To open a Mercury account, your company must be formed and registered in the United States or a U.S. territory. This article covers who is eligible to apply, what information is required, which business types Mercury can and cannot support, and how beneficial ownership works.
Information required
To complete the application, you'll need to provide the following:
- Your business's legal name
- The industry your company serves and a description of what your business does
- A physical address where you operate — this can be commercial or residential; in some cases, documentation may be required
- Your company's source of funds
- Details about your current or planned U.S. operations
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Business documents (see Gathering your documents for a full breakdown)
Supported businesses
Mercury supports most U.S.-registered companies, including those founded by people living outside the U.S.
Mercury cannot open accounts for the following industries:
- Money services businesses (MSBs)
- Businesses operating in adult entertainment, cannabis, or internet gambling
- Trusts
Additional industry types may require more information, and eligibility is determined following a full review of your application.
International founders
Mercury supports U.S. companies with founders from around the world. You do not need to be a U.S. citizen or resident to apply.
To be eligible, your business must:
- Be formed and registered in the United States or a U.S. territory
- Have existing or planned operations in the U.S.
- Have a U.S. or international address for its principal place of business — residential addresses are accepted, but registered agent addresses, P.O. boxes, and UPS Store addresses are not
Mercury cannot currently support accounts for businesses with founders living in certain countries and regions. See the full list here.
Beneficial owners
Beneficial ownership refers to individuals who directly or indirectly own 25% or more of a company. Mercury is required to collect information about all beneficial owners during the application — not just the primary applicant.
Who qualifies as a beneficial owner
Any person with 25% or more ownership must be listed, whether their ownership is direct or passes through a parent company or holding entity.
If your business is partially or fully owned by another legal entity — such as a holding company or LLC — you cannot list that entity as the beneficial owner. You must identify the individuals who own that entity, tracing ownership up the chain until you reach an individual.
Examples:
- If four individuals each own 25% of your company, all four must be listed
- If a holding company owns 50% of your company and two people each own 50% of that holding company, both individuals must be listed — each holds 25% passthrough ownership
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Every company will have at least one beneficial owner. The total number will depend on your ownership structure
In addition to beneficial owners, you'll identify one person who has significant responsibility for managing the company's operations. This is typically the CEO, CFO, or COO, but can be anyone in a senior leadership role. This person will be granted admin access to the account once the application is approved.
Note: Anyone listed as a beneficial owner and/or team member on the account must be 18 years of age or older.
Documents required
You'll need to submit supporting documentation for your business and each beneficial owner. For a breakdown of what's accepted and how to prepare your documents, see Gathering your documents.
Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.