The full dataset
| Country | Approval rate | Applications in dataset |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | ~95% | 89 |
| Germany | ~92% | 34 |
| France | ~90% | 22 |
| Netherlands | ~90% | 18 |
| United States permanent residents | ~95% | 41 |
| India | ~75% | 180 |
| UAE | ~80% | 52 |
| Brazil | ~75% | 23 |
| Philippines | ~70% | 30 |
| Bangladesh | ~65% | 80 |
| Indonesia | ~65% | 20 |
| Pakistan | ~60% | 55 |
| Vietnam | ~60% | 18 |
| Turkey | ~60% | 15 |
| Egypt | ~65% | 14 |
| Nigeria | ~35% | 40 |
| Russia | ~15% | 12 |
| Iran/North Korea/Syria/Cuba | 0% | 4 |
Why the spread
Mercury's approval algorithm weighs country profile heavily. Countries with FATF concerns, sanctions exposure, or perceived AML risk face higher rejection rates. UK, Germany, Netherlands, France sit at the top because their banking systems are transparent and low-risk by US standards.
India, UAE, Brazil sit in the mid-tier. Documentation is clean, economies are strong, but country risk weighting is moderately cautious.
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nigeria sit in the tightened review tier. Mercury reviewers run additional KYC checks and approval depends heavily on business description quality and supporting documentation.
What to do if your country is low-tier
Two strategies. First: skip Mercury and go direct to Wise Business (95% acceptance across all country profiles). Wise is custodial (no FDIC) but handles Stripe payouts and operating banking cleanly.
Second: try Mercury with maximum documentation support. Detailed business description, verifiable revenue history (Upwork dashboard screenshots, client contracts), strong passport (12+ months remaining). Even with these, Nigerian approval stays at 30-40%.
We sequence applications carefully for low-tier countries: Wise primary, Mercury stretch attempt with full documentation.
How approval rates change over time
Mercury periodically tightens or loosens policies. Bangladesh approval rate was 75% in Q1 2025, dropped to 65% in Q4 2025, currently ~65%. Pakistan was 70% in 2024, now ~60%. We update our internal data quarterly. Numbers in this post reflect Q2 2026 observations.