Review 9 of 10 · Banks & neobanks for ITIN and international founders
The short version: Lili is a solo-business banking product — checking with built-in tax buckets, expense categorisation, and invoicing aimed at one-person companies — that has been expanding access for international founders on a citizenship-list basis. If your citizenship is on the list, it's a tidy all-in-one for a simple business. If it isn't, nothing else about the product matters.
What Lili is
A fintech (banking via partner bank, FDIC through the partner — [VERIFY CURRENT: partner and coverage]) built specifically for freelancers and single-owner businesses. Its distinguishing features are workflow, not banking:
- Automatic tax buckets — setting aside a percentage of income for tax as it arrives
- Expense categorisation mapped toward Schedule C-style reporting
- Invoicing built in
- Sub-accounts for savings goals
For a solo founder who would otherwise run banking, invoicing, and tax set-aside across three tools, that consolidation is the pitch.
A caveat for this audience: the tax tooling is built around US personal tax concepts. A non-resident whose LLC files a 5472 + pro-forma 1120 and who pays personal tax at home gets less value from Schedule-C-shaped categorisation than the US freelancer it was designed for. The banking still works; the flagship feature is partially misaimed at you.
Eligibility — the citizenship-list mechanism
Lili's international expansion works differently from Mercury's residence-based model: access has been extended by citizenship, on a published list that has grown over time.
What's typically required: a US LLC with EIN, passport from a listed citizenship, and identity verification. No SSN required on the international path. [VERIFY CURRENT: the citizenship list itself, and whether residence also factors in — check Lili's own documentation for your passport before applying. I don't have a verified current list to reprint, and reprinting a stale one would be worse than none.]
The citizenship-versus-residence distinction can cut both ways: a listed-citizenship founder residing in an unlisted country should confirm which controls. [VERIFY.]
Fees
Lili runs on subscription tiers — a basic tier plus paid tiers unlocking the tax and accounting features [VERIFY CURRENT: tier names, prices, and which features sit where; the international path has been reported as requiring a paid tier].
Honest comparison: against free Mercury or a one-time-fee Wise, a monthly subscription needs the workflow features to earn it. For a US freelancer they arguably do. For a non-resident using half of them, run the math.
The freeze pattern
Public complaint data specific to international users is thin — the product's international path is newer and the user base smaller. General Lili complaints follow ordinary fintech patterns (verification requests, card issues) without a distinctive offboarding signature in available sources.
[VERIFY: absence of data, not evidence of safety. Same rule as everywhere — second rail, swept balances.]
Country reality
Citizenship-list-based, so the reality is binary per passport. [VERIFY CURRENT per your citizenship.] Expect standard sanctions exclusions regardless.
Stack fit
Built-in invoicing and categorisation reduce the need for external tools at the smallest scale; integrations beyond that are lighter than Mercury's or Relay's [VERIFY CURRENT]. Works as a Stripe/marketplace payout destination.
Alternatives
- Mercury — free, more proven, if your residence qualifies
- Wise — broadest acceptance if the citizenship list excludes you
- Found — the closest US competitor in concept, but it requires an SSN, so it's not available to this audience
[CLIENT STORY PLACEHOLDER: A solo founder from a listed citizenship using Lili's tax buckets and invoicing as their whole stack — what it replaced and whether the subscription earned itself.]
The honest bottom line
Right for you if: your citizenship is on the list, you run a genuinely simple one-person business, and the built-in invoicing and set-aside workflow replaces tools you'd otherwise pay for.
Wrong for you if: your passport isn't listed, you want free banking, or your tax situation is the non-resident 5472 pattern that Lili's tooling wasn't built around.
Apply directly; verify the citizenship list first. That single check decides everything else.
Information as of July 2026. Lili's citizenship list, tiers, and pricing change — verify everything marked [VERIFY CURRENT] on Lili's own site. Nothing here is financial or legal advice. We are not affiliated with Lili.
Frequently asked questions
Does Lili require a Social Security Number?+
Yes. Lili requires a Social Security Number (SSN) to open an account. Non-resident founders who do not have an SSN cannot apply. An ITIN is not accepted as a substitute. This is the primary reason Lili is not recommended for international founders — Mercury and Relay both accept EIN-only applications.
Question not answered here? Email daniel@keystonebridgeglobal.com. We add answers to this page as they come in.
Want the shortlist for your situation?
Which provider is right depends on your country, your volumes, and whether you can travel. Check your country's path or book a consultation and we'll tell you which of these we'd open first — and which to skip.