American Express Business Checking
No monthly fee + 1.30% APY on first $500k + Membership Rewards, online-only, no cash deposits
Relay Business Checking
Startup / Profit First multi-account checking — $0 Starter, up to 20 checking buckets, QBO/Xero sync; no APY on checking
Costs & Fees
| Metric | American Express Business Checking | Relay Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | $0 — unconditional | Starter $0; Grow $30; Scale $90 limited-time (list $120). Paid plans billed from designated checking account. |
| Fee waiver | N/A — no monthly fee to waive | No balance waivers — Grow/Scale are subscriptions, not waivable by balance |
| Transaction fees | No excess-item fees; effectively unlimited electronic and paper items (operational limits may apply unpublished) | No per-item checking cap published. Unlimited standard ACH and digital items. Same-day ACH extra: $1 Starter / $0.50 Grow / included Scale. |
| Overdraft/NSF | $0 NSF/stop pay/returns; overdrafting not a product — items exceeding balance generally refused | $0 overdraft fees; transactions that would overdraw decline. Optional backup account internal pull (not a priced OD product). |
| ATM fees | Allpoint + MoneyPass in-network $0 Amex fee; out-of-network owner surcharge (no rebate). Daily ATM cash limit $1,000. | Allpoint in-network $0 Relay fee. Out-of-network owner surcharge not rebated. Allpoint+ cash deposit $1,000/txn; cash withdrawal $400/txn. |
| Wire/ACH | Incoming domestic wire $0. Outgoing domestic wire $25. Standard ACH $0. Same-day ACH $10 (cutoff 2:45 PM ET). Outgoing international wires not offered. | Incoming domestic: $5 (Aug 2026 official table). Outgoing domestic: $8 Starter / $5 Grow / $5 Scale. Incoming intl: typically $0. Outgoing intl Local Network $5/$3/$1.50; SWIFT $25/$22/$20. Standard ACH in/out: $0. |
Interest & Yields
| Metric | American Express Business Checking | Relay Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | 1.30% APY on first $500,000 per account (variable; no activity gate) | None — non-interest-bearing checking |
| Savings APY | N/A — single checking product | Plan-tiered on up to 2 savings accounts: Starter 1.11%, Grow 1.75%, Scale 3.00% APY (as of 2026-05-01). Variable; savings cannot originate ACH/wires. |
| FDIC coverage | Standard FDIC $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category at AENB (accounts aggregate) | Standard FDIC $250,000 per depositor per ownership category at Thread Bank — combined across all Relay sub-accounts |
Features & Access
| Metric | American Express Business Checking | Relay Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Branch/ATM network | No branches. 70,000+ Allpoint + MoneyPass ATMs for withdrawals only (no cash deposits). | No branches. Allpoint network (32k–55k+ cited). Cash deposit at Allpoint+ only ($1k/txn). Green Dot retail. |
| Mobile app | Business Blueprint ~4.5/5 Google Play (~1.6k reviews); Amex app ~4.8–4.9 iOS cited | iOS ~4.8; Android ~4.5 (~3.5k / ~1.1k reviews per 2026 aggregators) |
| Virtual cards | Not marketed for business debit product | Included — physical + virtual Visa debit with freeze, limits, spend policies |
| Opening deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Eligibility | Corporation, LLC, partnership, unincorporated association, sole prop. 25%+ owners must be U.S./territory residents with SSN/ITIN. | U.S.-registered sole prop, LLC, C-corp, S-corp, partnership, nonprofit. Not supported: personal, escrow, trusts, Series LLCs, 401(k)s. |
Pros & Cons
American Express Business Checking
Pros
- $0 monthly fee, $0 opening deposit, $0 excess-item fee unconditionally
- 1.30% APY on first $500,000 per account with no balance or activity gate
- Membership Rewards on debit spend plus Redeem-for-Deposits into checking
- 24/7 specialist support — differentiator vs most online business banks
- 70,000+ Allpoint/MoneyPass ATM withdrawals at $0 Amex fee; up to 10 accounts at $0 extra
Cons
- Cash deposits not supported at all — need another bank for cash businesses
- No outgoing international wires; USD Fedwire domestic/territories only
- APY stops at $500k/account; FDIC remains $250k with no ICS/sweep
- Thin card/user toolkit vs Relay/Bluevine-style employee and virtual cards
- Beneficial owners must be U.S./territory residents with SSN/ITIN — blocks international founders
Relay Business Checking
Pros
- Starter $0 with no minimum balance, $0 OD fees, and no per-item checking cap
- Up to 20 checking accounts (50 on Scale) with auto-transfer rules — rare on free tier
- Native QuickBooks Online and Xero feeds on all plans including Starter
- Outbound domestic wires $8/$5/$5 — below typical big-bank $15–$30
- IntraFi sweep to $3M; Scale savings 3.00% APY; unlimited users and virtual debit cards
Cons
- Checking earns 0% APY — savings yield is plan-gated and mid-pack at Starter/Grow
- Mobile check funds can take up to 7 business days
- Cash deposits via Allpoint+/Green Dot only — retailer fee up to $4.95, low caps
- Official Aug 2026 table lists $5 incoming domestic wires (conflicts with free-inbound marketing)
- BaaS structure (Thread Bank); sub-accounts do not multiply $250k FDIC; weekday-only support
Verdict
American Express Business Checking
American Express Business Checking is a single-tier online account issued directly by American Express National Bank — not a fintech wrapper. As of September 2026: $0 monthly fee, 1.30% APY on the first $500,000 per account (up to 10 accounts), standard FDIC $250k with no sweep. Strengths are unconditional $0 fees, decent APY without activity gates, MR on debit spend, QuickBooks, Zelle, and 24/7 support. Weaknesses are no cash deposits, no outgoing international wires, APY/FDIC gap above $250k, and limited multi-user debit tooling. Best for digital firms already in the Amex ecosystem; pair with a branch bank if the business handles cash.
Relay Business Checking
Relay Business Checking is an online SMB platform from Relay Financial Technologies with deposits at Thread Bank, Member FDIC, and IntraFi sweep to $3M. Checking is non-interest-bearing across Starter ($0), Grow ($30), and Scale ($90–$120) plans; savings APY is 1.11%/1.75%/3.00% as of May 1, 2026. Differentiator is operational: up to 20–50 checking buckets with auto-allocation, unlimited users, virtual Visa debits, and native QBO/Xero on Starter. Official Aug 11, 2026 fees: incoming domestic wire $5, outgoing $8/$5/$5, same-day ACH $1/$0.50/included. Weak on cash deposits, check holds (7 days), 0% checking, and BaaS partner-bank structure. Strong for Profit First digital SMBs; weak for cash retail and same-day check users.