A US LLC bank account without US residency: what the bank asks for

Setting up an LLC is quick. But it can only do business once it has an account in its own name: for customer payments, rent, suppliers and payroll, and for taxes. What matters to the bank is not where you live, but who the company is, who owns it and what it does. Here you'll find which documents the business account needs, how to get an EIN without an SSN, and how the account is opened remotely and at a branch bank.

1An account for the company, not for you

An LLC is a separate legal person, and it needs its own account. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) advises opening a business account as soon as the company starts taking in or spending money, and its first reason is liability: keeping business and personal money apart preserves the limited protection of your personal assets that the legal form is meant to provide. The IRS puts it even more briefly in its publication for founders: one of the first steps in starting a business is a business bank account, and you keep that account separate from your personal one.

For an LLC owned by someone abroad, there's a second reason. A single-member LLC like this must file Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 with the IRS every year and keep books that show its transactions with you as the owner. Missing the filing deadline or failing to keep the records risks a penalty of $25,000. A dedicated account that every transaction runs through is the simplest bookkeeping there is. How this return works is explained in The zero tax return for the single-member LLC.

This page is about the LLC that does business in the USA: with customers, revenue and a presence there. For that company, the US dollar business account is an everyday tool. How we set up banking for a new company in general is also covered in Account opening and banking for your US company.

2What the bank wants to know about your LLC

For a business account, the company is the customer. That's why the identification rule of US anti-money-laundering law, 31 CFR 1020.220, requires different information than for an individual: the company's name, its address in the form of a principal place of business, local office or other physical location, and its taxpayer identification number. The bank must verify that the company exists, for example with a certified certificate of incorporation or a business license. For an LLC, that means the Articles of Organization or the Certificate of Formation confirmed by the state at formation. Which steps formation involves and which documents it produces is explained in the guide to forming a US LLC.

Then there's the beneficial ownership rule, 31 CFR 1010.230. It applies to every LLC created by a filing with a Secretary of State. The bank must identify every individual who directly or indirectly holds 25 percent or more of the ownership interests, plus one person with significant responsibility for managing the company, such as the managing member. That's at most four owners and one controlling person; in a single-member LLC, it's usually one person in both roles. The bank verifies their identity under the same rules as for personal customers, and copies of ID documents are acceptable here. Since a FinCEN order of 13 February 2026, banks may limit this identification to the first account opening and need not repeat it for every further account, as long as nothing casts doubt on the information.

Anything beyond that is up to the bank. The SBA lists the usual documents as the EIN, the formation documents, the ownership agreements and the business license, and notes that some banks ask for more. For an LLC, the ownership agreement is the Operating Agreement. Also expect the bank to ask who may operate the account on the company's behalf; you record that in a resolution of the members. The table sets the law and the practice side by side.

Which documents you need personally on top of this is covered in Opening a US bank account: the documents.

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3The EIN, even without an SSN

No EIN, no business account. The Employer Identification Number is your company's tax ID, and the IRS issues it free of charge; anyone charging a fee for it is selling a service, not a number. You can get an EIN online instantly, but only if the company's principal place of business is in the USA and the responsible party has an SSN or ITIN.

If you have neither, you apply for the EIN on Form SS-4 another way. If the principal place of business is outside the USA, the IRS takes applications by phone at +1 267 941 1099, Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 23 (11 p.m.) Eastern Time. From abroad, you can fax the form to +1 304 707 9471; for this route, the IRS says a number is usually assigned within four business days. By mail, it goes to the IRS in Cincinnati. In the line for the responsible party's number, foreign applicants without an SSN or ITIN write "foreign". The IRS issues only one EIN per responsible party per day.

The IRS confirmation is the document the bank wants to see: notice CP 575 or confirmation Letter 147C. According to Mercury, it also accepts the SS-4 returned by the IRS and allows applications with an EIN pending, as long as the confirmation is submitted within 90 days. On request, we apply for your company's EIN as part of our service, so you don't have to deal with phone calls and faxes.

4Mercury: the account from abroad

As standard, we open your company's business account with Mercury. Mercury opens accounts for companies formed and registered in the USA or a US territory and explicitly supports founders from around the world; excluded are companies whose founders or financial officers live in certain countries. You don't need US citizenship or US residency, and the application runs online, with no trip to the USA.

For the application, Mercury asks for the company's formation documents, the IRS EIN document and a government-issued photo ID, such as a passport, for every owner with at least 25 percent and for at least one person with control over the business. The company needs existing or planned business in the USA. As the principal place of business, Mercury accepts an address in the USA or abroad, including a home address, but not the Registered Agent's address, a PO box or a parcel shop address.

Worth knowing to set your expectations: by its own description, Mercury is a fintech company, not a bank; banking services are provided by FDIC-insured partner banks. Mercury decides whether to open the account. If you're turned down, first check whether the company's business is clearly described, whether the website and documents match it, and whether all owners are fully disclosed. Everything else about Mercury, from opening to day-to-day use, is covered in Mercury for your US LLC.

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5The branch bank: an in-person appointment

An account at a traditional American bank with branches is the second building block. It doesn't replace Mercury, it complements it: as a second banking relationship, a place for cash and checks, and a relationship with a bank that can later extend credit cards and credit lines to the company. At a bank like this, expect an in-person appointment where you present your original ID documents.

Everything above applies to this appointment, only more thoroughly. Bring the certificate of formation, the Operating Agreement, the EIN notice, the resolution on authorized signers and your passport, plus a second form of ID. Expect questions about the business model, expected revenue and the countries the company does business with. A bank that understands what your LLC does is more likely to open the account; one that has to guess, less so.

We coordinate the in-person appointment at a traditional US bank as part of Credit Builder; you travel to the USA once for it. Whether and on what terms the bank opens an account is the bank's decision.

6The company's address

When it comes to the address, it helps to keep three different addresses apart. The Registered Agent's address is the company's service address in the state of formation; that is where mail from government agencies and courts goes. It is not where the company does its work. The business address is the principal place of business or another physical location where the company actually operates. And your own residential address is the one the bank records for you as the beneficial owner.

The identification rule requires a physical location for the company. A PO box is not one, and an agent address shared by many companies does not describe where your LLC works either. If your LLC has an office, a warehouse or a coworking desk in the US, that is its business address. If it operates from Europe, the address there is its location; Mercury accepts an international business address, while a branch bank makes its own call.

7Money in, money out

Your US customers pay into the business account by ACH, wire or check. Customers in Europe pay by international transfer; what goes into the payment order and where money gets lost in currency conversion is covered in Sending money to the USA. A payment to your own US company is generally not a transfer between your own accounts, because the company is a separate person. 50,000

In the other direction, you take money out of the company only through defined channels: as a draw, as salary or as a distribution, depending on the legal form and tax classification. Don't pay personal expenses from the business account. The IRS advises documenting every withdrawal for personal use as such. How LLC withdrawals work for tax purposes is explained in Taking profits out of your US LLC.

8Deposit insurance: what is protected

Accounts an LLC holds at an FDIC-insured bank are insured automatically, no application needed. The FDIC places LLCs in the category of corporations, partnerships and unincorporated associations. All of the LLC's accounts at the same bank are added together and protected up to at least $250,000, separately from your personal accounts. More accounts or more signatories do not increase the coverage. The condition is that the company has an independent activity and was not set up merely to get more deposit insurance.

The FDIC does not cover securities, bonds, funds or crypto assets. Mercury states FDIC coverage of up to $5 million for checking and savings balances by spreading deposits across up to 20 banks; Mercury itself is not an FDIC-insured bank. The table sums up the rules.

9The company with a US presence and the other kind of LLC

Everything on this page applies to the LLC that operates in the US and pays taxes there. For that LLC, the dollar business account is the starting point, and the company's credit history is later built on it. How a company credit card comes into the picture and who is liable for it is covered in Business credit card for your US LLC; how your company gets its own credit rating, in Business credit for your US company.

How the account and credit fit together for you and your operating company is shown in our overview US bank account and US credit.

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In short

• To the bank, your LLC is the customer: it needs formation documents, an EIN, a physical location for the company, and the details of everyone holding 25 percent or more plus one person with control.
• The EIN is free. Without an SSN or ITIN and based outside the US, you apply by phone, fax or mail instead of online.
• Mercury opens accounts remotely for US companies with foreign founders; Mercury is not a bank itself, and Mercury decides on every application.
• An account at a branch bank is usually opened in person; in Credit Builder, that appointment is included.
• Keep business and personal money strictly separate. That protects your limited liability and produces the records a foreign-owned LLC owes the IRS.

How we help you

• US Bank Account OpeningYour own access to the American financial system, even without an SSN.
• Credit BuilderCredit for your company and for you, built step by step.
• Apply for an EINYour company's US tax ID, applied for by us.
• Form an LLCThe US LLC with a permanent establishment, turnkey in six states.
• Company formation consultationEntity type, state and tax consequences, before you commit.