Mercury Review
8
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Mercury Reviews

8
Angela Mae Watson

WRITTEN BY

Angela Mae Watson

Banking for startups & Web3 businesses
Banking for startups & Web3 businesses
About Mercury

Located in San Francisco, CA, Mercury is a fintech company that offers traditional banking services through FDIC-insured members, Evolve Bank & Trust and Choice Financial Group. Mercury excels in its commitment to helping startups of all sizes grow through innovative online banking, payment processing integration, and more. Mercury also offers a variety of free startup advice and guides to help business owners grow.

Since 2020, the company has connected over 630 startups in 32 countries to top investors. Through this, startups have secured more than $1.7 billion in funding across all stages of growth — regardless of industry.

8.0

LS SCORE

7.5

CREDIBILITY

6.5

SUPPORT

7.5

ACCESSIBILITY

Mercury Online Banking Review

Mercury is a financial technology company that partners with Evolve Bank & Trust and Choice Financial Group to provide business banking accounts to startups. These accounts are FDIC-insured up to $500,000 each. For businesses, Mercury primarily offers checking and savings accounts, check and ACH payments, debit cards, wire transfers, and a few other business-related tools.

Mercury Online Banking Highlights

ATM NETWORK

55,000+ fee-free allpoint atms

MIN CREDIT SCORE

300

OTHER FEES

Yes

Account Type

  • Business

Mercury Checking business Highlights

DEPOSIT AMOUNT

No minimum

APY

0.0001% to 4.43%

Pros & Cons

  • Simplified online banking for startups looking to scale
  • Fee-free business banking accounts
  • Large network of fee-free ATMs
  • Mercury Treasury lets users deposit extra funds into money market funds and U.S. government securities to earn annual yield
  • Up to $500,000 is FDIC-insured (double the usual amount)
  • Non-US businesses, sole proprietorships, trusts, and businesses located in certain countries are not eligible for an account
  • No in-person banking options
  • Lower than average APY on accounts

APYs

Account APY
Checking N/A
Savings 0.001% APY
Mercury Treasury Up to 4.43% APY

Features Benefits & Rewards

  • No monthly fees
  • API access for customization and automation
  • Debit card (physical and virtual)
  • IO credit card (limit based on account balance)

Account Types

Business Checking Account

Mercury’s business checking account is FDIC-insured and comes with employee debit and credit cards with personalized limits. This account also includes payments via ACH, check, and wire transfers (international and domestic) for convenient transactions. It comes with team management, bookkeeping tools, and payment management tools.

Business Checking Key Features / Bonuses
  • IO card comes with 1.5% cashback
  • Simple tools like recurring payments and accounts payable
  • Seamless account integration with tools like Stripe and QuickBooks

 

Business Savings Account

Opening a checking account also comes with the option of opening a savings account. This account is also free and FDIC-insured up to $500,000.

Business Savings Key Features / Bonuses
  • FDIC-insured up to $500,000
  • No fees

 

Mercury Treasury Account

The Mercury Treasury Account is available to members with an average account balance of at least $250,000. With this account, members can transfer spare cash into mutual funds or other government securities.

Mercury Treasury Key Features / Bonuses
  • Up to 4.43% APY (on total annual deposits of around $20M)

Opening an Account With Mercury

Opening an account with Mercury is free, easy, and only takes about 10 minutes. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Navigate to the homepage and click “Open Account.”
  2. Provide your first and last name and work email. Create an account to start the application.
  3. Input your company name and your role (ex. founder).
  4. Create a callsign for the team.
  5. Describe your company type (ex. government organization, publicly-traded company, or adult entertainment business). Some types are not eligible for an account.
  6. Review and accept the Patriot Act Disclosure.
mercury application step 1
Step 1

Open account button

Once that’s done, you’ll be asked to complete a 7-step process to apply for an account. This includes providing the following information:

  • Company name, website, legal business name, type, and industry
  • Elevator pitch for the company
  • Any major investors in the company
  • Employee identification number (EIN)
  • Owner information (ex. full legal name, contact information, job title, and ownership percentage)
  • Related documentation to the company’s formation
  • Expected activity with the account (ex. operating, wiring money, paying suppliers, etc.)

After that, submit the application and wait for a response.

State Availability

Available in all states

Privacy & Security

Mercury is transparent about their banking products, as well as how they handle customer privacy and security. Accounts through Mercury are FDIC-insured up to $500,000 against theft and fraudulent activity. The accounts themselves also come with advanced security features designed to allow businesses to scale without worrying about their money. This includes automatic fraud monitoring and compliance with federal regulatory practices.

Besides this, Mercury keeps member data secure through industry-standard encryption protocols. They also follow SOC 2 standards to keep data private and ensure the highest level of integrity. Any debit or credit cards also adhere to PCI security standards. Also, all bank accounts use multi-factor authentication and other tools to ensure maximum security.

Finally, Mercury uses HTTPS online. They also use one-time passwords, third-party testing for data breaches or vulnerabilities, and other data encryption methods to protect everything from login information to uploaded images.

If anyone has concerns about Mercury’s privacy and security, they can contact security@mercury.com about them.

Customer Support

Mercury presents itself as a customer-first fintech company. However, online reviews about Mercury’s customer support are mixed. Many people indicate that they have great customer support, while others note they were unresponsive or took a while to respond. On Mercury’s website, there are customer reviews indicating that they received the type of service — and product — they expected.

Mercury has 1 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau, with only a handful of reviews. They have a higher rating on Trustpilot — 3.7 out of 5 — with 510 reviews. Again, responses on customer support are largely mixed.

When engaging with the company, they typically responded within 24 hours to online requests. However, they don’t have an easy way to contact them — i.e.. phone number — which makes it tricky to get a hold of them quickly, especially for people abroad.

In Conclusion

Overall, Mercury is a fintech company that partners with FDIC-insured banks and high-profile Silicon Valley investors to help startups in any industry scale. Mercury offers online business checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and the high-yield Mercury Treasury Account through its partners.

Although bank accounts are secured and convenient, Mercury has a few drawbacks. For example, their customer service is limited, especially to international members. They’re also a newer company and don’t offer as many advanced products as other fintech companies.

FAQ

What does Mercury offer?
Through Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust, Mercury offers business checking and savings accounts, debits cards, check payments, ACH payments, domestic and international wire transfers, and other tools to help startups scale.
Can non-US businesses apply for an account?
Mercury primarily works with U.S. companies. However, these companies can be located nearly anywhere. Exceptions include Belarus, Congo, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Pakistan, Russia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
How much does Mercury cost to use?
Mercury doesn’t cost any money, and associated bank accounts don’t come with any hidden fees. However, some advanced features or tools, like mass payments, Treasury account management, and international funds exchanges, may incur fees.

Mercury Disclaimer

Mercury Treasury, by Mercury Advisory, LLC, seeks to earn net returns up to 4.43% annually on your idle cash. Net yield numbers as of 01/17/2023, and assumes total Mercury deposits of $20M+.

Mercury Treasury, by Mercury Advisory, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. SEC registration does not mean the SEC has approved of the services of the investment adviser.

Mercury Advisory, LLC (the “Firm”) is an investment management firm that offers a wrap fee program that allows small businesses to invest idle cash in relatively low-risk, short-term instruments. The performance discussed herein is historic and reflects an investment for a limited period of time. It should not be assumed that future investors would experience returns, if any, comparable to those illustrated herein. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investment results will fluctuate. Returns are not guaranteed. All investments are subject to the risk of loss, including the loss of principal. No representation is being made that an investment account has, will, or is likely to achieve profits or losses equal to the profits or losses shown. Actual returns will vary greatly and depend on personal and market conditions. Before investing, consider your financial goals and the costs of using the program.

Furthermore, the information set forth has been obtained from sources that the Firm believes to be reliable; however, these sources cannot be guaranteed as to their accuracy or completeness. The information contained herein is not, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. The information has been prepared solely for the purpose of determining your level of interest in Mercury Treasury and to provide general background information on such algorithmic investment program.
This information contains certain “forward-looking statements,” which may be identified by the use of such words as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “planned,” “estimated,” “potential” and other similar terms.

Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, estimates with respect to financial condition, results of operations, and success or lack of success of the depicted investment strategy. All are subject to various factors, including, but not limited to general and local economic conditions, changing levels of competition within certain industries and markets, changes in interest rates, changes in legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors affecting operations that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results.

Targeted returns (e.g., forward-looking statements of performance up to a stated return) reflects the returns that the Firm is seeking to achieve over a particular period of time. Projected returns reflect the Firm’s performance estimate – i.e., the returns that the Firm believes can be achieved using the advertised investment services. Target returns are presented to inform clients or potential clients about the Firm’s risk tolerances when managing the Mercury Treasury strategy and to provide information useful to a client or potential client when assessing how the Firm’s strategy fits within the investor’s overall portfolio. Target returns are not guarantees or promises of future return.

Mercury Treasury is not FDIC insured.
Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; Members FDIC.

The Mercury Debit Cards are issued by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust, Members FDIC, pursuant to licenses from MasterCard. The IO Card is issued by Patriot Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from MasterCard.

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WRITTEN BY

Angela Mae Watson

Angela Mae is a personal finance writer specializing in loans, debt management, investing, retirement planning, and financial literacy. She comes from a journalistic background and pulls from hands-on experience and deep-dive research to breathe life into her stories. Her goal is to help others achieve financial stability and independence. When not writing, she can be found traveling, honing her yoga skills, hiking, or exploring new means of healthy, sustainable living.