Yes, with conditions. Fintech business banking platforms, including Rho, Mercury, Bluevine, Relay and Brex, can be safe to use when an FDIC-insured partner bank holds your deposits and you stay within the coverage limit.
Online business banking and digital business accounts are covered by FDIC insurance only when an insured partner bank holds the deposits. Here are the three conditions that decide it:
The platform is not a bank. Mercury, Bluevine and Relay each say so on their own sites. FDIC insurance protects you if the insured bank holding your deposits fails. It does not protect you if the platform itself fails.
Pass-through coverage depends on the partner bank. Coverage reaches you through the partner bank, and only when the applicable conditions for pass-through coverage are met.
Coverage has limits. The standard FDIC limit is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. Some platforms advertise more by spreading deposits across several banks, so check how the number is built.
Fintech platforms don't hold deposits themselves. One or more FDIC-insured partner banks custody the money, and the platform adds the software on top: the account experience, the card program, and reporting.
Below, we explain how pass-through coverage works, then compare how each provider holds deposits.
Fintechs aren't banks. Here's what they are.
A bank charter is a specific legal status, granted by regulators like the OCC or a state banking authority, that lets an institution hold deposits directly and carry FDIC insurance in its own name. Fintech banking platforms typically work with a chartered partner bank instead.
They're technology companies that build a checking or savings product on top of a chartered bank's infrastructure, then handle the app, the card, and the customer support themselves.
How pass-through FDIC insurance works
Pass-through deposit insurance lets FDIC coverage reach the customers of a platform when an insured partner bank holds the funds and the applicable conditions are met. It covers the failure of the bank holding your deposits. It does not cover the failure of the platform.
That is why the partner bank matters more than the app.
The "Best for" labels reflect who each provider serves, based on public information including each provider's own site. The table shows how each provider holds your business deposits and the FDIC figure it states, and the standard limit for Chase. Some figures come from sweep networks; here is how sweep networks extend FDIC coverage.
Provider | Best for | How deposits are held | FDIC coverage figure |
|---|---|---|---|
Mercury | Startup banking | Choice Financial Group and Column N.A. (both FDIC-insured), plus a sweep network of up to 20 banks. Mercury says it is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. | Sweep network provides up to $5M in FDIC insurance |
Bluevine | Small businesses | Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, plus program banks. Bluevine states it is not a bank. | Up to $3,000,000 per depositor |
Relay | Small businesses with payroll to run | Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC, with sweep deposits at program banks. Relay says it is not an FDIC-insured bank. | Up to $3,000,000, with conditions for pass-through coverage to apply |
Brex | Startups and enterprises | Checking is provided by Column N.A., Member FDIC. Vault places funds at program banks. | Checking up to $250,000. Vault up to $6M |
Chase | Businesses that want a traditional bank holding their deposits directly | Deposit products provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. | Standard FDIC limit of $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category |
Rho | Founder-friendly business banking for US-incorporated businesses | Rho is a banking platform, not a bank. Checking is provided by Webster Bank, a division of Santander Bank, N.A., and Lead Bank, both Member FDIC. | Up to $250,000 per entity, subject to applicable conditions |
Mercury, Bluevine and Relay state FDIC figures above $250,000, and Brex states up to $6M for Vault. Figures above $250,000 come from placing deposits at more than one bank, so check which banks hold the money and how the number is built.
What to take from the table:
Every platform in the table except Chase sits on top of partner banks.
The advertised figures differ because the deposit structures differ.
$250,000 is the standard FDIC limit.
Reviews describe service. Partner-bank disclosure and coverage terms describe safety.
Before you open any account, ask which bank holds the money and what has to be true for coverage to reach you. We cover how fintech and traditional business banking differ in more detail.
How to vet a fintech banking provider
Four questions separate a well-structured fintech banking provider from a risky one:
Name the bank. Mercury, Bluevine, Relay, Brex and Rho each name their partner banks on their own sites. If a provider does not, treat that as a red flag.
Is the coverage figure a single bank's $250,000, or a multi-bank network? If it's a network, does the provider explain how deposits get split across banks, or just assert a large total?
Does the provider disclose, in plain language, that it's a fintech and not a bank, wherever banking is mentioned? That disclosure signals that FDIC coverage runs through the bank partner, not the app itself.
For larger balances, can the provider explain how customer-level records are kept? It is a fair question to ask support directly.
You don't need to be a compliance expert to ask these. A provider that's structured correctly will answer plainly.
How Rho holds deposits
Rho is a banking platform, not a bank. Checking is provided by two partner banks, Webster Bank, a division of Santander Bank, N.A., and Lead Bank. Ask any provider, Rho included, which bank holds your money, what the coverage limit is, and what has to be true for coverage to reach you.
See how Rho holds deposits
If you are comparing providers for a US-incorporated business, see how Rho checking works and which partner banks hold the funds. See how Rho works
