Running a US Company From the Philippines After Mercury

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

Mercury, Prohibited countries.

The Philippines is among the 48 countries under Mercury's "Prohibited countries" heading. It is not on Mercury's separate sanctions heading, which names Cuba, Iran, North Korea and the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.

So this is one company's risk policy, not a legal prohibition. Which is exactly why another company reaches a different answer.

Relay's list of 31 does not include the Philippines:

"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. Two things to check before applying. Relay tests citizenship as well as residence, so if you hold a passport from a country on its list of 31 you are outside its policy regardless of living in Manila. And it tests every owner named on the application, so a co-founder's passport or address can decline it.

The Philippines is among the 79 territories on Wise's inclusion list:

"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. Of the main corridors in our index the Philippines is the only one on that list. India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, the UAE and Turkey are all absent.

Stripe. The residency sentence is scoped to unregistered businesses and does not reach your registered LLC. The obstacle is the address field, which wants where your work actually happens.

Shopify Payments. Residency rule covers individuals and sole proprietorships only; needs a full US checking account, ACH-eligible.

Etsy. The Philippines is listed as an eligible location directly, not through Payoneer.

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.

Upwork. Open.

Etsy lists the Philippines as eligible. Mercury refuses Philippines-resident founders. Both are true.

Etsy asks where your payout bank account is. Mercury asks where you live. Different questions, different answers, and treating a country as simply "blocked" or "allowed" loses the information you need.

Four to eight weeks from certificate to first invoice, assuming nothing is declined. Apply to Relay rather than Mercury and the timeline holds.

The Philippines has its own rules on residents holding foreign entities, on inbound and outbound remittances, and on reporting, administered through the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

We have not verified any of them and this page makes no claim about them. They require a Philippine professional. We are not going to summarize another country's regime from memory.

Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, on paper, due April 15 and extendable to October 15. The penalty for missing it compounds per related party once the failure continues more than the cure window after IRS notice.

If your customers are Filipino and pay in pesos, a US LLC adds a federal filing, a state filing and an annual fee for nothing your business needs.

If your customers are American, or you sell on Etsy, or you build apps, the calculation is different and the entity earns its cost. The Philippines is a corridor where the entity genuinely works once you apply to the right bank.