Editor Sebastiaan Smits ·
Published November 4, 2026 · Updated November 4, 2026
Mercury is a US fintech account for startups and online companies, and buyers look past it when they need foreign-currency features, interest without a $250K balance, or a bank that is not a sponsor-bank program. Most compare Relay, Found and Novo first, then Lili, Bluevine and Brex. Mercury's help center blocked our readers, so closing terms are left open.
Short answer: The closest replacements for Mercury in our business bank accounts ranking are Relay, Found and Novo. Choose Relay if you want several checking accounts and unlimited users on a flat monthly tier. The other 10 entries come from our Best Business Bank Accounts in 2026 list as well, and every one is set against Mercury specifically, with a note on the cases where Mercury should stay.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. The first three alternatives go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure · editorial process.
Mercury's Treasury product is open to customers with a $250K balance across their Mercury accounts. The page advertises a yield of up to 4.25 percent, and its fine print ties that figure to deposit sizes over $20M, so a smaller balance should expect less. Mercury also states that Treasury is an investment product offered by Mercury Advisory, not a deposit.
Mercury charges a 1 percent exchange fee on non-USD international wires and a 3 percent fee on non-USD card transactions, on every plan. Sending USD wires is free. A company that pays suppliers in euros or pounds each week sees that fee on each payment.
Mercury Books is $35 a month and Payroll is $100 plus $50 per person paid, and both are shown as waived until December 31, 2026. The paid plans, Plus at $29.90 and Pro at $299 a month, add invoicing and relationship-manager features.
Ordered by how well each fits a team leaving Mercury; our own placement among 12 ranked products is in the last column.
| # | Alternative | Headquarters | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Relay | United States | you want several checking accounts and unlimited users on a flat monthly tier | #1 |
| 2 |  Found | United States | you work alone and want bookkeeping, tax estimates and invoicing inside the account | #3 |
| 3 |  Novo | United States | you want one free account with no plan ladder to compare | #4 |
| 4 |  Lili | United States | you want invoicing and tax set-asides in a tiered plan for a small operation | #5 |
| 5 |  Bluevine | United States | you want interest on checking balances and accept a monthly activity goal | #8 |
| 6 |  Brex | United States | you spend mostly on corporate cards and want spend controls priced per user | #12 |
| 7 |  Wise Business | United Kingdom | you pay or get paid in several currencies and want published conversion fees | #9 |
| 8 |  Qonto | France | your company is registered in the euro area and needs a local IBAN | #10 |
| 9 |  Tide | United Kingdom | your company is a UK limited company and you want a free plan with paid steps | #6 |
| 10 |  Starling Business | United Kingdom | you bank in the UK and want a full bank with no monthly account fee | #7 |
| 11 |  Holvi | Finland | you run a small company or sole proprietorship in Finland, Germany or Austria | #2 |
Three flat tiers: Starter $0, Grow $30 and Scale $120, shown at $90 as a limited-time discount. All include unlimited users, up to 50 credit and debit cards, and invoice tracking. Starter allows 20 checking accounts. Savings APY runs from 1.19 to 3.21 percent, variable by plan.
Switch from Mercury if you want several checking accounts and unlimited users on a flat monthly tier.
Aimed at the self-employed, with bookkeeping and tax tools in the account. Free plan has up to 20 Pockets and unlimited invoicing. Found Plus is $35 a month and Found Pro $80, both with a 30-day trial. Domestic wires cost $15 on the free plan.
Switch from Mercury if you work alone and want bookkeeping, tax estimates and invoicing inside the account.
Novo's page lists no monthly maintenance fee, no minimum balance and free standard ACH, and shows no paid tier. Third-party ATM fees are reimbursed up to $7 a month. Wires may carry a fee shown before sending. Deposits sit at Middlesex Federal Savings, with sweep coverage up to $5M.
Switch from Mercury if you want one free account with no plan ladder to compare.
Four monthly plans: Core $0, Pro $15, Smart $35 and Premium $55, each paid plan with a 30-day trial and a three-month introductory price. Savings show up to 4.00 percent APY and FDIC coverage up to $3M. Smart adds invoicing and bill management. Banking comes from Sunrise Banks.
Switch from Mercury if you want invoicing and tax set-asides in a tiered plan for a small operation.
Standard checking has no monthly fee and pays 1.3 percent APY up to $250,000 if you spend $500 a month on the card or receive $2,500. Plus is $30 a month at 1.75 percent, Premier $95 at 3.3 percent on all balances. FDIC coverage reaches $3M.
Switch from Mercury if you want interest on checking balances and accept a monthly activity goal.
Priced per user: Essentials $0 and Premium $12 a month, with Enterprise and Smart Card on request. Built around corporate cards, bill pay and travel booking. The business account is provided by Column N.A. and Brex lists up to $6M of FDIC coverage. Brex Treasury LLC is described as a Capital One company.
Switch from Mercury if you spend mostly on corporate cards and want spend controls priced per user.
Not a deposit account in the US sense: Wise Business is authorized in the UK as an electronic money issuer. One-time fee of 50 GBP covers all features. Sending and converting start at 0.24 percent, with a volume discount above 20,000 GBP. USD wire receipts cost 6.11 USD each.
Switch from Mercury if you pay or get paid in several currencies and want published conversion fees.
A French company in Paris serving businesses in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands. Basic is 9 euros a month, Smart 19 and Premium 39, excluding VAT on annual billing, with a one-month trial. Qonto states it is a payment institution authorized by the ACPR.
Switch from Mercury if your company is registered in the euro area and needs a local IBAN.
UK business accounts only, powered by ClearBank. The Lite plan has no plan fee; Smart is 12.49 pounds a month, Pro 27.49 and Max 69.99. Tide shows an FX fee of 2.75 percent on international card payments on Lite and 0 percent on paid plans. Balances are FSCS-protected up to 120,000 pounds.
Switch from Mercury if your company is a UK limited company and you want a free plan with paid steps.
A UK bank with a business current account and a sole trader account, both described with no monthly fees, though fees apply to some tools. Multi-currency transfers between Starling accounts carry a 0.4 percent fee on top of the exchange rate. The page notes FSCS protection.
Switch from Mercury if you bank in the UK and want a full bank with no monthly account fee.
Starling Business: complete review · Visit the product page →
Serves Finland, Germany and Austria and is authorized by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority as a payment institution. Flex has no monthly fee but charges 0.25 euros per transfer. Lite is 9 euros and Pro 15 euros a month on a one-year subscription, with a 1 percent foreign exchange fee.
Switch from Mercury if you run a small company or sole proprietorship in Finland, Germany or Austria.
Stay with Mercury if you are a US company that pays mostly in dollars and wants ACH, domestic wires, real-time payments and USD international wires at no charge, plus cards, bill pay and invoicing in one account. Its pricing page lists QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite sync on the base plan. Moving costs time, and the free tier is the reason to stay put.
Vendors who debit your account by ACH, payroll, card-on-file subscriptions and invoice payers all hold Mercury account details. Mercury says you choose which vendors may initiate ACH debits. Update those authorizations at the new bank first, then run both accounts side by side for a billing cycle.
Treasury holdings are invested in funds and bond ladders, not held as deposits. Mercury says money market fund withdrawals can settle the same day if requested before 3pm ET on a business day. A Treasury ladder follows its own maturities, so plan around them rather than the closing date.
Mercury lists bank feed import for QuickBooks Online, Xero and NetSuite on every plan. That feed ends with the account. Connect the new bank to your books before you close, and ask your accountant how the old and new histories should be joined.
We found neither on the Mercury pages our readers could open. The pricing page lists no account opening fee, no required monthly fee and no minimum balance. Mercury's help center returned an access denied response to automated requests on 4 November 2026, so confirm closing terms with Mercury before you act.
Mercury shows both as waived until December 31, 2026, after which the listed prices apply: $35 a month for Books, and $100 plus $50 per person paid for Payroll. If you use either, ask what applies from January 2027 before choosing a new bank.
No. Mercury states that Treasury is offered by Mercury Advisory, an SEC-registered investment adviser, and that yield is subject to investment risk. Mercury's FDIC claim of up to $5M applies to checking and savings deposits through its partner banks and their sweep networks, not to invested funds.
Mercury says it is a fintech company, not a bank, and that banking services come from Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., both Members FDIC. Its security page says each account is an individual demand deposit account in your name. Compare that with the partner banks named by each alternative.
Mercury says Mercury Personal is included with a business account while that account stays active and in good standing. Otherwise a standalone Personal account costs $240 a year, debited from the personal account on the sign-up date. Check this before you close the business account.
Mercury's bank feed to QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite is a listed feature, but we could not read a Mercury page that sets out statement formats or how long history stays available. Download statements and ask your accountant for a full export while the account is still open.
Every price, plan limit and product statement about Mercury here was read on the vendors' own pages on November 4, 2026. Either can change at any time, so read the figures as of that day.
Sebastiaan Smits, Founder, wrote, edited and fact-checked this page.
Founder of The Interregnum and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page here; research and drafting are AI-assisted. Last reviewed November 4, 2026.
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