Mercury vs. Novo Business Banking: Fees, Payments, Tools and Account Fit

Quick Comparison

FinanceProspector Feature Scores

These are the individual feature scores from each provider’s review. Features are shown side by side only where their scoring criteria and assumptions match; the remaining scores are grouped by provider. A feature’s absence from a provider’s scored list does not mean it is unavailable. Business Banking feature scores use a display scale of 7.5–9.5, with 9.5 the highest possible score under this framework. No overall comparison score is calculated.

Other Mercury Feature Scores

Other Novo Feature Scores

Advantages and Limitations

Mercury

Mercury supports separate purpose-based checking accounts, automated transfer rules and configurable permissions. Its listed $0 ordinary dashboard ACH and domestic-wire charges can be useful for businesses sending those payments regularly.

It does not support sole proprietorships or direct cash deposits. Advanced invoice collection, accounting functions and separate investment or credit products have their own pricing, eligibility and terms. A $0 international-wire charge does not eliminate currency-conversion costs or intermediary deductions.

Novo

Novo includes invoicing and bookkeeping without a monthly maintenance charge. Reserves provide internal budgeting categories, and eligible automatic Stripe payouts may qualify for earlier access through Novo Boost. Sole proprietors can apply subject to the published requirements.

Reserves are not separate bank accounts. Additional users have broad access rather than read-only roles. Express ACH has a fee, outgoing domestic-wire access is conditional, ATM-fee reimbursement is capped and direct cash deposits are unavailable.

Fees and Minimum Balances

Novo has no minimum balance requirement and describes its $1,000 initial deposit as recommended, not required. Neither offering requires maintaining a balance to waive the base monthly account charge.

Mercury Books has a subscription price of $35 per month. This comparison excludes temporary subscription promotions. Novo's account agreement allows an inactivity fee after 18 months without a customer-initiated transaction, but the fee schedule does not state its amount.

Confirm the fee displayed for an account-specific service before authorizing it. Ordinary dashboard ACH pricing does not establish the cost of invoice ACH-debit collection or API mass payments.

Interest, Yield and Cash Management

Novo checking pays 0% APY. Moving money into a Reserve changes its allocation within the account, not its interest treatment.

Mercury's partner-bank terms list 0.00% checking APY at Column and a non-interest-bearing Choice deposit account. Its available savings account is also listed at 0.00% APY.

Mercury Treasury is a separate investment product. Mercury publishes a $250,000 Mercury-balance threshold for access, subject to eligibility and governing terms; that figure should not be described as a universal investment minimum or a guarantee of access at precisely that balance.

Treasury investments are not FDIC-insured deposits, are not bank-guaranteed and can lose value. Investment yields can change and may use different measures from deposit APY. Compare the product holding the money, its withdrawal conditions and its protections before comparing returns.

Cash Deposits, Checks and ATM Access

Neither Mercury nor Novo accepts direct cash deposits. Businesses regularly collecting physical cash need a supported deposit arrangement beyond these accounts.

Novo describes purchasing an eligible money order and submitting it through mobile check deposit as an indirect route. The purchase can cost money, mobile-deposit access must be enabled and acceptance and holds still apply. MoneyGram money orders are excluded in Novo's help guidance. This is not equivalent to depositing cash at a branch.

Both support remote check deposits subject to review and account limits. Mercury manually reviews checks before approval; posting can take up to five business days after approval, with after-cutoff submissions potentially settling on the sixth business day. Novo's help guidance and mobile-deposit terms give different conditional windows: its terms generally allow five business days, with earlier availability or extended holds in specified circumstances. Use the actual deposit notice when planning spending.

Mercury's ATM route requires a physical business debit card; virtual cards and IO cards do not serve that purpose. Mercury charges no fee of its own at U.S. ATMs, but operators can charge. Novo charges no withdrawal fee of its own and caps operator-fee reimbursement at $7 per customer per month. Neither statement promises that every withdrawal is free.

Both can print and mail checks. Their payment guides describe seven-to-ten-business-day delivery windows. Allow separately for the recipient's deposit processing and any bank-specific service restrictions.

ACH, Wires and Other Payments

Mercury's outgoing ACH same-day route applies to payments below $1 million submitted before noon Pacific. Otherwise, its guide describes next-day processing. Recipient posting, reviews and available funds still matter. Its outgoing domestic-wire cutoff is 1:30 p.m. Pacific; a processing cutoff does not guarantee receipt.

Novo's published descriptions of standard outbound ACH vary, including one-to-three and two-to-three business days. Review the arrival estimate for the actual instruction. Express ACH is described as available the same business day for eligible instructions sent before 2:30 p.m. Eastern on business days, subject to holidays, limits and the receiving bank's processing.

Novo's native outgoing domestic wires are available only to selected eligible customers. Its guide gives a 3 p.m. Eastern business-day processing cutoff and describes a 72-hour restriction after a new-device login or an account-detail change. Confirm access, timing and the quoted charge before scheduling a supplier payment.

Both offer bill-payment functions, but the selected payment method retains its own fees and limits. Mercury's real-time payment availability is limited to Column N.A. accounts under its published terms; Choice accounts cannot use that route. Novo documents receiving FedNow payments. Receiving one payment type does not establish an equivalent outgoing capability.

International Payments and FX

Mercury offers international wires, with documented support for more than 40 currencies. Its standard USD SHA route lists a $0 Mercury charge, but intermediary or recipient-bank deductions can reduce what arrives. The optional $15 OUR route is intended to address intermediary charges without guaranteeing full-value receipt. Its listed foreign-currency wire conversion charge is 1%. Mercury's eligibility guidance states that companies formed outside the United States cannot use Mercury's international wire features.

Novo connects customers to Wise for international payments. Wise is a separate service with its own fees, exchange rates, limits and restrictions. Compare the quote for the destination and currency you need; a connection does not make the transfer free.

Card purchases abroad are a different transaction from international wires. Novo states that it imposes no foreign debit-card purchase fee, while Mastercard's conversion rate and third-party charges can still apply. Mercury's applicable card agreement can provide for foreign transaction charges. Do not use a wire's fee as a substitute for the card's terms.

Account Structure and Business Tools

Mercury supports multiple checking accounts for different purposes. Transfer rules can allocate fixed amounts or percentages, respond to incoming funds or schedules, and maintain target balances. Confirm the available account allowance and routing-number arrangements before setting up your accounts.

Novo supports up to 20 Reserves within one checking account. These allocations can help label money for taxes, payroll or planned expenses, but they remain part of the same account balance. Reserve activity does not appear on monthly statements in Novo's guidance.

Choose between separate accounts and internal allocations based on how you need to receive, organize and spend money. Account structure does not establish a separate legal entity. Deposit-protection conditions are explained below.

Invoicing, Bookkeeping and Integrations

Both provide invoice creation and tracking. Mercury includes basic invoicing, while recurring invoices and invoice collection by ACH debit require a paid plan. Stripe card processing has separate charges. Novo includes invoice creation, recurring invoices and reminders; supported payment processors retain their own fees and terms.

Novo Bookkeeping includes categorization, rules and financial reports. Novo's guidance allows up to five linked accounts in total, including Novo. It also says bookkeeping cannot be turned off once activated and its data is not retained after account closure. Save the records your business needs before closing an account.

Mercury Books is separately priced double-entry accounting software, with cash/accrual accounting options and financial statements. The subscription should not be described as including human bookkeeping services.

“Not confirmed” means the connection has not been verified for this comparison; it does not mean it is unavailable. A listed connection does not establish unrestricted two-way synchronization, native functionality or fee-free transfers. Novo specifically says changes made in accounting software do not appear back in Novo.

Mobile and Digital Banking

Both provide digital account management. Novo's mobile app supports check-deposit submission, card controls and payment tasks, subject to account access and limits. Mercury provides dashboard-based payment, account, card and bookkeeping workflows, with functions depending on role and plan.

Novo supports freezing and unfreezing physical and virtual cards through the app or web dashboard. Its debit cards support Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay under Novo's published terms.

Desktop and mobile functions can differ; check that your preferred device supports the tasks you need.

Team Access, Security and Controls

Novo's owner-only actions and card spending limits do not turn another user's payment access into read-only access. Before inviting someone, decide whether they need to move money or only review records.

Mercury describes time-based one-time-password authentication and says it does not send authentication codes by SMS. Novo documents verification and device-authentication controls. Mercury also publishes a SOC 2-compliance statement.

Review the business-account agreement's unauthorized-transaction reporting requirements. Do not assume consumer debit-card protections apply identically to business accounts.

Customer Support

Mercury customers can message support through the dashboard or use its published help email. Its help guidance describes dashboard support as available 24/7 with a typical response within five minutes. Response times can vary. A relationship manager is a Pro-plan feature.

Novo offers in-app or dashboard messaging and a support email route. Confirm general applicant phone support and staffed hours directly with Novo. A fraud-specific number should not be treated as a general service line.

Compare the route you can use for the issue you expect to face.

Credit, Lending and Additional Services

Mercury offers separate IO charge-card, Working Capital and Venture Debt products, subject to their own eligibility, underwriting and agreements. Its lending disclosures exclude businesses operating in California from the named loan products.

Novo lists separate business credit-card and business-loan products issued by Continental Bank, along with a separate Merchant Cash Advance offered by Novo Funding LLC. Prequalification and checking-account access do not guarantee credit approval.

Novo Boost addresses payout timing rather than checking interest. It can make eligible automatic Stripe payouts available up to two business days early without an additional Boost charge. Enrollment requires qualifying conditions, including an account in good standing and at least $50 deposited before enrollment.

The applicable early-access limit is account-specific and can change. Credit is provisional: a failed or missing underlying payout can lead to reversal, potentially creating an insufficient balance. The Boost terms allow withdrawal if the payout does not arrive within five business days. Do not treat the public $5,000 description as a guaranteed limit or Boost as accelerated access to every processor's payouts.

Deposit Protection and Account Terms

Mercury and Novo are financial technology companies, not FDIC-insured banks. Mercury identifies Choice Financial Group and Column N.A. as banking partners. Novo identifies Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A., and also publishes deposit-network terms.

Both advertise potential network coverage up to $5 million subject to placement and program conditions. An advertised ceiling is not guaranteed coverage for every account or balance.

The standard FDIC framework is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. Other deposits at the same bank in the same category count toward the limit. Network placement, pass-through conditions and records matter. Additional accounts or Reserves do not automatically multiply protection.

FDIC insurance addresses insured-bank failure; it does not insure the fintech company itself against every disruption or cover investment losses. Mercury Treasury has separate investment risks and is not an FDIC-insured deposit.

The applicable bank and product agreements govern holds, restrictions, closure and dispute provisions. Identify the agreement for your actual account rather than assuming the two Mercury partner banks have identical terms.

Eligibility and Account Opening

Mercury supports eligible U.S.-formed companies, including LLCs and corporations, but not sole proprietorships. Some non-U.S. owners can apply, subject to country restrictions and requirements for U.S. operations and a qualifying business address. An owner working alone can still operate an eligible LLC; solo work and sole-proprietor legal status are different questions.

Novo supports sole proprietors and other eligible structures. Novo's application guide requires both an SSN and EIN for sole proprietors. It also specifies U.S. residency, U.S. business operations, a U.S. address and U.S. mobile number under the applicable location guidance.

Prepare structure-specific formation, tax-ID, ownership and identity information. Both review applications and may request additional evidence. A published application-completion estimate is different from an approval time, and meeting listed requirements does not guarantee acceptance.

Illustrative Costs and Interest

The examples below compare provider charges for the stated payment activity.

The examples assume eligible accounts, available funds and instructions meeting the applicable business-day cutoffs. They exclude third-party charges, FX, optional subscriptions and other transactions. Novo's wire ceiling is not a verified flat charge for every customer.

No investment-return projection is included. Novo's 0% checking APY and Mercury's non-interest-bearing or 0.00%-APY checking terms do not support a positive checking-interest illustration. Treasury yield is a separate investment measure and is not included in these payment-cost calculations.

Community Reviews

Community platforms contain different reviewers and may cover more than the base checking offering. Novo's G2 rating comes from a small sample. Individual experiences differ.

Read each platform separately; the ratings are not a measure of payment reliability or support response times.

Which Account Fits Your Business?

Before You Apply

1. Check eligibility first. A sole proprietor can examine Novo's requirements; Mercury requires a supported company structure. Confirm residency, ownership and documentation requirements for your business.
2. Confirm your payment route. Check enabled wire access, cutoffs, available funds and the quote for your actual payment. Compare international currency and recipient-charge requirements separately.
3. Match access to responsibilities. If someone needs restricted or read-only access, examine Mercury's configured roles rather than treating Novo's additional-user access as equivalent.
4. Add the costs your workflow needs. Include faster payments, software subscriptions, processing and third-party charges. Confirm current terms before applying.

Glossary