Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy—we know this.
Over 90% of US businesses are small businesses. They serve local communities, build mission-driven businesses, and work to create sustainable growth. Despite this, business owners are chronically underserved by traditional financial institutions. They deal with hidden fees, outdated infrastructure, and poor or non-existent customer service.
For all that small businesses do, they deserve more. This is why we built Relay—a business banking and money management platform that truly serves US small businesses. But what does it mean to call Relay a "business banking platform?" To answer this, let's dive into the different layers and technologies that create the banking experience you get at Relay.
Although Relay customers use our platform to bank—Relay itself is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. The banking services and FDIC insurance that Relay customers get are provided by our partners, Evolve Bank & Trust and Thread Bank, member FDIC institutions.
We partner with regulated financial institutions and other financial technology companies to make business banking more accessible to our customers. You can think of Relay as being made up of three layers:
Partner banks that allow us to offer FDIC-insured banking services and act as custodians for our customers’ money.
Strategic service providers that add a layer of security and give you the best options for banking services (like international wire transfers).
The banking platform that you use for everyday banking services and to get cash flow clarity in your business.
Let’s unpack what this all means for you and your small business.
In this article:
FDIC-insured partner banks
To deliver core banking services (like checking accounts), we partner with Thread Bank and Evolve Bank & Trust, leveraging these institutions’ existing infrastructure and regulatory compliance to power our platform.
Because of this, we’re able to build user-centric features faster and more efficiently than a traditional bank. Whether it's auto-transfer rules to automate Profit First, direct accounting software integrations, or security and compliance, these partnerships ensure Relay provides business owners and entrepreneurs personalized solutions and safety for their business.
How Relay’s banking partners keep your money safe
Relay’s customer deposits are held by our banking partners, which means they’re safeguarded by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Relay and Thread Bank offer an insured cash sweep program increasing FDIC insurance coverage from $250,000 to $2,500,000 in deposits per business.
This insured cash sweep program exists to protect depositors and their money by maximizing FDIC insurance, and limiting deposit exposure across a single bank. Deposits exceeding basic FDIC insurance coverage are swept into one or more FDIC-insured banks as a way to insure a depositor's entire balance.
This program means when you bank with Relay, you know that up to $2.5 million in deposits are FDIC-insured, which is ten times what most banks offer.
Strategic service providers
What do our strategic service providers do for small businesses? Relay leverages these providers to enable secure, convenient money management and services like other traditional banks, but faster and more digitally-savvy.
Open new accounts quickly
Conventional banking requires in-person visits to a branch to open a business checking account. With Relay’s technology partners, our customers are able to quickly and conveniently open accounts fully online.
A better way to verify customer identities
There are lots of moving parts when opening a bank account, and identity verification is a crucial step in the process. But, despite many advancements, many banks still don’t take advantage of any new technology, and you must be physically present with your personal documents.
Our thoughtfully selected partners enable us to implement cutting-edge identity verification tools, which allow our customers to verify their identity by taking a selfie. We also use identity verification technology to seamlessly validate that the person making payments from your Relay account is you.
Transparent international wires
International wires are notoriously fussy, taking days or weeks to process (presuming the money doesn’t get lost in the banking system along the way!)
This is why Relay partners with payment providers that make international business payments cheaper, faster, and more reliable. Because of this, Relay users can send money to any country in the world without leaving the platform—and know exatly how much their recipient will receive. For Relay Pro users, international wires can be sent without fees.
More protection against user account fraud
User protection is critical. Relay integrates new software and tools that add more layers of security to protect your money. We work with technology partners to protect users’ login credentials at scale, verifying the person logging into Relay is actually the person to whom the account belongs.
We also use other tools to keep hackers out, detect bots, and automatically flag patterns, anomalies, or other risks related to your login credentials. Such modern security measures keep your money safe, and allow Relay to respond to threats faster than traditional banks still relying on old, outdated systems and infrastructure.
Leading the industry in data security
Relay wants to give you a better banking experience, and we know that offering trusted data security is a crucial part of that equation.
All financial institutions have to follow certain laws regarding customer data privacy. And yet, such legal steps don’t always ensure your data is as safe as it could be. Relay’s partnerships take data protection a step further to make sure your money is safe.
Vulnerability disclosure programs
Every year, Relay conducts a platform penetration test for vulnerabilities like hacking or data leaks.
Relay also partners externally for accountable data protection—like being a member of HackerOne’s vulnerability disclosure program. (A rarity in the financial services industry!) The program incentivizes hackers to identify security weak spots in Relay’s system so that we can discover vulnerabilities before your data is put at risk. We’re constantly making sure we’re on top of security to protect our users.
Relay's banking platform
Every part of Relay was thoughtfully built to serve small business owners. We made sure everyday banking on our platform served this community, and provided clarity on how small businesses earn, spend, and save.
Affordable and accessible business banking services
Opening a business bank account at a conventional bank is time-consuming, and sometimes inconvenient and expensive. Relay is efficient on speed and savings: from digital-first, online account opening to no-fee checking.
Open business checking accounts online in minutes
Opening a Relay account is done completely online and takes only minutes. Relay verifies your identity and gives you access to your accounts fast so they can be used immediately.
Leverage multiple no-fee checking accounts
On Relay, you can open up to 20 no-fee checking accounts with no monthly maintenance fee, no overdraft fees, and no minimum balance. These are all checking accounts (not sub-accounts) with account numbers and individual debit cards for each.
Quickly issue up to 50 debit cards
You have more control over your business’s debit cards with Relay. You can instantly issue a digital debit card (for example, to be used with Apple Pay or for online transactions) or a physical debit card that you’ll get in 8-10 business days.
Total control over your debit cards
Relay debit cards give business owners a convenient and secure experience when making purchases for their company, or managing spending.
Easily adjust card spending limits
Set and update debit card spending limits through the website or mobile app with a new spending limit instantly taking effect.
Quickly respond to threats
Relay allows you to change your PIN remotely in the app or online, without visiting an in-person branch or going through telephone customer support. If you think a card has been compromised, you can freeze it instantly using Relay’s web portal or app.
Complete clarity into your spending
A bank statement shouldn’t be a puzzle to solve. You need to clearly see where all of your transactions came from.
Whether it’s you or a team member making purchases, Relay’s organized and standardized vendor data with auto-categorization for card purchases means you can monitor spending with ease. You’ll have access to comprehensive data for in- and outgoing payments, such as images of deposited checks with memos.
Integrations that simplify your life
Relay has the resources and expertise to address our customers’ pain points. One prime example of this is our best-in-class accounting integrations (helping to solve your bookkeeping woes.)
Relay seamlessly syncs ultra-detailed, easy-to-understand transaction data directly into QuickBooks Online and Xero. This allows you and your team to focus your time on what’s important, rather than manually exporting this data.
We also directly integrate with Gusto, a full-service payroll platform for small businesses so you can easily access more detailed payroll data and shortfall alerts.
Smart cash management
Relay has outsourced many traditional banking operations to our trusted partners, and as a result, we’ve been able to focus on building the smart cash management features business owners need to handle their finances with ease.
Percentage-based transfers
Some business owners like splitting their accounts by function, such as operations or paying themselves. An easy way to do that is through Relay’s percentage-based transfer features.
If you’re ready to implement Profit First or just need to set aside a percentage of income for your owner’s pay, Relay allows you to easily customize your transfers and manage cash flow.
Auto-transfer rules
Manually transferring funds between your accounts might be a task that constantly falls to the bottom of your to-do list. We get it, which is why we recently launched auto-transfer rules.
Put transfers on autopilot: log into Relay and customize the percentage or amount you want to transfer, and then choose the frequency.
More secure collaboration
Relay gives you the ability to create role-based user permissions unlike traditional banks. You can securely invite other partners crucial to your business like a lawyer, accountant, and other team members to access your account without worrying about how they might interact with your money.
For example, if you want your assistant to handle contractor payments, you can give them permission levels that allow them to make bill payments. You can limit their ability to transfer funds between checking accounts, deposit checks, and complete other tasks unrelated to their role.
Relay works to make your banking experience better
Relay works to give customers total cash flow control, clarity on spending, and strong security.
Ready to get started? With Relay, you can spend, save and plan more efficiently and get valuable insights into operating expenses, cash, and accounts payable.
If you’re looking for a better business banking experience, make the switch to Relay today.
