Can You Use These Providers From the Philippines? Sept 2026

Checked September 1, 2026 against each provider's own published policy.

The Philippines appears on no sanctions list among the providers we track, and not on Mercury's separate sanctions heading either.

Mercury only. The Philippines sits among the 48 countries under Mercury's "Prohibited countries" heading:

"we're unable to open accounts for founders living in any of the countries and regions listed below."

Mercury, Prohibited countries.

Relay's list of 31 does not include it:

"Relay cannot open a Relay Account for any business owner who holds citizenship or residency in one of the following countries"

Relay, Prohibited Countries. Last updated August 11, 2026. One company said no and the other said nothing. That is the difference between a legal prohibition and a risk appetite, and it is worth understanding because it tells you what to do next.

1. Relay. Open on published policy, and it is where a Mercury rejection should send you rather than to a rewritten Mercury application. Check that every owner named on the application is clear of Relay's list, because it tests citizenship as well as residence for all of them.

2. Wise. The Philippines is among the 79 territories where you may hold money:

"You can hold money in your account if you live in one of the following countries and territories:"

Wise, Where do I need to live to hold money with Wise?.

This is unusual for the region and worth using.

3. Stripe, once the bank account exists.

4. Etsy, which lists the Philippines among its eligible locations directly, not through Payoneer.

5. Apple Developer and Google Play. Neither tests residence. Choose the organization account on Google Play so a photo ID issued in any country is accepted.

Etsy lists the Philippines as eligible. Mercury refuses Philippines-resident founders. Both are true and they are not in conflict.

Etsy is asking where your payout bank account is. Mercury is asking where you sleep. Different questions, different answers, and collapsing them into one verdict about a country is how most coverage of this gets it wrong.

Payoneer. No published country list retrievable, and the Philippines is not among Etsy's sixteen starred countries, so we have no indirect evidence either.

Amazon. Login-gated. The circulating 188-country figure dates from May 2021.

This page is the provider matrix. What to do after Mercury declines, and which route Filipino founders actually take, is on running a US company from the Philippines.