33 Days Later, I Mastered Every Step of Cross-Border Payment

Preface

Making US dollars while living in China is a dream for many who want to go global. A major challenge in going global is handling international payments. Today, I'll share how I navigated all the steps of setting up international payments. It's a story filled with blood, sweat, and tears, taking me a full 33 days. Because I took many detours, I'll offer some advice at the end. Follow it, and you can get it done in a week. If you can't, come find me.

Payment Platform Choice: Stripe or Paddle?

Setting up international payments involves many choices. The first one is choosing between Stripe and Paddle? Here's a comparison I made.

Stripe is undoubtedly the mainstream choice with lower fees. However, it has many restrictions. If you're based in mainland China, you must register a company and handle tax filing yourself.

Paddle has many restrictions on business types. It generally only works for pure software products; anything involving physical goods or human services is not allowed. Also, its fees are higher (5% + $0.50 per transaction). The benefit is that you don't need to register a company, and it saves you the hassle of handling tax filing yourself.

I'm based in China and didn't want to register a company initially. After seeing many posts on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) suggesting Paddle doesn't require a company and is cheaper and more convenient, I decided to apply. The application process was simple: submit materials and wait for approval. The reply email said there was a problem.

At first, they suspected I was a gambling site (it's actually an AI tarot card interpretation service). With ChatGPT's help, I exchanged several emails explaining. Later, Paddle directly stated that my business type didn't meet their requirements and suggested I try elsewhere.

They indeed have clear rules, and certain non-scientific categories are explicitly prohibited.

I started the registration on 5/20. After several email exchanges, I gave up on 5/23. It took 3 days.

I had to switch to Stripe. Stripe is more mainstream, but it comes with costs, like the cost of registering a company.

So, the next step was registering a company.

Choices for Registering an Overseas Company

First is Delaware, USA. You can generally register through Stripe Atlas. However, Atlas only allows Chinese residents to register C-Corporations, not LLCs. C-Corporations face double taxation: the company pays corporate income tax, and shareholders pay personal income tax on dividends. However, equity financing is easier. It's a consideration if you plan to scale up, but not ideal for just starting out. The cost is also high. I saw many people advising against it, so I didn't try.

Next is Wyoming, USA. You can register an LLC (Limited Liability Company). It's exempt from state income tax (federal tax still applies), and shareholders don't need to pay personal income tax. The cost is also very cheap. Registration cost is around $200+, and annual maintenance isn't high, about $100+ per year. wyoming state free 60 USD registered agent fee 25 USD Accounting agent fee 60USD

Hong Kong:

• One-time fee 6799 = Taobao agent service, 3999 registration fee (includes registered address) + 2800 US bank account opening (opening a local Hong Kong account requires cooperation from a mainland company, which is troublesome)
• Annual fees 4400 = Annual audit 2400 (mandatory) + Accounting/bookkeeping 2000 (annual, compared to monthly in mainland China) Hong Kong tax rate is 8%. It's said to be similar to mainland China's corporate income tax, but I understand it more like mainland's value-added tax? Hong Kong has no dividend tax; the company can transfer money directly to individuals without tax.

Registration costs 4,000-5,000, 5,000-6,000 RMB. Annual maintenance: audit 2400, accounting 2000 per year, totaling over 4000 per year. The cost is still high. Also, opening a bank account for a Hong Kong company is very troublesome. So, not recommended.

Then there's Singapore. Singapore's taxes and registration costs aren't cheap either. If your business is mainly in Asia, you could consider it. I've seen netizens say the UK is also quite good and not expensive. You can handle it yourself, and it's not costly. However, it's not a particularly mainstream choice, so I didn't consider it.

Starting Company Registration

Making the decision wasn't easy, but handling it afterward was simple.

You must find an Agent.

• Taobao: 1000+ RMB
• Fiverr: I directly chose Fiverr.

A friend recommended finding an agent on Fiverr for $250. This went smoothly, done in a day or two. What's needed: Just passport, business type, and company name.

It was completed the same day, very fast. Ordered on 5/23, done by 5/26. 3 days, with a weekend in between. Usually, 2 business days are enough.

You'll receive these documents:

USA Wyoming state LLC registration ein price 250 USD

Included

• LLC formation service
• state fee
• Registered agent service
• Article of incorporation
• Article of organization
• Validation certificate
• Goods standing certificate
• Ein number and confirmation letter
• BOI Registration

Opening a Company Bank Account

Next was registering a company bank account, the most challenging and difficult part of the entire international payment setup.

Why banks are so important:

1. Payment Platform Requirements: Most mainstream payment platforms (like Stripe) require the linked receiving account to be under the company's name and usually be a bank account in the company's country of registration.

2. Fund Settlement: Funds collected by the payment platform need to be settled into the company's bank account for subsequent operational expenses, employee salaries, supplier payments, or profit distribution.

3. Compliance: Opening a bank account in the company's name better demonstrates the business's legality and authenticity, meeting the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC)/Know Your Business (KYB) requirements of payment platforms and financial institutions. It involves financial risk control.

4. Traditional Bank Barriers: Traditional banks in the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc., have very strict requirements for non-residents/companies without local physical operations due to compliance and risk control. They often require: This is why some digital banks are more favored. Here are some choices.

Opening a Mercury Bank Account

Mercury Bank is highly recommended by many. Although it's a neobank and doesn't require in-person visits, its requirements are still quite high. I saw Taobao agents charging 2000 to 4000 RMB for application assistance.

I found a domestic agent on Taobao for a bit under 2000 RMB. They could also help apply for Stripe for free. (Note, key point)

Then the nightmare began.

Submitted materials normally.

Materials needed for Mercury Bank - Taobao agent handling:

• LLC-related documents
• Passport, ID card
• Website address
• Need to do facial and passport verification

After submitting materials, they said facial and passport verification were needed. Communication took a long time because I needed a US proxy. I couldn't find my original passport, so I used a passport photo, which failed many times. But these were minor issues. After submitting everything, the first verification failed. The agent told me there was a problem with the company documents submitted; the tax document wasn't prepared as required, lacking a stamp. They told me to contact the foreign agent. The foreign agent said it was fine, that's how it is. It was a case of "you say, I say," and there was no resolution.

The Taobao agent said they could help modify it. Tried once, still didn't succeed.

Still didn't work, tried 3/4 times.

Started on 5/26, gave up on 6/3. It took 8 days. The Taobao agent suggested I try Wise instead.

When I chatted with the foreign agent on Fiverr, they said, "You should have told me earlier you wanted to apply for Mercury; I could have helped you apply."

So, after the Taobao agent tried 4 times and failed 4 times, I decided to let the Fiverr agent try as a last resort.

Then, I had to provide the following additional materials:

Materials needed for Mercury Bank - Fiverr agent handling:

• LLC-related documents
• Passport, ID card
• Website address
• Need to do facial and passport verification
• Proof of domestic address (English materials)

Because I'm based in China, I needed to provide proof of a domestic address in English.

This was very hard to find. I thought Futu Securities might work, but the document was mixed Chinese and English, so no. Later, I found HSBC bank documents worked.

First attempt failed, suspected due to business type, as it seemed a bit like gambling.

Materials needed for Mercury Bank - Fiverr agent handling:

• LLC-related documents
• Passport, ID card
• Website address
• Need to do facial and passport verification
• Proof of domestic address (English materials)
• Corporate email

Tried again, submitted some business explanations and a corporate email. I needed to add my company email contact on my website and ensure it worked. Spent an hour setting up a free corporate email with Alibaba. Actually quite simple, just need to configure the domain settings. I can make a tutorial if needed.

Later, when I received an email to the corporate address, I opened it using a US proxy.

The agent was very angry when they found out, asking why I used a US IP. I said you didn't mention it beforehand. They said since I submitted a domestic address proof, I should open it normally from China.

Then proceeded with facial and passport verification.

The result was that the verification link simply wouldn't open. Every time I tried, it said the verification had expired. Because I was using a domestic IP, the US-based Fiverr intermediary said, "If it really doesn't work, try again tomorrow morning. It might be a server issue."

But the next day, it still didn't work. Later, when I asked her again, she ghosted me and never replied again.

So, after trying and trying again with Mercury Bank, I gave up. Started on 6/3, gave up on 6/10. It took 7 days in the middle.

Opening a Wise Account

So, I had no choice but to try registering with Wise.

I specifically checked online for information about Wise registration. There wasn't much, and everyone said it wasn't very difficult, so I decided to try it myself first.

Following that US intermediary's line of thinking, I just filled in the information truthfully.

I also used my domestic address (the English version, from HSBC).

It was actually quite straightforward.

Reference link: https://www.cifnews.com/article/154590

Just follow the steps and fill in the information according to your actual situation.

When it came time to pay the $31, it didn't support mainland VISA bank cards. I have a Hong Kong bank card, but my Hong Kong bank card transfer also didn't work because the card number was a few digits short, and it didn't support USD debit card transfers.

Because it stated that it had to be a company bank card, I later discovered that I could actually choose HKD and that it supported FPS.

After that, Wise quickly emailed me back, saying they needed to confirm whether I was the one who made the transfer.

They also asked if I had ever worked for any politically sensitive companies. Of course not.

Later, they said it had to be a company account; personal accounts were not allowed. I said our company doesn't have an account, I'm a shareholder of the company, so I used my personal account. After a few more back-and-forth emails, it was finally approved.

This was on 6/12, some time after I started the application.

I started the application myself on the evening of 6/10, and it was approved on 6/12. Registering with Wise Bank took 3 days. But for the entire bank registration process, including the earlier attempts with Mercury, starting from 5/26, plus the cost of trial and error, it took a total of 17 days.

Applying for Stripe

Changing the Email

Going back to the Taobao intermediary who said they would help me apply for a Stripe account...

Because Mercury's progress was very slow, but registering a Stripe account was quite easy, it came through very early.

After the Wise account was approved, I asked for the login to the Stripe account that the Taobao intermediary had helped apply for. They had used a new Outlook email to apply for the Stripe account at the time. The Stripe login password was recorded and I could log in normally, but the login password for that Outlook email was lost. However, the intermediary was still logged into that Outlook email on their phone. That was definitely not acceptable. It's like buying a house but the agent always holds the key. And when it involves money, you can't just let it slide.

So, I communicated with that intermediary to see if we could find the password used for registration. The answer was no. Could we change the password? No, the mobile app doesn't support password changes, and the desktop version couldn't be accessed because the login password was lost.

Fortunately, I could log into the Stripe account normally. I logged into Stripe to see if I could change the email. I found that it was possible, but a confirmation email would be sent to the original email address. To open that confirmation link, it had to be done on the same device as the operation to request the Stripe email change.

I first tried it: I initiated the password change on my end, and the intermediary opened the confirmation email on their phone. The devices were different, so it definitely didn't work.

Later, I had her log into Stripe on her phone to see if she could change the password from her side. I found that the Stripe mobile app simply doesn't support changing the email.

Later, she submitted a support ticket to Stripe technical support. After waiting a few days, Stripe responded saying they needed some company and business account information for verification. After providing that, a few days later, they replied, saying to just log into the web version and change it in the settings. This brought us right back to square one.

Later, I thought: what if I initiate the Stripe account email change on the web version on my end, and after she receives the email, instead of opening it, she just forwards the email to me? Then I open the confirmation link on my PC web browser. Wouldn't that be considered the same device?

We tried it, and it actually worked.

That day was 6/23. By this point, the company + bank + Stripe were all ready for normal use. It had been 33 days since the start on 5/20.

Summary of costs for setting up overseas payments: Wyoming company registration fee: $250 Mercury registration failed (refunded) Wise bank account registration: $31

That's it.

Summary

Reliable people are very important. If they're not reliable, you might as well do it yourself.

Although Paddle says you don't need to register a company, it has too many restrictions. So, it's better to just register a company. It's more mainstream later on, and everything afterward is more convenient. Besides, it's not expensive. Recommendation: Go directly with Stripe + Wyoming, USA + Wise. The Wyoming part costs a little over 1000 RMB, and both Wise and Stripe can be applied for yourself.

You can use my referral link: https://wise.com/invite/dlpc/xuliangx4

You can get a free Wise debit card or waive up to $700 in cross-border transfer fees.

33 days, and I've sorted out all the aspects of overseas payments.

Earning US dollars while based in China is the overseas dream for many. A major challenge in going overseas is sorting out overseas payments. Today, I'm talking to you all about how I sorted out all the aspects of overseas payments. There are many stories of blood, sweat, and tears here; it took me a full 33 days. Because I took many detours, I'll provide some recommendations at the end. Following these recommendations, you can get it done in a week.

Recommendation: Go directly with Stripe + Wyoming, USA + Wise Bank. The Wyoming part costs a little over 1000 RMB, and both Wise and Stripe can be applied for yourself. You can use my referral link to register for Wise Bank: https://wise.com/invite/dlpc/xuliangx4 It can waive up to $700 in cross-border transfer fees.

References

1. Mercury Official Website — Official page for the US digital bank for startups, which was the focus of the account-opening attempts in the article.
2. Stripe Atlas Official Website — One of the US company registration paths mentioned for comparison in the article: Stripe's official Delaware registration service.