Version 1.0, published 16 October 2026. Compiled by Rahul Shrestha, Co-Founder, Bizstartz, from each provider’s own published rules.
Disclosure: Bizstartz earns referral or partner fees from providers named on this page. Those fees play no part in the data: every entry comes only from each provider’s own published rules, linked here so anyone can check it.
A founder in Karachi and a founder in Kuala Lumpur can form the same US LLC on the same day. One of them faces none of the published blocks this index scores. The other is blocked by Mercury, Relay, Wise and Stripe alike. The difference is not the company. It is the country the founder lives in.
The US Fintech Lockout Index scores 197 countries and territories on one question: how many of four providers that non-US founders of US companies ask us about most (Mercury, Relay, Wise and Stripe) publicly shut out people who live there? We read only the providers’ own rule pages, so every score can be checked.
Key findings
- 20 countries score the maximum 4 out of 4. Pakistan is one of them, with the same score as Iran, North Korea, Russia and Syria.
- Nigeria scores 3.5. Stripe reaches Nigeria only through its extended network, and Mercury, Relay and Wise USD account details are all closed to Nigerian residents.
- Mercury’s list is the widest: 48 prohibited countries plus sanctioned countries and regions, 51 of the 197 places scored. It includes two EU members, Croatia and Latvia.
- Stripe fully supports businesses registered in 42 of the 197 places, with 2 more in preview (India, Indonesia) and 5 reached through its extended network. In the other 148, a local business cannot sign up, so founders there usually apply through a company registered elsewhere.
- Only 39 places score 0, meaning none of the four providers publicly shuts them out. India scores 0.5, because Stripe is available there by invite only.
How to read the score
Each provider adds one point when its published rules shut out residents of a country, so the score runs from 0 (no published block) to 4 (blocked by all four).
- Mercury: 1 point if the country is on Mercury’s list of prohibited or sanctioned countries. Mercury says this is based on where you live, not your citizenship (Mercury).
- Relay: 1 point if the country is on Relay’s list. Relay applies it to any owner who holds citizenship or residency there (Relay).
- Wise: 1 point if Wise says people with an address there cannot get USD account details, if Wise Business restricts personal profiles with an address there, or if Wise does not operate there (Wise: USD account details, Wise: where can I use Wise).
- Stripe: 1 point if a business registered in the country cannot sign up for Stripe locally, half a point if it is in preview or Stripe’s extended network, 0 if fully supported (Stripe global availability).
The full index
| Rank | Country or territory | Lockout score (0 to 4) | Mercury | Relay | Wise USD account details (published block) | Stripe for local businesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Afghanistan | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Belarus | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Burundi | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Central African Republic | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Congo (Democratic Republic) | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Cuba | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Iran | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Iraq | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Libya | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Myanmar | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | North Korea | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Pakistan | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Russia | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Somalia | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | South Sudan | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Sudan | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Syria | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Ukraine | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Venezuela | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 1 | Yemen | 4 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 21 | Nigeria | 3.5 | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked | Extended network |
| 22 | Bangladesh | 3 | Blocked | No published block | Blocked | Not listed |
| 22 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | Blocked | Blocked | No published block | Not listed |
| 22 | Burkina Faso | 3 | Blocked | Blocked | No published block | Not listed |
| 22 | Cambodia | 3 | Blocked | Blocked | No published block | Not listed |
| 22 | Cameroon | 3 | Blocked | No published block | Blocked | Not listed |
| 22 | Congo (Republic) | 3 | Blocked | No published block | Blocked | Not listed |
| 22 | Eritrea | 3 | Blocked | No published block | Blocked | Not listed |
| 22 | Guinea-Bissau | 3 | No published block | Blocked | Blocked | Not listed |
| 22 | Haiti | 3 | Blocked | Blocked | No published block | Not listed |
| 22 | Lebanon | 3 | Blocked | Blocked | No published block | Not listed |
| 22 | Mali | 3 | Blocked | Blocked | No published block | Not listed |
| 22 | Nicaragua | 3 | Blocked | Blocked | No published block | Not listed |
| 22 | Zimbabwe | 3 | Blocked | Blocked | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Albania | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Angola | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Bhutan | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Chad | 2 | No published block | No published block | Blocked | Not listed |
| 35 | China | 2 | No published block | No published block | Blocked | Not listed |
| 35 | Ethiopia | 2 | No published block | Blocked | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Gambia | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Kyrgyzstan | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Lesotho | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Liberia | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Maldives | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Mozambique | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Nepal | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Palestine | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Philippines | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Serbia | 2 | No published block | No published block | Blocked | Not listed |
| 35 | Sri Lanka | 2 | No published block | No published block | Blocked | Not listed |
| 35 | Türkiye | 2 | No published block | No published block | Blocked | Not listed |
| 35 | Uzbekistan | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Vanuatu | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 35 | Vietnam | 2 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 56 | Indonesia | 1.5 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Preview |
| 57 | Algeria | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Andorra | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Antigua and Barbuda | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Argentina | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Armenia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Azerbaijan | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Bahamas | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Bahrain | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Barbados | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Belize | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Benin | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Bolivia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Botswana | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Brunei | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Cabo Verde | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Chile | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Colombia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Comoros | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Costa Rica | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Croatia | 1 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 57 | Djibouti | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Dominica | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Dominican Republic | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Ecuador | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Egypt | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | El Salvador | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Equatorial Guinea | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Eswatini | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Fiji | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Gabon | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Georgia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Grenada | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Guatemala | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Guinea | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Guyana | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Honduras | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Iceland | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Israel | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Jamaica | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Jordan | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Kazakhstan | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Kiribati | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Kosovo | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Kuwait | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Laos | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Latvia | 1 | Blocked | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 57 | Macao | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Madagascar | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Malawi | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Marshall Islands | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Mauritania | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Mauritius | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Micronesia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Moldova | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Monaco | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Mongolia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Montenegro | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Morocco | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Namibia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Nauru | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Niger | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | North Macedonia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Oman | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Palau | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Panama | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Papua New Guinea | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Paraguay | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Peru | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Qatar | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Rwanda | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Saint Lucia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Samoa | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | San Marino | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Saudi Arabia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Senegal | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Seychelles | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Sierra Leone | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Solomon Islands | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | South Korea | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Suriname | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Taiwan | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Tajikistan | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Tanzania | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Timor-Leste | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Togo | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Tonga | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Tunisia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Turkmenistan | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Tuvalu | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Uganda | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | United Arab Emirates | 1 | No published block | No published block | Blocked | Supported |
| 57 | Uruguay | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 57 | Zambia | 1 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Not listed |
| 154 | Côte d'Ivoire | 0.5 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Extended network |
| 154 | Ghana | 0.5 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Extended network |
| 154 | India | 0.5 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Preview |
| 154 | Kenya | 0.5 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Extended network |
| 154 | South Africa | 0.5 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Extended network |
| 159 | Australia | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Austria | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Belgium | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Brazil | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Bulgaria | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Canada | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Cyprus | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Czechia | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Denmark | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Estonia | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Finland | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | France | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Germany | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Greece | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Hong Kong | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Hungary | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Ireland | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Italy | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Japan | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Liechtenstein | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Lithuania | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Luxembourg | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Malaysia | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Malta | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Mexico | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Netherlands | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | New Zealand | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Norway | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Poland | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Portugal | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Romania | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Singapore | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Slovakia | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Slovenia | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Spain | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Sweden | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Switzerland | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | Thailand | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
| 159 | United Kingdom | 0 | No published block | No published block | No published block | Supported |
Countries with the same score share a rank. “No published block” means the provider’s own rules do not name that country. It is not the same as being accepted: every provider still reviews each application, and some ask for documents (such as a Social Security Number or a local trading address) that founders in many countries cannot provide.
Method and limits
- Who is scored: the 192 UN member states other than the United States, plus Palestine, Kosovo, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.
- Sources: only the providers’ own help and rule pages, read on 16 October 2026. Mercury’s page was last updated on 15 October 2026 and Relay’s on 11 August 2026.
- Relay: Relay’s account opening guide also lists a Social Security Number among the details asked for each beneficial owner (Relay). We score only the published country list, so Relay may be harder in practice than its column shows.
- Wise: a country with no published Wise block still needs a real physical trading address. Wise does not accept a registered agent, virtual office or mail forwarding address (Wise).
- Wise balances: Wise separately lists the countries whose residents can hold money in Wise. On 16 October 2026 India was listed only for people travelling overseas, Malaysia only for personal accounts (not business accounts), and Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates were not listed at all (Wise). We do not score this list, because it is not a block on USD account details, but it can limit what an owner who lives there can do.
- Stripe: the Stripe column is about businesses registered in that country. A company registered in a supported country, such as a US LLC, applies under that country’s rules, and Stripe still reviews the people behind it.
- Not included: PayPal and Payoneer. Neither publishes a single country-by-country list of who can open and receive, so including them would mean guessing.
- Ukraine: Mercury, Relay and Wise all name Ukraine itself, not only its Russian-occupied regions, so Ukraine is scored as a whole.
Changelog and how to cite
v1.0, 16 October 2026: first edition. We re-check the provider pages every quarter and log every change here and on our Rule Watch page.
Download: the full index as a CSV file.
How to cite: Bizstartz, “US Fintech Lockout Index”, version 1.0, October 2026, https://bizstartz.com/us-fintech-lockout-index/. Journalists and researchers are welcome to use the data. Please link to this page so readers see the latest version. Questions about the data: rahul@bizstartz.com.
For what each provider means in practice for the main founder markets, see our country-by-country banking and payments guide. A high score does not always mean no options: our guides for founders in Pakistan and Nigeria list the providers that still do not exclude them, and the home-country rules to check first. If you live in a country with a high score and want to know your real options before you form a company, book a free consultation.
🎯 Ready to start? Claim your free consultation and we'll map out your US LLC formation strategy — EIN, banking, and the right state for your country.
Ready to start your company?
Bizstartz handles formation, EIN, banking and compliance for founders worldwide.