Relay vs. Mercury for Small Business
Relay and Mercury are two of the most recommended online banking platforms for small companies, but they solve different problems: Relay organizes your cash across many accounts, Mercury runs banking for startups. Both start at $0 a month, and both leave the same gap: neither pays interest on the checking balance where your operating cash actually sits. That gap is where Bluevine, a third online banking option, earns a place in this comparison.
What you need to know
- Relay is built around cash organization: up to 20 checking accounts per business on the free plan, envelope-style budgeting, and bookkeeper-friendly access.
- Mercury is built around startup operations: permissions, API, free USD international wires, and venture products.
- Relay's advertised APY applies to savings accounts only and rises with paid plans (3.00% requires the Scale plan at $120 a month list price); Mercury pays no APY on checking, and its yield product requires $250,000.
- An online business banking platform like Bluevine pays APY on checking itself: 1.3% on the Standard plan with a monthly activity goal¹ and 3.0% on every dollar with the Premier plan.²
Relay vs. Mercury at a glance
The table below puts both platforms side by side with Bluevine, an online business banking platform built for operating small businesses, so you can see where each fits before the breakdown that follows.
Verified as of July 2026.
Where Bluevine stands out: only Bluevine pays APY on the checking balance itself¹², pairs it with an integrated line of credit and unlimited transactions³, and adds 120,000+ ATM locations, with no monthly fee on the Standard plan.⁵
What to look for in business checking
Choosing between Relay and Mercury comes down to a few specific dimensions. Here's how to think about each, and where an online banking alternative fits in.
Monthly fees and plan ladders
Both entry plans are free. Relay's ladder ($30 Grow, $120 list Scale, $90 on a limited-time discount) buys automation, faster payments, and higher savings APY; Mercury's (from $35 a month, $29.90 billed annually) buys workflow software. Bluevine's ladder ($30 Plus, $95 Premier) buys higher checking APY tiers, and both paid plans carry waiver paths tied to average balances and monthly debit spend, so active businesses can hold a paid tier without paying the fee.⁵ As of publication.
APY on your operating cash
Read the asterisks before choosing on yield. Relay pays APY on savings accounts only: 1.11% on Starter, 1.75% on Grow, and 3.00% on Scale, variable, stated as of May 1, 2026 per Relay's site, with the top rate requiring the $120-a-month-list plan. Money in Relay checking earns nothing. Mercury pays nothing on checking or savings by default; yield comes from Mercury Treasury at $250,000 or more in combined balances.
Bluevine pays on checking: 1.3% APY on the Standard plan with a monthly activity goal¹ and 3.0% APY on every dollar with the Premier plan.² The distinction is structural: with Bluevine, the money that earns is the same money that pays your vendors tomorrow, not a separate savings bucket.
What 3.0% APY on Premier looks like in practice:
- $100,000 operating cash balance: about $3,000 a year in yield
- $250,000 balance: around $7,500 a year
- $500,000 balance: roughly $15,000 a year
For a business that keeps operating cash on hand, the yield more than offsets the annual cost of a Premier plan subscription.
Illustrative only. Assumes the stated balance is maintained for a full year. Actual earnings may vary, and rates and terms are subject to change.
Payments, account structure, and lending
On payments, all three include bill pay: Relay adds multi-step approval rules on paid plans with plan-dependent fees for same-day ACH and wires, Mercury's free USD international wires lead for overseas vendors, and Bluevine includes ACH, checks, domestic and international wires, and unlimited transactions³, plus cash access at 120,000+ ATMs and retail locations via MoneyPass, Green Dot, and Allpoint+.
On structure, Relay's 20 free checking accounts per business are the strongest envelope-budgeting setup in the category, and Mercury supports multiple accounts with auto-transfer rules. Bluevine supports sub-accounts for organizing cash, with the difference that balances still earn.¹²
On lending, Relay offers a credit card and Mercury offers venture debt and working capital for its startup base. Bluevine offers a business line of credit: a separate credit application, managed from the same dashboard as checking once approved.
The Bluevine difference. Bluevine's Standard plan has no monthly fee, so there's no waiver to track.⁵ The operating balance earns yield if you meet a monthly activity requirement¹ without moving money into a savings bucket first, and a line of credit lives one application away in the same dashboard.
Considering Relay or Mercury for business checking?
Relay or Mercury may be worth considering at the edges of the decision: Relay if envelope budgeting across many sub-accounts and bookkeeper collaboration are how you run your money; Mercury if you're a funded startup that wants software-grade banking, free USD international wires, and up to $5 million in sweep-network coverage.
The owner deciding between them often wants something simpler than either pitch: one solid operating account that clears payments, earns on the balance, and can extend credit when a job runs long. Neither Relay nor Mercury leads with that. An online bank for business is built to maximize your time and money by paying APY on checking itself and centralizing lending and bill pay in one place.
Bluevine: a business banking alternative built for digital-first companies
Online business banking has matured to the point where a growing share of small businesses now run their checking, bill pay, and working capital out of an online platform. Bluevine doesn't carry branch overhead, so those savings go back to customers through lower fees, higher APY, and tighter product integration.
Bluevine Business Checking is one of the more established online business banking platforms designed specifically for businesses. In fact, Bluevine is the largest small business banking platform in the U.S.⁶ Against these two, three differences matter most:
APY on your operating cash. The Standard plan pays 1.3% APY on balances up to $250,000 when you meet a monthly activity goal.¹ The Premier plan pays 3.0% APY on every dollar.² No savings-account shuffle and no $250,000 gate.
Built-in line of credit and native bill pay. A Bluevine line of credit application runs from the same dashboard you use for checking, and approved capital is available to draw against directly. Bill pay, same-day and standard ACH, checks, and domestic and international wires all live in the dashboard.³ Neither Relay nor Mercury offers a comparable revolving line for typical operating businesses.
Faster account opening and FDIC coverage up to $3 million. Account opening is fully online and typically takes minutes. FDIC coverage up to $3 million per depositor runs through the program-bank model⁴, and the debit card works at 120,000+ ATMs and retail locations via MoneyPass, Green Dot, and Allpoint+.
Get started with Bluevine Business Checking and let your operating balance do some of the work.
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FAQs
Is Relay or Mercury better for small business?
Relay fits owners who want money divided across many accounts with bookkeeper access; Mercury fits startups that want software-grade banking and international payments. Operating businesses that mainly want yield and credit in one place should also compare Bluevine.
Does Relay pay interest on checking?
No. Relay's APY applies to savings accounts only, tiered by plan (1.11% on Starter up to 3.00% on Scale, variable, as of May 1, 2026 per relayfi.com). Relay checking balances don't earn interest.
Is Relay legit and FDIC insured?
Relay is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC, so eligible deposits carry FDIC insurance through the partner bank.
Does Mercury pay interest?
Not on checking or standard savings. Mercury Treasury offers yield but requires $250,000 in combined balances, as of publication.
Can I get a line of credit with Relay or Mercury?
Neither offers a standard business line of credit. Relay offers a credit card; Mercury offers venture debt and working capital products for startups. Bluevine offers a line of credit application managed alongside its checking.
Is Bluevine FDIC insured?
Yes. Bluevine is a financial technology company, not a bank. Bluevine deposits are FDIC insured up to $3 million per depositor through Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, and our program banks.⁴ The $3 million per-depositor cap is higher than the default $250,000 FDIC limit at a single bank because Bluevine spreads deposits across multiple program banks. Learn more about FDIC and how it differs from SIPC insurance.
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Disclaimers
This content is for educational purposes only. Information presented about Relay, Mercury, and other third parties is as of publication and may change at any time; verify current pricing and features on each provider's website. Consult with an expert before making financial decisions for your business. The Sources section at the bottom of this draft is for legal review only and should be removed before the article is published.
¹ Standard plan customers will earn 1.3% annual percentage yield (APY) on total balances up to $250,000 for a given month only if they meet at least one Eligibility Requirement during that month's Eligibility Period as described in the Terms of Interest Accrual. No interest earned on balances over $250,000.
² Bluevine Premier customers will earn 3.0% annual percentage yield ("APY") on total Bluevine Business Checking balances. Any interest accrued and payable for an account or sub-account will be paid to your main account. Enrollment in Bluevine Premier is not required to receive increased FDIC insurance coverage. Customers automatically receive increased FDIC coverage unless they have opted out of the Bluevine Business Checking Account Agreement Sweep Program.
³ No limit on number of transactions. However, checking accounts are subject to the deposit and withdrawal amount limits as set forth in the Bluevine Business Checking Account Agreement.
⁴ Bluevine accounts are FDIC insured up to $3,000,000 per depositor through Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC and our program banks. $3,000,000 in FDIC insurance is offered by multiplying the standard $250,000 FDIC coverage across multiple banks.
⁵ No monthly fee only applies to the Bluevine Business Checking account Standard plan.
⁶ As compared to publicly available data on the number of lifetime customer accounts held by other U.S. banking platforms dedicated to small businesses that offer both checking and lending services, as of June 2026.
Bluevine is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC. The Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard® is issued by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated.