activeFeaturedBusiness banking
- HQ
- Singapore
- Fee
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Mercury
The US start-up current account, built with partner banks.
Rate this app
7.6Solid
AlternativesOur take
Desk verdict
If you are a Delaware C-corp, Mercury is the opening account. If you invoice in AUD and EUR, add Airwallex or Wise Business.
Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Customer funds are held at partner banks and eligible deposits may be FDIC insured through those banks. The product is checking, cards, and treasury for start-ups.
Mercury lists Fintech with partner banks under FDIC (partners) in United States. On safeguarding we currently write: FDIC sweep via Choice Financial Group, Column N.A. and partners — confirm current list. Holder / issuer line: Choice Financial Group / Column N.A. (program banks). An AML programme is claimed. There is no IBAN-class local rail on the flags we store. We list 1 live markets on the product. As we score the sticker: monthly Free core operations; FX International wires priced; not a FX specialist; ATM Debit ATM fees per network; interest Treasury / money-market via partners. This desk would open it for: US-incorporated start-ups that need a beautiful operating account.
What it does well: Best-in-class US start-up UX; Free core; Virtual cards for vendors. What to watch: Not itself a bank; International founders hit KYC walls; Synapse-era anxiety applies to every BaaS stack — know the partners. Desk score 7.6 / 10 (safety 7.6, fees 8.8, features 8.4, app 9.0). Last verified 2026-08-01. Headquartered in San Francisco, United States; founded 2017. None of this is advice — it is a file so you can read the entity before the card colour.
Best for: US-incorporated start-ups that need a beautiful operating account.
Pros
- +Best-in-class US start-up UX
- +Free core
- +Virtual cards for vendors
- +Treasury options
Cons
- −Not itself a bank
- −International founders hit KYC walls
- −Synapse-era anxiety applies to every BaaS stack — know the partners
- −FX is not Airwallex
Account facts
- Platforms
- Web · iOS
- Account types
- Business checking
- Partner bank
- Choice Financial Group · Column N.A.
- Minimum balance
- $0
- Lowest monthly fee
- $0
- Who can open
- US C-corp, LLC, and similar
- Availability
- US-incorporated companies
How it actually works
- Custody
- Insured bank deposit
- Local rails
- ACH / USD
- Built for
- Business
- Settlement
- App-ledger instant; bank rails per corridor
- Review risk
- Fintech reviews can pause inbound while they check a transfer
- Pay surface
- visa · physical · virtual · Apple Pay · Google Pay
Safety
FDIC sweep via Choice Financial Group, Column N.A. and partners — confirm current list
Holder / issuer: Choice Financial Group / Column N.A. (program banks)
- FDIC (partners)Fintech with partner banks · United States
Fees
- Monthly
- Free core operations
- FX markup
- International wires priced; not a FX specialist
- ATM
- Debit ATM fees per network
- Interest
- Treasury / money-market via partners
Features
- –IBAN
- ✓Fee-free core
- –Multi-currency
- ✓Apple Pay
- ✓Google Pay
- ✓Virtual card
- ✓Physical card
- –Metal card
- –Crypto
- –Stocks
- ✓Business
- –Kids
- –Halal
- USD checking for start-ups
- Virtual and physical cards
- ACH, wires, checks
- Treasury
- API, accounting sync
Score
- Safety25%
- 7.6
- Fees20%
- 8.8
- Features15%
- 8.4
- App15%
- 9.0
- Global15%
- 4.2
- Support10%
- 7.0
Change log
Full logSafety
Partner-bank map: Column / Choice (confirm live)
Mercury is not a bank. After Synapse, the named partners are the whole safety section.
Safety
Partner-bank map: Column / Choice (confirm live)
Mercury is not a bank. After Synapse, the named partners are the whole safety section.
Available in
FAQ
Is Mercury a bank?+–
Mercury is not a licensed deposit-taker in the classic sense. Money, if any, sits with Choice Financial Group / Column N.A. (program banks).
How is money protected?+–
FDIC sweep via Choice Financial Group, Column N.A. and partners — confirm current list
Where is Mercury available?+–
We list 1 market desk on the desk. Residency and onboarding rules still sit with Mercury.
Card and wallets?+–
visa · physical · virtual · Apple Pay · Google Pay
Ratings and reviews
5.0 / 5 from 1 published review on this desk.
Seed-stage CFO
United States· 2026-08-27Verified userBest start-up checking UX in the US. Know Choice / Column, not just the wordmark.
Alternatives
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From the desk
blog · 2026-01-20 · 8 min
Mercury, Airwallex, Qonto, Aspire: pick from the incorporation, not the homepage
US C-corp, APAC trade, French SAS, SEA SME — four products, four home markets, one bad habit of calling them all banks.
blog · 2026-04-09 · 10 min
After Synapse: how to read a US neobank that is not a bank
FDIC pass-through is a record-keeping claim. If the middleware holds the ledger, you have a new kind of risk.