A US LLC without a US bank account is a certificate in a folder. Stripe, Amazon and most US clients pay to US accounts, and a personal account in another country is neither acceptable to them nor clean for the LLC's books. The good news is that a few well-run fintechs now open accounts for non-resident-owned LLCs entirely online. The bad news is that they decline a meaningful share of applications, and rarely say why.
Who will open the account
- Fintech accounts (a partner bank holds the deposits, the fintech runs the interface): Mercury, Relay, Wise Business, and a few others accept non-resident owners from most countries with a fully online application. FDIC insurance flows through the partner bank. No monthly fees on the basic tiers; international wires and currency conversion are where they earn.
- Traditional banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo): possible, but usually require an in-person visit to a US branch, a US address, and often an SSN or ITIN for the signer. Some founders open one on a business trip; most do not need to.
- Payment platforms with balances (Payoneer, PayPal Business): useful for receiving marketplace payouts, not a substitute for an operating account.
What they ask for
- Formation document from the state (certificate of formation or articles of organization).
- EIN confirmation letter (CP575 or 147C). The number alone is not enough.
- Operating agreement showing who owns and controls the LLC.
- Passport of every owner with 25% or more, and of the person opening the account.
- Proof of the owner's home address, dated within three months.
- A description of the business, a website or a deck, and sometimes evidence of activity: a contract, an invoice, a marketplace listing.
- The LLC's US address (a registered agent or virtual mailbox is usually accepted).
Why applications are declined
Restricted countries first: each provider keeps a list of countries it will not serve, driven by sanctions and its partner bank's risk policy, and the lists change. Beyond that, the common reasons: a business description that is vague ("consulting", "e-commerce" with no site), an activity the partner bank treats as high risk (crypto, adult content, gambling, firearms, some supplements), no evidence the business is real, a mismatch between the passport name and the formation documents, or an owner who appears to have no connection to the US market at all. A declined application at one provider does not prevent approval at another, and a stronger description with evidence of trading is the usual fix.
Keeping the account
Fintechs review accounts continuously. Things that trigger a freeze or closure: large inbound transfers with no explanation, transactions with a restricted country, a sudden change of activity, ignoring a compliance request for documents. Reply to every request within the stated window, keep the business description current, and keep the books current so that a request for financial statements can be answered in a day.
Two related points
Beneficial ownership reporting to FinCEN, which caused confusion in 2024, no longer applies to LLCs formed in the US after the rule change in March 2025; the bank collects the same information for its own purposes and that is where it stops. And the account is a related-party transaction machine: every transfer between you and the LLC through it is a line on next April's Form 5472, so keep the two sets of money separate from the first deposit.
The check: if the LLC is receiving money into a personal account anywhere, that is the thing to change this month.