After incorporating a US entity, the next step is likely to open a US business bank account. Having a bank account for your startup makes it possible to collect payments, pay employees, and easily expense items for your business.
At Stable, we work with startups at all stages and often get asked: what is the best bank for startups?
We break down the most popular options below.
For most tech startups, the requirements are quite simple –– an easy to use online banking portal, great customer service, and minimal hidden fees. If your startup collects physical checks or you prefer in-person banking services, these are all considerations to take into account as well.
After compiling our own data from 450+ startups, this is what we discovered to be the most popular startup bank accounts:
Data from founders, finance teams, and operations managers at startups.
Mercury is a business banking startup built particularly for founders. They have free wire transfers, APIs, and integrations with tools like Zapier, Quickbooks, and Stripe built right in. They pride themselves on having no hidden fees and no minimum deposit.
Their platform is completely digital –– so if you have a need to deposit cash or prefer in-person banking services, this may not be the best option for you.
They have a tech-forward, user-friendly platform and strong brand recognition within the founder community –– which is probably why so many newly formed startups are choosing Mercury. From what we’ve heard from our customers, they’re also very friendly towards working with international founders and you can quickly open your online banking account from anywhere.
Brex is largely known for their corporate credit card, and also powers online banking for startups through Brex Cash, which launched in Fall of 2019. Similar to Mercury, they’re a tech-forward, digital-only platform with no account fees, minimum deposit requirements, or wire transfer fees (including international wires)
They also have positive brand recognition in the founder community. Their onboarding process is quick and they work with founders located all around the world –– making it easy to open an account.
If you’re interested in having your business credit card and bank account in one place to consolidate your finance tools, Brex is a great choice.
Silicon Valley Bank specializes in helping founders and working with lots of growing tech companies. Their free checking account also provides unlimited wires with no monthly fee. They have integrations built in with QuickBooks, Expensify, Xero and more. With locations across the US, they make it easy to bank in-person.
We’ve noticed that most startups that process a lot of physical checks choose to open a startup bank account with Silicon Valley Bank. If you have high volumes of physical checks, Silicon Valley Bank may be a great option. At Stable, we can help your startup deposit physical checks as well!
First Republic Bank is known for having stellar, white-glove customer service. You have one banker for life that you can go to for any questions or requests. They also have an online banking portal to make it easy to manage your funds from anywhere.
While they are the least used bank of the four, we use First Republic Bank at Stable and are happy customers. They truly understand startups and how to create a magical customer experience –– when walking into a physical branch to meet your banker, they’ll remember you by name and even provide cookies or an umbrella on rainy days.
Many accelerators have partnership deals with First Republic that enable free banking forever, including free wire transfers. If you’re looking for a bank that understands startups and has physical branches across the US, First Republic Bank is a great option for your startup bank account.
Online banking for startups is foundational for business operations. While these are a few of the most popular startup bank accounts, there are many options that may make sense for your business. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to our team at hello@useStable.com.
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At Stable, we provide permanent virtual addresses and mailboxes so you never have to worry about mail or changing addresses again. We’ll digitize all mail that you receive here, and you’ll be able to scan, forward, shred, (and even deposit checks!) from anywhere in the world.
Get started with Stable here if you’d like a virtual business address + mailbox in less than 3 minutes.
Disclaimer: Stable is not a legal or accounting firm, therefore we cannot provide legal or tax advice. You should consult legal and tax professionals for advice on how to meet ongoing obligations that apply to you and your company.
