Banking For Foreign-Owned U.S. Businesses

It is fairly easy to incorporate a company or LLC in America. Unfortunately, your banking options are limited if you, the owner, are not a U.S. resident. 

Foreign owners of U.S. entities face unique challenges when opening a business bank account. American banks often have a hard time verifying your identity if you live abroad. Most banks require you to hand in documents personally, which involves costly travel to the USA. Additionally, if you want your deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), you are often limited to insured brick and mortar banks located in the United States.

Fortunately, there are some neobanks and alternative banking options that can make your life easier. Hopefully, after reading the options below, you will be able to find an online platform to manage your U.S. company’s finances!   

Mercury is an American financial technology company that partners with Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust to offer FDIC-insured business checking or savings accounts — neither of which have monthly fees. The company is friendly to non-US residents and foreigners, and startups can apply in a mere 10 minutes on its user-friendly platform. Mercury’s mobile banking app includes team management tools, physical and virtual debit cards, and integrates with programs such as QuickBooks and Stripe.

Relay is a money management platform for small businesses. It permits remote account openings and accepts U.S. entities whose owners are based outside the USA. Its banking services, debit cards, and FDIC insurance are provided by Thread Bank. With Relay, you will not have to deal with account fees, overdraft fees, or minimum balances. You can automate recurring payments and pay via ACH transfers, wires, or checks. Relay’s online banking platform also integrates directly into QuickBooks Online and Xero to simplify your accounting tasks.

PayPal is the largest digital platform for transferring money — it supports 200 countries and 25 different currencies. You can remotely open a business account to hold, transfer, and receive funds. There is no account opening fee, you pay for sales only when you get paid. The company is known for its relatively quick money transfers (typically 1-2 business days), but you can also get paid for your services by processing a credit or debit card. Like a bank, your startup can apply for a corporate debit or credit card, and even a business loan.

Wise, formally TransferWise, is an international money transfer service that handles transfers in 80+ countries (often within 24 hours). Like a bank, Wise has business accounts where you can hold and manage corporate funds. To open a Wise Business account, you simply pay a one-off fee, there are no monthly service costs. Wise offers cross-border payment services and currency exchange services at competitive rates. It also provides you with a debit card, so you can make online or in-store payments directly from your Wise account.

Payoneer is another online payment platform that focuses on international transfers — it handles payments in 190+ countries and supports 70 currencies. You can open a business account to send and receive cross-border payments wherever your company operates. It is free to open an account, and the company has reasonable transaction fees. Business account owners can also request a physical or virtual debit card to pay business expenses. Payoneer’s platform integrates with 2,000 marketplaces, and allows you to accept debit/credit card payments on your company website.

If you are a small business owner, you need the flexibility to manage your funds from anywhere! You should be able to open a corporate bank account remotely. You should expect to send/receive international transfers without paying outrageous fees. Furthermore, you should have access to an intuitive online banking platform. We hope you research the above companies in more detail, and stay on the lookout for emerging banking alternatives!

If this topic interests you, you may want to read our other banking-related articles: Why To Consider Offshore Banking and How To Open An Offshore Bank Account.