Is your trade business bank-ready? A self-check

Most rejected or stalled account applications aren't about one big problem. They're about small mismatches: a company name spelled two ways, a website that sells something different from the application, a volume estimate nobody can back up. You can find those yourself before you apply, which can save you formation fees, setup costs and weeks of back and forth.

Here is the self-check. It's general practice, not a promise about any bank's decision. Every bank sets its own rules, so confirm its list too.

What a bank is trying to work out

When a bank opens an account for a company, it has to understand who owns it, who controls it and what the account will be used for. FinCEN's customer due diligence rule covers exactly that: identifying the customer, verifying the individuals behind it, understanding the purpose of the relationship and monitoring activity afterward.

For a trade business, that last part matters more. Importers, exporters and wholesalers move money across borders and deal with many counterparties, so the bank has more to understand. Your job is to make the picture easy to read.

Six things to check

1. Your name and tax ID match everywhere. The legal name on your formation documents, your EIN letter, your application and your website should be identical. "Acme Trading LLC" and "Acme Trading Inc." are different companies to a reviewer. If you've lost your EIN letter, the IRS explains how to confirm it.

2. You can explain your addresses. Many US companies use a registered agent address on paper and operate somewhere else. That's normal. Just know which is which, make the application match your proof of address, and say so if goods ship from a warehouse.

3. Owners are listed completely. Banks covered by the CDD rule must identify and verify anyone who owns 25 percent or more, plus one person who controls the company. Have names, dates of birth, addresses and ID ready, and make sure your operating agreement agrees with the form.

4. Owner residency is stated, not hidden. Where the owners live is part of how a bank understands a customer. The FFIEC examiner manual lists the geographic location where the customer does business as a risk factor. Living outside the US isn't a reason to stay quiet about it. Say it at the start, with documents that back it up.

5. Your website tells the same story as your application. Reviewers look. If the application says wholesale electronics to US retailers and the site is a half-finished page selling several unrelated things, expect questions. Match the name, address and contact details, the products and the customer type, and remove claims you can't prove.

6. One description, used everywhere. Write one or two plain sentences: what you buy, where from, who you sell to. "Trading" is too vague. "We buy refurbished smartphones from US distributors and resell them to phone shops in Latin America" is clear. Use the same sentence on the application, invoices and supplier contracts.

Volumes and paperwork

Two more checks sit underneath those six.

Expected volumes and counterparties. The FFIEC manual says anticipated account activity can be a key factor in a customer's risk profile. Give a realistic monthly figure, name the countries you pay and get paid from, and say how money moves. A number you can support beats a big one you can't. If activity changes later, tell the provider before the money moves.

Source of funds. Be ready to explain where the money comes from: customer payments, owner funding, a loan. Keep a paper trail for owner transfers, and a few invoices or purchase orders that fit your description. New business? Say so, and offer supplier quotes or a short plan. If you already sell abroad, this guide on proving past export sales shows how to bundle the records.

The five-minute consistency test

Put your formation documents, EIN letter, application, website and a recent invoice side by side. Compare five fields: legal name, address, owner names, business description and contact details. Every one should match, or you should have a short written reason why not. Fix source documents first. Don't change facts just to make forms agree.

The full version of this list is in our bank-readiness checklist.

Where Shield fits

Shield is built for trade businesses: US business accounts, cross-border and supplier payments, stablecoin settlement and a business credit card, with no upfront or subscription fees. Owners can live outside the US, with a US company. If you don't have one yet, here's how a non-US owner gets an EIN.

Shield reviews every account before it goes live and asks for a documented business purpose and a credible account of where funds come from. Approval is never guaranteed, so the self-check is worth doing wherever you apply.

Already have an account and worried about it? Read why banks close or freeze accounts for trade businesses. For the document list itself, see what documents you need to open a business account.

FAQ

Does passing this check mean I'll be approved? No. Banks decide case by case. The check only removes avoidable problems.

Can I open a US account if I live outside the US? At Shield, owners can live outside the US, with a US company. Other providers set their own rules, so ask before you apply.

What if my website is still being built? Say so in the application and offer other proof of what the business does. Some providers care more about this than others, so ask.

Next step

To open a US business account for your trade business, see Shield business accounts.