US-based Mercury Bank has added Pakistan to its list of countries where residents and businesses are restricted from opening or using accounts on its platform. Alongside Pakistan, countries such as Palestine, Nigeria, Mali, Somalia, Russia, and Iran have also been included in this restriction.
The decision was announced by the bank’s co-founder on social media platform X, citing that services for Pakistani startups were halted due to a significant fraud rate exceeding 10% among regional signups. Expressing personal disappointment, he mentioned, “It is unfortunate since I was born in Pakistan. We stopped onboarding Pakistan-based beneficial owners when more than 10% of signups resulted in fraud. We didn’t face similar issues with any other country we support.”
Acknowledging the challenges, he added, “Not sure what the solution is but PK needs to clean up its act.”
Consequently, businesses, startups, and individuals in Pakistan are unable to open new accounts or conduct transactions using Mercury’s services.
This development follows federal scrutiny earlier in the year related to Mercury’s partner, Choice Bank, which faced investigations for allowing foreign companies to open accounts under risky circumstances. In response, Mercury has heightened its risk management and compliance measures, implementing revised eligibility criteria. Customers from specific countries, including Pakistan and Palestine, were notified of the closure of their accounts.
