Where Businesses Can Get USD Accounts: 2026 Study

Key takeaways

In 63 of 71 countries, fewer than three of the eleven providers studied state on their own pages that they give a locally registered business US account details with a routing and account number.
In eight countries none of the eleven providers says yes: Nepal, and Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Russia and Venezuela, which are on Wise's list of addresses that cannot get USD account details.
No country scores more than four of eleven, and only Singapore and the Philippines reach four.
Mercury, Relay, Revolut Business and Statrys give US account details to businesses registered in none of the 71 countries, and Payoneer and Grey publish no country list, so every entry for them is "not stated".
Wise and Airwallex, which both publish full country lists, say no in 45 of the 71 countries.
Helm gives US account details to companies in 55 of the 71 countries and not in 16, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Morocco, Qatar, mainland China, Japan and South Korea.

Key findings

Helm checked the published country rules of eleven providers that market US dollar accounts to businesses, for 71 countries, on 29 October 2026. The question for each pair was simple: does the provider, on its own pages, say that it accepts a business registered in that country and gives it US account details, meaning a US routing number and an account number? A routing number is the nine-digit code that identifies a US bank, and with it a US customer can pay by ACH, the low-cost US bank transfer network, or by Fedwire, the Federal Reserve's same-day wire system, instead of an international SWIFT wire.

63 of 71 countries: fewer than three of the eleven providers say yes.
8 countries: none of the eleven says yes. They are Nepal, plus Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Russia and Venezuela.
4 of 11 is the highest score. Only Singapore and the Philippines reach it. No country has five.
31 countries: exactly one provider says yes, and it is Slash.
45 of 71 countries: Wise and Airwallex, which both publish full country lists, both say no.
Four providers say yes nowhere in the study: Mercury and Relay accept only US companies, Revolut Business gives local US details only to customers of its UK bank entity, and Statrys publishes no US account details.
Two providers publish no country list: Payoneer and Grey, so every entry for them is "not stated".

Providers saying yes (of 11)	Countries	Which countries
0	8	Nepal, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Belarus
1	36	36 countries, listed in the full table below
2	19	19 countries, listed in the full table below
3	6	Brazil, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, Taiwan
4	2	Philippines, Singapore

Source: Helm analysis of providers' own eligibility pages, help articles and country lists. Helm is scored separately and is not counted here. Checked on 29 October 2026.

Helm publishes this study, and Helm is one of the providers measured. To keep the totals neutral, Helm is shown in its own column and is left out of every "of 11" figure. Its results, including the countries where it does not give US account details, are set out in a section of their own.

Methodology: sources, dates and definitions

Countries. The study covers the 61 countries for which Helm publishes a US dollar business account guide, plus ten countries with large trade flows or that appear by name on at least one provider's list: mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Belarus. The United Kingdom and the European Economic Area are not included.

Sources. Only each provider's own published country list, eligibility page, help article or regional page was used. Every page was opened on 29 October 2026. The source URL and the rule applied for every country and provider pair are in the sources file that accompanies the data.

What the values mean.

Yes: the provider's own pages accept a business registered in the country and state that it receives US account details with a routing and account number.
No: the provider's own pages exclude the country, limit eligibility to a list that does not include it, or state that businesses there do not get US account details.
Not stated: the provider publishes no list or statement that settles the question for that country. It is not a no, and it was never filled in by guessing.

Limits. A yes means a business may apply, not that it will be approved: every provider also checks industry, ownership, documents and activity. The test is the country where the business is registered. Some providers also look at where owners live, and Wise checks the address on the personal profile of the person who opens a Business account. Lists change without notice.

Provider	What its own pages state	How it was scored	Source
Wise Business	USD details only where your address is in a country where you can hold money; a separate list of addresses that cannot get USD details; Business rules for China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon and Ukraine	Yes if on the hold-money list for business accounts and not excluded	Hold money; USD details
Payoneer	Serves 190+ countries and territories; receiving account options are shown inside the account	Not stated for every country	Receiving accounts FAQ
Airwallex	Business must be registered in a listed location; unlisted locations cannot be processed	Yes if listed and the onboarding entity's USD page shows US details	Eligible countries
Mercury	Company must be formed and registered in the US or a US territory	No for every country (US companies only)	Eligibility
Relay	Business must be legally registered and operating in the US	No for every country (US companies only)	How to open
Slash	Global USD is for businesses incorporated outside the US; country support follows Bridge's published list	Yes where Bridge lists US ACH and Fedwire as supported	Supported countries; Bridge list
Revolut Business	Eligible registration countries listed; local USD details only for customers of the UK bank entity on Grow plans and above	No for every country in the study	Eligible countries
Grey	Business must be registered in a "Permitted Jurisdiction"; no list published	Not stated for every country	Terms
Raenest	Business account for companies registered in the US, UK, Canada, Nigeria, Kenya and Europe; USD account has account and routing numbers	Yes for Nigeria and Kenya	Terms; USD account
Statrys	Primarily onboards companies incorporated in Hong Kong, Singapore or the British Virgin Islands; local account details listed for six countries, not the US	No for every country	Eligibility; Account
WorldFirst	No registration list; regional pages name countries served and describe USD account details	Yes where a WorldFirst page names the country and USD details; otherwise not stated	Africa; South Asia
Helm (scored separately)	Eligibility page; US dollar account services provided by Bridge Building, Inc.	Yes unless excluded on Helm's page or Bridge's list	Helm eligibility

Sources: providers' own pages as linked. Checked on 29 October 2026.

Results by provider

The table counts, for each provider, the countries where it says yes, no or not stated.

Provider	Yes	No	Not stated
Wise Business	19	52	0
Payoneer	0	0	71
Airwallex	16	55	0
Mercury	0	71	0
Relay	0	71	0
Slash	55	16	0
Revolut Business	0	71	0
Grey	0	0	71
Raenest	2	69	0
Statrys	0	71	0
WorldFirst	8	0	63

Source: Helm analysis of 71 countries. Checked on 29 October 2026.

US company accounts. Mercury and Relay serve companies formed in the United States, including companies whose founders live abroad. For a business registered elsewhere, they are a route only through a second, US company.
Closed lists. Airwallex accepts only listed registration locations, and 16 of the 71 study countries are on its list, all of them served through entities whose USD pages show US account details. Wise works from two lists: where money can be held, and where USD details cannot be issued. It says yes in 19 countries. In India, Wise states that USD received by Indian businesses is converted automatically to rupees and cannot be held.
Open lists. Slash has the widest coverage, 55 countries, because it follows Bridge's list, which supports US ACH and Fedwire for most countries and excludes a named set.

Regional findings

East and Southeast Asia has the highest average, largely because Airwallex lists 11 of its 13 study countries. Europe and Central Asia, outside the European Economic Area, has the lowest.

Region	Countries	Average yes (of 11)	Countries with 0 or 1	Wise yes	Airwallex yes	Slash yes	WorldFirst yes
Latin America and Caribbean	20	1.4	12	7	3	18	0
Africa	13	1.4	9	1	0	11	4
Middle East	10	1.2	7	3	1	8	0
Europe and Central Asia	9	0.9	8	1	0	7	0
South Asia	6	1.0	5	1	1	2	2
East and Southeast Asia	13	2.2	3	6	11	9	2

Source: Helm analysis; regions grouped by the Helm Editorial Team. Checked on 29 October 2026.

Latin America and Caribbean

Wise says yes in seven of 20 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Uruguay. Airwallex lists only Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica. In El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic, Slash is the only yes. Venezuela and Cuba score zero.

Africa

Airwallex lists no African country in the study, and Wise says yes only for South Africa; it names Nigeria and Cameroon among addresses that cannot get USD details. The Africa-focused providers fill part of the gap: WorldFirst names Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Morocco, and Raenest accepts companies registered in Nigeria and Kenya. Nigeria scores three, the highest in Africa.

Middle East

Wise says yes for Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, lists Bahrain and Israel for personal accounts only, and names the UAE among addresses that cannot get USD details. Airwallex lists Israel. Egypt, Jordan, Oman and Bahrain each have one yes.

Europe and Central Asia

Of nine countries, eight have one yes or none. Wise says yes only for Georgia and names Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine among addresses that cannot get USD details. Russia and Belarus score zero.

South Asia

India is the exception, with Wise and Airwallex both saying yes. Pakistan and Bangladesh have one yes each, from WorldFirst, and Nepal and Afghanistan have none.

East and Southeast Asia

Singapore and the Philippines lead the study with four each, and Hong Kong and Taiwan follow with three. Mainland China has one, from Airwallex; Wise excludes Business accounts with a China address from USD details. Cambodia has one and Myanmar none.

Countries with the least access

Eight countries score zero of eleven. Seven of them are named on Wise's list of addresses that cannot get USD account details and appear as Prohibited on Bridge's list. The eighth, Nepal, is on neither of those lists: it scores zero because no provider's published pages include it with US account details.

A further 31 countries have exactly one yes, from Slash. The table shows the countries where the single route, or the absence of one, comes from a different provider, and the rule behind it.

Country	Providers saying yes	Main published reasons for no
Nepal	None	Not on Wise's hold-money list or Airwallex's list; Bridge lists no US ACH or Fedwire for Nepal
Pakistan	WorldFirst	Wise names it among addresses that cannot get USD details; not on Airwallex's list
Bangladesh	WorldFirst	Wise names it among addresses that cannot get USD details; not on Airwallex's list
Morocco	WorldFirst	Not on Wise's hold-money list or Airwallex's list
Qatar	Wise	Not on Airwallex's list; Bridge lists no US ACH or Fedwire for Qatar
China (mainland)	Airwallex	Wise Business rule excludes a China address; Bridge lists China as unavailable
Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Russia, Venezuela	None	All on Wise's list of addresses that cannot get USD details and listed as Prohibited by Bridge

Sources: Wise, "Can I get USD account details?" and "Where do I need to live to hold money with Wise?"; Airwallex, "Eligible countries and territories"; Bridge, "Supported Countries List"; WorldFirst Africa and South Asia pages. Checked on 29 October 2026.

What businesses in those countries do instead

Where foreign providers say no, businesses use the routes their own central bank sets out. The rules below come from the central banks and laws cited in Helm's country guides.

Nepal. Companies receive US dollars through a bank in Nepal under Nepal Rastra Bank rules. Exporters are paid by SWIFT, and the bank issues an advance payment certificate that the exporter presents to customs (Kumari Bank). IT and service exporters may use foreign currency for set purposes up to 10% of the previous year's foreign currency earnings, and opening an account abroad under that facility needs separate approval (ShareSansar summary of NRB rules). See our guide to USD business accounts in Nepal.
Pakistan. Under Chapter 6 of the State Bank of Pakistan's Foreign Exchange Manual, companies established in Pakistan may open foreign currency accounts at authorized dealer banks. Export proceeds must arrive through an authorized dealer within 120 days of shipment, and software, IT and freelance exporters may retain $5,000 a month or 50% of proceeds, whichever is higher. See our guide to USD business accounts in Pakistan.
Bangladesh. Exporters hold dollars in an Export Retention Quota account, a foreign currency account at an authorized dealer bank. Bangladesh Bank's circular of 30 July 2026 sets four months to repatriate export proceeds and treats keeping proceeds abroad outside authorized accounts as a breach of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.
Morocco. Under the Office des Changes rules, exporters must repatriate goods proceeds within 150 days and may keep up to 70% in foreign currency or convertible dirham accounts at Moroccan banks (Upsilon Consulting summary of the IGOC 2026).
Qatar. Qatari banks offer corporate accounts in currencies including US dollars, subject to bank approval (Qatar Living, 27 July 2026), and the US government's Country Commercial Guide states that there is no restriction on the flow of capital (International Trade Administration).

Some founders form a US company and open a US business account for it. Mercury states that founders do not need to be US citizens or residents, but it also cannot open accounts for founders living in the countries on its prohibited list, which includes Nepal and Pakistan. Our guide to getting a USD account without a US company compares the two routes.

For the seven countries on Wise's exclusion list and Bridge's Prohibited tier, the providers in this study do not offer a route, and this study does not describe one.

Helm's own results

Helm is a financial technology company, not a bank. Its US dollar account services are provided by Bridge Building, Inc. (NMLS ID 2450917), a licensed money transmitter, with customer funds held at Lead Bank. Helm's eligibility page states that USD account details are not currently available to companies based in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Morocco, Qatar, Japan or South Korea, and that Helm does not serve businesses in mainland China, Algeria, Tunisia, Russia, Belarus, Venezuela, Myanmar or Afghanistan, or in countries under comprehensive US sanctions.

Scored on the same test as the other providers, Helm says yes in 55 of 71 countries and no in 16. The no list is: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Morocco, Qatar, mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Belarus, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Japan and South Korea are on it because Bridge's published list states that its services are unavailable in Japan and that it cannot onboard new users from South Korea at this time. Russia, Belarus, Venezuela, Myanmar and Afghanistan are listed as Prohibited by Bridge.

Helm agrees pricing with each business in writing before the account opens, and shows the rate, the fee and the expected arrival before you confirm each payment.

Full country table and data download

The table shows every country in the study. To keep it readable, six provider columns that return the same value in every country are left out: Mercury, Relay, Revolut Business and Statrys are "No" in all 71 countries, and Payoneer and Grey are "Not stated" in all 71. They are included in the "Yes (of 11)" count and in the downloadable file.

Country	Region	Wise Business	Airwallex	Slash	Raenest	WorldFirst	Yes (of 11)	Helm
Afghanistan	South Asia	No	No	No	No	Not stated	0	No
Argentina	Latin America and Caribbean	Yes	No	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Armenia	Europe and Central Asia	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Bahrain	Middle East	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Bangladesh	South Asia	No	No	No	No	Yes	1	No
Belarus	Europe and Central Asia	No	No	No	No	Not stated	0	No
Bolivia	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Brazil	Latin America and Caribbean	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	3	Yes
Cambodia	East and Southeast Asia	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Cameroon	Africa	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Chile	Latin America and Caribbean	Yes	No	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
China (mainland)	East and Southeast Asia	No	Yes	No	No	Not stated	1	No
Colombia	Latin America and Caribbean	Yes	No	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Costa Rica	Latin America and Caribbean	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	3	Yes
Cuba	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	No	No	Not stated	0	No
Côte d'Ivoire	Africa	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Dominican Republic	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Ecuador	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Egypt	Middle East	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
El Salvador	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Ethiopia	Africa	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Georgia	Europe and Central Asia	Yes	No	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Ghana	Africa	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	2	Yes
Guatemala	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Honduras	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Hong Kong	East and Southeast Asia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	3	Yes
India	South Asia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	3	Yes
Indonesia	East and Southeast Asia	No	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Iran	Middle East	No	No	No	No	Not stated	0	No
Israel	Middle East	No	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Jamaica	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Japan	East and Southeast Asia	Yes	Yes	No	No	Not stated	2	No
Jordan	Middle East	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Kazakhstan	Europe and Central Asia	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Kenya	Africa	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	2	No
Kuwait	Middle East	Yes	No	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Malaysia	East and Southeast Asia	No	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Mexico	Latin America and Caribbean	No	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Morocco	Africa	No	No	No	No	Yes	1	No
Myanmar	East and Southeast Asia	No	No	No	No	Not stated	0	No
Nepal	South Asia	No	No	No	No	Not stated	0	No
Nigeria	Africa	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	3	Yes
Oman	Middle East	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Pakistan	South Asia	No	No	No	No	Yes	1	No
Panama	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Paraguay	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Peru	Latin America and Caribbean	Yes	No	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Philippines	East and Southeast Asia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	4	Yes
Qatar	Middle East	Yes	No	No	No	Not stated	1	No
Russia	Europe and Central Asia	No	No	No	No	Not stated	0	No
Rwanda	Africa	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Saudi Arabia	Middle East	Yes	No	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Senegal	Africa	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Serbia	Europe and Central Asia	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Singapore	East and Southeast Asia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	4	Yes
South Africa	Africa	Yes	No	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
South Korea	East and Southeast Asia	Yes	Yes	No	No	Not stated	2	No
Sri Lanka	South Asia	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Taiwan	East and Southeast Asia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	3	Yes
Tanzania	Africa	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Thailand	East and Southeast Asia	No	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Trinidad and Tobago	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Türkiye	Europe and Central Asia	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Uganda	Africa	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Ukraine	Europe and Central Asia	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
United Arab Emirates	Middle East	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Uruguay	Latin America and Caribbean	Yes	No	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Uzbekistan	Europe and Central Asia	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes
Venezuela	Latin America and Caribbean	No	No	No	No	Not stated	0	No
Vietnam	East and Southeast Asia	No	Yes	Yes	No	Not stated	2	Yes
Zambia	Africa	No	No	Yes	No	Not stated	1	Yes

Source: providers' own eligibility pages, help articles and country lists; Helm eligibility page. Checked on 29 October 2026.

Download the data: usd_access_2026.csv holds one row per country with all twelve provider columns, and usd_access_2026_sources.csv holds the source URL and the rule applied for every value. You may reuse the data with attribution to "Helm, USD account access study 2026". Corrections from providers are welcome and will be dated when made.

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Questions

Which countries have the least access to US dollar business accounts?

In this 2026 study, eight countries score zero of eleven providers: Nepal, Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Russia and Venezuela. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Qatar and mainland China each have exactly one provider that says yes on its own pages.

Which countries have the most access?

Singapore and the Philippines score highest, with four of eleven providers saying yes. Brazil, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria and Taiwan score three. No country in the study reaches five.

What counts as US account details in this study?

A US routing number and an account number in the business's name or on its account, so a US payer can send money by ACH or Fedwire. A SWIFT-only USD account, where payers must send an international wire, does not count.

Why are Mercury and Relay "No" in every country?

Mercury requires a company formed and registered in the United States or a US territory, and Relay requires a business legally registered and operating in the US. A business registered in any of the 71 countries cannot open an account in its own name, although its founders can own a US company that applies.

Why are Payoneer and Grey marked "not stated"?

Neither publishes a list of the registration countries whose businesses receive USD account details. Payoneer states that it serves 190+ countries and territories and shows receiving account options inside the account, and Grey's terms refer to permitted jurisdictions without listing them. "Not stated" means the published pages do not answer the question, not that the answer is no.

Does a "Yes" mean my business will be approved?

No. A yes means the provider's published rules allow a business registered in that country to apply and receive US account details. Every provider also reviews industry, ownership, documents and activity, and may decline an application.

How was Helm scored, given that Helm publishes the study?

Helm was scored on the same test, from its eligibility page and the published country list of Bridge Building, Inc., which provides its US dollar account services. Helm says no in 16 of 71 countries and is left out of every "of 11" total.

How often is the study updated?

The data reflects pages checked on 29 October 2026. Provider lists change without notice, so check each provider's own page before applying. Corrections will be dated when made.

References

HelmHelm is a business account for companies that trade internationally: USD, EUR and GBP accounts, international payments, collections and currency exchange, with a named account manager. Questions: [email protected].

This guide is general information for businesses, not financial, legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and timings were checked against the sources listed on the review date and may change.

Where businesses can and cannot get a US dollar account: 2026 study of 71 countries and 11 providers