IBO package or your own US LLC: the two routes, step by step.
Filing a US LLC from abroad is the easy step. The merchant route continues with the EIN, the bank account, the signer and the acquirer's verification call. Both routes are walked in order below, with the blocking points, the cost structure, the time, and the cases where doing it yourself is enough.
Two routes to the same requirement
A certificate of formation is not what an acquirer underwrites. A US person, a bank account and a coherent file are.
A US LLC is easy to obtain from abroad. What a merchant needs comes after the certificate: an EIN, a bank account that stays open, a US-resident person to sign the merchant application, and someone who answers when the acquirer calls. Each step is feasible on its own; the route breaks where a step requires a US person.
The package route is IBOCore's only product: a US LLC or C-Corp incorporated in a US-resident director's home state, EIN issued, director on file, bank account opened in the company's name, documents included, delivered the same day from inventory. The director is an Independent Business Operator (IBO), described on what is an IBO. IBOCore is not a formation service.
This page walks both routes and stops at each blocking point. Doing it yourself is not always wrong: for a company that invoices by wire and never processes cards, it is often enough. Formation mechanics are on the US LLC formation guide; the package in detail on US LLC for non-residents.
The do-it-yourself route, step by step
Six feasible steps, each with its blocking point for a non-resident merchant.
- 01
Step 01
Pick a state and file the articles
A formation service files the articles for a fee on top of the state's fee, in a state usually chosen for privacy or low fees. Blocking point: an underwriter later compares the state on the certificate with the signer's address and expects them to match.
- 02
Step 02
Rent a registered agent and an address
The LLC needs a registered agent with a physical address in the state, and a mailing address, usually rented too. Blocking point: neither is a person. A registered-agent office as the company's only footprint reads as a shell when the file is reviewed.
- 03
Step 03
Apply for the EIN without a Social Security number
Without an SSN you send Form SS-4 by fax or mail with "Foreign" in the SSN box and wait weeks for the letter, or a US person calls the IRS as third-party designee and gets the number on the call. Blocking point: until the EIN exists, no bank opens the account and no acquirer boards the company.
- 04
Step 04
Open a business bank account remotely
With the articles and the EIN you apply online to a fintech that accepts foreign owners, your passport as the signer's ID. Blocking point: an account with a non-resident signer stays subject to the fintech's later reviews and can be closed once volume arrives; a traditional bank wants a US-resident signer in person.
- 05
Step 05
Apply to acquirers as a non-resident
The application asks for the entity, the EIN, a US bank account for settlements, a compliant website and an authorized signer. High-risk acquirers also want a US-resident signer and a personal guarantor with a US credit file. Blocking point: that line cannot be filled from abroad.
- 06
Step 06
Take the verification call yourself
The bank or the acquirer calls the signer of record to confirm the business, the products, the volumes and who runs the company. Blocking point: the signer of record is a non-resident answering from abroad for a company registered where nobody involved lives; that mismatch is what the call checks.
The package route: what changes
The same requirements, met before the package is listed.
Everything arrives the same day
Entity, EIN letter, the director's documents, bank access, professional email and US residential proxy arrive on Telegram the same day the payment confirms. Nothing is filed after you pay: the package was built before it was listed in the inventory.
A US-resident director on file
A real, KYC-verified US resident with zero criminal record and a credit score of 650 or more, exclusive to one merchant and never used before. The company is incorporated where the director lives, so the certificate, the ID and the proof of address agree.
A bank account you operate
Opened at Bluebanc or Relay in the company's name by the resident director, then handed over with full access: inbound and outbound wires, a debit card, no minimum balance. Settlements land in an account that belongs to the merchant entity.
Then the acquirer's timeline
Apply with your own ISO or directly. The director signs what the acquirer requires and answers verification calls; onboarding takes 3 to 10 business days on the acquirer's side, with no promise of the decision. Ongoing billing starts 30 days after delivery.
Side by side, requirement by requirement
General mechanics on the left, what IBOCore publishes on the right.
IBOCore does not sell formation on demand, a stand-alone signer or a director for an entity you already own.
The do-it-yourself route is described as it works in general on 2026-09-24. Formation services, the IRS process for an EIN without an SSN, fintech policies and acquirer requirements change without notice, and no third-party price is quoted here. IBOCore figures are those published on this site on the same date.
Cost and time, without third-party prices
The entity is cheaper to form yourself. The merchant account is where the comparison changes.
On the invoice, the do-it-yourself entity wins: the state's filing fee, the formation service's margin, a registered agent every year, the annual report or franchise fee, a rented address; the EIN costs nothing at the IRS. What the invoice does not show is the wait for the EIN letter, the account that can close once volume arrives, and the application that stalls because the guarantor line stayed empty.
The package is priced as an operating service. White Hat: $1,999 setup, then $4,499 per month. Grey Hat: $2,499 setup, then 9% of deposit volume, for subscription and continuity billing. Ongoing billing starts 30 days after delivery. Optional add-ons: bank pages ($2,499 one-time), merchant account consulting ($899 per month), document template pack ($499 one-time). Payment in USDT or USDC on ERC20 or TRC20; the plan choice is on White Hat or Grey Hat.
Filing takes days; the EIN letter by fax or mail takes weeks; remote banking takes as long as the fintech's review; the acquirer application, without a US signer, has no end date. The package is delivered the same day payment confirms; the only clock left is the acquirer's 3 to 10 business days. The cheapest way to a US merchant account as a non-resident is the route an acquirer can underwrite.
When doing it yourself is enough
If every line is true, form the LLC yourself. If one is false, the question becomes who signs.
- Clients pay by wire or ACH, and the company never takes card payments.
- Nobody underwrites you. No acquirer, no MID, no aggregator that re-reviews the account at volume.
- Low-risk activity only. Consulting, software licences or B2B invoicing, not a high-risk vertical.
- A remote fintech account is acceptable, including a later review you handle yourself.
- You are the signer, with your passport on the file and every call and re-verification coming to you.
IBO packages are permanently in stock and delivered the same day you purchase. Company names are masked until you sign in.
IBO package or your own LLC, frequently asked
The follow-up questions merchants send on Telegram after comparing the two routes.
Can I form the LLC myself and buy only the director from IBOCore?
No. IBOCore sells the package as one: entity, director, EIN, bank account and documents, built together around one KYC-verified US resident before it is listed. A director is never attached to an entity you formed yourself, and a signer is never sold alone.
Is forming my own US LLC cheaper than the IBO package?
For the entity alone, yes: a state fee, a formation-service fee, a registered agent and annual state fees; the EIN is free. The package costs $1,999 or $2,499 at setup, then $4,499 per month or 9% of deposit volume from 30 days after delivery. The difference buys a US-resident director, a bank account opened by that resident, and same-day delivery.
Who signs the merchant account application on each route?
Doing it yourself, you sign from abroad, and the personal-guarantee line asks for a US resident with a US credit file. On the package route the Independent Business Operator signs: a US resident with zero criminal record, a credit score of 650 or more and a complete KYC file. The acquirer still decides.
What happens on the verification call if I formed the LLC myself?
The bank or the acquirer calls the signer of record about the business, the products, the volumes and who runs the company. On your own LLC that call reaches you abroad, as the non-resident signer of record. With the package the director takes it from the US, and verification requests are coordinated with you in the private Telegram group.
I only invoice business clients by wire. Do I need the package?
Probably not. The package is built and priced for opening a US merchant account: a MID should be opened within 30 days of delivery or the package can be reclaimed, and the billing model must be classified honestly at purchase. A company that never takes card payments is usually served by the do-it-yourself route.
Related reading
US LLC for non-residents
The package route in detail: the LLC file, the director, the bank account, the price.
Read moreUS company for non-residents
LLC or C-Corp, which state, and the three things a non-resident cannot obtain alone.
Read moreMerchant account for non-residents
Why applications from abroad are declined and what the IBO route changes.
Read moreAged shelf company vs fresh US entity
The other approach comparison: what age on paper buys, and what acquirers underwrite instead.
Read moreHow to set up a US LLC as a non-resident
The formation how-to for readers who take the do-it-yourself route.
Read moreHow to get an EIN as a non-resident
The fax, phone and ITIN routes to an EIN without a Social Security number.
Read moreTake the package route, delivered the same day.
A fresh US entity, a KYC-verified US-resident director, a bank account with full access and the documents, from inventory that is always in stock.
No KYC on you, no notary, no travel.