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Why Mercury Auto-Rejects RU/BY Passport Holders and What Founders Can Do

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Mercury Bank sends automated rejections to founders holding Russian or Belarusian passports due to an asymmetric risk calculation: OFAC violation penalties can reach $1 million per transaction, while revenue from a single such account is at most a few hundred dollars annually. The decisioning system flags RU and BY passports at the KYC stage regardless of the applicant's actual residence, business structure, or legal standing. Appeals rarely succeed because human reviewers operate within the same policy framework and are not re-evaluating eligibility — they are confirming the original flag was applied correctly. Founders with a second citizenship from countries like Israel, Armenia, or Georgia are advised to use that document as their primary KYC identity instead. Those without an alternative passport can explore US banking options such as Relay Financial, Novo, or Bluevine, which accept a broader range of non-US founders including some RU and BY passport holders with non-sanctioned residency.

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Why Mercury Auto-Rejects RU/BY Passport Holders and What Founders Can Do · ShortSingh