setup stripe account for non-us citizens

How To Open a Verified Stripe Account for Non US Citizens in 2023 (Non Supported Countries)

Do you want to setup a verified stripe account for non us citizens or non supported countries?

You probably may need a stripe account for your dropshipping business at Shopify, other platforms or for other reasons.

Stripe is an online payment processing for internet businesses. It builds the most powerful and flexible tools for internet commerce.

Whether you’re creating a subscription service, an on demand marketplace, an e-commerce store, or a crowd funding platform etc stripe helps you accept payment without stress.

Stripe payment gateway is unfortunately unavailable to people outside the United States (US), and it has become a pain to anyone running an online business and wishes to use stripe to accept payments.

It’s no longer a joke, that, stripe is easy to setup with seamless integration, with attractive features and prices. No activation or setup fees, just a 2.9% + 0.30 cents per successful card charge.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to create stripe for non us citizens or residents. (unsupported countries) and you can then integrate into your e-commerce store/business website and start accepting payments in different manners.

My country is not also supported in Stripe, but I still have a functional stripe account with which I use to accept online payments.

If you need a verified stripe account to accept payments online, maybe on your shopify store or anywhere, read along.

Whatever is your country, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and non-us citizens, you’re welcomed to follow the guide on this blog to setup a verified stripe account in 2023.

And this guide is the latest and the best way to open a verified stripe account for non us citizens.

Getting Started

Over the years, I have been able to help hundreds of people start accepting international payments using Stripe, and below were few of them.

I will be revealing this exact method which you can use to comfortably setup your Stripe account irrespective of your country and start accepting payment right away!

The information is FREE, it’s like the other similar blog posts I often make, right now I’m creating authority, trying to let you know I’m in the right position to teach and guide you how you can achieve this without breaking the bank or selling your soul.

With over 7 years of experience, and having helped hundreds and reached thousands of people, you have to believe this strategy.

How to Setup Stripe Account For Non US Citizens

To create a stripe account for Non-US legally and start accepting payments, you will need the following requirements:

  1. Register an LLC (Form a US Company Formation)
  2. EIN Number (Employer Identification Number) or Tax ID
  3. US Phone Number
  4. US Address
  5. US Bank Account

How to Register a US Company Without Living Your Country

At the time of making this post, Stripe currently accepts over 54 countries and as someone that’s NOT from any of the supported countries, to have access to Stripe you need to form a company in any of 54 Countries.

Since you’re not from any of those countries based on citizenship, you can have access to the countries based on “Business Mode“, and this is legally accepted by stripe.

While signing up on Stripe, they will ask if you’re signing up as an Individual (Citizenship) or as a Company (Business).

United States, been one of the most popular and most sorted after by many businesses and having been accompanied by loads of benefits, it’s recommended to Form a US Company, in other to setup your US Business stripe account successfully.

The US Company name can be your store, website or business name, or any generic and unique name you’ve come up with.

The most exciting part of this is, you don’t need to change your IP ADDRESS by using a VPN.

Forming a US Company is the ONLY option as a non-us citizen if you want to have access to Stripe LEGALLY.

Forming a US Company can be expensive depending on the formation company you used, and can spend over $600 – $1,400 to form your US Company and acquire your EIN Number.

However, you don’t need to spend that FORTUNE, as it’s a bit ridiculous especially for a beginner.

You don’t need to break the bank or sell your soul or go over your budget.

To form your US Company, you have to choose a state among the 54 states in United States of America and we recommend the following cheap states:

Stripe Account for Non US Citizens

You can see some states costs as low as $50 with a $0 annual fee which means you don’t have to pay yearly for that state.

So feel free to make your choice as those are the best choices.

    An example of an expensive state is California that charges $70 filing fee and $800 annual/yearly fee and you wouldn’t like to go through that route.

    If you formed your LLC in Delaware, you’ll pay $300 annual tax fee with an expensive filling state fee to form the LLC?

    As a non-us citizen, you should probably go for the affordable state for peace of mind.

    However, to form your LLC and get your EIN Number to setup your stripe affordably we will be using IncFile, they’re the best in the industry, and with them, you will get the most affordable services.

    We’re going to recommend an affordable way to form your LLC and EIN to setup your Stripe account and we will also include a free guide to help you setup your stripe account the right way.

    How to Form an LLC, Apply For EIN Number at IncFile

    If you’ve decided to start your LLC and get access to a whole lot of benefit, then you can go ahead and form your LLC as soon as you can before it’s too late.

    You can watch the video version below:

    or you can continue reading, if you prefer to read.

    How To Open Stripe Account for Non US Citizens

    At IncFile, you’re going to form your LLC, get your EIN/TAX ID and all necessary paperworks.

    Follow the simple guidelines below to complete the signup. It’s easy and takes just a few minutes. All you have to do is choose your state, enter your business name, and form your LLC!

    Step 1: Go to IncFile.com

    When you arrive at IncFile.com, click on the “start my business” button.

    Stripe Account for Non US Citizens

    Step 2: Select Entity Type and Filling State.

    In your entity type, select Limited Liability Company (LLC) and in the Formation State, select your choice of state (I already gave you a list of cheap states).

    Click on Continue.

    Stripe Account for Non US Citizens

    Step 3: Choose Your Plan and Checkout

    It’s recommended you choose either the Gold plan OR the Platinum Plan as they’re the ones that have the best value in price and has the complete LLC Formation Kit.

    The both plans will form your LLC and Get you an EIN Number and all the documents to open a US Business Bank account, open a Verified stripe account or activat your shopify payments.

    The Silver plan is NOT recommended, it doesn’t come with the complete kit to achieve what you want.

    Click on continue.

    Stripe Account for Non US residents

    Compared to other LLC formation companies in the market, Incfile’s Gold or Platinum Plan offers significant savings. Many other LLC formation companies charge over $600 to a $1,400+ for similar services.

    In some cases, they may even charge additional fees for services that are already included in Incfile’s Gold Plan. So, you’re really getting a good deal right here.

    Step 4: Enter Your Contact Details

    In the next section, you have to enter your contact details and your mailing address.

    Click on continue.

    Stripe Account for Non US residents
    open verified stripe account for non us

    The Contact Person is used for the delivery of any documents or products related to your order. So enter your details and for the phone number area, you can select your country code from the drop-down and enter mobile number, this number will be used to reach you for matters concerning your order.

    For the Mailing Address, you can also select your country from the drop-down and enter your home address for receiving mails, this address can be your citizenship country or where you currently live.

    Step 5: Expediated Processing

    In this section, you’ll need to select how fast you want your LLC to be formed.

    But don’t panic, go ahead and select the $0 option, your LLC will still be formed in just 3 days!

    open verified stripe account for non us

    Step 6: Company Formation

    In this section, you have to enter your choice of business name for your LLC, then proceed to select the number of owners for the LLC, if it’s just you, you can select 1.

    Then enter your business purpose (why you’re forming the company) and your industry where your business falls under, if you can’t find it, select the nearest industry.

    You will also need to enter an address, it can be a virtual address.

    Incfile has given you two options:

    Option 1: Use their virtual address service which costs $29/mo

    Option 2: You can provide your own address located in the state as well.

    To save money, you can opt-in for option 2, then signup for a Free Individual Shipito.com account, you will get a free US address. Use the address on the option 2.

    Step 7: Optional Addons

    In this section, you’ll be asked to upgrade to the Platinum Plan for an extra cash. That is if you selected the Gold Plan from the first step. If you want to continue with your Gold plan, you can skip it and continue, it’s totally optional.

    Step 8: Members Information

    You’ll now be asked to enter your details as well as to select if you’re an Individual or a Company.

    So, if you’re a person, you can select individual, and tick the two boxes.

    Step 9: Registered Agent Address

    IncFile offers a registered agent address free for the first year.

    This registered agent address will provide you with a US Business address for your newly formed LLC, which you will use along side when setting up your stripe account.

    Step 10: Employer Identification Number (EIN)

    In this section, you’ll have to select if you’re a foreigner or a US Citizen. Select Foreigner if you’re a Non US Citizen.

    Please note, as a foreigner, the EIN process will take 45-90 days, so it’s important to start the formation process early in other to get your EIN Number in no time.

    In addition, we have a guide you can use to get your EIN Number under a week, cool right? Read it here.

    Step 11: Select your physical street address

    In this section, select the address of where you live so that the IRS can send you your EIN letter with your EIN Number (although they always send it via your email address).

    Step 12: Tax Consultation

    They offer free business tax consultations where you can ask your questions and be educated.

    Step 13: Review Order and Pay

    After reviewing your selections, it’s now time to review your order and complete the payment and follow the on screen instructions.

    …and VIOLA! You’re done!

    How long does it take to form your LLC + EIN?

    Answer: It takes 3 days for your LLC Formation to be ready and it takes 90 days for your EIN/TAX ID to be ready via FAX from the IRS (for foreigners/non-us citizens). Meanwhile, you can get your EIN Number in 1 week by following the this guide.

    How to Get a US Bank Account at Payoneer and Mercury

    You need a US Bank account where Stripe will deposit your earnings to, and you can also withdraw these funds from your US bank to your local bank account.

    Luckily, in this post, you will discover how to do this at the comfort of your home and without living your country, and you don’t need to pay someone to do it for you.

    You can sign-up for an Individual US Bank Account Right Now at Payoneer.com and you can sign-up for a Business US bank account at Mercury.com (when you have your LLC + EIN ready).

    How to Setup Stripe The Right Way Using Your US Company and EIN

    Now, you’ve successfully gotten the requirements and it’s time to setup your stripe account for non us citizens the right way using your LLC + EIN Number.

    I have prepared a free video tutorial on to set it up, it’s completely free, click here to download it.

    In this video I discussed the following;

    1. Setting up Stripe the Right Way
    2. Registered Agent Address (address to signup on Stripe)
    3. Taxes
    4. etc

    Conclusions

    After following the guides on this post, you should be able to form your LLC, get your EIN and setup your stripe account for non us citizens for your business.

    Here’s the summary:

    • Form your LLC and EIN at IncFile.
    • Get the free video tutorial on setting up stripe using your LLC + EIN here.
    • Start using Stripe for your business!

    If you have any questions and confused at any process, do let us know by dropping it at the comment box.

    Don’t forget to share! It’s quite a helpful guide on how to use stripe to process payments as a Non-US Citizens (for non-US citizens or non supported countries) !

    Form Your LLC, Apply For EIN Number and Get all Necessary Paperworks

    If you’re starting a new business, one of the first steps you’ll need to take is registering your business in the US and getting an EIN number, as you’ll automatically have access to open a Stripe account for non us residents and other interesting benefits.

    Author: Joy Okoro

    Hey, I'm Joy, a writer and a self taught blogger who loves to explore the innovation of blogging related things.

    140 Replies to “How To Open a Verified Stripe Account for Non US Citizens in 2023 (Non Supported Countries)

    1. Hi joy, thanks for this wonder article you took your time to put together. i was suppose to launch an e commerce store since early January but i got stuck with payment gate way to process international payment, i stumble upon a related article like this back in 2017 but never knew the method still works, please is this system still working? if yes, how long does it take for payment to appear in my payoneer account?

      1. Hi Godspower,

        Stripe will send the money to your payoneer account within 7 days. Its a default setting for new account/beginners.

        Meanwhile, if you should start processing big payments, you’ll have the option of changing it to 1 day, which means the money will be sent to your payoneer account within 24 hours.

        I hope this answers your question Godspower.

        Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

    2. Didn’t work out for me. My account got flagged and they said they wouldn’t be able to accept payments for my business, unless I verify my account with credit card payments, which I tried with a FCMB MasterCard but also isn’t working out.

      I followed all your steps, the only things I did differently were that I didn’t verify identity using any of the social media (Facebook, LinkedIn or Google), as it was optional.
      For phone number and address, I used a USA virtual office address I already had, and a Skype USA number (both of them are paid resources).

    3. @Joy Okoro,
      They requested for the verification after completing the activation.
      The notice they showed me after the final step of clicking “Activate your account” was this:

      “Thanks for activating your account.
      You will be able to commence live transactions as soon as we’ve completed our verification”.

      That was the message they showed me after clicking the final “Activate your account” button.

      Then they sent me a mail almost immediately saying that they needed to verify my account, and that I should add my credit card details, that they were going to deduct 2 small token amounts, and I should tell them the exact amounts in dollars that was deducted from my online credit card account.
      I tried using my FCMB MasterCard for the verification, but the deductions was in Naira and I couldn’t get the exact dollar figure.
      Even after going to the bank physically to try and find it out, I was told by the bank that its not possible to get the exact dollar figure deducted, as its a naira account, and the deductions were in Naira, and so they can’t find the exact dollar amount that was deducted.

    4. Its unusual.

      My readers has successfully opened theirs without any said verification.

      Try signing up for another, if such repeats, open a dollar account and complete the steps, so you get the exact digits that was debited.

      Meanwhile, you can contact us to help you out with successful signup at http://theprofany.com/contact-us for a token.

    5. Gone through your blog bby. I’m impressed, very few females are actually interested in blogging/tech stuff. I ve always searched for a female tech loving crush.. lol ..I’m a web developer and blogger as well. Keep it up.

      I wish i could reach you personally so we could discuss tech stuffs and issues. I believe we got a lot to learn from each other as well.

      Visit my website: ayomidejohnson.risingvibes.com.ng

      get my contact details from there. Thanks hun.

      1. Your Payoneer US bank details is a checking account, make sure you’re viewing and copied the US Routing Number and Account Number and not some other currencies or it will return an error.

    6. Hello. Nice article. Won’t stripe try to verify the phone numbers, addresses and special numbers inputed? And if they find out they are not real, the account may be suspended

      1. Please I have a question, does strip accept payment for Nigeria cards ? Whereby most of my customers are Nigerians ?

    7. Nice article. Please are you using this method and is it still working perfectly? If so, hope i dont runt the risk of my account being flagged at some point. Please reply soon

    8. Hi Joy, thank you for this awesome article.

      I have a few questions. I would be frateful if you could respond.

      1. I’ll be running my ecommerce dropshipping store. When the Stripe will ask me to tell them about my business can I write dropshipping? Do they accept it?

      2. What if I don’t have a website built yet?
      Should I built one first and then aplying?

      1. Yes. You can write about your business.

        If your website ain’t setup yet, you can enter your social media channel link.

        Example : Your Facebook or twitter page.

    9. HI my name’s Serginho and am from BENIN COUNTRY IN AFRICA
      Are you sure that’s it is still working the process you gave on your blog to create stripe account in June, 2018?
      because if you don’t have EIN the send you message to complete

    10. thank you, Joy! I am from Ukraine and these steps worked for me. also services like shipito, meest.us, and others, can give you a real US address, and services like Skype or similar can give you a real US phone number, but sure that the key point is a Payoneer.

    11. My account keeps saying status not verified though it said account activated. they keep saying invalid street address

    12. Account is activated, sort of, but the phone
      verification code is not delivered to my
      phone. I have tried it a couple of times.

    13. hello , they need my id verification
      i’m from morrocco did i can send them my id
      or i need an us id

      1. If you send them any ID that is not from US. They will reject your application.
        I guess you were not careful enough in the registration, that’s why they demanded another proof.

        1. they request for owner iq i guess its normal
          i send them my id
          if they reject my app did i can send them another or they will close my acc

        2. update !
          they accepted my id normaly
          but they request for business adress verification
          i copied one from the website you give to us
          now im fully activated
          but did i’m dreaming or what
          is that simple is this
          did i can now receive payement normally

            1. thanks very much for your help
              i’ve being in trouble with paypal since 2015
              and seeing some guys selling stripe accounts for 250$ and just as partner not admin
              but now my account is free lol
              thanks

    14. Hello

      I have done all the steps as you say. On July 7, I received my first payments in Stripe but today the payments do not come out pending to reach my Payoneer account. Should I worry?

      Thank you very much.

      1. You should worry, there is a problem. They might be holding the funds.

        Goto your dashboard.
        Click on business settings, then on “owners” and see if your account is verified.

        Then get back to me.

    15. Hi Joy
      I just found your blog. Recently, I opened a Stripe account and a Payoneer account. I am concerned that I may have any issues in the future because the information I provided, for example SSN. For the address, I used a P.O. Box (a real P.O. Box that I have) and for the phone number, I got one through 2ndLine, an Android application that allows you to get a U.S. number for free. So the only information that is not valid is the SSN. Do you know of anyone who had issues with it? Does Stripe ever tried to confirm this information to any of your readers? Thanks

    16. Hi im confused, you dont need to form a LLC as most people said? Like i checked more peoples guide and most of them tell you to for a LLC. I would like to know this as getting llc is kinda expensive.
      Thanks!

    17. Hey Joy. I followed these steps and open a successfull stripe account. My first stripe payout of $29.85 was scheduled on Monday 23rd July. On 21st July payout status came as on the way and now as of monday it says payout completed but it didnt appear in my payoneer account.Will my payout get failed because of payoneer? or is it just because its sunday in the US and I should wait 2-3 days for that to appear in my account?

      1. If stripe said “payout completed” then it should appear on your payoneer.

        Have you checked your payoneer US balance?

        Have you checked if you supplied stripe with the correct US payoneer account details?

    18. Hello,

      I am in Sri Lanka and I want to do dropshipping. But no gatway supported to our country. So I want to get Stripe as you tell.

      So if I create a Shopify will i want to create it as US shopify account?

      Thank You

    19. Hi @Joy Okoro, you are doing amazing

      Do you know at a point when you have started using this account, stripe will request for your US 1D after which if you cannot provide, there will be a hold on your account

      You didnt discuss this part

    20. Which ID did you used for the verifucation of the stripe account.
      I have successfully activated using the process you outlined but is asked to verify before able to collect funds.

    21. Last time I tried I did not work. This time with help from your article I got “Your Account Is activated” and you can make live transactions. But last time they said we will review credit card details and some issues occurred. Hope it doesn’t repeat this time.

    22. I tried it today didn’t work, as soon as I entered an address not in the us it says ” we can’t seem to be able to find your address update and try again”… lols

    23. I tried it today didn’t work, as soon as I entered an address not in the us it says ” we can’t seem to be able to find your address update and try again”…

    24. merci beaucoup c’est très intéressant j ai pu créer mon compte stripe et l’ai lié avec mon store
      par contre ma question est : est ce qu’on créant le compte stripe avec adresse aux USA ne vas pas appliquer des taxe d’Etat sur les ventes?
      merci

      1. Paystack is reliable, however, stripe seems more suited for international business as long as you have your Payoneer account.

        greetings from https://vicsenshop.com

        Excellent post from this blog. hoping to get my stripe account soon.

    25. Thanks for this great article and information shared. Please, i followed it through but i can’t get my Nigeria line / phone verified. Please how do i go about this? The message often comes as verification code sent but i don’t get any code on my phone. I even create another stripe account but the case is the same.

    26. Update your business owner information.

      You will not be able to charge customers until your business owner information is reviewed and verified.

      I got this message right away after i activated

    27. Update your business owner information.

      You will not be able to charge customers until your business owner information is reviewed and verified.

      I got this message right away after i activated
      What can i do with such message?

    28. Hello. Pls tried setting up the payoneer … But I saw the Swift BIC column and don’t know what to fill. What do I do?

    29. I’ve used stripe smoothly in the last few months, and transferred 1~2K to my payoneer account with no problems. BUt recently stripe asked me to verify my identity, but since I dont have SSN and my country ain’t in the supported list, what should I do, any help?

      1. You can’t do anything. Your mistake was when you created your stripe account newly. It wasnu done properly. Please, contact us if you need a working stripe account.

    30. This is a good process but sooner or later they will catch you using virtual bank account no and they will block your account and since you gave fake info in your account you cannot get it verified and when you give your real info then your account is gone with all the money also.
      You can do this for the beginning but i suggest you invest 300-400 dollar and open up a Delaware Inc and get EIN using that and open up a real us bank account ( i recommend Wells Fargo Business Account ). In this way you can never get blocked and also anybody can get it done legally so that you don’t face any problem EVER.

    31. I have succesfully activated the account. But now they are asking me to verify my phone number. I inputed my nigerian number but i couldn’t get the verification code, i retried but to no avail. Can you help please? They said i won’t be able to receive payments if it is not verified in 10 days

    32. Hello Joy.Am from Kenya.I have successfully acquired the EIN number online and i also have a Payoneer Account.I registered for the stripe account.Everything got verified but i have a problem with the verifying my number using Sonetel number.They dont deliver such sms.Which other option can i use?

    33. I just tried the steps you gave in the article but it didn’t work for me. the activation was denied. is there a way out? Thank you in anticipation for a quick response

    34. thanks so much for this write up may God continue to bless you.
      please Joy i followed your steps though there was some little changes but it was easy to fix, i got the congratulation mail, i got the seven days mail but then i got a notification on my dashboard about verification and all……….
      ‘We need to confirm the identity of your account’s owners before we can send payouts to your bank account. Complete identity verification’

      that is it, please what do i do. or it doesn’t affect my activities?

    35. Thank you Joy, I just followed the process now and BOOM! I received “Thanks for activating your account!”

      Endless thanks

    36. Hi Joy,
      We are an orphanage home hoping to start receiving donation from international donors, from your article it seemed possible is there any help you can offer us such as helping us with the set up that is if your time permits as you must be a very busy person.

    37. Hello Joy. Well done.
      I am in Nigeria. I have contacted the IRS for EIN, and I have been given. But they said they will send me documents to complete by mail, and return to them in US, to formalise and get my EIN letter. So far, the IRS said I use my Nigerian address on the forms I am to complete and they have the address already through phone when i called them with my US number.
      I think the implication is that, when i finally submit the document to Stripe, it will show my NIgerian address. Do you think Stripe will still approve of it. If not, do you think the IRS will still allow me to enter a US address when I fill the documentations when the form is sent to me. I am presently expecting the form.
      They said I should return the form with my Nigerian CAC incorporation documents.
      Should i continue in this form?

    38. Thanks Joy for this detail tutorial.
      One question though; after successfully Form an LLC with EIN/TAX ID
      How do you handle the issue of tax with the US (IRS)?

    39. Hello Joy and thank you a lot for your relevant informations ;
      I have created an LLC using your link. I have one concern : I wonder if it’s not going to be a problem of us using the same shipito address for stripe. indeed i realized that shipito gives us the same address (3501 Jack Northrop Ave
      Suite #ANP197 Hawthorne, CA 90250 USA). Please answer to me
      thank you again.

      1. Hi, the shipito address is only for signing up for an LLC.
        On completion, IncAuthority gives you your Kentucky registered agent address and that’s what you will use to signup on stripe.

      1. Hello Joy,

        Thanks for the insightful write up. May God bless you.
        However, I want to confirm if this information has not changed. This is because I have just received a mail from them telling my company has been formed but they attached some documents for me to fill. They requested for the names of the members, manager that will be managing it and his SSN. I believe the rule has changed. I would gladly send a copy to your mail for review and recommendation and would also implore other people to exercise restraint till Joy actually confirmed that this information is still working. It could be a mistake from my part.

        1. Hi.

          It’s still accurate.

          What they sent you is an EIN form and to fill name of members.

          In the EIN form, fill in your name, in the address, enter the US address, and other things which you will be familiar with.

          In the box they requested for SSN, enter “FOREIGN”.

          In the members form, enter just your details, your name with the US address.

          You can enter more if you have a team.

          I have also emailed you to forward the form they sent you for further help.

          1. Hello Joy,

            Sorry for the late response to your mail. I couldn’t find your email address for me to send you the form for proper guidance. Please I need your help ASAP. Kindly resend the message for me to forward the form to you. You are indeed a blessing to our generation. I am waiting patiently for your response.

            Kind regards

    40. Hello Joy,

      Many thanks for this insightful guide. The link to download the “FREE 5 pages guide on setting up a stripe account using your LLC Business Name and EIN/Federal Tax ID” is broken. Can you provide another link or point me to the guide?

      Secondly, is this process still working?

      Sincerely appreciate your help

    41. Hi, amazing guide 🙌
      But I want to confirm something
      EIN form (2nd stage), Line 6- “Country and State the principal business is located”
      Is it shipito state or just Kentucky?
      Also, Line 8b
      Do i need to write “1” or “one”, and why there’s an arrow?
      Thank you 😃

    42. Hi Joy,
      I just wanted to say thanks for this information. By the way, I have a question regarding Stripe, after registering LLC and create an account on stripe. can I access my stripe account in Pakistan without using VPS?

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