Requirements for a Relay and Mercury Account
You must be from an accepted country and industry to get an account. You must also have the relevant documentation to upload during your application. The office address is not a residential address and cannot be used to get around these regulations.
Prohibited Countries
This is a general list. Every bank will have a slightly different list of countries. If you want to check, you can email our team: support@startinwyoming.com
There may be some additional countries that Mercury or Relay rejects. Every application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. This is not our decision.
| Afghanistan | Albania | Angola |
| Bangladesh | Belarus | Bhutan |
| Bosnia And Herzegovina | Burkina Faso | Burundi |
| Cambodia | Cameroon | Central African Republic |
| Congo | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | Croatia |
| Cuba | Eritrea | Ethiopia |
| Gambia | Guinea-Bissau | Haiti |
| Indonesia | Iran | Iraq |
| Kyrgyzstan | Latvia | Lebanon |
| Lesotho | Liberia | Libya |
| Maldives | Mali | Mozambique |
| Myanmar | Nepal | Nicaragua |
| Nigeria | North Korea | Pakistan |
| Palestine | Philippines | Russia |
| Somalia | South Sudan | Sudan |
| Syria | Ukraine | Uzbekistan |
| Vanuatu | Venezuela | Vietnam |
| Yemen | Zimbabwe |
Prohibited Industries
Businesses in the following industries are not eligible for a bank account with Mercury or Relay. Please note that this is at the bank’s discretion, not ours. They may consider other business types high risk and either reject the application or impose stricter verification requirements. If you are unsure, please contact our team first.
| Industry | Description and Examples |
|---|---|
| Adult Entertainment Businesses | e.g. erotic dancers, lingerie modeling/Only Fans |
| CBD Products | |
| Controlled Substances | e.g. Marijuana/THC, other Schedule I drugs |
| Counterfeit Goods | e.g. fake designer handbags |
| Cryptocurrency Mining | |
| Cryptocurrency, FBO/MTL Activity | Includes Crypto ATMs, Biz Takes Ownership of Their Customer’s Funds in Mercury, Cash for Crytpo Exchanges |
| Personal Use | Businesses with no customers and won’t be selling any sort of product or service. Things like a business formed to manage an IRA (Individual Retirement Account). A single individual funding their account with personal funds and planning to use their Mercury account only as a personal investment account only for themself. |
| Shell Corporations | A business without active operations or significant assets, products, or services. |
| Debt Collection/Payday Lenders | |
| Gambling (including fantasy-sports platforms) | |
| Direct marketing/telemarketing | |
| Money Services Business | Currency dealer or exchanger, check casher, issuer of traveller’s checks, money orders or stored value, seller or redeemer of traveller’s checks, money orders or stored value, money transmitter, or U.S. Postal Service |
Documentation Required
It’s a good idea to have this information ready when you fill out the application form.
You will need:
- ID Verification
- Articles of Organization
- Home/Operating Address Verification
- EIN Confirmation
ID Verification
Acceptable forms of ID:
- Driver’s License (for U.S. residents only)
- Passport
Home/Operating Address Verification
The bank also wants to see where your business actually operates. This could be your home address or an office address in your home country. It does not need to be in the U.S.
Any document used to verify an address must be current within the last six months to be considered valid. The following types of documents are accepted for verifying your address:
- Utility bill (including mobile phone or internet service)
- Bank statement (These cannot be from Mercury or Relay)
- U.S. driver’s license (must be unexpired)
- Pay stub
- Lease agreement. Relay only. (Lease agreements must still be active)
- Insurance bill or statement — including auto, or medical insurance. Relay only
- Subscription Invoice. Mercury only. (From the past 90 days)
- Tax documents from the most recent year. Mercury only
- Passport (if it shows the address)
Make sure:
- Issued within the last 6 months
- In PDF format (They cannot accept screenshots of digital documents)
- Show the full name of the business owner (for personal address verification)
- Show the full business name (for business address verification)
EIN Verification
One of the following documents:
- Letter CP 575.
- Letter 147c.