Other than a brief spike in 2018, it’s been 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.
Looking for digital banks, lenders, payment providers, insurance or digital accounting for small businesses? Check out our latest lists: SMB online lenders (34) | SMB challenger banks (15) | SMB insurers (15) | SMB charge cards/expense management (18) | Billpay & invoicing (21)| Payment processors (7) | Subscription processors (7) | SMB digital accounting/bookkeeping (21)
The FAB Score Ranking (Fintech Attention Barometer) is a proxy for the size of a private fintech company.
Highest-Rate Online Savings Banks for Small Businesses
| Rank | Company | FAB* | APY (10 Feb25)** | Min Bal** | Founded | HQ | Funding $M*** | Visits (Jan’25) |
|
FDIC-insured
|
||||||||
| 1 | Relay | 177 | 3.76% | $50k | 2018 | Toronto | $51 | 750,000 |
| 2 | Grasshopper | 50 | 3.55% | $25k | 2016 | NYC | $173 | 49,000 |
| 3 | Meow | 30 | 3.52% | None | 2021 | NYC | $27 | 54,000 |
| 4 | Baselane | 63 | 3.35% | $50k | 2020 | NYC | $7 | 270,000 |
| 5 | Lili | 68 | 3.00% | None | 2018 | NYC | $80 | 170,000 |
|
Non-FDIC insured
|
||||||||
| 1 | Mercury | 447 | 5.35% | $20M | 2017 | SF | $152 | 1,900,000 |
| Rank | Company | FAB* | APY (3 Oct24)** | Min Balance** | Founded | HQ | Funding $M*** | Visits (Aug’24) |
|
FDIC-insured deposits
|
||||||||
| 1 | Meow | 27 | 4.02% | None | 2021 | NYC | $27 | 37,000 |
| 2 | Live Oak Bank | 49 | 4.3% | None | 2008 | Wilmington, NC | $157 | 170,000 |
| 3 | Baselane | 43 | 3.77% | None | 2020 | NYC | $7 | 170,000 |
| 4 | Lili | 70 | 3.65% | None | 2018 | NYC | $80 | 180,000 |
| 5 | Grasshopper | 49 | 3.30% | $25k | 2016 | NYC | $173 | 43,000 |
| 6 | Relay | 191 | 3.00% | $1M | 2018 | Toronto | $51 | 820,000 |
|
U.S. Treasuries
|
||||||||
| 1 | Meow | 27 | Unknown | $1M | 2021 | NYC | $27 | 39,000 |
| 2 | Brex | 553 | 4.52% | Unknown | 2017 | SF | $1,200 | 870,000 |
| Other | ||||||||
| 1 | Mercury | 447 | 5.35% | $20M | 2017 | SF | $152 | 1,900,000 |
Source: FintechLabs, Crunchbase, SimilarWeb, 10 Feb 2025
FDIC-insured Deposits**
1. Relay
FAB Score: 191 (down 18)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2018
– Partner bank: Thread
Rates (APY)
Top: 3.76% (10 Feb 2025)
Minimum Balance to earn highest rate: $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: 750,000 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 199 (Pitchbook), unchanged from July ’24, up 57 since Feb ’24, up 71 since Nov ’23
Social
– LinkedIn: 11,000 followers (251 employees, up 27 since Oct ’24, up 36 since Aug ’24, up 77 since May ’24)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (2,170 reviews, up 310 since Oct)
– iOS: 4.8 (1,800 reviews, up 300 since Oct)
2. Grasshopper Bank
FAB Score = 49 (unchanged)
HQ: NYC
Founded: 2016
Rates (APY)
Top: 3.55% (10 Feb 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: 49,000 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 100 (Pitchbook), down 19 since Oct ’24, down 19 since Feb ’24, down 1 since August ’23
Social:
– Articles: 35 (Crunchbase)
– LinkedIn 26,000 followers (124 employees, up 5 since Oct. ’24, up 3 since Aug ’24, unchanged since Mar ’24, up 5 since Jan ’24, up 11 since Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.1 (227 reviews, up 47 since Oct)
3. Meow
FAB Score: 27 (unchanged from July)
– 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
4. Baselane
FAB Score: 43 (down 10)
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: 270,000 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 47 (Pitchbook), up 3 since Oct ’24, up 6 since July ’24, up 16 since Feb ’24, up 18 since Oct ’23
Social
– Articles: 5 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,000 followers (46 employees, up 2 since Oct. ’24, up 3 since July ’24, up 13 since Feb ’24, up 17 since Oct ’23)
5. Lili
FAB Score = 70 (up 6)
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: 170,000 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 110 (Pitchbook), up 21 since Oct ’24, up 22 since June ’24, up 5 since Nov ’23
Social:
– Articles: 23 (Crunchbase)
– LinkedIn: 15,000 followers (120 employees, up 23 since Oct. ’24, up 34 from June ’24, up 52 since Feb ’24, down 121 since Feb ’23)
– TikTok: 234,000 followers; 600,000 likes (unchanged for a year)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (3,520 reviews, up 260 since Oct)
Not FDIC insured
1. Mercury Technologies
FAB Score = 447 (down 137)
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: 4.50% (NOT US Treasuries)
Minimum Balance: $500k
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 $152M (Crunchbase) including $120M in 2021
– Valuation: $1.7B (based on July 2021 round); $1.6B based on Q3 ’23 secondary market sales
– Website visits: 2.1 million (Jan. 2025; SimilarWeb) <<<< Most website traffic
– Employees: 999 (Pitchbook), up 117 since Oct ’24, up 271 since March ’24, up 318 since January ’24, up 340 since August ’23
Social
– Articles: 20 (Crunchbase)
– LinkedIn 62,000 followers (1,071 employees, up 190 since Oct. ’24, up 277 since Aug ’24, up 365 since May ’24)
– iOS app: 4.9 (6,400 reviews, up 1,100 since Oct)
– Trustpilot: 3.6 (1,250 reviews, up 140 since Oct)
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)
