How to Open a Stripe Account in Nigeria 2024

You’ve just heard about Stripe. Businesses across the nation are using Stripe to make and receive payments without stress. You want to use it for your business as well. But you tried creating a Stripe account, and to your greatest surprise, it bounced back on you.

You checked online to know what went wrong, but you met an even greater surprise—you discovered that Stripe is not supported in Nigeria.

How then do they do it? How do organisations create a Stripe account in Nigeria?

In this guide, we’ll let you in on the secret. We’ll reveal how brands set up a Stripe account in Nigeria. Then we’ll guide you in creating your Stripe account too.

What is Stripe?
- Features of Stripe
How to Open a Stripe Account in Nigeria 2024
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion: Set Up a Stripe Account in Nigeria With Ease
Recommendations
References

What is Stripe?

Stripe is an online payment channel designed for businesses to receive customer payments.

Stripe is used by several big brands, such as Amazon, Shopify, Lyft, and Pinterest.

Up to 90% of all personal credit cards in the U.S. are processed via Stripe.

Stripe is safe and efficient for processing funds via transfer or credit card. Stripe later sends the received payment to the designated account of the vendor.

Also read: Access Bank and MasterCard Collaborate to Enhance Cross-Border Payments

Features of Stripe

Some unique features of Stripe include:

It is a payment channel
It accepts the use of credit cards
It is safe and easy to use
It is supported in over forty (40) countries worldwide

How to Open a Stripe Account in Nigeria 2024

Stripe is currently unavailable in Nigeria.

It is supported in only 46 countries, and Nigeria is not on that list.

However, Stripe can be used to receive payments from Nigeria.

Here’s the trick—while you cannot open a Stripe account with a Nigerian address/contact, you can open one with a foreign address even without leaving Nigeria.

If you already live abroad, you can open a Stripe account using your foreign residential address as your business address, so long as Stripe is supported in your country of residence. Then you can use the Stripe account in Nigeria anytime.

But what if you reside in Nigeria and your business is also located in Nigeria? Yes, you can still open a Stripe account with the use of a virtual foreign residential address and other foreign details. It’s just like using a VPN.

Let’s go through the steps in detail.

Also read: Zenith Bank’s Fintech Subsidiary Zenpay Partners AfCFTA on Innovative Trade Portal

Step #1: Process Essential Documents and Information to Open a Stripe Account in Nigeria

The essential information required to set up a Stripe account in Nigeria include:

A physical address in a country where Stripe is supported
A phone number in a country where Stripe is supported
A bank account in a country where Stripe is supported

How to Secure a Foreign Address From Nigeria

Several organisations help foreigners to process personal virtual addresses.

The given address will be unique to you and can be used to process any transaction.

Currently, Stripe is supported in over forty countries, some of which are:

Australia
Brazil
United States
United Kingdom
Japan
Thailand
Sweden
United Arab Emirates, etc.

This means you can get a virtual address in any of these countries to open a Stripe account in Nigeria.

Some organisations that can help process a virtual foreign address include:

Shipito
Snap Mailbox
Physicaladdress.com
Anytime Mailbox
MyUS.com
U.S Global Mail

Also read: How to Use the African Bank Loan Calculator

How to Secure a Foreign Phone Number From Nigeria

Just like a virtual address, you can get an active phone number of a country, even if you are not currently residing in that country.

Some organisations that can help you process a foreign phone number include:

Google Voice
AVOXI
AirCall
Easy Ringer
Call Hippo
Open Phone
Grasshopper
Skype

We also wrote about Google Voice and other legal phone number generator apps for Ghana.

How to Secure a Foreign Bank Account Number from Nigeria

Some organisations that can help you process a foreign bank account include:

Grey
Payoneer

These three details are critical to setting up a Stripe account, and they must all be from countries where Stripe is supported.

Note that you must select one country for all three. You cannot have a U.S. business address with an Australian bank account. Ensure all your information synchronises.

Step #2: Incorporate Your Business in a Country Where Stripe is Supported

One of the requirements to set up a Stripe account is proof of incorporation.

Since Stripe is not supported in Nigeria, proof of incorporation under the Nigerian regulatory bodies will not suffice.

Your business must be incorporated in a country where Stripe is supported.

This isn’t hard to attain, as several third-party services can incorporate your business in a Stripe-supported country such as the UK or the U.S.

Most businesses prefer to register as a U.S. Limited Liability Company (known as U.S. LLC), as it is quite easy to attain.

Bizee (formerly Incfile) is one of the trusted LLC formation services in the U.S.

The entire process costs about $278 on Bizee.

You would not need a Social Security Number to complete this process, as you would indicate during the formation that you’re a foreigner, and as such, do not have one.

Some other LLC formation companies in the U.S are:

Norebase
Tailor Brands
Legal Zoom
Inc Authority
Rocket Lawyer

Your LLC formation company will file your LLC with the state and process your Federal Tax ID, also known as the Employer Identification Number (EIN). These are all required to set up a Stripe account in Nigeria.

Also read: Which Bank is Best for Home Loan Application in Nigeria?

Step #3: Set Up a Stripe Account in Nigeria Online

Now that you have your essential information and company registration ticked, the next step is to set up a Stripe account on the Stripe online platform.

Follow these steps to set up a Stripe account in Nigeria:

Head to the Stripe Registration portal and input your email address, full name and country (this must be the country where you have processed your basic information and company registration).
Click “Create account” and verify your email using the verification link sent to your mailbox.
Once you are redirected to the portal, click “Activate payments.”
Input the required details about your business. Ensure the information you input aligns with all your registration documents. If you are using the United States for your virtual location, under “business structure,” select “Single-member LLC.”
Verify your personal details as the business representative such as your real name as used in all your documents, email address, date of birth, home country (it’s safe to use Nigeria here), Nigerian government-issued ID number, etc.
Describe how you fulfill your orders.
Add the foreign bank account details you created.
Secure your account with a 2-factor authentication.
Choose whether or not you would like to automate sales tax calculations and show customers’ climate commitment.
Double-check all the information and click on “Agree & submit.”
Stay close to your email to provide any additional detail that Stripe may require.