Rated by Rebank: Mercury or Brex

Frank Silva
Community Growth & Operations, rebank
3
minutes

Mercury or Brex, which is the best US bank for you? Read on to find out which platform suits your business needs.

There’s a whole world of banking platforms to choose from. As a startup business it can be difficult deciding which platform to use, as they all claim to be the best fit for your business. But how true is this? Well, that depends on your needs and what benefits each platform has to offer.

Before you choose the right platform, you need to know the ins and outs of each. Choosing a badly-suited platform for your business finances can be detrimental to your business down the line. For instance, if you go with a platform that isn’t closely aligned with your needs (e.g. making frequent international payments, savings options, expense tracking, etc.) it could cost you time and money to add another platform to your financial stack down the line. 

So, we’re here to help you make a more informed decision on the matter. In this article, we’ll be discussing popular platforms Mercury and Brex, updating you on everything you need to know about them both and the pros and cons of each to give you a well-rounded overview to help you make the right decision.

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Mercury: the platform with startups at heart

Mercury is a free online-first platform that specifically focuses on startup businesses. They provide you with scalable digital tools that can be customised to suit your banking needs. What’s more, they’re ideal for business owners that prefer to manage all of their finances online. They offer both a business checking account and a business savings account with no monthly fees. Their API access feature allows you to fully automate your account how you please: from powering internal dashboards and making automated payments to creating your own customised sweep rules and reconciling transactions. Additionally, there are integration options with payment processors and accounting software, and access to their native management product.

So, what are the pros and cons of the Mercury banking platform?

Pros of choosing Mercury

There are lots of fantastic benefits about banking with Mercury. It’s good practice to know exactly what to expect before you sign up to a platform. Here are the main pros that’ll benefit your business:

  • Mercury provides you with both a checking and savings account on one platform.
  • There are no monthly or transaction fees.
  • There isn’t a minimum opening deposit.
  • You’ll gain access to over 55,000 fee-free ATMs to withdraw cash from within the Allpoint network.
  • You can upgrade your account when you’ve got a balance of $250,000 and be able to enter the Mercury Tea Room for additional perks. 

Cons of choosing Mercury

No platform is perfect, but you want it to be as close to perfect as possible. Plus, it's important to consider the cons of choosing a platform just as much as the pros. Here are the cons you need to know about:

  • Mercury business savings account is only gives 0.001% interest, and this is well below average compared to other similar banks.
  • They don’t accommodate cash deposits.
  • Mercury’s service is unavailable to sole proprietors, trusts, or businesses in money services.

Brex: finance to help companies scale faster

Brex is a tech-first alternative to traditional business bank accounts and they target all businesses at every level. Their service, Brex Cash, is a cash management account that enables you to store funds as you see fit. So for example if you choose to keep your funds deposited at a Brex partner bank you’ll be eligible for FDIC insurance up to $1,750,000 in total. Moreover, you can invest your deposits into a government money market mutual fund to earn yield. Alternatively, you can have a combination of both options. The platform also offers built-in expense management tools and you can control your funds via the Brex mobile app.

So, what are the pros and cons of the Brex banking platform?

Pros of choosing Brex

Brex has a lot to offer its users. The platform provides a whole range of features at your disposal from expense tracking, spend controls, rewards, and more. Here’s our pick of the main pros you need to know about: 

  • They don’t charge fees for their services.
  • You receive unlimited fee-free digital transactions.
  • You’ll have access to instant payouts on e-commerce sales.
  • You can access their uncapped rewards-earning Brex credit card including access to a 10-20x higher credit limit with no personal guarantee.
  • You can send unlimited ACH and wires and offer a great built-in expense software

Cons of choosing Brex

As much as we’d like to hype up each platform and tell you all that is good about them, it’s equally important to share the features they don’t provide. Here are the cons you need to know:

  • Brex Cash isn’t a business banking account, it’s a cash management platform.
  • Brex doesn't offer traditional banking features such as a debit card and ATM access.
  • Yield is low on the money market fund at an average of 0.03% (see their live yield updates here).
  • Brex’s service is unavailable to sole proprietors and only available to LLCs. 

How does rebank fit in?

🍃 Whatever your banking choice, Rebank will track of all your finances

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It’s important you choose the best banking platform for your business needs

Mercury and Brex are appealing platforms to bank with, but the choice is ultimately yours to make. Both platforms are tech-first and have zero fees, Mercury offers you an ATM service, whereas Brex offers a great rewards system. Which features matter most to you? Consider what matters first and foremost to you, for example:

  • Do you need to make cash withdrawals? 
  • Are you looking for spending rewards? 
  • Are you in need of good e-commerce integrations and features? 
  • Do you want low minimum opening deposits?

Keep an eye out for future ‘Rated by Rebank’ articles, if you’d like to look at previous comparisons check out our Currency Accounts - Wise vs Revolut here.

‍We highly recommend looking closely at the needs of your business before choosing the platform to make sure you’re well matched perfectly. 

Frank Silva
Community Growth & Operations, rebank

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