Mercury
A US startup operating account with free USD wires, bill pay, and cards that sync into QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Best for
US startups that want the operating account, vendor bill pay, and cards in one login, then sync coded lines into QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Not ideal if
Anyone who needs a full ledger, cash deposits, or a bank they can walk into. Mercury is a fintech on partner banks, and public threads cite sudden freezes with email-first support.
Standout
Free USD domestic and international wires from the same login that holds the operating cash, plus a free QuickBooks Online or Xero enrichment pass.
About Mercury
Mercury is the operating bank account, not the ledger. You apply as a US-formed company (EIN, formation docs), open checking and savings through Choice Financial Group or Column N.A., issue debit cards and (if eligible) IO Mastercard charge cards, and pay vendors from the same login. Bills land in a Mercury inbox, you approve, and you pay by ACH, wire, or check. You map Mercury accounts to QuickBooks Online or Xero, review lines on the Accounting page, and sync GL codes, receipts, and vendors onto the bank-feed entries. You still close and lock the period in those books.
It does not replace QuickBooks Online or Xero. That is the opposite of Kick (a replacement ledger that can take a Mercury feed). Ramp is card-first spend if you already bank somewhere else. Novo is simpler free checking. Found folds light bookkeeping and tax estimates into the bank app. Mercury's job is hold the cash, move USD without wire fees, and hand a coded feed to the file you already have. The sync is one-way: changes in QuickBooks or Xero do not write back.
People who stick are usually US startups that want one login for cash, cards, and vendor bills, and a bookkeeper who can categorize in Mercury instead of a CSV. They care most about free domestic and USD international wires, and a QuickBooks Online or Xero feed that already has the receipt attached.
What people who used it say
What they tend to like
Faster than a branch bank for everyday money movement
Owners cite the web app, phone app, and API when they just need to send ACH or a wire without waiting on a banker.
QuickBooks, Xero, and Stripe connections that get close done
A small-business thread called the accounting and Stripe hooks good enough, even if invoicing is lighter than Ramp or BILL.
Free wires and a clean interface
Forum summaries point to free USD wires and the UI as the reason people stay.
What they hesitate about
Accounts closed or wires rejected with little explanation
More than one owner reported a freeze or closure after a first deposit or a declined wire, then slow or silent follow-up.
Check deposits that sit
Public-forum summaries repeatedly call out remote check deposits that take longer than the two-day window Mercury describes.
Support is chat and email, not a local desk
Owners who need to reach a person about a freeze say they would rather keep a branch relationship for that job.
How it hits your books
- Replaces your ledger
- No
- QuickBooks Online
- Yes
- Xero
- Yes
- Multi-entity
- Partial
- Inventory
- No
- 1099s
- Partial
- Payroll
- No
You review lines on the Accounting page, mark Ready, and sync GL codes, receipts, and vendors onto the existing QuickBooks Online or Xero bank-feed entries. Close and lock the period there. The sync is one-way. Internal transfers and IO payments are auto-categorized in help docs and cannot take a manual GL.
Invite an Accountant role to review and sync, or send the QuickBooks Online or Xero file. Receipts can attach on enriched lines. CSV export is available. Mercury can e-file 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC (Plus/Pro, or $5/form on Free). It does not produce a year-end tax package.
Images
Features
Checking, savings, and free USD payments
Open checking and savings with no monthly fee or minimum. Send ACH, domestic wires, and mailed checks at $0 in USD. USD international wires are free on SHA terms; OUR is $15. Non-USD wires are 1%. No cash deposits.
Bill pay inbox
Vendors email or you drop invoices into a dedicated inbox. Mercury extracts the fields, flags duplicates, and lets you approve in the dashboard, Slack, or the phone app. Pay by ACH, wire, or check. Tag a GL code and the bill syncs to QuickBooks Online or Xero. Unlimited bills are free.
Debit and IO charge cards
Issue physical and virtual debit cards, plus IO (Mastercard charge card) if you clear eligibility. No personal guarantee. 1.5% cashback, auto-pay in full, merchant locks, and receipt rules. The limit moves with your Mercury cash. Non-USD swipes carry an unpublished international fee.
Accounting review into QuickBooks Online or Xero
Connect a free bank feed. Enrichment pulls your chart of accounts so you apply GL codes, classes, receipts, and vendors, mark Ready, and sync. One-way. QuickBooks Desktop and Solopreneur are not supported. Multi-GL categorization is Plus and Pro. NetSuite categorizations are Pro.
1099-NEC and 1099-MISC filing
Collect W-9s from recipients. Download W-9 and payment data on every plan. E-file with the IRS and all 50 states on Plus or Pro at no extra form fee, or $5 per form on Free. Card payments and reimbursements are excluded from the reportable list.
Reimbursements for out-of-pocket spend
Employees submit expenses with a receipt in the app or by email. You approve and pay from Mercury. Free covers reimbursing up to 5 active users per month. Plus and Pro lift that cap.
Pricing
A 5-person shop that qualifies (US-formed company, EIN) can run checking, savings, free USD ACH/wires/checks, bill pay, debit/IO cards, and QuickBooks Online or Xero sync at $0 software. Mercury earns on deposits and interchange. Reimbursements stay free up to 5 active users a month. Plus is $35/mo or $29.90/mo billed annually (15% off) for recurring invoices, ACH-debit invoicing at $1 each, unlimited 1099 e-file, and multi-GL categorization. Pro is $299/mo on the annual price display and adds a relationship manager, $0 ACH-debit invoices, and NetSuite categorizations. 1099 e-file on Free is $5 per form. Treasury needs $250k+ across Mercury and charges 0.15%–0.60%. Non-USD wires are 1%. The IO limit moves with cash. No cash deposits.
Mercury
US companies that will bank here and keep the books in QuickBooks Online or Xero.
- Checking and savings, no monthly fee or minimum
- Free USD ACH, domestic wires, and mailed checks
- Debit cards and IO (if eligible)
- Bill pay, invoicing, QuickBooks Online and Xero enrichment
- Reimbursements for up to 5 active users/month
- 1099 e-file at $5 per form
Plus
Shops that need recurring invoices, ACH-debit invoicing, and unlimited 1099 e-file.
- Everything in Mercury
- Recurring invoices and invoice branding
- Invoice ACH debit at $1 per transaction
- Unlimited 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC e-file
- Multi-GL categorization
- Reimbursements above 5 active users/month
Pro
Complex operations that want a relationship manager and NetSuite categorizations.
- Everything in Plus
- Relationship manager
- Invoice ACH debit at $0
- NetSuite categorizations
- Unlimited 1099 e-file
Integrations
Platforms
Audience
Pick something else instead of Mercury
Ramp
Pick Ramp instead if you already have an operating account and the job is locked cards, receipt chase, and a QuickBooks Online or Xero spend sync, not moving the bank.
Kick
Pick Kick instead if you want Mercury as a bank feed into a replacement ledger, not a sync sitting next to QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Relay
Pick Relay instead if you want up to 20 checking accounts under one login for envelope or Profit First cash, not a startup-wired Mercury stack. Relay is not in the BookkeepDIY directory yet.
Novo
Pick Novo instead if you want a simpler free checking account and you do not need IO cards, bill-pay sync, or free USD international wires.
Found
Pick Found instead if you are a solo operator who wants the bank app to estimate taxes and categorize spend, instead of syncing into QuickBooks Online or Xero.