Relay Summary
Relay Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
Relay at a glance
Fees?
Security
Customer service
Online experience
Mobile experience
Advantages Over Traditional Banks
Relay’s accounts come with several notable features that give it an advantage over traditional banks. It does not charge any checking account, overdraft, ATM, or minimum balance fees, nor does it require a minimum deposit to get started. Additionally, with access to up to 20 checking accounts and 50 physical or virtual debit Mastercards per account, Relay makes it easy for small businesses to share access and transfer funds.
Cutting-Edge Banking Services
Relay’s flexible access levels enable you to set up different logins for each user on your account and restrict their permission levels from read-only to full cash management. You can automate spending limits for team members and establish direct bank feeds to QuickBooks or Xero.
Relay Pro members gain access to upgrades including automatic import and one-click reconciliation of bills in QuickBooks and Xero. Additionally, Relay Pro lets you schedule multi-step rules for bill payments and send international and domestic wires for free. These advanced features position Relay among the best online banking options for businesses.
Within its app, Relay makes it easy to send or receive payments via check, ACH, or wire. Its added security lets you freeze card transactions with the click of a button and review your transaction history quickly and easily.
Traditional Banking Services
Like most banks, Relay makes it easy for you to deposit, transfer, and manage your money. It offers mobile check deposits, ACH, and wire transfers through its app and provides free ATM withdrawals from 30,000 Allpoint ATMs nationwide. Deposits received via ACH or check are available within 1-2 days for Relay Standard users and same day for Relay Pro users.
That said, Relay does not currently provide alternative banking services such as retirement accounts, mortgages, or loans.
Interest Rates and Fees
You can sign up for a free Relay Starter account or pay a monthly fee of $30 for a Relay Grow account. Accountants and bookkeepers can receive a discount of up to 27% through its Partner Program, based on the number of clients they have signed up with Relay. No matter what plan you choose, Relay does not charge any checking account, ATM, minimum balance, overdraft, or bounced check fees.
| Fees and Interest | Relay Starter | Relay Grow | Relay Scale |
| Subscription fee | $0 | $30/month (discount available for accountants and bookkeepers through Partner Program) | $120 $90 for a limited time |
| Checking account fees | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Minimum balance | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Overdraft fees | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Bounced checks fees | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| ATM fees | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Sending Domestic Wire | $8 | $5 | $5 |
| Sending International Wire | $5 | $3 | $1.5 |
| APY | 1.11% | 1.75% | 3.00% |
Customer Service and Online Experience
Relay’s customer experience team is available via phone from 9am-5pm ET, Monday-Friday. It also offers email support 7 days a week at support@relayfi.com. Outside of regular business hours, you can get guidance from Relay’s FAQs page. Trustpilot gives Relay a rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, with reviewers saying that it’s easy to sign up for and use its platform and that its customer experience team delivers excellent service.
For those who learn best by doing, Relay also offers a biweekly walkthrough every other Thursday at 2pm ET. This includes a full demo of Relay’s system and a live Q&A.
Mobile App
With the Relay mobile app, available on iPhone and Adroid devices, you can remotely deposit checks, send and receive transfers, and access your account on the go. It features biometric and 2-factor authentication to protect your account, and you can also manage your card permissions within the app.
Security
All Relay accounts receive FDIC insurance up to $2.5 million*. To protect your account, Relay enables you to set up biometric or 2-factor authentication for your logins and to freeze lost or stolen cards within your account portal. Additionally, its cards are protected by Mastercard’s Zero Liability Policy, so cardholders will not be held responsible for unauthorized charges. However, it does not have a dedicated fraud team.
Summary
Relay is an online banking platform that helps small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers to control their spending and manage their accounts payable and cash flow. You can open up to 20 checking accounts and order 50 physical or virtual debit Mastercards. Relay charges no checking account, minimum balance, ATM, or overdraft fees, and allows you to sync your bank account with integrations including QuickBooks and Xero. You can sign up for free or pay $30 per month for additional features, such as free international and domestic wires. Relay offers guided demos of its platform, and provides personalized customer service assistance during normal business hours.
Methodology
This review was created based on information gathered from Relay’s website and third-party reviews.
Disclosure
1. Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply.
For Relay Subscription Plans with an interest-bearing deposit account, the interest rate and Annual Percentage Yield on your account are accurate as of 5/1/2026 and are variable and subject to change based on the target range of the Federal Funds rate. Fees may reduce earnings:
• When you are subscribed to the Starter Plan, the interest rate on your savings accounts is 1.10% with an APY of 1.11%.
• When you are subscribed to the Grow Plan, the interest rate on your savings accounts is 1.74% with an APY of 1.75%.
• When you are subscribed to the Scale Plan, the interest rate on your savings accounts is 2.96% with an APY of 3.00%.
Patrick Sather is a personal finance expert at BestMoney.com, specializing in online banking. He is an award-winning writer and licensed broker who has worked at leading financial firms such as TD Ameritrade and Pacific Life. With degrees in Economics, International Trade, and English from the University of Nebraska, Patrick delivers practical advice on financial decisions.
