Hello,
I’m looking for a U.S. resident to act as a Nominee Manager or Director for my U.S.-registered LLC for the legal purpose of opening a U.S. business bank account.
I am a non-U.S. resident and the sole beneficial owner of a properly formed LLC in Wyoming, with EIN and Operating Agreement in place.
This LLC operates a fully legal eCommerce business selling via platforms.
I require a U.S. person to be listed temporarily as manager/director on the LLC documents to satisfy banking and KYB compliance with U.S. banks
I’m looking for someone reliable, preferably with prior experience or reputation in this space.
They can, if they apply for the bank account on behalf of your company in their capacity as nominee director, as this would grant them full access to the account.
However, this is not advisable, especially if you intend to keep a permanent balance in the account.
If a nominee director opens the U.S. bank account on behalf of my LLC, they technically have full access and control over the funds, right?
But if we set it up with:
A Nominee Manager Agreement (stating they’re not a real owner)
Proper legal boundaries
And I’m added as an authorized user after the account is opened...
…would that reduce the risk? Or does the bank still only trust the person who opened the account?
I’m trying to find a safe, legal setup as a non-U.S. resident who owns a legitimate eCommerce business.
I’d love to hear your advice
The problem is that the nominee controls the account, regardless of how many contracts you set up. And depending on how professional (or not) the nominee is, they could potentially convince the bank that the account is in their name and that they are entitled to any funds held there.
Ultimately, it all depends on how much money ends up in the account, and whether it's enough to tempt the nominee to act dishonestly.
To a large extent, I imagine that the precautions you listed could help reduce the risk. But if you're unlucky, the money could simply be gone.
There are many threads on OCT describing how people can open a U.S. bank account for their company themselves, Mercury is one example, but do some searching. Having a company and a bank account in your own name is definitely the right way to go, rather than relying on a nominee.
Thanks for your detailed insight.
I agree that using a nominee does carry risk, especially if large amounts of money are involved. But I wanted to ask:
If I have the nominee open the account, and then I add myself as an authorized signer ASAP, And then I rotate access or remove the nominee later if the bank allows,
Do you think that reduces the risk in practice?
I’m trying to open a brick-and-mortar bank account (e.g., Chase, BofA, etc.), but I can’t travel to the U.S., so Mercury unfortunately won’t work for some of the payment platforms I’m targeting.
I’d prefer to have everything in my own name , I completely agree that’s the safest , but I’m exploring the nominee route only because of the travel issue.
Do you know any verified alternatives that have worked for non-U.S. residents wanting traditional banks remotely? Or any workaround for authorized access changes after opening?
Thanks for the heads-up , I didn’t know they won’t allow signer changes like that. That’s really useful info.
I haven’t researched IBKR yet, but I’ll definitely take a look , thanks for the recommendation.
I’m also considering using James Baker CPA , they seem to help non-U.S. residents open traditional U.S. bank accounts remotely. It’s a bit costly, but could be worth the security and structure.
That’s one option. He might also be able to tell you if there are other possibilities, or perhaps he knows some trustworthy nominees, if such a thing even exists.
Also try @James Turner for nominee service, they can maybe help you with some sort of easy solution. They have been around OCT for many years and I consider them as trustworthy.
