Cross-border
Using Stripe From Pakistan Through a US LLC
Stripe does not support Pakistan as an account country, so a Pakistani business cannot open a Stripe account to accept cards. A US-registered company can: Stripe says registered businesses must be registered in the US even if they operate in another country. Expect to provide the company's EIN, a US business address that is not a PO box, a passport, a live website and a bank account in the payout currency.
We do this for clients:US LLC Formation from Pakistan
Where these figures come from
- Sources
- Sourced from Stripe's published account requirements and supported-countries list, and IRS guidance on the EIN.
- Last checked against the sources
- by BarrioVibe.
This is general guidance from the sources above, not advice on your situation. Procedures and official fees change, so confirm the current position before you file, or speak to us first.
What Stripe asks for, and what it means from Pakistan
Taken from Stripe's published verification requirements for a US single-member LLC accepting card payments, and its support pages for US accounts.
| Stripe asks for | Stripe's own rule | For a Pakistani owner |
|---|---|---|
| Company name and tax ID | Verified against IRS records | The LLC's EIN, obtained by phone or fax from abroad. A new EIN can fail this check for some weeks |
| Company address | "Must be a U.S. address. PO boxes are not allowed." | The difficult one. See the note below |
| Representative identity | A passport where the person lives outside the account's country | Your Pakistani passport |
| Representative tax ID | For a non-US representative without an SSN or ITIN, a local tax ID and documents showing you are not a US taxpayer | Your Pakistani tax identifier. Stripe does not publish which Pakistani document it accepts |
| Representative address | PO boxes not allowed | Your home address. The published rule does not require it to be in the US |
| Phone numbers | A valid format | The published requirements do not ask for a US number |
| Website | Publicly accessible, and its content must match the business name and product description | A live site describing what the LLC actually sells |
| Bank account for payouts | Generally located where the payout currency is an official currency | A USD account, which in general means a US-located account |
The order that avoids most rejections
Each step depends on the one before, and running two at once is how an application ends up waiting on a record that does not exist yet.
- 1
Form the LLC
The company must exist before anything else, because the IRS asks you to register the entity with the state before applying for an EIN. Which state is a separate decision, covered in our state comparison.
- 2
Get the EIN from abroad
Apply by phone on 267-941-1099 or fax Form SS-4 to 304-707-9471 from outside the US, writing "Foreign" where the form asks for the responsible party's SSN or ITIN. Keep the confirmation letter, because Stripe accepts it as evidence while IRS records catch up.
- 3
Open the payout account
The IRS says the EIN can be used immediately to open a bank account. Stripe supports ordinary accounts and virtual accounts such as Wise, but warns that non-standard accounts may see more payout failures.
- 4
Put the website up
Stripe checks that the site is publicly accessible and matches the business name and product description you enter.
- 5
Apply to Stripe
Choose the company business type and single-member LLC structure, give the EIN and the company's US address, and verify yourself as representative with your passport. If the tax ID does not verify, upload the SS-4 confirmation letter.
- 6
Expect the first payout to take time
Stripe says the first payout is typically scheduled to complete within 7–14 days after your first successful live payment, and can take longer depending on industry, country and risk.
When the money reaches Pakistan
Stripe pays the LLC's US account. From there, what matters is Pakistani law, and it asks two separate questions. The first is about the money arriving: section 111(4) stops FBR asking you to explain the source of foreign exchange remitted through normal banking channels, within an annual ceiling and only where a scheduled bank encashes it into rupees and certifies that. It shields you from questions about where the money came from. It does not make the income tax free, and export proceeds for services are still charged under section 154A. Our guide to receiving money from abroad sets out the conditions and the certificate to ask for.
The second question is about what you hold. The LLC, and anything sitting in its US account, are foreign assets. A resident individual over the section 116A thresholds must file a foreign income and assets statement with the return, and the penalty for not doing so runs for every year of default. Money left in the US account to avoid Pakistan does not reduce this. It is exactly what the statement exists to capture.
What this guide does not cover
So that you know where its answer stops.
- Whether Stripe will approve your business. It underwrites what you sell, and its prohibited and restricted businesses list applies on top of everything above
- Stripe Atlas, which forms the company for you. Stripe says Atlas companies can accept payments before the EIN arrives, and that route has its own terms
- PayPal and other processors, whose requirements differ
- US tax on the LLC's income, which depends on facts about your business that a verification checklist cannot settle
Questions
The questionspeople ask
Is Stripe available in Pakistan?
No. Pakistan is not on Stripe's list of supported countries, so a Pakistani business cannot open a Stripe account to accept card payments. Stripe's documents list Pakistan only as a destination for cross-border payouts, which lets a platform using Stripe pay someone in Pakistan.
Can I use Stripe from Pakistan with a US LLC?
A US-registered company can open a US Stripe account, and Stripe says registered businesses must be registered in the US even if they operate in another country. Approval is not automatic: Stripe verifies the company, its EIN and US address, the representative's identity, and the business itself.
Do I need an SSN or ITIN to open Stripe for my US LLC?
Stripe's page for representatives of US companies says a non-US representative without an SSN or ITIN can provide a local tax ID and documents showing they are not a US taxpayer. Another Stripe page says an SSN is required for every US account. The pages conflict, and Stripe does not say which Pakistani document it accepts.
Why is Stripe not verifying my new EIN?
Because IRS records lag behind issuance. Stripe says this takes the IRS 3–4 weeks on average and accepts an uploaded SS-4 confirmation letter for a recently issued TIN. The IRS separately says to wait up to 2 weeks before an EIN will pass TIN Matching.
Do I need a US address for Stripe?
For the company, yes: Stripe's requirements say the company address must be a US address and not a PO box. Stripe also says you may use the address on your formation document if you are incorporated at a physical US address. The representative's own address is not required to be in the US.
Do I need a US phone number for Stripe?
Stripe's published requirements ask for a representative phone number and a support phone number in a valid format. They do not say either must be a US number.
Can Stripe pay out to a Pakistani bank account?
Generally not. Stripe says payout bank accounts are generally located where the payout currency is an official currency, so USD payouts go to a US-located account. Pakistani bank accounts appear in Stripe's documentation only for cross-border payouts.
Is money from my Stripe US LLC taxable in Pakistan?
Generally yes, if you are resident. Section 111(4) can stop FBR asking where remitted money came from, but it does not exempt income, and export proceeds for services are charged under section 154A. The LLC and its US balance are also foreign assets for the section 116A statement.
Also here
Relatedguides
Which US state for your LLC
What each state charges to form and to keep, what goes on the public record, and the short list of things that actually differ when you have no US presence.
Money from abroad
The five million rupee ceiling most pages omit, why a shield against questions is not an exemption from tax, and what the bank certificate is for.
Declaring a foreign company
What section 116A requires of a Pakistani resident who owns a company abroad, the penalty that runs every year, and the point at which it stops being a filing question.
Owning a company abroad
What the State Bank actually permits, the limits that come with it, and why the answer for a company is not the answer for an individual.
Setting up a US company so you can take Stripe payments?
We form the LLC, obtain the EIN from abroad, and prepare the bank and Stripe applications with the address, ownership and website evidence each of them asks for.