I'd NOT recommend Bridge Bank for checking or credit cards. They pitch it as a startup friendly bank - they are currently billboarding San Francisco with an "Entrepreneur not Wantrepreneur" campaign right now - and I've had good rep experience, but it really isn't a seamless process, I've had to contact them on so many occasions about something that isn't set up, or is set up incorrectly. Their connection to Xero doesn't work often, you can't set up Apple Pay, their credit card system is something called EZ Business Card Management (third party?) and has no accounting integrations. It's a Western Alliance subsidiary and their infrastructure is extremely dated.
We've now got Brex (YC W17) credit cards, which is a great service - eg, after you use your card you get a text, take a photo of the receipt (or email it in) and it adds it to the expense - something so simple yet is incredible vs trying to use Xero / QB / Expensify. My one bother with them is they aren't able to help those that haven't raised >$500k in capital / have a large bank account - the only thing they use to approve the account is your checking bank account (shock - trying to link Bridge Bank results in an error!) that they then comb for income/expense history. They offer some good startup-focused rewards, like 2X points on recurring software [1]
Having a nice experience with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB); they are able to address many startup-specific needs better than most other banking providers. I used them for a new Delaware corporation, and everything was done completely online. Despite SVB's namesake, I believe you don't have to be based in California.
The big advantage of SVB is that they are familiar with the capital structures used by start ups and are willing/able to structure the credit line in a way that is compatible with the covenants held by VC investors.
We (Mercury) are working on a bank for startups. This is my 4th startup and we have $6m in funding based in SF.
We are working on a bunch of product features that are startup specific (APIs, integrations etc) as well as a normal checking account + debit card.
Still early but we are in alpha with a few customers, send me an email immad AT Mercury DOT co and I can share more details and give you early access if possible.
hey, ive done this a few times. as a general rule, if you're at an early stage, it really doesn't matter, so go for something convenient. if you're pre-funding or even sub $1m, i'd honestly say go with whatever bank you're already using personally. Just make sure to take the proper corporate formalities and never co-mingle funds.
The most important thing at this stage (and the next stages as well) is to not waste time on things that are irrelevant, so don't make banking more complex than it needs to be. as you grow, your CFO or maybe even COO might have their own processes and preferences, so just keep it as simple as possible till then.
If you are really at the stage that you need a more robust system, brex and stripe are pitching themselves as tech startup friendly for credit card issuance and control, but truly any major bank will do. I've worked closely with Bank of America and Wells Fargo before and my local regional credit union with great success. I was not impressed with US Bank, Keybank, or Chase Bank. I've been really happy with my local credit union though. they have everything and I can speak to high enough ranking people to make sure things keep running smooth. And of course they love nice piles of cash sitting in the accounts.
"Just make sure to take the proper corporate formalities and never co-mingle funds.
The most important thing at this stage (and the next stages as well) is to not waste time on things that are irrelevant, so don't make banking more complex than it needs to be. as you grow, your CFO or maybe even COO might have their own processes and preferences, so just keep it as simple as possible till then." - Could you elaborate on this please? I'm currently bootstrapping this myself and pre-revenue. I have a Stripe account and I'd like to set up subscriptions to deposit into a dedicated checking account. But how do I cease co-mingling funds? I'm the only investor, paying for expenses with my credit card, that I'm paying off with my checking account and savings. I'm trying to learn as much as I can now to (A) avoid doing anything stupid, like co-mingling funds, and (B) do things "right" as quickly and as easily as possible. I should have definitely specified that I'm not funded (at all) and pre-revenue.
If you keep more than $100k in BofA, you qualify for Platinum Honors status which gets you an extra 75% on your credit card rewards. We have a Premium Travel BofA card, that comes with 1.5% back on everything, and together with 75% bonus, you get 2.625% cash back on everything. And if you book travel through BofA portal, you get an additional 1.5% (for total of 4.125% back on travel).
We spoke with Square 1 a while back, and it seems that if you're not VC funded that they aren't really interested. They kinda gave us the run-around and I was not impressed.
Maybe if you are in fact VC funded, or have millions in revenue, it would be a fine experience. All in all, the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.
Anyway, we wound up going with Wells Fargo. There's nothing startup specific about their offerings, but that's fine. For us, all we really need is a checking account for Stripe to push payments into, with a debit card for paying bills. You can get that from Wells Fargo for $10/month fee, which is waived if you have a daily average balance of something like $500.00 (or something in that range).
While OP said he is based in NYC, if there are any Canadians on here looking for a bunisess account I’ve used the RBC Small Business eAccount for a couple years. No minimum balance, no monthly fee. It has worked well for me.
Compared to the US , in Canada, you have a LOT fewer options for serious banks. Anything that's not one of the 'big 5' will have limited range of services and technology integration:
It's both good and bad, in my opinion. Canada's much stricter regulation of the banking industry meant that in the 2008-2009 financial crisis, when small to medium sized US banks (all the way up to Washington Mutual sized, which was huge) were failing and being absorbed into other banks, FDIC insurance paid out, etc, there were no significant bank failures in Canada.
Agreed - it's awesome. More tips - if you have to do payroll (T4s) then try out Payment Evolution. The interface is rubbish but it's cheap, easy, and fairly automatic.
Also - we moved to Plooto for paying contractors - they email folks as the money moves between stages. It's cut down on the background admin side of 'when will this land'.
I'm using Azlo, which is nice & includes native Stripe integration. But, it has no "startup" specific features that I can think of. I'm also using American Express for a business credit card.
I don't see any reason to not head over to Chase and open a business account there- They offer both Business Checking and Business Credit lines.
Another vote for Azlo. I have three accounts there, my main business account, which has a decent balance, and two low-balance side accounts.
I abandoned Chase because I got tired of the absurd fees, and the know-nothing perfectly-coiffed straight-out-of-college twits they have working there.
Azlo has zero fees and they're very responsive. Have been mostly happy.
One downside is that you can't hand-write a paper check. You have to use the online bill pay system to mail a check. That hasn't been a major problem. I went a year without touching my Chase checks.
The other problem is that they are a day or two slow when receiving funds via check or ACH. Their hold times are longer. That's a bigger problem. They say they're working on it.
I'd checkout Square 1 Bank: https://www.square1bank.com/. Like Silicon Valley Bank, they are geared towards startups, and they have an office in NYC. Disclaimer: my brother works there.
> Like Silicon Valley Bank, they are geared towards startups
I used Silicon Valley Bank because I had heard this. What that really means is they are geared towards startups with millions in funding from top tier VCs trusted by the bank. Although in my experience, Silicon Valley Bank has great customer service for the stuff they could help me with.
When I looked into Square 1 for my start-up, they had fees for EVERYTHING. They may be geared towards start ups but I suggest you carefully look at their fee schedules.
Welcome bonus: Upon approval, eligible Prime members (including Business Prime) will receive a $125 Amazon.com gift card, and other customers will receive a $100 Amazon.com gift card. Terms apply.
Annual fee: $0.
Ongoing rewards:
For eligible Prime members: 5% back or 90-day interest-free payment terms on U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, Amazon Web Services, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market.
For non-Prime customers: 3% back or 60-day interest-free payment terms on U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, Amazon Web Services, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market.
For all cardholders: 2% back on purchases at U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers. 1% back on all other eligible purchases.
For those of us not in the know, what features offered by a bank would be considered "great" for startups, that isn't offered by a normal account at a large bank?
Just my own experience. I opened checking account with local credit union - very smooth experience, except I had to visit branch in person to submit all the documents. Credit card I got from Capital One (Busness Spark, comes in two flavors - with 1.5% cashback and no annual fees, and 2% cash back with annual fee (reasonable) and no fees for internatial purchases)
ater I got credit card from the same credit union with a bit more paperwork, but it was really straightforward.
So tl;dr; - check local credit unions and capital one business spark credit cards.
[+] [-] wmab|7 years ago|reply
We've now got Brex (YC W17) credit cards, which is a great service - eg, after you use your card you get a text, take a photo of the receipt (or email it in) and it adds it to the expense - something so simple yet is incredible vs trying to use Xero / QB / Expensify. My one bother with them is they aren't able to help those that haven't raised >$500k in capital / have a large bank account - the only thing they use to approve the account is your checking bank account (shock - trying to link Bridge Bank results in an error!) that they then comb for income/expense history. They offer some good startup-focused rewards, like 2X points on recurring software [1]
[1] https://brex.com/rewards
[+] [-] sunw|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bmurray7jhu|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] godzillabrennus|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] immad|7 years ago|reply
We are working on a bunch of product features that are startup specific (APIs, integrations etc) as well as a normal checking account + debit card.
Still early but we are in alpha with a few customers, send me an email immad AT Mercury DOT co and I can share more details and give you early access if possible.
[+] [-] wheelerwj|7 years ago|reply
The most important thing at this stage (and the next stages as well) is to not waste time on things that are irrelevant, so don't make banking more complex than it needs to be. as you grow, your CFO or maybe even COO might have their own processes and preferences, so just keep it as simple as possible till then.
If you are really at the stage that you need a more robust system, brex and stripe are pitching themselves as tech startup friendly for credit card issuance and control, but truly any major bank will do. I've worked closely with Bank of America and Wells Fargo before and my local regional credit union with great success. I was not impressed with US Bank, Keybank, or Chase Bank. I've been really happy with my local credit union though. they have everything and I can speak to high enough ranking people to make sure things keep running smooth. And of course they love nice piles of cash sitting in the accounts.
[+] [-] abbadadda|7 years ago|reply
Great advice all around. Much appreciated.
[+] [-] kostyan5|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kostyan5|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zachh|7 years ago|reply
Otherwise the cards / accounts from most major banks (Bank of America, Chase, etc.) do fine as well.
[+] [-] mindcrime|7 years ago|reply
Maybe if you are in fact VC funded, or have millions in revenue, it would be a fine experience. All in all, the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.
Anyway, we wound up going with Wells Fargo. There's nothing startup specific about their offerings, but that's fine. For us, all we really need is a checking account for Stripe to push payments into, with a debit card for paying bills. You can get that from Wells Fargo for $10/month fee, which is waived if you have a daily average balance of something like $500.00 (or something in that range).
[+] [-] kejaed|7 years ago|reply
https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/business/accounts/small-busines...
[+] [-] walrus01|7 years ago|reply
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_(banks)
It's both good and bad, in my opinion. Canada's much stricter regulation of the banking industry meant that in the 2008-2009 financial crisis, when small to medium sized US banks (all the way up to Washington Mutual sized, which was huge) were failing and being absorbed into other banks, FDIC insurance paid out, etc, there were no significant bank failures in Canada.
[+] [-] cik|7 years ago|reply
Also - we moved to Plooto for paying contractors - they email folks as the money moves between stages. It's cut down on the background admin side of 'when will this land'.
[+] [-] lykr0n|7 years ago|reply
I don't see any reason to not head over to Chase and open a business account there- They offer both Business Checking and Business Credit lines.
[+] [-] ccleve|7 years ago|reply
I abandoned Chase because I got tired of the absurd fees, and the know-nothing perfectly-coiffed straight-out-of-college twits they have working there.
Azlo has zero fees and they're very responsive. Have been mostly happy.
One downside is that you can't hand-write a paper check. You have to use the online bill pay system to mail a check. That hasn't been a major problem. I went a year without touching my Chase checks.
The other problem is that they are a day or two slow when receiving funds via check or ACH. Their hold times are longer. That's a bigger problem. They say they're working on it.
[+] [-] taormina|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crazyeights777|7 years ago|reply
1. ability to structure the credit line in that's amenable to VC investments
2. low or no minimum account balance
3. Stripe Integration, Apple Pay Integration etc.
4. Xero integration
5. Minimal process corporate card issuance
To frame this another way, what are the pain points startups have when banking?
[+] [-] vpfaulkner|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] PopeDotNinja|7 years ago|reply
I used Silicon Valley Bank because I had heard this. What that really means is they are geared towards startups with millions in funding from top tier VCs trusted by the bank. Although in my experience, Silicon Valley Bank has great customer service for the stuff they could help me with.
[+] [-] kostyan5|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] momentmaker|7 years ago|reply
Welcome bonus: Upon approval, eligible Prime members (including Business Prime) will receive a $125 Amazon.com gift card, and other customers will receive a $100 Amazon.com gift card. Terms apply.
Annual fee: $0.
Ongoing rewards:
For eligible Prime members: 5% back or 90-day interest-free payment terms on U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, Amazon Web Services, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market.
For non-Prime customers: 3% back or 60-day interest-free payment terms on U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, Amazon Web Services, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market.
For all cardholders: 2% back on purchases at U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers. 1% back on all other eligible purchases.
Might be great if you use AWS a lot.
[+] [-] appellation|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hippich|7 years ago|reply
ater I got credit card from the same credit union with a bit more paperwork, but it was really straightforward.
So tl;dr; - check local credit unions and capital one business spark credit cards.
[+] [-] csomar|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jmakov|7 years ago|reply