Banking

As a non-resident LLC owner, you don't have many options for banking; however, financial technology companies now partner with real banks to offer business accounts for remote businesses, notably Mercury.

You need an EIN to open a bank account and a valid business address.

CMRA addresses (those with #xxxx) are no longer permitted by banks. Mailbox addresses, PO boxes, and registered agent addresses are also not allowed.

No matter how much virtual address providers claim their addresses are accepted by banks, they are not. If a bank sees the same address (with different #xxxx) in hundreds of applications, it's obvious it's a virtual address.

Mercury is actively closing accounts that only have a virtual address.

Mercury and Wise both won't let you open an account with a virtual address.

Mercury

Despite the above points holding true, you can still get an account at Mercury.

Mercury lets you use your current international address as your company/business address. For example, if you're from Antarctica, you would use your Antarctic address.

When applying to Mercury:

• In the legal address section, enter your registered agent's address.
• In "Where do you do most of your work?", enter your international address. CMRA addresses won't work here.
• In Ownership Details, you'll be asked to enter a phone number. Use your international phone number instead of a VoIP number for better reliability. Mercury will have you configure TOTP for two-factor authentication rather than sending SMS for verification.
• In Identity Verification, Mercury will ask for a photo of yourself. You can use a webcam or your phone. They'll request more information, such as your social media accounts. Provide a link to one of your active profiles - they want to verify your legitimacy.
• Documentation: for foreign founders, your primary document is your passport—for identification, address verification, and more. Use the same address as on your passport in all documents.
• Company Documents: upload PDFs of the requested documents.
• EIN requirement: banks usually require an EIN before opening an account, but Mercury lets you sign up without one. You just need to provide the SS-4 form you filed with the IRS requesting the EIN. Once you receive the EIN, update it in Mercury.
• Additional information: Mercury may ask follow-up questions about your potential customers, expected transactions, and business activities. Answer thoroughly and include a PDF outlining planned products, with links to design prototypes (e.g., Figma) and information on competitors.

Mercury may ask you for a bit more info. And once your application is approved, complete the next steps:

• Debit card setup: after approval, log in to the dashboard and set up debit cards. Mercury lets you choose a virtual card, a physical card, or both. Mercury can deliver physical cards internationally except to a few countries, which notably includes India. Due to RBI regulations, you cannot receive a physical debit card in India.
• Two-factor authentication: set up two-factor authentication (2FA) using a TOTP app. You'll need to enter a TOTP code subsequently when you log in.
• Funding your account: You'll need to do initial funding of your new business account to unlock all features. You can find your checking and savings account numbers in the Mercury dashboard for funding.

Wise

Getting a Wise account, on the other hand, is nearly impossible. Wise requires a physical address in the US. While it may be tempting to use a US virtual address to apply, I warn you from personal experience—I've tried a dozen times and was rejected each time. Wise will reject virtual addresses.

While some address providers can offer you a real address used exclusively by you, it can be very costly, but I'm not sure if it would even work.

In general, if a banking company has a policy against accepting virtual addresses, it's because they want physical presence.

You might be able to trick the system, but you risk account suspension or worse. Thus, I don't recommend using shady workarounds just to get a Wise account.

Wise requires physical presence, and you must meet that requirement to get a US Wise account. Having a physical presence in the US could come with tax consequences.

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Disclaimer: All content here is for general informational purposes only and not intended as legal, tax, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before taking any action. Use at your own risk; the author assumes no liability.