Mercury

Official Website: https://mercury.com/
Platforms: Web | iOS
Account Types: Business Checking
Partner Bank: Evolve Bank & Trust (via SynapseFi)
Minimum Account Balance: $0.00
Lowest Monthly Fee: $0.00
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA

Features: No-fee Business Checking,

Mercury is a Silicon Valley based Neobank that caters to startups with free business checking.

Mercury is a US challenger bank that serves Startup Businesses, disrupting a space dominated by the high-fee incumbent, Silicon Valley Bank (a low-tech bank whose free account still comes with the caveat of a $50 monthly fee after three years.) They've even managed to become an alternative option to SVB on Stripe Atlas along with Azlo. In contrast, Mercury offers zero-fee business checking, free ACH payments, $5 Wire Transfers, no deposit minimums, and excellent security features.

Security is a strong point for Mercury, with virtual cards for online and phone purchases, and two-factor authentication.

One of a major risks of using debit cards online is the higher probability of having the card stolen, typically caused by the security weaknesses of the merchant website - a factor that the payer is never able to mitigate. With virtual card numbers generated for single (or limited) transactions, this security risk is heavily mitigated since the actual card would not be compromised in a security breach of merchant systems.

Virtual cards should be a basic feature of any tech-driven product in the 21st century, and Mercury delivers this for startup businesses.

Likewise, two-factor authentication (2FA) is already an established way to add security to many services, including such implementations as Google Authenticator and Authy. While no authentication system is ever going to be foolproof, especially against users who fail to understand why dictionary word passwords are inherently weak (or why using words like "password" is not remotely original nor clever), TOTP two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security that every bank should be using for their online services. Meanwhile, there are many incumbent banks who not only limit the length and complexity of their users' passwords but also implement weak forms of 2FA like text message (SMS) based 2FA.

Mercury's use of real TOTP-based Two-Factor Authentication is a welcome change from the practices of banks who live in the stone age of technology and online security.

Overall, if you're a security-conscious business owner, Mercury is an excellent choice for your cash management needs. Presently, the only drawback with Mercury is that they only offer an iOS mobile app with no Android counterpart, which excludes a large percentage of the market. There is, however, a web interface to make up for this shortcoming which is still miles ahead of the mobile apps of many incumbent banks.