You have the company and the EIN. This is the step where the process stops being administrative and starts being a judgement call by someone reviewing your file.
What is actually available to you
Traditional US banks — Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo — generally require an in-person visit to open a business account, often with a US address and sometimes an SSN. For a founder who has never been to the United States, that route is effectively closed.
What works is the fintech tier: business accounts built for remote onboarding that partner with US banks for the underlying deposits. Mercury and Wise are the two most commonly used by non-resident LLC owners; Payoneer serves a narrower use case around marketplace payouts.
| Real US account details | Multi-currency | Typical fit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Yes — routing and account number | Limited | SaaS, startups, agencies |
| Wise Business | Yes — via partner bank | Strong | Cross-border invoicing |
| Payoneer | Receiving accounts | Yes | Marketplace payouts |
One point worth understanding: these are not banks. They are financial technology companies working with partner banks that hold the deposits. For most purposes that is invisible to you, but it is why their acceptance criteria can change faster than a bank's would.
What to have ready before you apply
Gather all of it first. Applications that stall halfway while you hunt for a document tend to be reviewed less favourably than ones completed in a single sitting.
- Certificate of Formation — the stamped PDF from the state.
- EIN confirmation letter (CP 575) — the IRS letter, not a screenshot of the number.
- Operating agreement, signed. Even as a single member.
- Passport, clear scan, in date.
- Proof of your home address — a utility bill or bank statement, usually within three months.
- A working company website that describes what you sell.
The website matters more than founders expect. Reviewers open it. A domain showing a parked page or a template with placeholder text is a real reason for decline.
The questions that decide it
Onboarding asks what your business does, where your customers are, and roughly how much money will move. These are not formalities — they are the file the reviewer reads.
Weak answers are vague. Strong answers are specific and consistent with your website.
Weak: "Consulting services."
Strong: "Monthly retainer web development for small e-commerce brands in the US and Canada. Five clients, invoiced $2,000–$5,000 a month each, paid by bank transfer and Stripe."
If your stated activity, your website and your expected volumes do not line up, the application is flagged. That is the most common cause of decline we see — not the founder's nationality.
Why applications get declined
- Inconsistency. The website sells one thing, the form says another.
- An unfinished website. No pricing, no contact details, placeholder copy.
- Restricted activity. Crypto trading, gambling, adult content, some financial services and pharmaceuticals are outside most fintech risk appetites.
- Sanctioned or high-risk residency. A compliance constraint, not a judgement on you, and usually not appealable.
- A brand-new company with no substance. A formation certificate dated last week and nothing else can read as thin.
If you are declined
You are usually not told why, because telling you would tell everyone how to pass. That does not mean you are stuck.
- Fix the website first. Real pricing, a clear description of the service, contact details, privacy and terms pages.
- Sharpen your description so it matches the site exactly.
- Build some history. Invoices, a signed contract, a few months of activity through another account all help.
- Try a different provider — risk appetites genuinely differ.
- Reapply after a real change, not the next day with the same file.
Reapplying immediately with nothing changed is the one approach that reliably fails.
Keep the money separate from day one
The single most important habit after the account opens: never mix personal and business money.
The reason an LLC protects your personal assets is that the company is treated as separate from you. Paying your rent from the business account and buying inventory from your personal one erodes that separation. If liability is ever contested, commingled accounts are the first thing raised.
Pay yourself by deliberate transfers — owner draws — recorded as such. Keep the business card for business only.
After the account is open
US account details unlock Stripe and similar processors, which is usually the next step: see getting approved by Stripe from abroad.
It also starts your reporting clock. Money moving between you and your own LLC — capital you put in, draws you take out — counts as reportable transactions for Form 5472, even when the company made no profit.
A realistic expectation
Approval takes two to ten business days for a clean application. Some are approved within hours. Some sit in review for two weeks, and a request for extra documents is normal rather than a bad sign.
What you can control is the quality of the file: complete documents, a finished website, and a description that matches it. That is most of the decision.
If you would rather have the documents prepared and the application reviewed before you submit it, our formation service includes banking preparation.