I’ve personally used Mercury for quite a few years, and I like the clean interface and how easy it is to manage day-to-day business finances. The Mercury Free plan has a $0 monthly fee, so there are no monthly requirements to complete just to avoid a maintenance fee. Now, if you apply through our exclusive Mercury partner link, deposit $10,000 within 60 days, and maintain that balance for 30 days, you can earn a $300 account-opening bonus.

Bonus offer is subject to terms. To be eligible, your application must be completed through this affiliate link. To qualify for the referral bonus, you must meet the applicable balance threshold and maintain that balance for at least one full calendar day during the qualification period. Additional conditions and limitations apply. Bonus amount, payment timing, and full eligibility requirements are outlined in the Mercury Referred Customer Agreement.

Affiliate Disclosure: This article contains Mercury affiliate links. If you apply through these links and your application is approved, USCreditCards101 may receive compensation from Mercury.


Mercury also supports many international founders. Founders do not need to be U.S. citizens or U.S. residents, and international applicants can use a passport for identity verification. The company’s entity type, business activities, operating address, and the founder’s country of residence still need to meet Mercury’s eligibility requirements.

About Mercury

Mercury is a fintech platform that brings many of the financial tools a business uses into one place. More than 300,000 companies and entrepreneurs use Mercury to manage their finances, with checking and savings accounts provided by Mercury’s partner banks, ACH and wire transfers, invoicing, bill pay, expense management, and other financial software all available through the same platform.

The Mercury Free plan has a $0 monthly fee and no minimum balance requirement. Domestic and international USD wires are free, and eligible checking and savings deposits can access up to $5 million in FDIC insurance through Mercury’s partner banks and their sweep networks. For online businesses, startups, agencies, SaaS companies, and other businesses that handle most of their finances online, this all-in-one setup is one of Mercury’s biggest advantages over a traditional business account.

Mercury launched in 2019 and is backed by investors including Sequoia Capital, Coatue, CRV, and Andreessen Horowitz. The product originally became popular with startups, but today it is also used by many ordinary LLCs, e-commerce businesses, consulting firms, agencies, software companies, and other online businesses.

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Deposits in checking and savings accounts are FDIC-insured through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A. and their Sweep Program Network Banks. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through FDIC insurance to apply. Learn more here.

Account Opening and Bonus

Account-opening bonus

Through the current USCreditCards101 partner offer, eligible customers can earn a $300 bonus by depositing at least $10,000 within the first 60 days and maintaining the required balance for 30 days. Final eligibility and bonus requirements are subject to the terms shown on the USCreditCards101 partner page and the Mercury Referred Customer Agreement at the time of application.

Eligibility and required documents

Mercury does not currently support sole proprietorships. The company itself needs to be formally registered in the United States or a U.S. territory and have a state-filed formation document. Common eligible entity types include LLCs, C Corporations, S Corporations, Partnerships, and Non-Profits. Sole Proprietorships and Trusts are currently not supported. For details, see:

When applying, you generally need to provide the company’s legal name, EIN, business activities, source of funds, existing or planned U.S. business operations, and actual operating address. You also need company formation documents such as Articles of Organization, Articles of Incorporation, or a Certificate of Formation. Beneficial owners who own 25% or more of the company need to provide information, and at least one person responsible for operating the company must also be identified. You can find the full requirements on Mercury’s Eligibility and Requirements page.

EIN documentation also needs to be formally issued or acknowledged by the IRS, such as CP575, 147C, or an SS-4 returned by the IRS. A self-completed SS-4 without IRS acknowledgment is generally not sufficient. For the documents Mercury currently accepts, see Mercury’s official document requirements.

Applying from outside the United States

Founders do not need to be U.S. citizens or U.S. residents. If the company is formally registered in the United States or a U.S. territory, has existing or planned U.S. business operations, and otherwise meets Mercury’s eligibility requirements, the founder can apply while living overseas. International applicants can also use a passport for identity verification.

The company’s principal place of business does not necessarily have to be in the United States. An eligible overseas physical address or residential address may work. However, a registered agent address, P.O. Box, or UPS Store address cannot be used as the company’s actual operating address.

Mercury also has restrictions based on the founder’s country of residence and the company’s business activities. Certain industries, including money services businesses, internet gambling, and cannabis, are currently not supported, and residents of certain countries and regions may not be eligible. The relevant factor is generally residency rather than nationality, so it is worth checking the latest Prohibited Countries and Regions before applying.

Accounts and Fees

The Mercury Free plan is currently $0/month, has no minimum balance requirement, and does not require any extra monthly activity to waive a maintenance fee. ACH transfers, domestic USD wires, and international USD wires are free. For the latest pricing, see Mercury Pricing.

  • Mercury Free monthly fee: $0
  • Minimum balance requirement: None
  • ACH transfers: Free
  • Domestic USD wires: Free
  • International USD wires: Free
  • Non-USD international wires: Free 1.5% / Plus 1% / Pro 0.8%
  • Cash deposits: Not supported
  • Mobile check deposit: Supported

Mercury also offers two paid plans, Plus and Pro. For most small businesses, the Free plan is enough to start.

Plus adds more advanced invoicing and finance tools, including recurring invoices, ACH debit collection, invoicing API access, and unlimited 1099 filings. Pro adds features such as a dedicated relationship manager, enhanced NetSuite automation, and higher invoicing API limits. See Mercury Pricing for the current plan details.

Mercury does not support cash deposits. For restaurants, convenience stores, salons, and other businesses that receive a lot of cash, I would generally prefer a traditional bank with physical branches, such as Chase or Bank of America. For online businesses, this limitation matters much less.

Mercury IO Card

Once a Mercury account is open, eligible businesses may also gain access to the Mercury IO Card. IO is a corporate charge card rather than a traditional revolving business credit card like Chase Ink or the Amex Business Gold. Eligibility is primarily based on the business and its relationship with Mercury rather than the traditional personal-credit application process used by many business credit cards.

The IO Card is issued by Patriot Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Eligible customers can access the IO card on day one of opening a Mercury account, limitations apply. Cashback on the IO Card is only available with a Mercury Plus or Pro subscription. Cashback is automatically credited to your linked checking account when your monthly repayment is processed. If you make an early payment (full or partial) , you'll receive cashback proportional to the amount paid. Your Mercury accounts must be open and in good standing to receive cashback. Cashback rewards may be forfeited if your account is closed or pending closure based on a violation of any applicable terms. Mercury may modify or terminate the cashback program at any time, and any promotional offers or other changes will be communicated by email or on our website. If you have questions about your cashback, please contact Mercury at [email protected].

A company can issue physical or virtual cards to different employees, create separate cards for merchants such as AWS, Google Ads, and Meta, and set individual spending limits. If you stop using a particular SaaS product, you can simply close the corresponding card without affecting the company’s other subscriptions. If your main goal is maximizing card rewards, there are plenty of traditional business credit cards with stronger rewards programs.

Other Features

Mercury Perks

Another useful part of Mercury is its Startup Perks. Mercury currently advertises 300+ partner offers, mainly across cloud services, developer tools, accounting, HR, remote work, AI, and e-commerce. Some representative offers include:

Many of these offers have restrictions based on new-user status, funding stage, or company size. If you already plan to pay for AWS, GitHub, Notion, accounting software, or similar tools, the Perks can easily be worth more than the $300 account-opening bonus.

Auto-transfers, virtual cards, and invoicing

A lot of Mercury’s value comes from keeping financial workflows in one place.

For example, you can create separate Mercury accounts for Operating, Tax, Payroll, Profit, and Ad Spend, then set up Auto Transfer Rules. If Stripe brings in $20,000 in a month, you could automatically move 25% into Tax and 10% into Profit while leaving the rest in Operating. You can also maintain a target balance in a Payroll account, automatically topping it up when the balance is low and moving excess cash out when the balance is too high.

Virtual cards work the same way. You can use one card for AWS, another for Google Ads, and another for Meta, each with its own limits or merchant lock. If there is a problem with one service, you only need to deal with that card instead of updating every other subscription.

Mercury also offers its own invoicing tools. One useful feature is the ability to assign a separate Virtual Account Number to different customers. Customers can still pay by ACH or wire, but you do not have to share the company’s actual account number, and incoming payments are easier to reconcile.

These features matter more once a business has multiple customers, employees, vendors, and SaaS subscriptions.

Mercury Books

Mercury Books launched in September 2026. It is a double-entry accounting system built directly into Mercury. Transactions, invoices, and Bill Pay activity inside Mercury can flow into the books automatically. It can also connect to external banks, credit cards, and platforms such as Stripe, PayPal, and Gusto, then categorize and reconcile transactions and generate P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

The traditional workflow is often Mercury → QuickBooks or Xero → accountant. Mercury Books brings that accounting layer into the same platform.

Books is free for Mercury users through the end of 2026. Starting January 1, 2027, it will cost $35/month, and it is a separate subscription that is not included in Plus or Pro. For more details, see Introducing Mercury Books.

Since Books is still new, I would not move an established accounting setup just for it yet. It looks most useful for simpler businesses that already keep most of their financial activity in Mercury.

Application Link

Under the current partnership terms confirmed with Mercury, eligible customers can earn a $300 bonus by depositing at least $10,000 within the first 60 days and maintaining the required balance for 30 days. Final bonus requirements are subject to the partner page and the Mercury Referred Customer Agreement in effect at the time you apply.

Bonus offer is subject to terms. To be eligible, your application must be completed through this affiliate link. To qualify for the referral bonus, you must meet the applicable balance threshold and maintain that balance for at least one full calendar day during the qualification period. Additional conditions and limitations apply. Bonus amount, payment timing, and full eligibility requirements are outlined in the Mercury Referred Customer Agreement.