The verdict
7.0 / 10 · CONSIDER
Mercury offers FDIC-insured business banking specifically tailored to startups, including crypto-native companies. Used by every tier-1 crypto fund + protocol team for USD operating accounts; no native crypto buy/sell, but seamless wires to Coinbase Prime, Anchorage, and exchanges. Mercury IO (treasury) added 2023.
◆ BUY IT IF
- Crypto-friendly KYC — accepts crypto-fund + protocol entities
- Up to $5M sweep-FDIC via partner-bank aggregation
- Treasury yield (5%) on idle balances
- Built for engineering teams (API)
◇ SKIP IT IF
- Business-only — no consumer accounts
- Partner-bank dependency: Choice Financial / Column / Patriot Bank (FDIC) — Synapse-era Evolve relationship ended March 2025
- No native crypto buy/sell — must use Coinbase Prime / OTC desk separately
- Higher onboarding friction than Wise / Brex for non-US founders
§ 01 SCORE BREAKDOWN
Eight axes, weighted.
DIMENSION WEIGHT RATING SCORE
Regulatory safety
Banking-as-a-service via Choice Financial Group (FDIC), Column N.A. (FDIC), and Patriot Bank N.A. (FDIC). Merc
Card & IBAN
No card, no IBAN
Yield
Up to 5% APY
Coin selection
0 coins supported
App UX
Transparency
Proof of Reserves, public filings, incident history
Fees & spreads
Support
§ 02 THE FIELD TEST
How we tested Mercury.
Drafted from public sources — regulatory licences verified against issuing-authority registers (NYDFS, FCA, MAS, VARA, FSCA, etc.); fees verified from current published rate cards. Not yet field-tested.
DATE STEP TIME NOTES
— Account opened — KYC completed end-to-end
— First deposit — Not yet field-tested — record drafted from public sources; first-hand testing scheduled for the next review cycle.
— First withdrawal — Not yet field-tested — record drafted from public sources; first-hand testing scheduled for the next review cycle.
— Card activated — Card not supported / not ordered
— Last hands-on check — Drafted from public sources — regulatory licences verified against issuing-authority registers (NYDFS, FCA, MAS, VARA, FSCA, etc.); fees verified from current published rate cards. Not yet field-tested.
§ 03 SPECIFICATIONS
Everything, in one table.
Regulation
- Regulatory status
- Banking-as-a-service via Choice Financial Group (FDIC), Column N.A. (FDIC), and Patriot Bank N.A. (FDIC). Mercury ended its Evolve Bank & Trust partnership in March 2025 following the Synapse collapse. Mercury itself is not a bank — software layer on top of partner banks.
- FDIC insurance
- Yes
- MiCA compliant
- No
- Founded
- 2017
- HQ
- San Francisco, CA, USA
Fees
- Monthly account fee
- Free
- Trading fee
- —
- Withdrawal fee
- Variable
Yield & products
- Earn yield
- Up to 5% on Treasury via T-Bills
- Max APY
- 5%
- Staking
- No
- Crypto-backed loans
- No
- Supported coins
- 0
Banking
- IBAN
- No
- Debit card
- No
- DeFi access
- No
- NFT support
- No
Regions
- Regions available
- US
- Markets served
- United States
Support
- Trustpilot
- N/A
Historical APY
◆ Historical data accumulating
Weekly APY snapshots begin once the scripts/refresh-apy.mjs cron has accumulated at least two data points. The chart will populate automatically as new rows merge.
Current published max APY: 5%
§ 04 FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mercury safe? +
Mercury has a regulatory status of: Banking-as-a-service via Choice Financial Group (FDIC), Column N.A. (FDIC), and Patriot Bank N.A. (FDIC). Mercury ended its Evolve Bank & Trust partnership in March 2025 following the Synapse collapse. Mercury itself is not a bank — software layer on top of partner banks.. Deposits are FDIC insured up to $250,000. Always verify current regulatory status directly with the platform before depositing.
What is the maximum APY on Mercury? +
Mercury currently offers up to 5% APY. Rate as of 2026-04-29. Rates change — always check the platform for current rates before depositing.
Where is Mercury available? +
Mercury is available in: US. Markets served: United States.
Does Mercury have a debit card? +
No, Mercury does not currently offer a debit card.