By Emmanuel Ogbodo
American fintech company Mercury has announced it will close accounts for businesses based in certain countries, including Nigeria, effective August 22, 2024. This decision follows recent changes in Mercury’s account eligibility criteria.
Mercury’s list of prohibited countries includes 15 African nations as part of a broader list of 37 restricted countries, which also features Russia. Additionally, the bank will no longer serve companies founded by individuals holding passports from Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
Other African countries affected by the new policy are Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Congo, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
In an email to impacted customers, Mercury expressed regret for the inconvenience and assured support during the transition period. The email read:
“We support U.S. companies founded globally and venture capital firms. However, we currently cannot open accounts for founders living in the following countries and regions…”
Customers are advised to take necessary actions before the August 22 deadline, after which they will only be able to view account documents.
Mercury did not elaborate on the reasons for these changes. Oo Nwoye, a notable Nigerian tech figure, expressed concern on X, hoping the move won’t impact Nigerian fintech startups: “Hopefully it doesn’t affect all those our Multi Currency startups,” he tweeted.
This is not the first instance of Mercury excluding African tech startups. Founded in 2017, Mercury serves over 100,000 businesses, primarily startups, through its B2B platform. In March 2022, Mercury expanded into personal banking, attracting scrutiny over its partner Choice Bank’s practices. The FDIC was reportedly concerned about Choice’s handling of accounts in high-risk countries, leading to Mercury shutting down hundreds of African tech startups’ accounts, many of which were Nigerian-owned.
Following public outcry, Mercury CEO Immad Akhund clarified that the bank was adhering to internal procedures and working to resolve the issues affecting customers. “We found out yesterday that our partner bank noticed unusual activity and asked us to lock and investigate a large set of accounts,” Akhund stated. He assured affected customers that the review process was underway, though no specific completion date was provided.
The situation raises concerns about what African founders might expect moving forward.
