Is this eligibility result legal or tax advice?

No. It is an educational estimate built from each platform’s own policy pages and a corroborated sanctions list. Platform rules and sanctions lists change often, so every cell links to the platform’s live page and you should confirm your specific situation with the platform and a qualified professional.

Why does it tell me to "verify on apply" so often?

Mercury and Relay support pages block automated checks, Payoneer’s article returned almost no content, PayPal’s page was not reachable, and OFAC timed out. Only Stripe (three pages) and Wise were directly verified on 2026-06-23, so the other rules are shown as reference and must be confirmed on the platform’s live page.

Why is a registered-agent address a problem for Mercury?

Mercury’s legal address must be a real US (or international principal-place-of-business) physical address. A registered-agent address, PO box, or UPS-Store/CMRA mailbox is not accepted, which is why a registered-agent-only address is the central Mercury blocker. A residential or office address works.

I live in a country Stripe lists as "preview" — what does that mean?

Stripe lists India and Indonesia as preview/invite-only, so it is not generally self-serve. In practice that is "form a US LLC first" territory: register a US LLC, get an EIN, and open a US Stripe account. Confirm the current status on stripe.com/global.

Interactive eligibility tool

US Bank & Stripe Eligibility Checker

Answer eight questions about your residence, citizenship, US entity, EIN, owner ID, and address. Get a ranked, source-linked matrix of six payment platforms — likely eligible, form a US LLC first, or restricted — with the single binding reason and the next action for each.

Open the checker How we research

Access: Free; no account wall
Privacy: Local; inputs stay in browser
Platforms: 6; ranked + source-linked

Your situation

Where do you currently live (country of residence)? Several platforms restrict based on where the founder LIVES, not just citizenship. What is your citizenship? Some platforms screen on citizenship as well as residence (card-network compliance). Do you have (or plan to form) a US LLC / US-registered company? A US-registered entity is the standard path to Mercury/Relay and a US Stripe/PayPal account. Does your US company have an EIN from the IRS yet? Mercury, Wise, US Stripe, and US PayPal all require a verifiable EIN; Wise/Stripe require it verified. Do you (the owner) have a US SSN or ITIN? US Stripe needs an SSN for the individuals; US PayPal is reported to enforce a valid ITIN for non-resident owners. What kind of US business address can you provide? Mercury no longer accepts registered-agent, PO box, or UPS-Store addresses for the legal address. Do you have genuine US operations (US team member, office, or activity)? Relay states the business must have an operating presence in the US. Mercury/Wise do not. Do you have a live website showing what the business sells? Stripe requires a working website that shows what your business sells or what services you provide.

Workflow

How to use it

1 Answer the eight questions about residence, citizenship, US entity, EIN, owner ID, address, US operations, and website.
2 Read the ranked matrix: likely eligible, form a US LLC first, or restricted — with the binding reason per platform.
3 Follow the "do this first" action and open each platform’s linked live policy page to confirm.
4 Save the report as a PDF, copy the summary, or continue into the relevant Lanzamo tool.

Why this matters

Most "best bank for non-residents" answers are generic. Whether you can actually open Mercury, Wise, or Stripe depends on your exact residence, citizenship, whether you have a US entity and a verified EIN, and what kind of US address you can provide — and each platform has its own current, individually-linked policy. This tool resolves your specific combination into a ranked verdict with the single binding reason and the next action per platform, then links you to each platform’s live page to confirm.

Keep going

Where to incorporate Rank the US against other jurisdictions before you commit to a US LLC. Company Setup Report The full route: country, state, EIN, banking, service path, and compliance. Find your jurisdiction Match your business and market to the best country and entity. LLC cost by state Compare formation and annual fees across all 50 states + DC.

The non-resident founder’s U.S. company checklist

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