Relay
Fintech · FDIC via partner bankGreat budgeting (20 sub-accounts) — just needs a real operating address (an overseas home address works, not a virtual one).
Official siteThe most solid alternative to Mercury. Accepts an overseas operating address (no US premises needed) — good for non-US founders not yet on the ground. Up to 50 virtual cards, enough to split by team or project. One gripe: the application form is long and clunky — nowhere near as slick as Mercury's.
Eligibility at a glance
- Banking provided by
- Thread Bank
- Requires SSN
- No
- Overseas operating address
- Yes
- Intl wire (out)
- $10
- Virtual cards
- 50
- Account manager
- None
Best for
- E-commerce that needs to separate revenue, taxes, and operating funds
- Agencies using sub-accounts as per-client buckets
- Founders with a real operating address — a home address works, US or overseas, just not a virtual one
- Teams needing multi-user controls + plenty of virtual cards
Where it falls short
- The operating address can't be virtual or a PO box (a registered agent is fine as the company address, just not as the operating one)
- International wires cost $10 out (Mercury is free)
- No API access
Restricted countries
Restricted industries
Documents to prepare
- A US-registered company
- An EIN
- A tax ID: SSN or passport number (non-residents use a passport number — no ITIN needed)
- The owner's passport (as government-issued ID)
- An operating address: a real place of business (a home address, US or overseas, with proof; no virtual / PO Box / registered agent). A registered agent is fine as the company address
- Details on the company's income and source of funds
What the complaints are actually aboutUser reviews
The percentages below are shares of this bank's own negative reviews — not a rating, and not a probability of it happening to you. We pull only 1-2 star reviews, so the sample is larger than it looks; the composition of the complaints is what's comparable across banks.
- Closed / frozen / restricted51%
- Funds stuck32%
- No reason given30%
- Fraud & dispute handling25%
- Rejected at onboarding / KYC21%
Last 12 months: 13.3 negative reviews/month (162 total) | lifetime 440 of 3,533 reviews = 12%
Themes computed over 200 negative reviews, 2025-03-20 → 2026-08-03 (501 days) | captured 2026-08-04
Relay has the highest closure share in the set at 51% — every second negative review describes a closed or frozen account, and nearly a third describe stuck funds. The pattern repeats with unusual specificity: the account is approved and verified, then closed shortly after the first meaningful deposit lands, with several reporting funds held for months and a promised check that never arrived. If your plan is open-then-wire-in-your-runway, understand this first — the first 90 days playbook has the full response, and the cross-bank comparison is here.
Method: public Trustpilot reviews, aggregate counts only — no review text is reproduced. Lifetime negative counts come from Trustpilot's own star distribution, not from a sample. Themes are keyword-matched, so one review can match several and the percentages don't sum to 100%.