Relay vs Wise for a Non-Resident LLC

Both Relay and Wise let non-US founders open a business account for their LLC without setting foot in America, but they solve different problems. Here is how they actually compare once you get past the marketing pages.

What Relay and Wise Actually Are

Relay is a US business banking platform. Deposits sit with a partner bank (Thread Bank or Blue Ridge Bank, depending on when you signed up), which means your balance is FDIC insured up to the standard limit. It behaves like a domestic US checking account: ACH transfers, mailed checks, wires, and up to twenty sub-accounts for splitting money by purpose.

Wise Business is not a bank. It is a licensed e-money institution that gives you local account details in several currencies, most useful being USD and EUR. Money you hold in a Wise account is safeguarded in ring-fenced accounts rather than covered by FDIC insurance, but it is not lent out or invested, so the risk profile is different rather than worse.

Account Requirements for Non-Residents

Neither platform requires an SSN or a US visa. What they both want is a properly formed US LLC, an EIN issued by the IRS, and a passport for identity verification. Some Wise onboarding flows also ask for a brief description of your business activity and expected transaction volume, since it is a regulated payments company and takes compliance checks seriously. Relay's onboarding is closer to a standard US bank application: formation documents, EIN confirmation letter (the CP 575 or 147C), and owner identification.

If your LLC does not have an EIN yet, that has to come first. This is one of the steps Founders Credit handles as part of its done-for-you setup, since a rejected or delayed EIN application is the most common reason non-resident founders get stuck before they ever reach the banking stage.

Feature Comparison

Which One Fits Your Business

If most of your revenue and expenses are already in USD, and you want something that feels and functions like a normal American bank account, Relay is the more natural fit. The sub-accounts feature is genuinely useful for setting aside tax reserves or separating client funds, and mailed checks still matter for some US vendors and landlords.

If your clients are mostly in Europe or elsewhere outside the US and you want to avoid losing money on currency conversion every time you get paid, Wise is usually the better starting point. You can invoice in EUR or GBP, receive funds into local account details, and convert to USD only when you actually need to spend in dollars.

Using Them Together

Many non-resident founders end up using both. Wise collects international client payments and holds multi-currency balances, then transfers USD into Relay when it is time to pay US-based expenses, contractors, or software subscriptions that only accept ACH. Neither is exclusive, and running both costs nothing extra since both have no-fee tiers for standard use.

One caution: neither Relay nor Wise replaces your US tax filing obligations. A foreign-owned single-member LLC still needs to file Form 5472 with a pro-forma 1120 every year, even with zero income and even if all your banking sits outside the US. The penalty for missing this filing is 25,000 dollars, so treat banking and compliance as two separate checklists rather than assuming one solves the other.

Quick Glossary

EIN: the federal tax ID number the IRS issues to your LLC, required by both Relay and Wise.

ITIN: a taxpayer ID for individuals who cannot get a Social Security Number, not required to open either account but useful for personal US tax matters.

FDIC insurance: US government backed protection for bank deposits up to the standard limit, applies to Relay through its partner bank.

Safeguarding: the method e-money institutions like Wise use to protect customer funds by keeping them separate from company money.

Form 5472: an annual IRS information return foreign-owned LLCs must file alongside a pro-forma 1120, regardless of income.

Registered agent: a person or company with a physical address in your LLC's formation state who receives legal and state mail on your behalf.

The Practical Takeaway

There is no single correct answer between Relay and Wise. The right choice depends on where your money comes from and where it needs to go. Founders Credit sets up the LLC, ITIN, and EIN first, then helps founders choose and open the banking and card setup that actually matches how their business gets paid, rather than defaulting to whichever platform is easiest to sign up for.

Frequently asked questions