Many of us know Stripe acquired Paystack in 2020, but up till now, there is no stripe in Nigeria.
The question some people have asked is “Can I use Stripe in Nigeria?” In this article, you will learn how to open a stripe account in Nigeria.
Can I Use Stripe In Nigeria?
Yes, you can use stripe in Nigeria if you have a registered business and the business must be registered in the US.
This means that you will need to form an LLC in the United States of America, forming an LLC is not a scary task.
Today, you will learn how to form your US company from the comfort of your home in Nigeria.
Although the main focus title of this post is how to open a stripe account in Nigeria, this guide is applicable to other non-supported countries.
If Stripe is not supported in your country, you can use this guide to set up a verified stripe account in Nigeria and start receiving payments online.
This method is legal and accepted by stripe. You will have no issues if you follow all the steps you find in this post.
When mentioning top payment gateways in the world, Stripe will always be number one.
Whether you are a freelancer, dropshipper, web designer/developer, or digital/information marketer, Stripe will make it easier to receive payment from international clients.
Stripe charges 2.9% 0.30 cents per card charge made by your clients/customers, that is, for every successful transaction.
Not bad! Every payment gateway charges a transaction fee. 2Checkout, PayPal, Flutterwave, and the rest do that.
Why You Should Get A Stripe Account In Nigeria
A lot of people are scared of punching their card digits online especially when the payment gateway is unknown and redirects them from the main website to another site.
With stripe, this fear can be eliminated from customers.
Here are other reasons why you should set up a verified Stripe account in Nigeria
- Set up is instant and easy.
- A recurring payment is so easy to set up. This means that you can automatically bill your customers weekly, monthly, or yearly for services or products.
- Stripe has trial periods with delay payments which allows your customers to use your service for a few days before they are billed.
- It allows you to set up subscription payments and receive subscription payments from your customers.
- The stripe payment gateway enables you to give discounts and coupon codes to customers.
- Unlike some payment gateways, Stripe has no refund fees.
- Increases conversion through their seamless checkout experience.
These are just but a few reasons why you have a stripe business account.
Requirements To Open A Stripe Account In Nigeria
The requirements to open a stripe account in Nigeria legally without any issue or restrictions are as follow:
- Form a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the US
- EIN (Employer Identification Number) or Tax ID
- A Personal US physical address
- A US phone number
- A US bank Account
At this point, you might want to close this page and go back to Google, Yahoo, or Bing to find other simple ways how to open a stripe account in Nigeria.
This is the cheapest and best method currently and has other advantages besides using it to open a stripe account in Nigeria.
There is no Nigeria stripe, and if they tell you there is a Nigeria stripe, they got it through this method.
Back to the requirements for setting up a verified stripe account, forming an LLC business in the US is not hard.
Getting a US personal address, phone number, and bank account is not a big deal.
You will be able to see how you can get them as you continue further reading.
What Is LLC?
LLC is the abbreviated form for Limited Liability Company. It is a legal entity or a business structured in the US and allowed by state statute.
LLC formation purpose is not tied to creating a stripe account. You can use it to operate different businesses in the US under the registered company.
What Is EIN?
EIN is an employer identification number that can also be a federal tax identification number. EIN is just like SSN (social security number) for a business.
EIN has unique 9 digits and is for the IRS (internal revenue service) to identify businesses for tax reporting.
Don’t be scared, you are not going to pay a heavy tax for forming your LLC in the US if you choose the right state.
Some states in the US charge high state filing (US company formation) and as well as annual business tax.
Don’t worry, for you will be shown the affordable states to form your LLC.
The Cheapest States To Form An LLC
The state fee is the cost of filing your formation with the state.
- Kentucky
Filing fee: $40
Annual tax fee: $15 - Mississippi
Filing fee: $50
Annual tax fee: $0 - Missouri
Filing fee: $50
Annual tax fee: $0 - New Mexico
Filing fee: $50
Annual tax fee: $0 - Colorado
Filing fee: $50
Annual tax fee: $10 - Hawaii
Filing fee: $50
Annual tax fee: $15 - Michigan
Filing fee: $50
Annual tax fee: $25
At the time of writing this post, these are the cheapest state for LLC formation. Now that you know the cheapest state to form an LLC, it is time to proceed to form your US company.
A lot of people will recommend registering your business in Kentucky or Colorado, but we won’t decide for you which state is preferable.
Kentucky has the cheapest filing fee of $40 but a $15 annual tax fee, while some other states have a $50 filing fee and a $0 annual tax fee.
If you don’t want to be paying an annual tax fee, you can choose Missouri or New Mexico but you will pay $50 for the state fee, just a $10 difference from Kentucky.
If you are a non-resident, the best state will be Wyoming but the state fee is $102 and the annual tax fee is $60.
The next thing you should know is how to form your LLC so that you can use it to open a stripe account in Nigeria.
How To Form An LLC In The US
To form an LLC, you will need the services of a legal professional and it doesn’t come cheap. They could charge close to $1000 or more.
Since you are not in the US, you might not be able to do this by yourself. There are reliable and cheaper ways to go about this by using an LLC formation service.
There are various companies that render LLC formation services. They do all the heavy lifting for you and make the process seamless and faster.
All LLC formation service providers have their pros and cons. To Review all of them is beyond the scope of this post.
The recommended one is Incfile. Our choice for using Incfile was based on the fact that it provides a free option for filing your LLC.
With this option, you are only required to pay the state filing fees
Since the purpose of the LLC formation is to open a stripe account in Nigeria, you should go for Incfile to form your business.
Incfile is cheaper, they have $0 service fees. Do not be carried away by the free service charge.
You will need to pay for EIN and the registered agent fee (although, the first year fee for registered agent service is $0).
Getting A US Phone Number For Opening A Stripe Account In Nigeria
A lot of people are not aware that they can get a US phone while in Nigeria.
Head on to Dingtone to download the app and create a US phone number. Another option is Skype.
Getting a US Physical Address For Opening a Stripe Account In Nigeria
As mentioned, a personal physical US address is needed in order to complete the process of filing your LLC.
You just have to get it before you proceed to create your US business. Never worry, it is very possible to get a US address.
You can use the following websites to do so;
- shipito.com
- Incfile virtual address and mailbox
We will recommend shipito.com ahead of the rest because it is free. 
Your US address will be in that format. Take note of the state, that CA means California.
How To Create Stripe Account In Nigeria
If you have all these requirements, it is time to proceed to form your LLC by visiting Incfile.
1. Click on “Form your free LLC now.”
2. Select your entity which should be LLC and the state
3. Choose the gold package
4. Add your information and contact details
5. Choose the state filing fee time
6. Add your company information
7. Skip the premium service package
8. Choose an individual if your LLC member is a person or a business. (Choose a person)
9. Assign Incfile as registered agent
10. Indicate that you are a non-US citizen
11. Fill in the EIN/Tax identification number information (Tick I am a foreigner and do not have social security number)
12. Skip small business banking
13. Skip tax strategy / free consultation
14. Skip business licenses and permit
15. Make your payment.
If you follow all the above steps closely, you should be able to register your LLC.
If your transaction is completed successfully, your LLC will be created. At this stage, congratulations to you. But it doesn’t end here.
Your information will be processed and in some weeks time, you will get your EIN which will be needed for the Stripe account creation.
You can have a US bank account without stress. All you need is to open a Payoneer account. They will give you a virtual US bank account which you can add to Stripe.
Let me explain the process in just 5 short sentences. You will add your US bank account gotten from Payoneer to your stripe account payout section.
When customers pay you via Stripe, you will move the funds to your Payoneer US bank account.
From there you can move the funds into your local bank account. Better still, you can decide to sell the funds to another Payoneer user at a sweet rate.
With this, you can set up a Stripe account in Nigeria.
How To Setup A Verified Stripe Account
If your LLC has been formed and your EIN/Federal Tax ID has been delivered, you will need to set up your verified stripe account using those documents.
Step 1. Visit https://dashboard.stripe.com/register.
Fill in your email, name and country. (Leave it in the United States). Put in your password and click create account.
Step 2. Verify your email address.
Step 3. Activate payments on your account. Click on activate payments to start the process of setting up your Stripe account.
Step 4. Choose your business type. The business location should be the United States. The type of business should be a company and business structure single-member LLC.
Step 5. Business details. Your legal business name should be the name of your LLC. Fill in the EIN gotten from Incfile.
The registered business address should be the registered agent’s address from Incfile. Choose your industry, and enter your website URL and product description (business description). Click on continue.
Step 6. Business representative. This part is for you to verify your personal details. Your legal name should be your real name.
Your email address will automatically be displayed there. Enter your home address. You should use your home address and phone number (not a US phone number).
Since you are a non-US citizen, you don’t have an SSN. So choose to provide a government-issued ID number instead.
Step 7. Fulfilment details. This part is to let stripe know how long it will take for you to deliver to customers the products or services that you are selling after they make payment.
Step 8. Public details. This part is for you to let decide what customers will see on their payment statements, invoices, and receipts.
It is recommended that you enter your LLC in the statement descriptor (eg: Thequickweb LLC).
In the shortened descriptor, you can add only the name of your business (eg: Thequickweb).
Step 9. Add your bank account to receive payouts. For you to be able to move your money out for Stripe, you must add a bank account. If your bank is not listed there, you need to enter it manually.
If you have a Payoneer account, you can go there and add the bank details. If you have any other US bank account from other financial institutions, you can try it too.
Step 10. Secure your account. You can use SMS or an authenticator app.
With two-step authentication, no one else will be able to log in to your account. Once you are done, click continue.
Step 11. Tax calculation. Click no thanks.
Step 12. Climate contributions. Ignore this part.
Step 13. Review and submit. Check to see that all details you have entered are correct.
If all information is accurate, click on Submit.
Please check your email for any additional information from Stripe.
It is possible that they will request proof of certain details you provided if they are having difficulty verifying the information.
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Read Also: Free LLC Formation – What You Need To Know
