USA Bank account for Delaware LLC

[ralfkuefer]

Hello,

I'm currently a Malta resident owning a Delaware LLC
Currently operating in the virtual items market but also starting to get into eCommerce.
The current setup I'm using is Mercury.co + Stripe + PayPal - Which was almost blocked because I entered a fake SSN instead of my EIN, they straight up told me if I entered my EIN in place of SSN they would let it go but not in this case. Happened to run into a support worker who unlocked it anyway.

I have recently talked with some individuals that recommeneded me to go to the USA to do the following:
1. Rent an Airbnb / have some friends lend you an address
2. Open an account in BofA depositing $2k, declaring residence address in USA but communication address back in Europe
3. Wait a week / 3 months for the credit card / score to set in
4. Open accounts for the company in BofA / Chase / Wells Fargo and request cards

I understand that now it's impossible because of Corona season but did anybody else have experience with a similar setup?
Could anyone working with similar problems point out any solutions?

 

[fshore]

So PayPal and stripe works now? Why you need the bank account, doesn't mercury work anymore?

 

[ralfkuefer]

Yes it works for now, Stripe also needs an SSN which I made up.
Mercury has terrible support service and they sometimes straight up refuse transactions even if you give full info about them - unacceptable.
Also USA banks have guaranteed deposits and is not a s**t EMI
You can start building credit in USA and get 2% cashback cards for adspend
It would be unwise not to get one

 

[jerrywhyte]

Similar experience, it will make sense if anyone can give lists of other USA EMI bank other than Mercury because I see alot of services advertising real USA banking services (authority formation agencies) even without as non-resident and without traveling and I dont know how they are doing this. what you guys think of this?

 

[albertwong]

Yes it works for now, Stripe also needs an SSN which I made up.
Mercury has terrible support service and they sometimes straight up refuse transactions even if you give full info about them - unacceptable.
Also USA banks have guaranteed deposits and is not a s**t EMI
You can start building credit in USA and get 2% cashback cards for adspend
It would be unwise not to get one

Friendly warning: be prepared for a 4-6 month hold if your using PayPal USA without a SSN.

Despite having a US LLC + EIN + US Office + US Bank (Top 3)... they can and WILL put you on their typical 6 month hold.



+1 on Mercury... they are absolutely one of the worst banks I've dealt with. BOA/WF are so much better but they require an in person visit and with the lockdown, it'll be a while to replace the crappiest bank I've dealt with and I've dealt with 10+ banks from various countries.

 

[ralfkuefer]

Friendly warning: be prepared for a 4-6 month hold if your using PayPal USA without a SSN.

Despite having a US LLC + EIN + US Office + US Bank (Top 3)... they can and WILL put you on their typical 6 month hold.



+1 on Mercury... they are absolutely one of the worst banks I've dealt with. BOA/WF are so much better but they require an in person visit and with the lockdown, it'll be a while to replace the crappiest bank I've dealt with and I've dealt with 10+ banks from various countries.

I've got the PayPal 180 day ban but somehow managed to talk them through it which seemed impossible...
I'm now getting an ITIN number to give them instead of SSN, will see how that works out on my account for another business.

Are you from Europe? Are there any problems just going to the USA and opening a bank account? Are there any questions? Documents needed? What about address?

 

[jerrywhyte]

Sure, From research, I am made to understand that Paypal and Stripe certainly needs ITIN in place
of SSN. And EIN can't be used in place of SSN even if you game it during applications by the time
funds starts rolling in and they come for a manual checks, SSN or ITIN is a must even on top of EIN.

Please do you care to share other more flexible banking options for non-US business/director resident
who does not have plans to move abroad?

Thanks

Friendly warning: be prepared for a 4-6 month hold if your using PayPal USA without a SSN.

Despite having a US LLC + EIN + US Office + US Bank (Top 3)... they can and WILL put you on their typical 6 month hold.



+1 on Mercury... they are absolutely one of the worst banks I've dealt with. BOA/WF are so much better but they require an in person visit and with the lockdown, it'll be a while to replace the crappiest bank I've dealt with and I've dealt with 10+ banks from various countries.

 

[jerrywhyte]

I've got the PayPal 180 day ban but somehow managed to talk them through it which seemed impossible...
I'm now getting an ITIN number to give them instead of SSN, will see how that works out on my account for another business.

Are you from Europe? Are there any problems just going to the USA and opening a bank account? Are there any questions? Documents needed? What about address?

Pls how long is it taking you to get the ITIN? and which service are you using? Hope before one can proceed to applying for ITIN, EIN is a must first?

 

[fshore]

Sure, From research, I am made to understand that Paypal and Stripe certainly needs ITIN in place
of SSN. And EIN can't be used in place of SSN even if you game it during applications by the time
funds starts rolling in and they come for a manual checks, SSN or ITIN is a must even on top of EIN.

Please do you care to share other more flexible banking options for non-US business/director resident
who does not have plans to move abroad?

Thanks

PayPal require ssn, they don't accept itin. At least that's their official policy.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

ITIN takes about 6-7 weeks normally. You can apply for it yourself (free) or you can have a service provider/attorney do it for you.
I've also heard that attorneys can open the company bank account for you in some cases (I guess you'd have to make them a member and then remove them again afterwards).
It will take at least 6-7 months to build credit. At least. Just forget about proper credit cards for at least 1-2 years.
The only way to speed up the process is when you have an existing customer relationship with Amex or Citibank from another country.

Do NOT lie to the banks. The banks will have you fill out IRS forms and you certainly do not want to claim you're a US resident when you're not.
BofA is completely fine with opening private bank accounts for non-resident aliens. They just need a US mailing address. They do not require you to live there.
My guess would be that once you have a private checking account, they'll also open a business account for you.
But they certainly won't give you any credit cards without US credit history.

 

[ih8socialism]

I would stay away from paypal as far as possible. If you can avoid it do it lol