Today, Mercury and Stripe Atlas are partnering to make it faster to set up business banking as soon as a company incorporates, even before the IRS assigns their tax ID (EIN). The partnership helps startups build, hire, and fundraise right away — without waiting days or weeks to get started. Mercury is excited to be the first Stripe Atlas partner to offer banking
Trusted by founders around the globe to transform their ideas into companies, Stripe Atlas is a powerful, safe, and easy-to-use platform that enables entrepreneurs to form U.S. companies. As the creators of banking that’s purpose-built for startups, we at Mercury are supporting Stripe Atlas founders at their most foundational stage — the moment of incorporation, which is followed by opening a first business bank account.
Together through this partnership, Mercury and Stripe Atlas will help get startups off the ground faster by bypassing the waiting period between incorporation and when the IRS assigns their EIN. And with Mercury Vault, startups can take comfort in knowing their funds are secure right from the start.
How things used to work
After incorporating, a new company typically needs to obtain an EIN (Employer Identification Number) before they can start operating and accessing key business services. EINs are required to open a bank account, obtain a business license, pay federal taxes, and hire employees. They can also be required by vendors as proof of legitimacy.
Unfortunately, many businesses (particularly those with non-U.S. founders) find themselves waiting up to five weeks in a long manual queue before they can get their EIN. While Atlas calls the IRS every day to get the fastest service possible, founders may still be blocked from services like banking until the IRS processes their EIN filing. This, in turn means that they have to delay opening a bank account and taking other steps to get their business off the ground.
How we’re changing it up
According to Stripe Atlas, nearly half of companies run into this speed bump caused by the IRS’s EIN wait times — which is where this new collaboration comes in. Mercury will remove this common blocker, and be the first banking partner to allow new businesses that incorporate through Stripe Atlas to open a Mercury account while the IRS processes their EIN application.
Here’s how it works:
- A founder uses Stripe Atlas to incorporate their business — the application takes just 10 minutes, and Delaware typically processes the incorporation filing the same or next business day.
- Once the business is incorporated, founders can launch a Mercury application from the Atlas dashboard pre-filled with their Atlas information, to save time (and re-typing).
- Stripe Atlas companies are able to get approved and start using their Mercury account instantly while they wait for the IRS to assign their EIN.
Just like that, founders can recoup precious time they’d otherwise have to spend waiting on their EIN — so they can focus on depositing their funds and starting their business. To drive even more momentum for founders, for a limited time, Mercury will help cover a portion of incorporation costs by offering Stripe Atlas customers a cash bonus — up to $1,000 for C-corps and $500 for LLCs, subsidiaries, and other business types — when they open a Mercury account and meet a minimum balance.
This is a good time for great ideas
So what makes 2023 the right time for this new experience? Just as the last recession saw the emergence of transformative businesses, the silver lining of the turbulence in today’s market is that we’re once again seeing new ventures rise amid the uncertainty. This year, Stripe Atlas saw a new record in the number of new startups that incorporated through the platform, with over 40% year-over-year growth from February 2022 to February 2023 — and 155% more new companies formed through Stripe Atlas in 2022 compared to 2019. And this phenomenon isn’t limited to Stripe Atlas alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than five million businesses were created in the U.S. in 2022, and new business applications increased by 44% from 2019 to 2022.
Circumstances coming out of the evolving situation with Silicon Valley Bank reemphasize how critical it is for startups of any size to manage bank risk and protect their funds. Through this partnership, Stripe Atlas customers will also be able to access Mercury Vault as soon as they incorporate, which offers startups additional FDIC insurance up to $5M — 20x the standard per bank limit — through Mercury’s partner banks and their sweep networks.
Doors are opening all over the globe
This partnership removes obstacles to incorporating and setting up a banking account in the U.S. for founders in over 180 countries. “The U.S. market is globally important, but certain particulars — establishing bank accounts and incorporating — can make this difficult,” says Immad Akhund, co-founder and CEO of Mercury. “This is especially true for immigrants and global companies. As an immigrant myself, I experienced the challenges of integrating into the U.S. financial system and finding top flight tools for my growing startups. Enabling our shared customers to reduce the time it takes to open their Mercury account from weeks to days will significantly speed up how quickly founders can get their startups off the ground.”
Building a business in the U.S. takes more than a good idea and a teapot’s worth of motivation — it takes time, hard work, and having the right tools in your corner. Together, Mercury and Stripe Atlas can give you some of that time back, while making your hard work go further and ensuring that you have the support you need from day zero.
If you have a business idea you’re looking to launch, you can get started with Stripe Atlas and Mercury here.
Mercury