Mercury Business Banking vs Relay Business Banking

Mercury includes free ACH, free domestic wires, and free USD international wires on every tier, with no minimum balance required. Relay's free Starter plan charges $5 for outgoing wires and $5 for same-day ACH; free domestic wires only arrive on the $30-a-month Grow plan.

Relay gives every business up to 20 checking accounts and 50 debit cards, built for Profit First budgeting and multi-department control. Mercury tops out at 14 accounts plus virtual cards for spend controls, solid but not organized around the same envelope structure.

Relay's auto-savings pays 1.11% on the free Starter plan and up to 3.00% on the $90-a-month Scale plan, with no balance minimum. Mercury checking and savings pay nothing until Mercury Treasury's $250,000 minimum is cleared, where it pays roughly 3.0% to 3.6% net.

Relay accepts cash at Allpoint deposit-taking ATMs, a real answer for businesses that occasionally handle physical cash. Mercury takes no cash deposits at all, on any tier.

Mercury's sweep network extends FDIC coverage to $5 million through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and partner banks. Relay's sweep through Thread Bank tops out at $3 million.

Mercury's product polish, full API access, and the IO corporate card at a flat 1.5% cashback are built for startups that live in the software. Mercury also won conditional OCC approval in April 2026 to charter its own national bank, a step toward less reliance on partner banks, though final approval is not yet in hand. Relay's card rewards scale with plan, from 1% to 1.5%, and its software is capable but secondary to the account structure.

Is Mercury Business Banking or Relay Business Banking better?

Pick Relay if your business thinks in buckets: agencies, multi-entity owners, and Profit First devotees get real yield well below six figures, cash deposit access, and more account structure than anywhere else in fintech banking. Pick Mercury if you move money by wire and want the best software and API in the category, especially once you have $250,000 or more in reserves to put to work in Treasury. Bootstrapped and cash-adjacent businesses lean Relay; wire-heavy, software-first startups lean Mercury.

Does Mercury or Relay charge a monthly fee?

Mercury Business Banking: $0 (banking is free on every tier). Relay Business Banking: $0 (Starter).

Which earns a higher APY, Mercury or Relay?

Relay. Relay's auto-savings pays 1.11% on the free Starter plan and up to 3.00% on the $90-a-month Scale plan, with no balance minimum. Mercury checking and savings pay nothing until Mercury Treasury's $250,000 minimum is cleared, where it pays roughly 3.0% to 3.6% net.

Which is better for wires and payments?

Mercury. Mercury includes free ACH, free domestic wires, and free USD international wires on every tier, with no minimum balance required. Relay's free Starter plan charges $5 for outgoing wires and $5 for same-day ACH; free domestic wires only arrive on the $30-a-month Grow plan.

Does Mercury or Relay pay more interest?

Relay, for most balances. Its auto-savings pays 1.11% on the free Starter plan and up to 3.00% on the $90-a-month Scale plan with no minimum. Mercury checking and savings pay nothing until you clear the $250,000 Mercury Treasury minimum, where it pays roughly 3.0% to 3.6% net.

Which is better for a Profit First business, Mercury or Relay?

Relay. Up to 20 checking accounts and 50 debit cards turn envelope budgeting into an actual account structure instead of a spreadsheet, and Relay is one of the only fintechs that accepts cash deposits. Mercury's sub-accounts and virtual cards work but were not built around the Profit First method the way Relay's were.

Are Mercury and Relay wires really free?

Mercury's are, on every tier: free ACH, free domestic wires, and free USD international wires with no minimum balance. Relay's free Starter plan charges $5 per outgoing wire and $5 per same-day ACH; free domestic wires start on the $30-a-month Grow plan.