Side-by-side
| Dimension | Mercury | Relay |
|---|---|---|
| Non-resident approval rate | ~70% | ~50% |
| Monthly fee | $0 | $0 |
| Sub-accounts | Up to 10 | Up to 20 |
| Approval time | 1-7 business days | 3-7 business days |
| Treasury yield | Yes, T-bill sweep with FDIC up to $5M | No |
| API access | Yes | Limited |
| International wires | SWIFT, $5 in / $0 out typical | SWIFT supported |
| Best fit | Primary US bank with yield and API | Profit First sub-accounts and multi-LLC ops |
When Mercury wins
- You want the broadest feature set: API access, Treasury yield, up to 50 debit cards with per-card spend limits
- Your country profile sits in the higher-acceptance tier (UK ~95%, EU ~90%, India ~75%, UAE ~80%)
- You run SaaS, e-commerce, or any business that benefits from Stripe-native integration and webhook-driven finance ops
- You hold $50K+ idle balances and want T-bill yield via FDIC-partner sweep
- You want one primary US bank, not multiple sub-accounts
When Relay wins
- You want up to 20 sub-accounts under one LLC for Profit First budgeting (operations, taxes, payroll, owner draw)
- You operate multiple LLCs and want consolidated banking under one login
- Mercury already rejected you and you want a chartered US bank rather than a custodial fallback
- You prioritize sub-account depth over Treasury yield
Approval rates by country (WyomingLLC internal data)
Our internal data covers roughly 800 facilitated applications since 2025. Mercury approves about 70% of non-resident applications overall: ~95% UK, ~90% EU, ~75% India, ~80% UAE, ~75% Brazil, ~65% Bangladesh, ~60% Pakistan and Vietnam, ~30-40% Nigeria.
Relay approves about 50% overall with a different reviewer pool that often catches Mercury rejections, particularly for sole-proprietor-style profiles and smaller operating businesses.
Application requirements (same for both)
- Wyoming Articles of Organization (filed by WyomingLLC at formation)
- EIN letter (CP575 from IRS, obtained via Form SS-4 by fax in 8 to 10 business days)
- Passport scan with at least 12 months remaining
- Business description, 2 to 3 specific sentences (products, customers, fulfillment, anticipated monthly revenue)
- Source of funds explanation
If one rejects, the fallback chain
- If Mercury rejects, apply to Relay. Different reviewer pool often catches Mercury rejections.
- If Relay also rejects, apply to Wise Business at ~95% acceptance.
- Combined success rate across Mercury, Relay, and Wise across our intake is approximately 99%.
- WyomingLLC sequences applications so a rejection at one bank does not bias the next.