Relay Business Checking Review 2024 (2024)

Relay’s business checking account is a free account that helps business owners organize their cash flow. For starters, it lets you open up to 20 separate checking accounts under your main account, which can be useful for dividing certain types of income and expenses.

Relay also lets you issue 50 virtual or physical Visa debit cards and set spending limits for team members. If your organization has many employees or contractors, this might be a significant selling point.

Relay Business Checking accounts have no minimum balance requirements to open. You can also withdraw cash from over 55,000 Allpoint ATMs without paying fees, and there are no overdraft fees. The only fees associated with the account are for outgoing wire transfers.

Moving money to and from your account is also simple. Relay accepts ACH payments, wire transfers, check deposits, cash and payments from online processors like PayPal, Square and Stripe. Additionally, you can set up recurring transfers between accounts and recurring payments to ensure vendors are paid on time.

This account includes bookkeeping and accounting options as well. Relay automatically categorizes transactions to provide an overview of your cash flow, refreshing data every three hours, and you can connect your account to QuickBooks or Xero to manage your books and plan for taxes. You can also integrate with Gusto, a payroll and HR solution.

Finally, this account provides up to $3 million in FDIC insurance coverage through Relay’s cash sweep program. Relay works with Thread Bank to provide this service, which automatically insures all excess deposits.

Business Savings

Relay offers a Relay Business Savings account in addition to its business checking account. This account has no minimum balance requirement or monthly fees. Currently, you can earn 1.00% to 3.00% APY, depending on your cash balance. Rates are determined using the following tiers:

• $1 to $50,000: Earn 1.00% APY
• $50,000 to $250,000: Earn 1.50% APY
• $250,000 to $1 million: Earn 2.00% APY
• $1 million and above: Earn 3.00% APY

Interest is paid out monthly. Like its checking account, Relay’s business savings account offers $3 million in FDIC insurance through the cash sweep program. You can set up automatic transfers to your savings to reach your goals and open up to two savings accounts to further separate your finances.

Accounts Payable

Relay lets you pay bills with free same-day ACH transfers, checks or domestic and international wires. There’s a currency conversion option built in as well, which is useful when paying international clients. You can also handle all of your payees and upload vendor details like W-9 forms to help during tax season.

Relay Pro

Relay Pro, Relay’s premium plan, costs $30 per month. This plan unlocks accounts payable and automatic bill imports from QuickBooks Online or Xero. It also provides same-day ACH transfers and free outgoing wires, whereas Relay’s free plan charges $5 for outgoing domestic wires and $10 for outgoing international wires. Furthermore, Relay Pro provides more control over automating bills and consolidating multiple transactions to a single vendor into one transaction.

If you don’t plan on using accounts payable features, Relay Pro likely isn’t worth it. However, saving money on wire transfer fees and getting same-day ACH transfers might justify paying $30 a month, depending on your transaction volume.

One of Relay’s unique aspects is its Profit First approach to finances. Profit First is a cash management strategy created by small business expert and author Mike Michalowicz. The goal of this system is to put every dollar your business makes to work, whether that means reinvesting, saving or paying off debt.

This is where Relay’s 20-account limit comes in handy, letting you set up separate savings and checking accounts for different goals. Relay’s automated transfer rules are also useful for this. You can set up transfers based on your expected cash flow to ensure you’re reaching different targets.

If you need assistance, Relay can connect you to a Profit First Professional. This is its partner network of accountants, business coaches and bookkeepers who help businesses develop a plan to create more cash flow and achieve profitability.

The Relay business checking account’s lack of fees, numerous accounting and bookkeeping tools and Profit First methodology make it a well-rounded and unique offering. The ability to create many accounts and issue up to 50 debit cards also makes it useful for businesses with multiple employees or contractors.

However, choosing the right business checking account depends on your needs and goals. Relay isn’t the best choice if you want to earn interest on low cash balances. Its savings account pays up to 3.00% APY, but only on balances of $1 million or higher. In contrast, business checking accounts like Bluevine Business Checking pay 2.00% APY on balances up to $250,000.

Relay also isn’t worth using if you want a full-service business banking solution with access to products like loans and credit cards. In this case, online banks such as NBKC could be a better choice. And if you want in-person branch access and more account options, a nationwide bank like Chase is worth considering.