Securing a Wyoming LLC bank account can be difficult when you have incorporated the entity as a non-resident. It is one of the enduring challenges that we often hear when speaking with potential clients who gone down the anonymous LLC pathway. Subsequently, this guide will look at what you need to do to secure a business bank account for your new company.

Does a Wyoming LLC Need a Bank Account

Probably the first thing you should consider is whether your new entity, genuinely, requires a bank account. If your new LLC is simply executing legal agreements, holding a property asset, or derives no revenue, then you might be able to get away without opening an account.

Can I Use My Personal Bank Account for the LLC

The reality is that you will probably need some sort of banking or transactional facility if you are going to continue to operate an LLC in a compliant manner. Remember that you need to be separating out your business and personal expenses to ensure that the corporate veil is not pierced. Therefore, it is important your new entity has banking setup to legally separate all your transactions.

Typical Account Opening Requirements

As a non-resident your barrier to entry for US based banking is likely to be relatively high. The main reason is compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The reality is that most US banks have become very risk averse when it comes to opening accounts for foreigners.

Subsequently, you will need to provide a range of information to ensure that you meet the banks general compliance requirements. In particular, expect to provide the following items:

• A scan/copy of your passport
• A utility bill, in your name and dated within the last 90 days, as proof of address
• Your LLCs operating agreement
• Your LLCs articles of association
• An Employer Identification Number (EIN) for the LLC

Additionally, you will be asked the nature of your business activities. Any quasi-financial service will likely face significant barriers to being onboarded. You will also need to show that your business has a connection or business reason for being based in the US.

The U.S. business connection requirement normally takes the form of either a business address/office, customers, suppliers, or staff being based somewhere in the continental USA. Additionally, if you do not yet have that connection, the institution will expect you to have those relationships in-place within two years.

Getting an Employer Identification Number from the IRS

Probably the biggest hurdle you are likely to face is getting an EIN as a foreign person. In many cases, they require you to, not only fill in the forms, but also to ring the IRS number during their business hours to provide the key application data over the phone.

This can be incredibly time consuming, and my advice is to save yourself the headache and use one of the multitudes of Fiverr services available. You might be surprised to find that there are a considerable number of Fiverr sellers providing tax related LLC services.

Please note, you may be asked for your social security number or an ITIN. You do not need to provide this as a non-resident except under some specific circumstances.

Non-Resident LLC Banking Options Without a Visit

There are a multitude of US banks that you can approach to open an account, but most will require your physical presence. However, do not despair as, through trial and error, we have discovered quite a few financial institutions that will open accounts remotely.

Mercury

As a financial institution, Mercury caters for small and startup businesses looking to get a foot hold in the US. They provide a range of checking services with debit and credit cards available. The on-boarding process was extremely easy, and they had most of the typical banking services available remotely. There is no minimum balance or account keeping fees that Mercury charges you.

Relay Financial Services

Relay is another entrant to the fintech banking space and accounts are easily secured by non-residents. However, you need to make sure that you have an appropriate business case for why you want to be in the US. Just giving them a flimsy back story is likely to see you receive an application decline.

Wise

Wise is a fantastic payment processor that also provides US accounts and debit cards to business clients. The on-boarding and compliance process is exceedingly easy but, be aware, that they often review accounts on an ongoing basis. Subsequently, there are quite a few stories about closures occurring upon the receipt of large deposits.

Final Words on Securing a Wyoming LLC Bank Account

In summation, you should be able to secure an account for your Wyoming non-resident LLC relatively easy. However, it does require that you put the time in to apply for an EIN and, also, have a nexus of operations within the continental United States.

Our overall recommendation is Mercury, for a business checking account, given that their systems are seamless, and the onboarding process was extremely easy. Additionally, they also have full ACH pull and push facilities which makes it easy to pay suppliers at the click of a button.

One final word of warning though, the US banking system changes rapidly and you should have a backup account in case of de-banking by one of our provided options. This is obvious but I would always recommend a backup account be based offshore and outside the grasp of corrupt governments.