Six rails. Ranked by fit.

Relay is purpose-built for the formation-platform customer. They run an affiliate program explicitly designed for our category and their underwriting team has direct experience with Wyoming, New Mexico, and Delaware LLCs owned by non-US-resident founders. The $3M FDIC coverage via Thread Bank sweep removes the 'is my money safe' question and they accept non-US-citizen owners cleanly.

Operationally: no minimums, no monthly fee on the entry tier, sub-account creation for revenue/expense/tax segregation, ACH and wire support, and a Mastercard debit card available out of the box. For non-MSB SaaS, e-commerce, holding companies, and standard consulting operations, Relay is the default we point customers toward.

Tradeoff: Relay is US-banking-only. If your business model touches MSB territory (crypto exchange, money transmission, gambling), they will decline at underwriting. Bitcoin-treasury operators are fine; Bitcoin-business operators may need Xapo.

Mercury runs a partner program at mercury.com/partnerships with branded landing pages for formation companies. They underwrite Delaware C-Corps faster than any competitor and serve VC-backed startups as their core customer. For non-VC operators, approval is still real but the framing matters: Mercury wants to see a credible operating business, not a parked entity.

DAO LLCs (including our Marshall Islands DAO LLC SKU) are explicitly served by Mercury but case-by-case. The DAO needs a clear treasury policy, identifiable members, and a non-trivial governance description. Approval rates anecdotally improve when the customer has either prior Mercury history or a tied-in VC introduction.

Mercury rejects MSBs, crypto exchanges, payment processors, and businesses operating in 'controversial' verticals. They are stricter than Relay on industry but more accepting on novelty (DAOs, AI startups, Web3 protocols). Pick Mercury for tech-flavored operations; pick Relay for everything else.

Caye International is the Belize-licensed bank that pairs natively with our Belize IBC SKU and accepts Seychelles IBCs, Nevis LLCs, BVI BCs, and most other offshore-formed entities that Mercury and Relay decline. The Caribbean-banking experience is more relationship-based than US-rail banking: expect documentary diligence, expect to provide source-of-funds, expect 30-60 days for account opening.

Operationally: USD multi-currency accounts, debit cards, wire transfers, and crypto-tolerance for certain account types (you can wire from a Coinbase or Kraken USD ramp without the bank treating it as suspicious). The Caye account experience is online-first but customer service is human-led.

Best deployment: form a Belize IBC through us, take the entity to Caye for banking, run the operation from there. Worst deployment: try to use Caye as a US-resident's personal-business primary. The friction is meaningful and Mercury/Relay is a better US-resident fit.

Statrys is a licensed Hong Kong MSO (Money Service Operator) that explicitly serves Hong Kong Ltds, Singapore Pte Ltds, and BVI BCs. Their partner program for formation companies is mature and their underwriting is friendlier than HSBC or DBS for offshore-formed entities. The local Asian rails will often decline non-resident-owned HK Ltds while Statrys will approve.

Operationally: HKD and USD multi-currency, business cards, online-first onboarding, decent FX rates compared to traditional Asian banking. They will not bank crypto-business operations directly (no MSB) but Bitcoin-treasury HK Ltds are fine.

Best deployment: form a HK Ltd through us and take the entity to Statrys for the regional banking layer. Pair with Xapo if Bitcoin treasury is part of the model. Worst deployment: trying to use Statrys for a US-domiciled entity. They're built for the HK/SG/BVI corridor specifically.

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is itself an MSB-licensed entity across multiple jurisdictions and offers business multi-currency accounts that work for operators rejected by traditional rails for residency reasons. If you're resident in a country the US rails decline for residency or risk-rating reasons, Wise is often the most-accepting option.

Operationally: real local-bank-account details in USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, and roughly 9 other currencies. Cheap international wires. Debit cards in some jurisdictions. Decent integrations with accounting platforms like Xero. The user experience is among the best in business banking.

Tradeoff: Wise is a money-service business, not a chartered commercial bank. No interest-bearing accounts, no lending, no credit lines, no ACH origination (you receive but don't push in some jurisdictions). For operators needing a 'bank-bank,' Wise is a supplement to a Relay or Mercury, not a replacement.