No doubt, Stripe is the best gateway to receive money from your online business.
Unfortunately, Stripe is only supported in a few countries, leaving a lot of freelancers and business owners from fully reaching their target audience and exploring their potential market.
At the time of publishing this blog post, Stripe is currently available for business in 47 countries.
Stripe Supported Countries
The stripe supported countries are listed below:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Indonesia – Invite only
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines – Invite only
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Common questions that people asked are;
Can I use Stripe in an unsupported country?
Answer: You can open a stripe account in an unsupported country
Can I use Stripe outside the US?
Answer: Yes, you use Stripe outside the US
How do I open a stripe account for unsupported countries?
Answer: If you follow this post to the end, you should be able to open a stripe account for unsupported countries
How do I open a Stripe account for non US citizens?
Answer: This post also applies to Stripe account for non US citizens. So read on to find out how to open a Stripe account for unsupported countries.
Verified Stripe Account For Unsupported Countries – How To Get Started
If you want to open a verified stripe account for unsupported countries, there are two ways to go about it.
The first option is to use Stripe Atlas. No matter your country of residence, you can use Stripe Atlas to easily form a U.S. company.
Once your U.S. company have been formed, you can set up a U.S. bank account and activate payments with Stripe.
This is a very straightforward method handled by Stripe but it is very expensive. The total cost is $500.
If you are on a budget, this is not for you. We don’t recommend it.
The second option is the best method and this is what many business owners have used and are still using to open a Stripe account for unsupported countries.
In this method, you will need to use an LLC formation service which will help you to cut costs.
You will spend less than $500 to get your verified stripe account. This method is legal and you will never get banned.
Requirements To Open A verified Stripe Account For Unsupported Countries (Stripe Account For Non US Citizens)
Whether you are using the first option discussed earlier which is Stripe Atlas or the second method, you will need the following things to open a verified Stripe account in unsupported countries.
What You Need
- Form a US Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- EIN (Employer Identification Number) or Tax ID
- A US physical address
- A US phone number
- A US bank account
Do not be scared, these things are very easy to get and that is why this guide is for you.
You can form a US company in a few minutes, and get a US physical address in less than 3 minutes.
Before you proceed to form your LLC, you need to get the following things ready, the US Physical address, and the US phone number.
Let’s show you how to get them:
With these websites, you can get a working address in the US.
- shipito.com
- Incfile virtual address and mailbox
Shipito is recommended because it is completely free. The rest of them have their charges. When you use shipito, you will be given a California address. Take note of that.
To get a US phone number, go to your app store and download Dingtone. Another option is Skype, but both of them are not free.
If you have all of these ready, then you can proceed to form your LLC.
A Brief Overview Of LLC And EIN
LLC stands for limited liability company and it is a US type of private limited company which is a legal entity that can be formed to own and operate a business.
EIN stands for an employer identification number and it is like an alternative to SSN (social security number) used to identify businesses for tax reporting.
Opening a company in the US is not expensive and taxes aren’t a big deal. In this guide, you will see all the states where you can form an LCC at a cheaper price.
All states in the US have state filing fees and annual business taxes.
Cheapest States To Form An LLC In The US
At the time of publishing this guide, these were the cheapest states to form an LLC with their filing fee and annual tax fee.
- 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
Many business owners prefer registering their company in Kentucky because it has the cheapest filing fee of $40. The annual tax fee is $15 whereas in some states it is a $0 annual tax fee.
If you are a non-resident, the best state is Wyoming but the state fee is $102 and the annual tax fee is $60.
We are not going to decide for you which states to choose but to avoid the annual tax fee you can choose the states with a $0 fee to open a verified Stripe account for unsupported countries.
How To Form An LLC In The US
There are various processes to follow to form your US company. The first is you hire a legal professional (a lawyer), the second is you do it yourself and the third is you use an LLC formation service.
Hiring a legal professional will cost you huge sums of money like $1000 or more. Doing it yourself means you will have to be in the United States which might not be possible.
Using an LLC formation service is the best option and that is what we recommend because it makes the process faster, and it is cheaper.
There are many LLC formation companies with their various fees, pros and cons. Reviewing all of them is beyond the scope of the guide.
Some of them are:
- Incfile
- Northwest Registered Agent
If you want to cut costs, Incfile is the cheapest of all. People do say excellence is not cheap but in this case, it is different.
Incfile is cheaper and they provide excellent service with a $0 service fee. The only things you will be paying for are the state filing fee, the EIN and the registered agent (Although, the registered agent service is free for the first year).
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 a 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 your transaction is completed successfully, your LLC will be created by Incfile. 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.
All these processes are necessary if you must open a verified stripe account for unsupported countries.
You will need a US bank account to receive your payment from Stripe. Opening a US bank account is very easy.
To do that, you need to create a Payoneer account to get a US bank account.
You will add the US bank account gotten from Payoneer to your Stripe payment section.
When customers make payments to your Stripe account, you will move the funds into your Payoneer account and send them to your local bank account.
Now you can proceed to open a verified Stripe Account for unsupported countries.
How To Setup A Verified Stripe Account For UnSupported Countries
If you have formed your LLC and your EIN has been delivered, you will use those document details to create the stripe account and verify it.
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).
Then 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.
You should 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.
Frequently Asked Questions On How To Open A Stripe Account For Unsupported Countries
Can I use stripe for dropshipping?
Yes, you can use stripe for dropshipping. Stripe is the best choice when choosing a payment gateway for a dropshipping business.
How do I bypass Stripe verification?
There is no escape route to bypass stripe verification. You must have all the required documents to be able to open a verified stripe account in an unsupported country.
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Read Also: Free LLC Formation – What You Need To Know
