If you are an online entrepreneur who needs Stripe to receive foreign payments, but Stripe is not supported in your country, then you come to the right place. In this article, I will teach you step by step how to pass through the country barrier and open a Stripe account for your business.
Stripe is a third-party cash flow service used by many private brands or e-commerce websites. There are many advantages to using Stripe as your 3rd party payment system, unfortunately, many countries are not included in the regions supported by Stripe. No worry, still there is a way. The best way to apply for Stripe is to apply for a US company, and then use it to open a US Stripe account.
In this article, I will share the complete tutorial with you on how to apply for Stripe in non-allowed region! It will include how to buy a US phone number, how to apply for an EIN for your company for free, and how to open a US bank. (In the end I will let you know the way to cut the cost to $0, so keep reading.)
All you need for your American LLC：
A lot of people already succeed to get a Stripe account following my tutorial, and above are their feedback. All the steps in this article are also how I get my Stripe account practically, so I can assure you that the following tutorial is definitely worked!
What is Stripe and what is the advantage of it?
Stripe, like PayPal, is a third-party payment tool that allows you to send and receive payments easily. Here are some of the advantages of Stripe:
Stripe Advantage 1: Compared with PayPal, Stripe has lower fee
The first advantage is that Stripe’s fee is 2.9% + 0.3 US dollars, with no other cost while withdrawing, which is much much lower than PayPal.
My own experience in using PayPal to collect payments when selling products is that the total fee is about 4~5%, such a vampire, isn’t it?
Stripe Advantage 2: Supports multi-currency conversion
The second advantage is that Stripe supports conversion between multiple currencies , which is very beneficial for cross-border e-commerce.
When I helped some cross-border e-commerce clients set up Shopify websites, I often encountered the currency conversion issue.
If you have a Stripe account, customers can pay in their own country’s currency, and the system will automatically convert it into US dollars and deposit it into your bank account for you , so it is very suitable to be used as a payment gateway for cross-border e-commerce business.
Stripe advantage 3: Simple payment process, no page-jump required
The third advantage is that Stripe’s payment process is very simple and does not have multiple-page jumps, allowing customers to complete transactions more smoothly. After all, the simpler the checkout process is, the more likely it is to reduce customer churn.
Stripe advantage 4: Easier to set up automatic commission transferring function to your affiliates
This is something I personally experienced. When selling products, manufacturers can add affiliate marketing mechanisms to their products to allow affiliate to help them promote the products. If you use WordPress to build your own website, you will need to install affiliate marketing plug-ins yourself(such as WP Affiliate, SliceWP Affiliate, etc.).
When setting up affiliate marketing mechanism for your online store, you will need to set the withdrawal limit to reduce the fee. However, it is hard to set up automatic commission transferring using other payment gateways. You have to ask the affiliate for bank information before manually transferring money.
But if you use Stripe, you can activate automatic transferring function. When the withdrawal threshold is reached, it will send commission to referrals automatically, which is very convenient.
Stripe advantage 5: API connection is easy, and large e-commerce platforms can connect Stripe.
Simply put, e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Woocommerce, Kartra, Clickfunnel etc, can use Stripe as the payment gateway. If you are an online consultant, you can also integrate Calendly with Stripe to let customers arrange time with you.
What’s more, you can also directly use Stripe to create a one-page payment page and embed it into the website.
The disadvantage of Stripe
After talking about Stripe’s advantages, of course we have to go back and talk about Stripe’s most fatal shortcoming. Currently, Stripe supports 46 countries, and sadly, many countries like Dubai, Uae, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan….. are not among them.
Does that mean people in these regions have no chance to apply for Stripe? Actually there is, the best way is to open a US company and open a US Stripe account in the name of the company.
Thus, I will tell you how to register a US company. If you wanna know, keep reading.
How to register a US company for non-US residents?
To open a US company, you will need to complete the following 3 things:
To register a U.S. company, you will need 1: Find a LLC agent in the U.S.
To apply for a U.S. company, you must find a LLC agent in the U.S. This is a requirement. They can play a communicative role and help you apply for and process some relevant documents with the government.
If you use the method I am going to teach you to set up a US company, you will only need less than $300 to complete all the company setting matters. Yes, a budget of about $300 is enough. The process and cost of opening a company in the United States are really simple and cheap.
To register a US company you will need 2: Purchase a US phone number
Second, you will need a US mobile phone number to receive messages. Because you will need to bind a US mobile phone number when applying for Stripe, and you will need to use this mobile phone number to receive the verification code every time you log in, so it is recommended to buy a phone number that can be used for a long time (it is very cheap, I will tell you where to buy one later).
To register a US company you will need 3: Apply for EIN
Finally, you will need to apply for an EIN number (Federal tax identification number). It is a company number provided by the U.S. federal government for tax collection. This is the only number required by U.S. companies and will be used for tax.
Imagine a company as a person, the EIN number is a bit like an ID for your company. When you want to use your company to open a bank or a Stripe account, you will need to fill in the EIN.
Which type of company do you need to open? How to choose the state?
American companies are divided into LLC and Cooperation. Usually it is enough for us to open a LLC, unless you are a large multinational company, like Google or Amazon, then you will need to open a Cooperation.
Also, U.S. companies have different tax regulations according to different states. If you want to find the most cost-effective place to open a US LLC, the three most recommended states are Delaware, Wyoming and Nevada, because these states are tax-free (No state income tax). For other states you have to search on Google for relevant tax fees on your own.
My LLC is registered in Wyoming, and the agent service I use is Northwest. It is a very well-known LLC agency with a very good reputation. The application process is very streamlined and the price is very cheap.
If you meet any problems during the process, you can also send them Email for inquiries. They always give me very detailed responses.
Starting a company in the United States - Find Northwest to help you register a company in the United States
When you come to their official website, you can see that the process is super simple, just follow their process and fill in the information, and that’s it. This is why I recommend you to pick Northwest as your LLC agent.
Step 1: Select your company form and state
First, we choose LLC as the company type, and then you can choose the state according to your own needs. For me, I choose Wyoming. Then no need to turn on the BOI(Beneficial Ownership Information) filing option, cause you can file it on your own for free. I will tell you how later.
You can see the clear quotation. It only costs $139, pretty cheap, isn’t it! Of course if you want them to deliver it faster, you can pay more for it.
Step 2: Enter the company name and registered address
Here you need to enter the company’s name, xxxx LLC, and there is no need to make any adjustments below, because Northwest has the advantage that you can use their company address to open a company, so you can open a US company even if you are overseas.
Step 3: Who is in your US company?
In this step, you need to type in the info of all the members in your company. For me, I am the only one member, so Management Type I pick Member Managed, and type my name below.
Step 4：Fill your contact info
Here you have to fill in your own personal details, so you can use your home address and phone number.
Step 5：Fill in the account and password to log in to the Northwest backend
Here you need to fill in your Northwest backend account password.
If your company address is the one given by Northwest, any information sent by the U.S. government in the future will be sent there. They will scan the paper file into electronic files and upload it for you, and you can see all the files from the backend of your Northwest account!
Business Identity here, no need to turn it on, just press Continue to the next step.
Step 6: Do you need to purchase other products?
There is no need to check anything here, and I don’t recommend you to buy a phone number here. They charge $9/month, which is a bit too expensive. I will share with you later where I bought the US phone number, so just skip this step.
Step 7: Fill in payment information and place order
After confirming all the information, you can place an order and then wait for Northwest to complete the process and contact you, so that your US LLC is ready! Isn’t it super simple!
Open a company in the United States - Purchase a US account number: Zadarma
Zadarma has its own app that can be used to send and receive messages and make calls. But to purchase a US phone number, you must go to their official website to register an account.
Click Order a Virtual Number to purchase a phone.
Here you will see phone numbers from many countries that can be purchased. Please be careful. Do not select a Toll free phone number. You will not be able to receive text messages or receive verification codes. You must select Mobile+SMS and then find United States.
Because your mobile phone number will follow you for a long time, I would recommend that you just choose the annual payment plan. It will have a half-price discount. It only costs $3 US dollars per month and only 36 US dollars a year, which is quite cost-effective.
After clicking on the United States, you can choose the number you like and buy it. Then it will ask you to provide identity documents below. Remember to open your passport and take a photo of the entire page (you will not be able to pass if you only take the page with your photo).
When the purchase is completed, it will appear in your app, and you can directly receive the verification code or make a call using your mobile phone!
Opening a company in the United States - How to apply for a free EIN for a U.S. company
If you don’t want to apply for the EIN on your own, you can apply for it directly with Northwest. They also have EIN application service (an additional fee of $200 is required~~), but if you can do it yourself, it is completely free.
To apply for an EIN, you must first fill in the SS4 form and submit it to the IRS (U.S. Internal Revenue Service). Please check the example below. What needs to be noted here is that the address can be filled in with the one given by Northwest, and the phone number can be the number you bought from Zadarma.
After completing the filling, you need to fax the SS4 form to the IRS and ask them to help you apply for an EIN. But before that, you have to wait until the Northwest LLC is opened already.
You can use Dropbox Fax to fax, which is very convenient and you can send fax at home. To receive faxes, you will need to use a paid plan, but don’t worry, the platform has a 30-day trial period, so you can cancel the subscription after the IRS sends the EIN, so you will not be charged! After signing up for the paid plan, you will see your fax number, and then you can fill it back into the SS4 field.
The fax number of IRS is +1 855–641–6935. If you apply after your company is opened, it won’t take long to receive your EIN. I received it in 2 days.
EIN looks like this, and its full name is Employer Identification Number.
Opening a company in the United States - How to confirm whether the company is successfully registered?
After you successfully establish a US company through Northwest, they will help you prepare relevant documents according to the processing time you choose. When they have finished processing, you will see 3 letters in the Northwest account backend, one of which will contain your Filing ID. If you receive it, it means that your company has been established!
Also you can search the official website of the state where your company was established to see if your company has been filed there. For example, Wyoming, you can go to this website to check. Enter your company’s name and Filing ID and you can check it!
2024 the newest policy - File BOI report for your US company
Since 2024, January, the American government announce this new policy, that all american companys need to file FinCEN BOI report(BOIR). You only need to file BOIR once(unless you have something to fix, then you need to report it again)。Watch out, if you don’t provide it, you will get fined for $500/day, to the most $10,000.
No matter you form your company before or after 2024, you need to file BOIR(Official policy and QA), the difference is that you have 1 year to file the report if your company was formed before 2024, while those was formed after 2024 only has 3 months. I believe you don’t want to get fined, so stay tune and keep reading.
If you ask Northwest to help you file BOIR, they will tell you that you have to provide a real American address, which cannot be Registered Agent address, PO Box or Virtual Office.
But it is unreasonable, since we are non-US resident, we don’t have our own physical American address. A lot of people get stuck here. Since now, FinCEN hasn’t explained it yet.
I found a solution that you can buy an address from Trulease, as they told me, the address can be used for official documents. I think this is the safer way.
But I also try to use the Address Northwest provided to file BOIR from FinCEN homepage, and I passed!!!
Honestly, I think it makes sense, otherwise all the oversea companys should be closed due to this new policy. Before FinCEN announces further policy for this, I recommend you to go to their official website and apply for it on your own instead of outsource it to agency.
You can follow the steps in the video above, basically you need to provide company’s name, EIN, and members’ info. Once you finish, you will get FinCEN ID, and you can Download Transcript. That’s it. You finish.
Can a foreigner open a bank account in the US? Apply for a U.S. bank: Mercury Bank
After you complete the company establishment and have an EIN, you can then help the company set up a bank account . This bank is also necessary since Stripe needs you to provide a US bank account when you register a Stripe account.
After searching a lot of information, I found that the most suitable bank for non-US resident LLC to set up is Mercury Bank.
Most American banks will require you to have a local address, and they also require you to go to the United States in person, while Mercury does not require any of these. It does not require any monthly management fees as well. You can execute the whole application online!
There is no fee for international transfers through Mercury (but there will be additional fee from banks in your country).
In addition, they also provide a reward mechanism for new accounts. If you use my link to open an account and deposit $10,000 in the first three months, Mercury will give you and me an additional $250 as a reward. This reward is quite a lot, right~ If you can receive this reward, it means you will earn back the cost of your company forming!
Some readers told me they actually receive the reward $250. So I recommend you to do so to earn your cost back.
Mercury has been established for 5 years. You can check out Mercury Bank’s relevant introduction materials. It is guaranteed by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), and it is also a legal Fintech bank.
When you want to send money back to your own country, you can choose Pay Someone . Here you can enter your own country’s foreign currency account information and use it to receive the money!
It should be noted that the address here can only be the address existing in their system. I couldn’t select my home address, so I directly use the one given by Northwest, and my transfer is also successful. ! (If you can’t find your address, you can try this)
Payment detail here you need to choose International wire — USD.
Then select Send as SHA. And voila~ After 1–2 days you will receive the money.
Finally I want to remind you, that you can earn $250 if you save $10,000 to your Mercury bank account within 3 months.(You can open a foreign currency account in your country and send money to your Mercury bank.) You can check your Mercury account number here, Account(Checking) ➞ Download Wire Details.
Successfully formed US company following the tutorial above
So far, there are many entrepreneurs successfully forming their companies following the tutorial above, with a Mercury bank account to do business. Thus I can assure you that you can also succeed to open an American company if you follow my steps.
Open a Stripe Account for non-US residents
After you have a company, an EIN, a US account number and a US bank, you can open your Stripe account!
When choosing the business type, select United States, and my company structure is Single-member LLC. You can choose according to your own company’s type.
Then fill in your company information, EIN, etc.
The third step is to fill in your own personal information, here just fill in your home address.
Please enter your phone number purchased from Zadarma, then change your social security number to your personal identification number, select your country. Find the abbreviation of your country, and enter your ID card.
The next step is to connect the bank account. Just search for Mercury Bank to bind your Mercury account. Once you finish the rest steps, your Stripe application is officially completed! Congratulation!
WooCommerce integration with Stripe
If you have a store built by WooCommerce, then you can download Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce plugin.
Then go to settings, you can bind your Stripe account here. Turn the mode to Live, so you can start to do your business and receive the payment.
Find the payment way you want to use and enable them, like Credit/Debit card.
How to file tax for your US company, take selling digital product using Wyoming LLC as an example
In America, each state has their own tax rules. You can ask a professional CPA for more details.(This is the CPA I work with：Viswa Koll, you can also consult with him as well)。
Here I will take selling digital product using Wyoming LLC as an example. In this case, you don’t have to file income tax and sale tax to US government, but you need to file Annual Report to state government, and file 1120/5472 form to IRS every year.
The due day of annual tax report is 4/15 in the next year. You should provide CPA your company and personal document before 1/15, and ask them to help you fill the 1120/5472 form and hand it over. Also come back and ask them to send annual report for you before May(Below is the content I discussed with Viswa Koll ).
You don’t need ITIN for this if your condition is like mine, non-US resident, selling digital products online. Unless you want to have American citizen identity, like opening a local bank, getting a credit card, or you have storage room in America.
Viswa Koll is the one who is professional in non-US resident tax report matters, thus I really recommend you to work with him. Any tax issue you can inquire him as well, and his team is a legal company, so no need to worry about it.
Above tax info is just for reference, not suitable for all companies, since tax issue will be different based on your business. I recommend you to find a professional CPA to do all of this for you, just in case you get wrong and get fined due to your miss.
In conclusion
Above is the complete Stripe application tutorial, also the complete instruction on how to open a US company, how to apply for a US business number, and how to open a US company.
Here I will help you summarize the entire SOP for opening a US company: First go to Northwest to apply for a LLC (1~5 days) . Then go to Zadarma to buy a U.S. phone number . After the LLC is established, then go for applying your EIN (2 to 3 days). The whole process takes about 1 to 2 weeks. Finally, open a bank account and apply for a Stripe account. Also, don’t forget to file BOIR.
Speaking of tax issue, it will be different based on your business, so I recommend you to find a professional CPA. If your business is like mine, selling digital products online, then you just need to remember to find a CPA to help you deal with the necessary forms before 1/15 and 5/1 in the next year.
I do a lot of research before successfully completing my LLC and Stripe account applications. If this article is helpful to you, please feel free to sponsor me a coffee for supporting me to continue writing more good contents!
All you need for your American LLC：