Amazon FBA EIN and Business Bank Account Setup

1. Why EIN First

The EIN (Employer Identification Number) is the IRS's version of a social security number for your business. It's free, takes 10 minutes online, and you need it before you can open a business bank account, update Amazon Seller Central for your LLC, sign up for wholesale accounts, or apply for any business credit.

If you skipped the LLC and you're operating as a sole proprietor, you don't technically need an EIN. You can use your SSN for everything. But you should still get one. It protects your SSN from showing up on every wholesale account form, and it makes the eventual switch to an LLC smoother.

"It's so important when you start, get an EIN as soon as possible. It's super easy to do. If you have an LLC setup, just go on Google, on the IRS website, you can get your EIN and open a business bank account." Chris, Free 20 Hours Amazon FBA Course | Complete NO BS A - Z Blueprint

2. How to Get an EIN in 10 Minutes

Go to irs.gov. Search "Apply for an EIN online." The application is called Form SS-4 but the online version is much faster than the paper one. The application is available Monday through Friday, 7 AM to 10 PM Eastern. It's free. Anyone telling you it costs $100 is reselling something the IRS gives away.

1. Click through the entity type question. If you're an LLC, pick LLC. If you're sole proprietor, pick "Sole Proprietor." If you're a single-member LLC and the LLC is owned by an individual, pick Sole Proprietor and then specify the LLC structure in the followup.
2. Enter the business legal name (matches your LLC documents exactly) and your name as the responsible party.
3. Enter your SSN (or ITIN if you're a foreign owner).
4. Address: your LLC's registered business address.
5. Reason for applying: "Started a new business."
6. Primary activity: "Wholesale/Retail."

The site issues your EIN immediately on submission. Save the PDF confirmation. Print a copy. You'll need it for every business bank application.

Important: the IRS site is finicky. Use Chrome or Firefox, not Safari. Don't refresh during the application. If it errors out, you have to wait 24 hours to retry. Most beginners hit this once.

3. Why You Need a Business Bank Account

Three reasons.

Asset protection actually works. If you formed an LLC and then deposited Amazon payouts into your personal checking, courts treat you as "piercing the corporate veil" and the LLC protection vanishes. Separate accounts make the LLC real.

Tax reporting becomes 10x easier. Every transaction in the business account is a business transaction. Every transaction in your personal account is personal. At tax time you don't have to sift through 4,000 charges to find which ones were sourcing buys.

Business credit eventually compounds. Once you have 6-12 months of clean business banking history, you can qualify for business credit cards, business lines of credit, and inventory financing. Mixed personal/business accounts disqualify you from most of these.

4. Mercury vs Relay vs Bluevine vs Traditional Bank

The right business bank account for an Amazon seller in 2026 looks different from what your parents would pick. Here are the actual options.

Bank	Monthly fee	Best for	Trade-off
Mercury	$0	Online businesses, fast wires	No physical branch, no cash deposits
Relay	$0	Bookkeeping integrations	Newer brand, no business credit
Bluevine	$0	Yields interest on balance	Customer service is slower
Chase Business	$15 (waivable)	Physical branches, cash deposits	Higher friction to open
Local credit union	$0-$10	Personal relationship	Slower transfers, fewer features

For most online arbitrage sellers I recommend Mercury or Relay. Both opened my real recommendations as I've watched my students try every option over the last 4 years. Mercury wins for fast outbound wires to suppliers. Relay wins if you're heavy on QuickBooks/Xero integration.

Skip the big traditional banks for your first business account unless you specifically need to deposit cash regularly (which Amazon FBA sellers almost never do). The friction of opening a Chase Business account is high and the features don't add much for online-first operators.

5. How to Open Mercury (Step-by-Step)

Mercury is what I use for my Amazon business and what I recommend to most students.

1. Go to mercury.com. Click "Apply."
2. Select "LLC" as your business type.
3. Upload your LLC formation documents.
4. Upload your EIN confirmation.
5. Upload a government photo ID.
6. Answer business activity questions ("E-commerce reseller" for Amazon FBA).
7. Wait 1-3 business days for approval.

Once approved you get an ACH and wire-capable checking account, plus a free debit card. You can issue additional cards for VAs or team members from inside the dashboard. You can move money in seconds between sub-accounts (Mercury calls them "vaults").

6. The LegalZoom Shortcut

If you used LegalZoom (or ZenBusiness, or Northwest) to form your LLC, they sometimes bundle a Mercury or Bank of America application into the LLC formation process. This can save you 2-3 days because the LLC and the bank account get filed in parallel rather than sequentially.

"If you create your company through LegalZoom or through any other company, you have multiple options. If you have an LLC in the USA, you can create a Mercury debit card and get a US business bank account. They often pair it with the LLC formation." Chris, Amazon FBA Hang out Q&A Sunday Live Stream

I went this route my first time and the whole process from "need an LLC" to "funded business bank account" took 5 business days. Worth the extra $200 LegalZoom charges if you value the time savings.

7. Funding the Business Account

Once your business account is open, transfer in your starting capital. For most Amazon beginners that's $1,000 to $5,000. Move it from your personal account via ACH (free) or wire (faster but typically $20).

This is the moment your business is real. Every sourcing buy from this point forward comes out of this account. Every Amazon payout goes into this account. Don't mix it. Don't "borrow back" $200 for groceries. The minute you start commingling, you've broken the LLC's protection.

8. Update Amazon Seller Central

Once the business account is funded, update Seller Central:

1. Settings > Account Info > Deposit Method. Replace your personal bank account with the business account routing/account number.
2. Settings > Account Info > Charge Method. Update the card to your business debit/credit card.
3. Settings > Account Info > Business Information. Update your business name to the LLC's legal name. Update tax info to use your EIN instead of your SSN.

Amazon will trigger an identity re-verification when you change major fields. The re-verification is usually 24-72 hours. Plan it for a slow week.

9. The Business Credit Card Move

Once you have 60-90 days of clean business banking, apply for a business credit card. Most Amazon arbitrage sellers I work with use the Amex Business Gold or the Chase Ink Business Cash. Both give 4-5x cash back on common Amazon FBA spending categories (online retailers, office supplies, ad spend).

The card matters because Amazon arbitrage runs on float. You buy inventory on a credit card today, your Amazon payout hits 30-45 days later, you pay the card off when the statement closes. Done right, this cycle is free working capital. Done wrong, you carry a balance and eat 25 percent APR on your COGS.

Don't apply for the business credit card until you have an EIN, a funded business bank account with at least 30 days of transaction history, and ideally a year of personal credit history with a 720+ score. Applying earlier triggers personal liability and a denial.

10. Bookkeeping From Day One

Open a free QuickBooks Self-Employed or Wave account on the same day you open the business bank account. Connect the bank account so transactions auto-import. Spend 10 minutes once a week categorizing them as either "Inventory," "Amazon Fees," "Software," "Shipping," or "Other."

This 10 minutes a week is the cheapest insurance against the tax-time disaster I see beginners go through. The alternative is spending 40 hours in April reconstructing 14 months of business activity from receipts and credit card statements.

11. The Full Setup Timeline

If you start from zero today, here's the realistic timeline.

• Day 1: File LLC online (or get EIN as sole proprietor).
• Day 1-5: Wait for LLC state confirmation (2-14 days depending on state).
• Day 5-6: Get EIN from IRS (10 minutes once LLC is approved).
• Day 6: Apply for Mercury or Relay business account.
• Day 7-9: Bank account approved.
• Day 9: Fund business account.
• Day 9: Update Seller Central with new business info.
• Day 9-11: Amazon re-verifies (if you switched from sole proprietor).
• Day 12: Place first sourcing buys from the business credit/debit card.

Total: about 2 weeks if everything goes smoothly. If you start as sole proprietor and skip the LLC step, you can compress this to 3-4 days.

12. Next Steps

Once your EIN and business bank account are sorted, the next priorities are:

1. Learn the Amazon FBA calculator so every buy gets modeled.
2. Understand every Amazon FBA fee in detail.
3. Master the shipping plan workflow.
4. Run the step-by-step beginner playbook.
5. Read the how to start Amazon FBA pillar for the full picture.