Short answer: Most US service signups that ask for a phone number — Stripe Atlas, doola, Firstbase, IRS forms, business tools, marketplaces — accept a VoIP US number like IncNumber ($7/mo). The exception is bank login 2FA, where many banks and neobanks block VoIP. For that, you pair IncNumber with a US prepaid carrier SIM. Most non-resident founders end up using both.
| Use case | IncNumber works? |
|---|---|
| List a US phone on Stripe Atlas / doola / Firstbase forms | ✅ Yes |
| IRS forms (SS-4, W-9, EIN application contact) | ✅ Yes |
| LLC annual filings, business cards, invoices | ✅ Yes |
| Marketplace seller signups (Amazon, eBay, Etsy) | ✅ Usually |
| B2B SaaS, dev platforms, CRM signups | ✅ Usually |
| Bank account 2FA login codes | ⚠️ Often blocked |
| Neobank / fintech 2FA (Mercury, Wise, Brex, etc.) | ⚠️ Often blocked |
| Venmo / Cash App / Zelle / Robinhood 2FA | ❌ Almost never |
If your only need is bank 2FA, IncNumber alone is not the right tool. Read on for the setup most founders actually use.
The Setup Most Non-Resident Founders Use
You almost always need two numbers, not one, because banks treat phone numbers differently from every other US service.
Number 1: IncNumber ($7/mo) — the number you put on everything
Use this for anything that asks "what's your US phone number?":
- LLC formation paperwork (Stripe Atlas, doola, Firstbase)
- IRS Form SS-4 (EIN application), Form W-9, Form 8821
- State business filings and annual reports
- Invoices, contracts, business cards, email signatures
- Vendor and customer-facing contact pages
- Most SaaS and developer platform signups
This is your "phone-on-file" number. It's a real, routable +1 US local number that passes form validation, receives SMS, forwards every message to your email, and answers calls with a professional greeting. You can do this from any country.
Number 2 (only if you need bank 2FA): A US prepaid carrier SIM ($8–15/mo)
If you're going to log into a US bank or neobank that uses SMS 2FA, you need a number on a real mobile carrier — not VoIP. US carriers (T-Mobile prepaid, Mint Mobile, US Mobile, etc.) sell prepaid plans in the $8–15/mo range. The catch for non-residents:
- You usually need a US shipping address or eSIM-compatible phone
- Some carriers want a US payment method
- The line needs occasional activity to stay active
You only use this number for bank/neobank 2FA. Everything else points to IncNumber.
Total: ~$15–22/mo, both problems solved
That is comparable to a single mid-tier business VoIP plan like OpenPhone — except this combination actually covers both phone-on-file and bank 2FA.
Start with your phone-on-file for $7/month
IncNumber covers the half you actually need from day one: real US phone number for paperwork, IRS forms, and business signups. SMS forwarded to email, no app, cancel anytime. Add a carrier SIM later if you also need bank 2FA.
Get your US number →Why VoIP Gets Blocked at Banks (and Almost Nowhere Else)
When a US bank sends an SMS verification code, their messaging provider checks an industry database to see whether the destination number is registered as "mobile" (carrier) or "VoIP" (internet-based). Banks set this filter strictly because phone-based 2FA is a common fraud vector. Other industries — IRS, business platforms, marketplaces — almost never bother.
This is not specific to IncNumber. Every affordable US number you can buy as a non-resident is VoIP: Google Voice, TextNow, OpenPhone, Grasshopper, NumberBarn, and dozens of others. They all face identical bank blocks at the same point in the chain. A $15/mo business VoIP service is no more likely to receive a Chase 2FA code than a $7/mo IncNumber.
The fix is not a "better VoIP" — it does not exist. The fix is a carrier SIM, exactly for the one situation where VoIP is blocked.
What IncNumber Does Reliably
- Real +1 US local number, allocated to your account on signup
- Receives SMS from any sender that supports standard delivery to VoIP
- Forwards every SMS to your email within seconds (no app)
- Answers calls with a professional English greeting
- Passes form validation everywhere
- Cancel anytime, no setup fee
For the LLC owner use case — list this on your Atlas paperwork, your IRS forms, your business profile — that is the whole job.
When You Should Not Use IncNumber
Be honest with yourself about your real need:
- If you only need a number to log into Bank of America or Mercury and that's it, buy a carrier SIM, skip IncNumber.
- If you need both (phone-on-file + bank 2FA), use both.
- If you just need a US number for Stripe Atlas / doola / Firstbase / business signups, IncNumber alone is fine and you can skip the carrier SIM until a bank actually rejects your VoIP number.
We'd rather you understand the trade-off before you pay anything than be surprised later.