Opening a business bank account in the USA is now more accessible and straightforward for LLC owners, even if you’re not based in the U.S. Mercury bank is a key player supporting non-US entrepreneurs in this journey. Here are the details and a step-by-step guide to opening your account.
Entrepreneurs operating in international e-commerce markets often face significant hurdles, primarily:
- Opening a business bank account in the USA (a corporate account for their company).
- Finding suitable virtual cards for business expenses.
- Making cost-effective international money transfers.
We’ve prepared this guide to help you easily overcome these challenges. If you have an LLC or Corporation in the USA and need to open a bank account, you can now do so without physically traveling to the U.S.
How, you ask? Let’s dive in!
Our Referral Link for Your Mercury Bank Application
Is Opening a Bank Account in the USA Necessary?
Yes, it’s necessary, even crucial, we’d say.
If you have a company in the USA and conduct business through it, you absolutely need a bank account where you can receive and send payments.
You need a place to consolidate your earnings. You should be able to use this money as capital again with bank cards, and most importantly, you should be able to transfer your earnings to your home country with minimal fees.
Many platforms or marketplaces will require you to have a U.S. bank account with a USD balance. Here are some major examples:
- Stripe
- Amazon
- Ebay
- Etsy
- Shopify
- And many other payment processors and marketplaces.
To open accounts on these platforms and conduct business, you already need to have formed a company in the USA and obtained an EIN. Subsequently, these platforms will ask you to provide a U.S. bank account number to receive your payouts.
In short, whether you want to or not, if you’re doing e-commerce through your U.S. company, opening a bank account is a must.
How to Open a Bank Account in the USA?
Traditional physical banks in the USA often require you to visit the country in person to open an account for your U.S.-formed company. This used to be somewhat easier in the past, but things have changed. Many entrepreneurs faced disappointment and even gave up on their ventures due to this hurdle.
However, digital banks and financial institutions have changed this landscape, opening new doors for non-US entrepreneurs. While opening an account with a physical bank remotely was relatively easier in the past, updates to certain security laws in the country have made this significantly more challenging.
Why is Opening an Account with a Physical Bank in the USA Difficult?
Many physical banks in the USA require the LLC owner to visit the bank in person. You can open an account in person at a bank with your EIN confirmation letter.
Major banks often require individuals to provide an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) and proof of a U.S. address (these details vary from bank to bank).
Digital banks and financial institutions have come to the rescue for those who can’t meet these requirements. Digital banking and financial institution systems like Mercury Bank allow you to open an account online, remotely. While these aren’t traditional physical banks, they are insured financial institutions sufficient for conducting your business.
What is Mercury Bank? What Does It Offer?
Founded in 2019 by Immad Akhund, Max Tagher, and Jason Zhang in the USA, Mercury Bank was established to make remote bank account opening easier for entrepreneurs, as its founders claim to have been in the same boat. Immad Akhund, coming from an entrepreneurial background, states that they created this entity to prevent other entrepreneurs from facing the same banking issues he experienced (and also to fill this gap).
Mercury Bank offers significant conveniences for those starting a new business. With their cards, you can shop online and purchase goods and services. They provide a debit card with a sleek design featuring your name and company name.
Mercury Bank Advantages:
On the other hand, Mercury Bank offers you several advantages:
- Checking account
- A savings account that can earn 1-2% interest
- Bank card (ATM/Debit)
- ACH payments
- Check payments
- Free domestic and international money transfers (often, some fees may apply for wires)
- Useful tools for tracking money
- FDIC-insured deposits (through their partner banks)
- Remote online account opening
- Internet banking
- A free bank card for every user
- Virtual card support
- Team collaboration features
- Invoicing and subscription systems
- Stripe integration for link-based payments
- Basic income/expense tracking system (basic bookkeeping)
- Integration with advanced accounting software
- Discounted app offers (Perks)
- And much more
- No minimum balance
- No monthly fees
- Very low-fee USD to USD transfers to many countries (including for transfers to your local bank if it accepts USD Swift)
Mercury Bank Costs and Pricing
Opening an account with Mercury Bank is completely free.
They don’t charge any extra fees; you just need to be an LLC owner, state that your customers are in the USA, have a project to present, and have an EIN for your company. That’s enough to open an account.
It’s beneficial not to mention that your customers are outside the USA during the account opening process, otherwise, your application might be rejected.
What Kind of Companies (Businesses) Does Mercury Bank Not Accept?
Firstly, to open an account online with Mercury Bank, you need to form an LLC and obtain an EIN for your company from the IRS. Additionally, you must have a project to present to the bank, for example, a link to an Amazon or Etsy marketplace store, or an English-language website or E-commerce site. These must absolutely be under the company owner’s name.
It’s important to state from the outset that Mercury Bank does not evaluate individual applications. Only those with an LLC in the USA can open an account.
Although entrepreneur-friendly, Mercury Bank is against certain types of businesses. Some of the unapproved business categories are as follows:
- Gambling and betting businesses
- Adult websites
- Marijuana industries
- Deceptive systems
- Stores and platforms with replica products
- Websites selling trademark-infringing brands
- Websites featuring only a few basic products or a single product
- Unprofessional and poorly-contented stores and marketplaces
- And there might be other categories they don’t approve.
In summary, Mercury Bank easily and quickly approves many sectors that operate legitimately and take their business seriously.
Is a Website or Marketplace Store Required to Open an Account with Mercury Bank?
You need to provide a website or a marketplace link to open a Mercury Bank account. If you don’t have any project, you might not be able to open a Mercury Bank account.
They accept a completed website in English and compliant with their policies. If you don’t have a website, you can provide a link to your Amazon or Etsy store. The stores must belong to you, be active, and have products listed in their content.
If you are applying with a website, if possible, set up an email address specific to your domain to open the account.
In short, you need an e-commerce site or at least be a seller on a global marketplace to open an account.
The most important point to note when opening a Mercury Bank account is to state that your source of income is from within the USA. Emphasize this in your responses during the account opening process; otherwise, you may face issues with account approval.
What Documents Are Needed to Open an Account with Mercury Bank?
Mercury Bank Account Opening Requirements:
- An LLC or Corp type company formed in any U.S. state.
- Employer Identification Number (EIN) belonging to the company. You will be asked to upload your EIN confirmation letter.
- A passport belonging to the company owner.
- Mobile phone number. You can provide any mobile line with your country’s area code; you don’t need a U.S. area code virtual number.
- A bank statement in PDF format from your local bank. Your name and address should be clearly visible on the bank statement. Stating that you will use a certain amount of money in your account as capital (by selecting the relevant option in the form) can help you easily pass the account opening process.
- Your company’s formation documents (Articles of Organization or Formation documents).
According to new rules, instead of the Company address (i.e., your business address), you need to enter your residential address in your home country, and they want you to prove your residency with a bank statement. The registered agent address is no longer accepted for the LLC owner’s residential address.
The online identity verification systems during account opening, using your passport and mobile application, are quite straightforward.
First of all, you should take a look at the article How to Form an LLC in the USA if You’re Not a Resident for LLC formed and if you haven’t created your company yet, you should take care of this step first.
Does Mercury Bank Provide a Debit Card?
Yes, Mercury provides a free debit card (DEBIT) to every member. There’s also support for instantly creatable virtual cards.
After your Mercury Bank account is opened, they will mail a free debit card to your U.S. company address. The card will be sent to your U.S. company address within a few weeks, and from there, you can request the card to be sent to your residential address in your home country by paying for shipping.
However, when ordering your card, request it to be sent to your U.S. company address because they no longer ship cards directly to many international locations, including Turkey.
After receiving your card, you can log in to your Mercury Bank customer panel, define a PIN for your card, and complete its activation. If you have activated your card before or if you don’t have a debit card to activate, you’ll see a message. Follow the on-screen instructions if there’s a card to be activated.
How to Open a Mercury Bank Account Online?
It’s quite easy after forming your LLC. Click our referral link when first signing up; this way, you’ll both earn a bonus after the account is opened and speed up the approval process.
If everything is ready, go to mercury.com from this link and click the “OPEN ACCOUNT” button to start registration.
Note: If you start your membership with the Startupsole link, a $250 bonus will be credited to your account after you make a certain amount of transfer, and your approval process will be evaluated faster than other applications.
Fill out the form below completely. Complete the first step by entering your name, surname, email (use your business email if you have one), and password.
Enter the company name and select the company type.
Enter a short address. It can be your company name. (Note: Non-English characters are not accepted).
In this step, you will see a list of unaccepted categories. Proceed without selecting any of them; if you do, your account will not be approved.
If you encounter a short informational text, continue with “OK”.
PATRIOT Act Disclosure (Translation from the image):
“Important information about opening a new bank account: To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person opening an account. Before opening an account, we generally must obtain your name, address, date of birth, taxpayer identification number or other identifying number (e.g., SSN or employer identification number) and other information that will allow us to identify you and to better understand you and/or your business. We also may ask to see documentation verifying your identity, such as an unexpired driver’s license or passport or, in the case of a business, a certified copy of articles of incorporation and/or a government-issued business license, authorized signers, account owners, and your officers, directors, beneficial owners, controlling shareholders and others.”
After this step, you will see a few registration screens to create your company profile.
You need to fill out all forms carefully and completely.
Fill in all fields and submit the form. Mercury Bank, being a digital bank, will primarily look at your website or marketplace store link for your business. If you operate an active marketplace like Amazon, Etsy, etc., you can provide your store link, but the store must belong to you and have products listed. The website you enter in this field must be in an appropriate category, secure, and have ready content (also, having pages like “About Us,” “Contact,” “Terms and Conditions,” “Privacy Policy” can speed up approval).
Enter all the requested information correctly in the steps above. Upload your company document and passport to the relevant fields, then you should wait for the approval process. After a certain period, if you are deemed suitable, you will receive an email stating that your account has been opened. Therefore, it’s beneficial to check your email address periodically.
For the “Company address” part, do not enter your U.S. LLC company address; instead, enter your residential address in your home country because they no longer accept Registered Agent addresses for U.S. LLCs. You can easily prove your residential address with a bank statement. Your name and address should be clearly visible on the bank statement.
Transferring Income Earned in the USA from Mercury Bank to Your Country
Transferring your money from Mercury Bank to your country is almost free, with a cost of only $15 USD. By paying the $15 USD commission upfront, you won’t encounter surprise fees from banks. During the transfer phase, you can easily transfer money by entering the IBAN details of a USD account in your country and your bank’s Swift code.
Making a Money Transfer from Mercury Bank:
To transfer money, log in to your internet banking panel and click on the “Move Money” and “Send” menus at the top. If the recipient is not already registered, click on “Add New Recipient” and enter the recipient’s details, USD IBAN, and the bank’s Swift code. Then enter the amount you want to send.
If you choose the “Send As OUR” option, you’ll bypass the surprise commissions of all intermediary banks by making a $15 USD upfront payment. With the “Free” option, surprise commissions can be reflected due to many bank transfers. For the “Send From” section, select which account the money will be withdrawn from. If you select “Send ON” as “Today,” the transfer starts immediately, or you can schedule it for a future date.
After initiating the transfer, the sent balance will be credited to your account within 1-3 business days. Sometimes it can arrive on the same day, or at the latest, within 2 or 3 business days. Alternatively, you can make cash withdrawals by paying commissions from your debit card. ATM cash withdrawal commissions vary from bank to bank and country to country. However, remember that you will pay very high commissions as there are no partner ATMs in many non-US countries.
Are There Mercury Bank Alternatives?
Yes, there are. If you encounter any approval issues during account opening, you can try Payoneer Business. Another alternative is Airwallex.
Conclusion
Mercury Bank is truly a fantastic solution for entrepreneurs who are new to company formation and reside outside the USA. Its features like remote account opening, no fees, economical transfer commissions, extra tools, debit card offering, and minimal procedural requirements make it unrivaled in this field.
If you are involved in e-commerce abroad or plan to expand globally and start an online business, you can immediately form an LLC and start benefiting from what Mercury Bank offers.
Note: “Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; Members FDIC. Mercury Debit Cards are issued by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust, Members FDIC, pursuant to licenses from MasterCard.” (This is an important disclaimer from Mercury, good to include)
