Other than a brief spike in 2018, it’s been more than 15 years since short-term rates were high enough for most small-to-medium-size businesses (SMB) to care about chasing yield on their parked cash. But that’s changed dramatically in the past year. With “risk-free” rates in the 4% range, even a business with $50k in reserve (throwing off $175/mo pre-tax) has an incentive to sweep that out of a non-interest checking account.

Are we about to see a rush of fintech startups serving the interest-sensitive small business market? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on whether VCs believe we’ll have a long-term run of rates higher than 3%. But what we will surely see is challenger banks dusting off their sweep features and emphasizing them in their marketing and branding.

Resources: Looking for digital banks, lenders, payment providers, insurance or digital accounting for small businesses? Check out our latest lists: Small Business (SMB) savings/treasury accounts (7) | SMB online lenders (33) | SMB challenger banks (15) | SMB insurers (15) | SMB credit cards/expense management (16) | Billpay & invoicing (16)| Payment processors (7) | SMB digital accounting/bookkeeping (21)

The FAB Score (Fintech Attention Barometer) is a proxy for the size and growth of fintech companies founded since 1999. 

Highest-Rate Online Savings Banks for Small Businesses

Rank Company FAB* APY (10Jun’25)** Min Bal** Founded HQ Funding $M*** Visits (May’25)
FDIC-insured deposits
1 Grasshopper 42 3.55% $25k 2016 NYC $172 63,000
2 Meow 18 3.52% None 2021 NYC $27 42,000
3 Baselane 98 3.35% $50k 2020 NYC $8 460,000
4 Relay 218 3.03% $50k 2018 Toronto $52 980,000
5 Lili 44 3.00% None 2018 NYC $80 150,000
Not FDIC insured
1 Mercury 654 4.35% $20M 2017 SF $452 2,400,000
U.S. Treasuries
1 Meow 18 4.42% $1M 2021 NYC $27 42,000
2 Brex 416 4.34% Unknown 2017 SF $1,500 1,000,000

Source: FintechLabs, Crunchbase, SimilarWeb, 10 June 2025

FDIC-insured Deposits**

1. Grasshopper Bank
FAB Score = 42 (down 7 since Feb ’25)
HQ: NYC
Founded: 2016

Rates (APY)
Top: 3.55% (10 June 2025)
Minimum Balance for highest rate: $25k (1.8% for balances below $25k)

Traction:
– Raised $172M including $10M in Jan 2024, $30M Aug 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Assets: $620 million (12/31/22), 2.1x growth year over year (source: company)
– Deposits: $550 million (12/31/22), 2.2x growth year over year
– Loans: $450 million (12/31/22), 3.6x growth year over year
– Revenues: $17 million (2022), 2.4x growth year over year
– Website visits: 63,000 (SimilarWeb, May 2025), 100,000 SEMrush
– Employees: 100 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Jan, vs 119 Nov ’24, 119 Feb ’24, 120 August ’23

Social:
– LinkedIn 27,000 followers (153 employees vs. 151 in May; 131 in Mar; 124 in Feb; 120 Jan; 117 Dec ’24; 119 Sep ’24 & June ’24 & Jan ’24; 117 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.0 (255 vs 247 in May; 237 in Mar; 220 in Jan)

2. Meow
FAB Score: 18 (down 9)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2021
– Banking service providers: FirstBank, Grasshopper Bank, Third Coast Bank

Rates (APY)
Top: 3.52% FDIC-insured deposits on first $100,000, the rate falls to 1.20%  (as of 10 Feb 2025)
Treasuries: Not disclosed
Minimum Balance: None

Traction
– Raised: $27 million (Crunchbase)
– Employees: 27 (Pitchbook), unchanged since May ’24
– Website visits: 54,000 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Linkedin: 8,000 followers

3. Baselane
FAB Score: 98 (up 55)
HQ: NYC
Founded: 2020

Rates (APY)
Top APY: 3.35% (10 Feb 2025)
Minimum Balance for top rate: $50,000
Others: 1.75% under $10k, 2.64% between $10k to $25k, 3.06% $25k to $50k

Traction:
– Raised: $7.9M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 460,000 (SimilarWeb, May 2025), 350,000 SEMrush
– Employees: 50 (Pitchbook) vs. 47 Mar; 44 Nov ’24; 41 Sep ’24; 36 May ’24; 36 Mar ’24; 31 Feb ’24; 29 Nov ’23

Social:
– LinkedIn 4,300 followers (54 employees vs. 53 in May;  48 in Mar; 46 Feb; 44 Dec ’24; 45 Sep ’24; 36 June ’24; 33 Jan ’24; 30 Nov ’23)

4. Relay
FAB Score: 281 (up 27 since Feb ’25)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2018
– Partner bank: Thread

Rates (APY)
Top: 3.03% (10 June 2025)
Minimum Balance: $50k
Maximum balance: NA
Other tiers:
<$10,000 = 1.75%
$10,000 to $50,000 = 2.75%

Traction
– Raised $51.6 including $32M in 2024, $15M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 980,000 (SimilarWeb, May 2025), 860,000 SEMrush
– Employees: 261 (Pitchbook), vs. 199 in Mar ’25 & July ’24; 152 in May ’24, 142 Feb ’24, 128 Nov ’23

Social
– LinkedIn: 13,000 followers (283 employees vs. 273 in May; 251 in Mar; 250 in Feb; 241 Jan; 236 Dec ’24; 201 Sep ’24; 197 June ’24)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (2,560 reviews vs. 2,390 in May; 2,260 in Mar; 2,100 in Jan)
– iOS: 4.8 (2,100 reviews vs 2,000 in May; 1,900 in Mar; 1,700 in Dec ’24)

5. Lili
FAB Score = 44 (down 26)
HQ: NYC
Founded: 2018
Banking service provider: Choice Financial Group

Rates (APY)
Top: 3.0%
Minimum Balance to earn highest rate: none
Maximum balance to earn interest: $1,000,000

Traction:
– Raised $80M including $55M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 150,000 (SimilarWeb, May 2025), 180,000 SEMrush
– Employees (Pitchbook): 134 vs 128 in May; 110 in Mar; 89 Nov ’24; 88 Sep ’24 & June ’24; 105 May ’24; 105 Nov ’23

Social:
– LinkedIn: 16,000 followers (137 employees vs. 134 in May; 124 in Mar; 120 in Feb; 112 Jan; 105 Dec ’24; 90 Sep ’24 & June ’24; 68 Feb ’24; 341 Feb ’23)
– TikTok: 233,000 followers; 600,000 likes (unchanged for a year)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (3,700 reviews vs. 3,640 in May; 3,580 in Mar; 3,470 in Jan)

Not FDIC insured

1. Mercury Technologies
FAB Score = 654 (up 207)
HQ: San Francisco Bay Area
Founded: 2017
Partner banks: Choice Financial Group, Evolve Bank & Trust, and a network of 20 banks to hold excess deposits; Patriot Bank (IO card issuer)

Rates (Yield)
Top: 4.35% (NOT FDIC insured, NOT US Treasuries)
Minimum Balance: $20 million

Traction
– More than 200,000 customers (Techcrunch, May 2024)
– Current run rate of $4B in payments per month (Techcrunch, May 2024); $50B processed in 2022, double the $23B in 2021
– Raised $452M (Crunchbase) including $300M in March 2025, $120M in 2021
– Valuation: $3.5B (FintechLabs)
– Website visits: 2.4 million (May 2025; SimilarWeb), 2.3M SEMRush  <<<< Most website traffic
– Employees: 800 (Pitchbook) vs 999 in Feb; 882 Nov ’24 & Aug ’24; 728 in March ’24; 681 Jan ’24; 669 Aug ’23

Social
– LinkedIn 78,000 followers (1,220 employees vs 1,160 in May, 1,090 in Mar, 1,070 in Feb, 1,030 in Jan, 987 in Dec ’24, 952 Sep ’24, 806 May ’24)
– iOS app: 4.9 (7,600 reviews vs. 7,200 in May, 6,600 in Mar; 6,100 in Jan)
– Trustpilot: 4.2 (1,760 reviews vs 1,620 in May, 1,420 in Mar; 1,220 in Jan)

Notes:
* The FAB score, Fintech Attention Barometer, is a proxy for the overall size of a private company since they typically do not release traditional metrics (# customers, deposits, AUM, etc). The score is based on VC funding, website traffic, mobile downloads, and the number of employees. It’s a work in progress, so expect changes in the formula.
**APY: Rate observed on each bank’s website on publication date. Consult the bank’s website for current APY.
***Funding: Includes equity and debt funding per Crunchbase.

Disclaimer:
Our business model depends on revenue from referrals and sponsors. When you see a referral link in the URL, we may earn a fee when a new account is started (thanks!). This can improve visibility on our website, but does not impact the company’s FAB score.

 

No longer listed

Live Oak Bank
FAB Score = 49 (down 2)
HQ: Wilmington, NC
Founded: 2008

Rates (APY)
Top: 4.3% (3 Oct 2024)
Minimum Balance: none

Traction
Raised: $152 million (Crunchbase)
Revenue (TTM): $468M (Yahoo)
Valuation: $2.1B (Public; 3 Oct 2024)
Website visits: 170,000 (Similarweb, Aug 2024)
Employees: 961 (Pitchbook), up 36 since July, up 36 since Feb, up 75 since October ’23

Social
Articles: 29 (Crunchbase)
LinkedIn: 21,000 followers (968 employees, down 7 since July, up 6 since May, up 43 since Feb and Oct ’23)
Trustpilot: 4.4 (904 reviews, up 121 since July)

 

Mayfair (NOTE: Website down 3 Oct 2024, 11am Pacific Time)
FAB Score = 13 (unchanged)
Founded: 2021
HQ: San Francisco

Rates (APY)
Top APY: 4.72%
Minimum balance: $2,500

Traction
Funding: $14M (Crunchbase)
Employees: 120 (Linkedin), up 11 since Oct
Website traffic: 1,700 (Aug 2024, SimilarWeb)
Articles: 1 (Crunchbase)
Linkedin: 1,000 followers (206 employees, up 47 since July, up 59 since May, up 86 since Feb, up 97 since Oct ’23)

 

Zamp (appears to have pivoted to cash management only)
FAB Score = 21 (down 3 since Feb)
Founded: 2022
HQ: India

Rates (Yield)
Top: Not disclosed
Minimum Balance: Not disclosed

Traction
Funding: $25M (Crunchbase)
Employees: 28 employees (Linkedin)
Website traffic: 6,600 (Aug 2024, SimilarWeb)
LinkedIn: 7,000 followers (53 employees, up 2 since July, up 5 since May, up 15 since April, up 17 since Oct ’23)