

Getting account details costs a one-time $31. Receiving domestic USD payments, such as ACH, is free, and receiving a USD wire costs $6.11. Converting money costs from 0.23%, depending on the currency.^⁠[6]

Wise accepts a business whose registered address and trading address are in different countries, which suits a US company run from abroad. The trading address, where you actually run the business, has to be a physical place and can't be a PO box or a mail forwarding service, and documents proving it must be less than three months old.^⁠[8]

Wise is usually the second account rather than the first. A founder keeps the main US operating account at Mercury or another bank, and uses Wise to convert dollars and pay people abroad. Our comparison of Wise, Airwallex and Payoneer covers receiving money from abroad in more detail.

Airwallex

Airwallex offers multi-currency accounts and cards, and its US service has a clear condition. To open an account, the business must be authorized to do business with its principal place of business in the United States.^⁠[9]

For a company run from abroad, that's the line to check. A US company whose founders and work are all in another country may not meet it, and Airwallex can refuse or end the service if it doesn't.^⁠[9] Founders in that position may find Airwallex's service for their home country a better match, alongside a US account elsewhere.

The four at a glance

Each cell comes from the provider's own page, cited in its section above.^{⁠[1],[5],[8],[9]}

Why applications get refused, and accounts get closed

Refusals rarely come with a detailed reason, but most fall into a few groups.

Where the founders live. Every provider screens owners against a list of countries it can't serve. Mercury publishes its list.^⁠[3]

What the business does. Each provider has industries it won't take. Mercury names money services businesses, crypto exchanges, adult entertainment, cannabis and internet gambling.^⁠[1]

Addresses that look like mail drops. A registered agent's address or a virtual mailbox as the business address is a common reason for a second round of questions.^⁠[1]

No connection to the US. This is the reason that shows up later, as a request for evidence months after opening. A company that sells only to customers in its founders' home country, with no US contracts or staff, is the case providers worry about.^⁠[2]

Documents that don't match. A passport name that differs from the formation documents, an expired ID or a scanned copy all slow an application down.^⁠[5]

If you're refused, fix the reason before reapplying, rather than applying again with the same documents.

Moving money home

Most founders abroad eventually pay themselves, or pay a team in their home country, from the US account. The cost of conversion is where the providers differ most.

On Mercury, a wire sent in another currency carries a 1% conversion fee.^⁠[4] Converting through Wise costs from 0.23%.^⁠[6] On $10,000, that's $100 on Mercury and from $23 on Wise, which is why so many founders send dollars to Wise and convert there.

Money arriving in your home country has paperwork of its own. For founders in India, that includes the bank's record of the inward remittance and the purpose code, which our guide to getting paid by US clients in India covers. If the money is your salary or a distribution from the company, the tax treatment at home matters as much as the fee.

A setup that works for most founders abroad

The most common pattern is two accounts. A US operating account holds the company's money, receives payments from US customers and Stripe, and pays US bills. A Wise Business account sits beside it to convert dollars and pay people abroad.

Keep the paper trail for the first one in order from the start. Save invoices and contracts with US customers, investment agreements and any US leases or payroll records in one folder, so that if your bank asks for proof of US operations, the answer takes ten minutes rather than ten days.

If you're choosing a corporate card for the same company, our guide to corporate cards for non-US founders covers which ones a foreign-owned company can get.