Mercury vs Novo Business Checking (2024): Which Is Best?

The main differences I noticed between Mercury

Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; MembersFDIC. Deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank.

and Novo

Novo is a fintech, and not a bank. Novo acts as a service provider to Middlesex Federal Savings, FA, and the deposit and banking products obtained through the Novo platform are provided by Middlesex Federal Savings, FA

business checking are the tools used for money transfers and cash management. Both are excellent options if you’re looking for an affordable business checking account. They offer unlimited monthly transactions and do not require an opening deposit. There is no required minimum balance or overdraft fees, and both operate in the online-only banking space.

Comparison of Mercury vs Novo Business Checking

	Mercury Business Checking	Novo Business Checking
Monthly Maintenance Fee	$0	$0
Required Opening Deposit	$0	$0
Debit Cards	Free virtual debit card; free physical debit card mailed within a few days	Virtual debit card available immediately; one free physical debit card per user
Accounting Software Integrations	QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite	QuickBooks and Xero
Business Software Integrations	Includes Amazon, PayPal, Shopify, Square, Stripe, and Zapier	Includes AWS, eBay, Etsy, Gusto, PayPal, Stripe, Square, Wise, WooCommerce, and Zapier
Other Products Available	High-yield treasury account, venture debt, corporate credit cards, savings account, advanced financial workflows, working capital loans, SAFEs, and personal banking	Merchant cash advances and integrated LLC creation in partnership with LegalZoom

Mercury vs Novo: Pricing

When I was comparing Novo vs Mercury business checking, I noticed similar pricing in the basic components of the accounts. Neither charges any type of fee to have an active business checking.

When it comes to basic money transfers, they are also very similar. Mercury offers standard ACH and wire transfers at no additional cost. Both of these cash management services are complementary features added to the business checking account. This is a huge savings compared to the fees charged for wires at most banks.

Novo also offers ACH and wires; however, the cost is structured differently. Standard ACH is free, and if you opt for Novo Express, the fee is 1.5% of the transaction amount (minimum of 50 cents and maximum of $20). Having this upgrade allows Stripe payments to post to your account up to two days faster, making money management easier.

Domestic outgoing wires are not offered, though domestic incoming wires are free. However, Novo encourages customers to use ACH for fund transfers instead. There is also a fee charged for international wires. Since you can’t transmit directly from Novo, it partners with Wise for a cost-efficient way to send international funds.

Both banks have great features depending on the needs of your business. After a thorough review of both financial institutions, I determined that Mercury offers better features for saving money. It has affordable wire transfers, more savings account options, and a wider selection of partner perks. Meanwhile, Novo provides better business tools, such as invoicing software and Novo Boost, which gives you access to your funds faster.

Mercury pricing

Mercury: $0 monthly maintenance fee with standard features.
Mercury Plus: $35 monthly maintenance fee with upgraded bill pay and invoicing.
Mercury Pro: $350 monthly maintenance fee with all advanced features and a dedicated account representative.

Mercury

is a strong choice for startups looking for a low-cost banking solution and businesses looking to scale. The electronic interface is diverse for tech-savvy businesses looking for a platform to manage all their banking needs in one place.

New pricing

Business Checking: $0 monthly maintenance fee with standard features

Novo

is great for businesses looking for a simple and user-friendly banking experience. It offers up to $7 in out-of-network ATM reimbursements each month and does not charge for overdrafts, returned items, bill pay, and paper statements.

Mercury vs Novo: Feature comparison

Check Deposits

Winner: Nova

Mercury and Novo both offer mobile deposit. The main difference is the time it takes to process the checks and for the funds to be available for use. With Novo, paper checks, cashier’s checks, and money orders are available within two business days. With Mercury, mobile deposits are generally available in seven business days.

Wire Transfers

Winner: Mercury

Mercury does not charge fees for incoming or outgoing domestic wire transfers, and outgoing international wire transfers in US dollars are free. To ensure your recipient will receive the full transfer amount sent, you can pay a flat fee of $15 to cover any transaction fees your recipient may incur.

Mercury has also made provisions for customers to send international wire transfers in foreign currency. It charges a 1% currency exchange fee to cover processing fees, and you can send funds in over 30 currencies through the Mercury dashboard. However, you must be a US-formed company to access the international wire features.

Meanwhile, Novo lets you receive domestic wire transfers for free. Currently, it is unable to transmit outgoing domestic wires. To receive international wire transfers, you will need to create a Wise account. Since the Novo platform comes with an embedded Wise integration, you can use Wise directly through the Novo website or app.

Reserve Accounts

Winner: Nova

Novo has a feature called Reserves, which allows you to allocate funds into different reserve accounts. You can set up an automation to transfer a set percentage of your income into a designated reserve account. The maximum number of reserve accounts for each business account is 20. On the other hand, Mercury lets you create up to 14 additional reserve accounts. This is a segmented bucket allowing you to allocate funds for taxes, savings, or special projects.

Mercury pros and cons

Pros of Mercury

Affordable fee structure
FDIC insurance up to $5 million
Robust online banking

Cons of Mercury

Cash deposits are not accepted
No check-writing capabilities
No monthly ATM reimbursement

Novo pros and cons

Pros of Novo

$7 ATM monthly reimbursement
Unlimited invoice creation
Novo Boost provides cash payouts up to two days faster

Cons of Novo

Savings accounts are not offered
No outgoing domestic wires
Cash deposits involve purchasing third-party money orders and then using mobile deposit

Mercury vs Novo on Reddit

Image: Reddit

While researching Novo vs Mercury, I decided to go to a platform where users feel free to express their true opinions. Reddit is a great sounding board for discovering true customer thoughts on nearly any subject. I read through some comments about Mercury and Novo to get a good overview of customer satisfaction.

When searching for feedback about Mercury, I found a thread where a business owner had received advice from a parent company to open a business account with Mercury. This question was posed in a small business community: “Does anyone use Mercury for their business? Pros and cons would be greatly appreciated.”

A Reddit user in the r/smallbusiness related their experience with Mercury. They mentioned that their dealings in the beginning involved some significant restrictions — but only until Mercury got to know the business well. Once it could tell it was a legitimate business, the restrictions were removed. The only warning given by the user was in regard to writing checks. They mentioned you can’t write checks yourself — Mercury has to produce and mail them for you.

I was also able to find some similar comments about Novo. One Reddit user in the r/smallbusiness said they had been using Novo for three years and the experience has been great. They compared Novo to an account they had at a traditional bank and mentioned Novo is far superior; it is modern, is fast, and integrates well with Wave software for accounting.

I also found a question regarding both banks. Another user on Reddit in r/smallbusiness asked for suggestions regarding Chase, Novo, and Mercury. One user had a great experience with Mercury, saying the interface was clean and clear and customer support was very helpful. Others warned their account had experienced issues while trying to make purchases.

One individual reported Novo was a solid bank; however, they have struggled with customer support since the replies appeared to be copy-and-paste responses that did not solve the issue.

Should your business use Mercury Business Checking or Novo business checking?

Choose Mercury if

You intend to scale your business in the future
You frequently send wires in foreign currencies
You want a tech-savvy electronic interface

Choose Novo if

You need a quick turnaround time on electronic payouts
You require upgraded treasury management products
You seek a low-cost business checking account

Methodology

When comparing Mercury vs Novo business checking accounts, I checked a few different information sources. I compared the basic accounts on each website to determine similarities and differences. I also took a look at what reviewers had to say about each financial institution.

Overall, I concluded they have many similar features, including no opening deposit, no overdraft fees, no direct debit card fees, and no monthly maintenance fee. When moving deeper into account functions, the differences become more apparent. Mercury is built for scaling, allowing startups to grow up to $5 million insured by the FDIC, while Novo is geared toward supporting small businesses by providing upgraded treasury products and insuring deposits up to $250,000.

When comparing Mercury vs Novo business checking reviews, I found plenty of comments to consider. Mercury has over 1,000 reviews, and Novo has over 4,000. The rating of Novo is currently higher than Mercury’s, and a larger number of customers submitted comments. A majority of the reviews are positive, showing many satisfied customers of both Mercury and Novo. Choosing between the two will largely depend on the long-term goals of your business.

This article was reviewed by our banking expert Tricia Jones.