Which US bank will open for your company?
Most founders abroad can open a US business account online with a passport and the company's EIN, and no SSN. Which one depends on where every owner lives. Mercury refuses owners in 51 countries, and Bluevine names 22 it takes. Add your owners to see yours.
Checked by the BaseAcross team.
The banks that open for you.
Nothing is saved or sent. Each bank's rule is the one it publishes, with the day we read it.
01Where does each owner live?
Banks check every owner of 25% or more, by where they live.
02Does the company have its EIN yet?
Every account here asks for it.
03Does anything tie it to the US yet?
Mercury can ask for proof, even after it opens the account.
04Does any owner have a home address in the US?
A real address, not a mailbox or your registered agent.
Choose where each owner lives to see your banks.
- Every bank that opens for you, in the order to try them
- What each asks a founder abroad for
- The ones that won't, and the owner's country that rules them out
- What can get an account locked later, and how to avoid it
- Each rule's source, and the day we read it
Seven accounts, and who each one takes.
In the order we'd try them. The order comes from each bank's rules and fit, never from payment.
| Account | Who it takes | What it asks a founder abroad for | Rule read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Owners anywhere but 51 countries it lists | Your passport. No SSN or ITIN needed. | 21 Oct 2026 |
| Bluevine | Owners in the 22 countries it names | Your passport and an on-camera identity check. No SSN needed. | 21 Oct 2026 |
| Wise | Owners in 75 places it lists | Your EIN and a photo ID. No SSN if you live outside the US. | 21 Oct 2026 |
| Relay | Owners anywhere but 31 countries it lists | A passport number for each owner. No SSN needed. | 21 Oct 2026 |
| Airwallex | Publishes no rule on owners, so ask first | A passport, national ID or driving licence. No SSN unless you're a US person. | 21 Oct 2026 |
| Payoneer | Publishes no rule on owners, so ask first | Your EIN letter, a business licence and a document showing who owns the company. | 30 Sept 2026 |
| Brex | Only a company with an office or an owner in the US | A physical US address, or an owner who is physically in the US. | 21 Oct 2026 |
What founders abroad worry about, answered.
Five worries, each with a plain answer.
"I'll have to fly to the US." Not for an online account. Mercury, Bluevine, Wise and Relay open online with a passport. A branch bank may ask you to come in.
"I need an SSN or an ITIN." Not for these. They ask for the company's EIN and your passport. Most founders abroad never need an ITIN.
"They'll freeze my account later." Mercury can lock an account that can't show US business. Keep the proof: an invoice to a US customer, a contract, or a signed SAFE. Expect to be asked if nothing ties you to the US.
"My co-founder's country will sink it." It can, at a bank that refuses that country. Add every owner of 25% or more, and the checker shows what stays open for all of you.
"If I'm refused, I'm stuck." Refusals are per bank. The checker lists the others that open for you, in the order to try them.
Questions about US bank accounts from abroad.
If yours is not here, email us at hello@baseacross.com before you order.
Yes. Mercury asks for your passport and no SSN or ITIN, Bluevine needs no SSN, Wise needs none if you live outside the US, and Relay takes a passport number. The company needs its EIN, which the IRS issues without an SSN.
Not for the online accounts on this page. Branch banks differ: Chase lets a single-member LLC with one authorizing representative apply online, but sends an LLC with several members to a branch, and doesn't say whether it takes owners living abroad.
It depends on where every owner lives. Mercury refuses owners living in 51 countries, Bluevine names 22 it takes, and Wise gives US account details in 75 places. Choose each owner's country in the checker to see which open, in the order to try them.
As the company's legal address, usually yes: Mercury accepts the address on your formation papers, and Wise takes the agent's address as the registered one. As the place you work, no. Both ask for a real address there, and a home address abroad is fine.
It can. Mercury says a company with no US workplace, no owner living in the US and no owner with US ID may be asked to prove US business, during review or after opening, and that the account may be locked or closed without it. A sale to a US customer, a US contract or a signed SAFE counts.
The company's formation papers and its EIN letter, a passport for each owner of 25% or more, and your home address abroad. Bluevine adds an on-camera identity check, and Payoneer asks for a document showing who owns the company.
Yes. A bank checks every owner of 25% or more, so one owner in a country it refuses rules the whole company out. Add each owner in the checker and it answers for all of you together.
Mostly where you live. Mercury goes by country of residence, not citizenship. Relay refuses an owner with citizenship or residency in a country it lists, so a citizen of one of those countries living elsewhere should ask Relay first.
The wait is usually the EIN, which every account asks for: six to eight weeks from the IRS for a founder abroad, or two to three weeks expedited. Each bank sets its own review after you apply, and may ask for more documents.
Where these answers come from
- Mercury Help Center: Prohibited countries
- Bluevine: U.S. business bank account for non-residents
- Wise Help Centre: Can I get USD account details?
- Relay Help Center: Prohibited Countries
- Airwallex Help Centre: Eligible Countries and Territories
- Payoneer Terms & Conditions (Sep 2026), section 21.6
- Brex: account requirements
- Mercury Help Center, verifying your U.S. business operations
- Mercury Help Center, company address requirements
- Chase, get ready to open your business checking account
Banks change their rules. We re-read each one and date it on its card. If a rule here looks out of date, email us and we'll check it the same day.
The company first, then the bank.
We form the company and get its EIN without an SSN. Your dashboard then shows the same banks as this checker, worked out from your owners.
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