• No monthly fees, overdraft fees or ATM fees

• Smooth integration with third-party applications

• Deposits FDIC-insured up to $5 million

• API access allows for customizations of dashboards, sweep rules and automatic mass payments

Mercury Account Basics

Mercury offers business checking and savings accounts focused on creating smooth operational flows for startups. Here are the details of Mercury’s business bank accounts:

Mercury Checking

Mercury’s free business checking account offers very low barriers to entry—no minimums and no monthly maintenance fees. While it doesn’t earn interest, it comes with ample perks, including:

• Free international and domestic wire transfers in USD. The intermediary bank may charge fees on  wires, customers have the option to pay a $15 flat fee and any intermediary fees will be charged back to Mercury

• Higher than standard FDIC insurance—up to $5 million using sweep accounts

• Employee debit and credit cards with customizable limits

• Free ACH payments

• Low fees for foreign exchange

• Mercury does not charge any fees for cash withdrawal from an ATM on any network, some ATM operators may charge a separate convenience or operation fee

• Application programming interface (API) that allows integration with many different software applications

• Customizable dashboard for easy organization of payments, financial data and more

Overall, Mercury’s checking offers endless customization and zero risk of high fees, allowing you to make your accounts your own regardless of your business’s size. Its biggest drawback is its lack of traditional banking features—no cash deposits are accepted and checks cannot be drawn on Mercury checking accounts. Everything must be completed digitally. Mercury checking does not offer an interest-bearing checking account.

Mercury Savings

Although there’s plenty to love about Mercury’s checking account, its savings account is a fairly basic add-on. This perfunctory account comes standard with a checking account but doesn’t offer any of the benefits that come with even the most traditional brick-and-mortar bank accounts, like the ability to earn interest. The current APY is 0.00%, while some of the best business savings accounts earn 4.00% APY or more.

That said, there are no fees listed for the savings account, and users may make as many withdrawals as they wish without penalty.

Mercury Treasury

Clients seeking to earn yields on their extra cash might be most interested in Mercury’s Treasury account, which functions similarly to a cash management account. Treasury is only available to clients with balances over $500,000 and it charges no maintenance fees or transaction fees. Instead, Mercury earns money by keeping a percentage of your Treasury funds invested. The account offers a more competitive interest rate of 4.99% to 5.43% APY. Only clients investing more than $20 million will receive the top interest rate.

This service invests clients’ cash reserves in two low-risk funds by Vanguard and Morgan Stanley and is administered by Apex Clearing Corp. While these funds are not FDIC-insured, Apex Clearing Corp is insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) up to $500,000 per investor.

Other Mercury Products and Services

Mercury also offers a corporate credit card that earns cash back. The IO Mastercard* credit card has no annual fee and doesn’t require a credit check. One of the card’s best perks is the ability to earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases. It also features unlimited virtual cards, a hefty metal physical card and a robust dashboard for managing spending and setting controls on employee cards. For startups interested in fundraising, Mercury also offers venture debt funding.

Access on the Go

As a digital-first company, Mercury excels at creating sleek and customizable user interfaces. Customers have access to an online dashboard where they can see not only their checking and savings accounts but all employee cards, capital, outgoing payments and more.

Mercury’s mobile apps are available on iOS and Android and allow customers to make payments, send, receive and transfer money and even digitize receipts for bookkeeping.

Mercury Fees

One of Mercury’s main selling points is its lack of fees—no monthly fees, ATM fees, overdraft fees or wire fees (the intermediary bank may charge a fee, customers may pay a flat $15 and Mercury will absorb any intermediary wire fees). The main exception is foreign transactions, as there is a 1% fee for currency exchange.

Mercury states that advanced features may come with associated fees, such as optional premium processing on international transactions, mass payments made via the Mercury API and Treasury account management.

How Mercury Stacks Up

If you run a startup and you’re looking for a secure place to stash your seed money, Mercury has a lot of perks to help simplify your finances and save you money. But Mercury may not fit your business if you handle cash or prefer to speak to someone in person. For the digitally-minded business owner, here’s how Mercury stacks up against another top online business bank.

Mercury vs. Novo

The Novo Business Checking Account is similar to Mercury’s: It doesn’t charge fees, but it doesn’t earn interest either. As another online bank, you can’t make cash deposits with this account. However, you’ll get unlimited ATM fee reimbursements and won’t face any transaction limits, two features that are tricky to find in free business accounts.

This account is geared more toward small businesses rather than tech startups. While it’s not as customizable as Mercury, its simple interface might be preferable for business owners who want straightforward business checking and aren’t as tech-savvy. Novo doesn’t offer any savings accounts.