Non-resident founders · Data
US Business Banking Eligibility by Country (2026)
Which countries are blocked from Mercury, Relay, and Stripe for a non-resident US LLC — sourced directly from each provider's own published policy.
Quick Answer: US business banking eligibility varies sharply by country for non-resident LLC owners. Mercury and Relay each publish their own list of countries they will not open accounts for. Comparing the two directly (something neither company does): 29 countries are blocked by both, including Nigeria and Pakistan. Being blocked from banking does not automatically mean you are blocked from payments — Stripe evaluates countries separately, and providers like Wise check eligibility per application rather than publishing a blanket list. Check the full table below for your specific country.
Why this comparison doesn’t exist anywhere else
Mercury and Relay each publish a prohibited-countries page. Neither publishes the other’s list next to its own, and neither cross-references Stripe’s separate country availability. The result: a founder whose country is blocked from Mercury has no easy way to know whether Relay, or Stripe, treats them differently — so this page puts all three next to each other, sourced directly from each provider’s own current policy page.
The distinction that matters most: sanctioned countries (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Sudan) are blocked because of OFAC sanctions — no US-regulated fintech can legally serve them, full stop. Policy-blocked countries are not under sanctions; the provider has simply chosen not to serve them based on its own risk tolerance, and that choice can differ between Mercury, Relay, and Stripe for the exact same country (see Croatia and Latvia in the table — blocked by Mercury, fully supported by Stripe).
Spotlight: China, India, Nigeria, Pakistan
| Country | Mercury | Relay | Stripe | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | ✅ OK | ✅ OK | ❓ Not listed | China does not appear on Stripe’s supported, preview, or partner-network lists — no direct Stripe path confirmed. |
| India | ✅ OK | ✅ OK | ⚠️ Preview | Stripe lists India as "Preview" — a more limited feature set that requires contacting Stripe sales before activation, not an instant self-serve signup. |
| Nigeria | ❌ Blocked | ❌ Blocked | 🔗 Via Paystack | Nigeria is blocked by both Mercury and Relay for banking, but Stripe payments are reachable via Paystack (a Stripe-owned company) — a different product, not a standard Stripe account. |
| Pakistan | ❌ Blocked | ❌ Blocked | ❓ Not listed | Pakistan does not appear on Stripe’s global availability page at all — no direct support, no preview, no partner network found. |
China and India are not on Mercury’s or Relay’s prohibited lists. Nigeria and Pakistan are blocked by both. Stripe status confirmed directly against stripe.com/global on 2026-07-28.
Full comparison: Mercury vs. Relay by country
| Country | Mercury | Relay | Stripe | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Albania | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Angola | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Bangladesh | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Belarus | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Bhutan | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Burkina Faso | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Burundi | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Cambodia | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Cameroon | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Central African Republic | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Congo (Democratic Republic of the) | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Congo (Republic of the) | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Croatia | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ Full | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Cuba | ❌ | ❌ | — | OFAC sanctions |
| Eritrea | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Ethiopia | ✅ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Gambia | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Guinea-Bissau | ✅ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Haiti | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Indonesia | ❌ | ✅ | ⚠️ Preview | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Iran | ❌ | ❌ | — | OFAC sanctions |
| Iraq | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Kyrgyzstan | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Latvia | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ Full | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Lebanon | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Lesotho | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Liberia | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Libya | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Maldives | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Mali | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Mozambique | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Myanmar (Burma) | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Nepal | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Nicaragua | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Nigeria | ❌ | ❌ | 🔗 Partner | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| North Korea | ❌ | ❌ | — | OFAC sanctions |
| Pakistan | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Palestine | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Philippines | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Russia | ❌ | ❌ | — | OFAC sanctions |
| Somalia | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| South Sudan | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Sudan | ❌ | ❌ | — | OFAC sanctions |
| Syria | ❌ | ❌ | — | OFAC sanctions |
| Ukraine | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Uzbekistan | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Vanuatu | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Venezuela | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Vietnam | ❌ | ✅ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Yemen | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
| Zimbabwe | ❌ | ❌ | — | Provider risk policy (not sanctioned) |
Table lists only countries that appear on Mercury’s and/or Relay’s own published prohibited-country pages. Any country not listed here is not restricted by either provider as of 2026-07-28. Stripe column left blank (“—”) where status was not directly confirmed on stripe.com/global — check there directly rather than assuming.
What to do if your country is blocked
If your country is sanctioned (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Sudan) — there is no compliant workaround through any US-regulated fintech. This is a legal restriction, not a risk preference.
If your country is policy-blocked but not sanctioned — the restriction is that specific provider’s choice, not a legal wall, so a few paths are worth trying in order:
- Apply directly to Wise Business. Unlike Mercury and Relay, Wise does not publish a static prohibited-countries list — eligibility is evaluated per application. A rejection from Mercury does not predict a Wise outcome.
- Ask a formation/compliance service about their banking placement track record before paying. Some services market help placing founders from higher-friction countries with a bank. That is a real service some founders need — but ask for their actual recent success rate for your specific country before paying, rather than assuming it is guaranteed.
- Reassess your entity structure with a licensed professional. Whether a US-resident co-founder, manager, or different ownership structure changes your banking options is a case-by-case legal and tax question — this is general information, not individual advice.
Open data: free to reuse with attribution
This dataset — Mercury and Relay prohibited-country status, cross-referenced with Stripe availability where confirmed — is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
You may copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the data for any purpose, including commercial use, provided you attribute BeginPulse with a link back to https://beginpulse.com/non-resident-banking-eligibility-by-country and indicate any changes you made. See /methodology for sourcing details.
Last updated: 2026-07-28 (verified directly against Mercury, Relay, and Stripe’s own published policy pages — not third-party aggregation). These lists can change without notice; always confirm directly with the provider before a real application.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries are banned from Mercury Bank?
Mercury publishes an explicit prohibited-countries list (verified 2026-07-28) covering roughly 48 countries, including Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia, plus OFAC-sanctioned countries like Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. See the full table above — Mercury's own page is linked as the source.
Can a Nigerian or Pakistani founder get a US business bank account?
Not through Mercury or Relay — both explicitly list Nigeria and Pakistan on their prohibited-countries pages. Wise Business does not publish a static list and checks eligibility per application, so it is worth applying directly rather than assuming rejection. Working with a formation service that has established banking relationships is another route, but verify their actual placement success before paying for it.
If my country is blocked from Mercury, does Stripe still work?
Sometimes — the two are not linked. Croatia and Latvia, for example, are on Mercury's prohibited list but are fully supported by Stripe for payments. Nigeria is blocked by both Mercury and Relay but reachable through Paystack, a Stripe-owned company (a different product, not a standard Stripe account). Always check stripe.com/global directly for your specific country.
What is the difference between a "sanctioned" and "policy-blocked" country?
Sanctioned countries (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Sudan) are blocked because of OFAC sanctions — no US-regulated fintech can legally serve them, and there is no workaround. Policy-blocked countries (like Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam) are not under US sanctions; the provider has chosen not to serve them due to its own risk tolerance. This is a meaningful distinction because policy-based restrictions vary by provider and can change, while sanctions do not.
What are my options if my country is blocked from both Mercury and Relay?
Three general paths, none guaranteed: (1) apply directly to Wise Business, which evaluates eligibility per application rather than publishing a blanket list; (2) work with a formation/compliance service that has existing banking relationships for higher-friction countries — verify their track record before paying; (3) explore whether a US-resident co-founder or manager changes the application profile. This is general information, not a guarantee of approval — banking decisions are made case by case.
How current is this data and will it change?
Verified directly against each provider's own published policy page on 2026-07-28. Mercury expanded its prohibited-countries list significantly in 2025, and these lists can change without notice — always confirm directly with the provider before relying on this for a real application.
Related
Recommended services for eligible non-resident founders
We may earn a commission at no cost to you. We only list services we'd use ourselves.