Set by where Stripe operates
Stripe's country list follows where it has a legal entity and banking partners, not where founders live.
Cleared by the LLC
Built for · Stripe access
A US LLC to open a Stripe account from a country Stripe doesn't serve
Stripe takes businesses directly in 44 countries, and in seven more in preview or through partners. For founders almost everywhere else, a US Stripe account is the main reason to form a US company, and this page is honest about how that works.
01 · Why a US company
What it does for founders who need Stripe.
A US LLC is a US business, so it applies to Stripe's US platform and your home country stops being the eligibility question.
Read the full explanation
A US LLC is a US business, so it applies to Stripe's US platform and your home country stops being the eligibility question. You apply with the company's EIN, its US bank account and ID for the person representing it, and payouts go to the US account in dollars.
For a founder in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Egypt, Vietnam or Argentina, that can be the difference between selling to the world and not. It's also why Stripe reviews these applications carefully, which is the next section.
- 01
A US Stripe account, paid in dollars
Payouts go to the company's US bank account.
Stripe payout payout+4,315.00 USD - 02
A country Stripe serves
A US LLC applies to Stripe's US platform, so your home country stops being the question.
Business locationUnited States - 03
What Stripe asks for, ready
The EIN, a US bank account, and ID for the person representing the company.
EINOn file - 04
Your own account, or a merchant of record
A merchant of record sells for you without a US company, for a higher fee. Founders often run both.
Your Stripe · Merchant of recordSeparate accounts
02 · What stands in the way
Three things in the way, and one way through.
An EIN, a US bank account and ID
A US account needs the EIN, a US bank account and ID for the representative, and Stripe can ask for more.
Cleared by the LLC
Prohibited and restricted businesses
Stripe's lists of prohibited and restricted businesses apply whichever country the company is in.
Cleared by the LLC
A US LLC, with its EIN and a US bank account.
What Stripe's US application asks of the company, ready before you apply.
Start a company03 · Your options
Three ways to take card payments from abroad.
Stripe reviews every account in every column. What changes is who can apply, what a sale costs, and who handles the tax.
| Stripe in your own country | A merchant of record | A US LLC on StripeWhat we set up | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Neutral: 44 countries, plus 7 in preview or through partners | Works in your favour: Most countries | Works in your favour: Anyone, as a US business, after review |
| Fee a sale | Neutral: Your country's Stripe rate | A cost or a limit: 5% + 50¢ with Paddle | Works in your favour: 2.9% + 30¢ a US card |
| Sales tax and VAT | A cost or a limit: Yours to handle | Works in your favour: Collected and filed for you | A cost or a limit: Yours to handle |
| Payouts | Neutral: Your bank, your currency | Neutral: From the merchant of record | Works in your favour: A US account, in dollars |
| What the review asks | Neutral: Your local business details | Neutral: The merchant of record's own checks | Neutral: EIN, US bank account, your ID and local tax ID |
| Yearly US filing | Works in your favour: None | Works in your favour: None | A cost or a limit: Form 5472, and Wyoming's report |
Works in your favourNeutralA cost or a limitStripe closes accounts it finds were misrepresented, in any column. Your real name, your real address abroad, and a real business keep an account open.
Stripe in your own country
- Who can use it
- 44 countries, plus 7 in preview or through partners
- Fee a sale
- Your country's Stripe rate
- Sales tax and VAT
- Yours to handle
- Payouts
- Your bank, your currency
- What the review asks
- Your local business details
- Yearly US filing
- None
Neutral:
Neutral:
A cost or a limit:
Neutral:
Neutral:
Works in your favour:
A merchant of record
- Who can use it
- Most countries
- Fee a sale
- 5% + 50¢ with Paddle
- Sales tax and VAT
- Collected and filed for you
- Payouts
- From the merchant of record
- What the review asks
- The merchant of record's own checks
- Yearly US filing
- None
Works in your favour:
A cost or a limit:
Works in your favour:
Neutral:
Neutral:
Works in your favour:
A US LLC on StripeWhat we set up
- Who can use it
- Anyone, as a US business, after review
- Fee a sale
- 2.9% + 30¢ a US card
- Sales tax and VAT
- Yours to handle
- Payouts
- A US account, in dollars
- What the review asks
- EIN, US bank account, your ID and local tax ID
- Yearly US filing
- Form 5472, and Wyoming's report
Works in your favour:
Works in your favour:
A cost or a limit:
Works in your favour:
Neutral:
A cost or a limit:
Works in your favourNeutralA cost or a limitStripe closes accounts it finds were misrepresented, in any column. Your real name, your real address abroad, and a real business keep an account open.
04 · Step by step
From company to first Stripe payout, in seven steps.
The EIN gates everything here, so it's the step worth speeding up.
Step 1: Check two lists first
Stripe's country list, in case it already serves you at home, and its prohibited businesses list, which applies whatever country the company is in. It bars, for one, courses on how to profit from dropshipping or trading.
Before you orderYouStep 2: Form the Wyoming LLC
We file the articles online. Wyoming approves an online filing the same day it is filed.
Same dayWe do itStep 3: Get the EIN, fast
Stripe asks for it first. Without a Social Security Number the IRS issues it by fax; the expedited EIN, $199, has us file the day the company exists and chase it.
The longest waitWe do itStep 4: Open the US bank account
In the LLC's name, before you apply. Stripe pays out to it.
Often days, after the EINYou, with the bankStep 5: Make the website reviewable
What you sell, at what price, how to reach you, and your refund and cancellation terms, all live before you apply. Stripe reads the site in its review.
Before applyingYouStep 6: Apply as yourself, truthfully
The LLC's name and EIN, and you as the representative: your name, date of birth, home address abroad and ID. Without an SSN or ITIN, Stripe asks for your local tax ID and documents showing you aren't a US taxpayer.
Stripe's reviewYou, with StripeStep 7: Keep it open, and diary the filings
Keep disputes well under 0.75%. At $500,000 of lifetime volume Stripe asks every listed owner for their tax ID again. Form 5472 is due each 15 April, and Wyoming's annual report on the first day of the month the LLC was formed in.
Every monthYou
05 · The honest part
What to know before you order.
What does Stripe review?
Being able to apply isn't approval
A US LLC lets you apply for a US Stripe account. Stripe reviews the business, the website, the risk of disputes and the person behind it, and it closes accounts it finds were misrepresented.
Read more
Give Stripe the company's real details, your real name and your real address abroad. Pretending to live in the United States is what reliably gets an account closed.
What does Stripe ask for?
What Stripe asks for
- The EIN, which is why the expedited EIN matters most here.
- A US bank account in the company's name, opened first.
- A website that shows what you sell, at what price, with a support contact and a refund policy.
- ID for the account representative. Without an SSN or ITIN, Stripe asks for your local tax ID and documents showing you aren't a US taxpayer.
What if Stripe says no?
Alternatives worth knowing
A merchant of record such as Paddle, Lemon Squeezy or Stripe Managed Payments sells on your behalf and handles sales tax, for a higher fee, and some don't need a US company.
Read more
PayPal has its own review. Founders often run more than one.
Sources: Stripe, global availability; Stripe, pricing; Stripe Support, business representative and owner tax ID requirements for US companies; Stripe, prohibited and restricted businesses; Stripe Docs, measuring disputes; Paddle, pricing; IRS, Instructions for Form 5472.
06 · What it costs
What it costs, line by line.
Ours from our price list, Stripe's and Paddle's from their own pages.
| Cost | Amount | When | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch, with Wyoming's fee | $351.40 | First year | $249 to us and $102.40 to Wyoming, at cost. The LLC, the EIN and the registered agent. |
| Expedited EINOptional | $199 | Once | Stripe waits on the EIN, so this shortens the whole path most. |
| Stripe | 2.9% + 30¢ | Each sale | A US card. An international card costs 1.5% more, and a currency conversion 1% more. |
| Or Paddle, as merchant of recordOptional | 5% + 50¢ | Each sale | No US company needed, and sales tax and VAT handled. |
| From the second year | $309 | Every year | $249 for Launch and Wyoming's $60 minimum. Form 5472 is an accountant's fee on top. |
Most of a Stripe sale's cost is Stripe's own fee. Selling mostly to buyers abroad, the international and conversion fees add up first.
The plan that fits
Launch, usually.
Stripe asks for the EIN first. With the expedited EIN, our estimate is two to three weeks.
Launch
Fits Stripe accessFor your first company, when it needs to exist and nothing more yet.
What it covers
- Your Wyoming LLC, filed, with the state fee at cost
- The EIN Stripe asks for first, without an SSN
- Guidance on the US bank account Stripe pays into
Everything Stripe's US application asks of the company.
07 · Questions
Questions from founders who need Stripe.
If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.
No. Stripe says that when the representative isn't a US individual and has no SSN or ITIN, it expects their local non-US tax ID and documents confirming they aren't a US taxpayer, along with ID. Stripe can still ask for more in review.
Yes. At $500,000 of lifetime payment volume, Stripe asks every listed owner of the account to confirm their tax ID details.
No. Its prohibited and restricted businesses lists apply whatever country the company is in. They bar, for example, courses and coaching on how to profit from dropshipping, reselling or trading.
Yes. A US company owned by someone living abroad is an ordinary US business. What Stripe won't accept is misrepresenting where you or the business are.
A Wyoming LLC on Launch is $351.40 for the first year: $249 for Launch and $102.40 to Wyoming, at cost. After that it is $309 a year, $249 to us and $60 to Wyoming.
Ready when you are
Answer the questions. We do the filing.
It takes about four minutes. You see the whole order, Wyoming fee included, before anything is charged.
Step 1 of 10 · About four minutesNothing charged yet
You're startingLLC · WY
Start a companyLaunch · $351.40 · Wyoming fee included