What Relay offers
Relay is a financial technology platform that combines business checking and savings with cards, bills, approvals, expenses, invoices, team collaboration, automatic transfers, and accounting connections. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC.
Its defining feature is account structure. Starter and Grow allow up to 20 checking accounts; Scale allows up to 50. Businesses can name accounts for taxes, payroll, profit, operating expense, projects, properties, or other purposes and route cash with fixed or percentage-based rules.
Current plans and APY
Starter costs $0, Grow costs $30 monthly, and Scale is currently discounted to $90 from a regular $120. Grow and Scale have 14-day trials. Because the Scale discount is described as temporary, long-term comparisons should use the $120 regular price unless checkout guarantees otherwise.
Savings APY depends on the plan. Relay’s pricing footnote, effective May 1, 2026, lists 1.11% on Starter, 1.75% on Grow, and 3.00% on Scale. Rates are variable and apply to savings, not checking.
A higher tier should be justified by the combined value of interest, payment discounts, card rewards, approvals, invoicing, automation, and support. At smaller balances, APY alone may not cover the subscription.
Payments and workflow differences
Standard ACH is free across plans. Same-day ACH and wires have plan-specific prices, while Scale includes ten same-day transfers monthly. International local-network and SWIFT fees also decline by tier, but currency exchange, intermediary banks, supported routes, and compliance review still matter.
Grow adds configurable bookkeeping automation, spend approvals, batch vendor payments, recurring invoices, and card-on-file functions. Scale adds more accounts, bill automation, forecasts, partner benefits, higher rewards, and faster support.
Relay invoices can accept cards, pay-by-bank, manual ACH, and incoming wires. Processing fees vary by method and plan. A business should encourage free ACH where appropriate and follow network and state rules before passing a card surcharge to a customer.
FDIC coverage and partners
Relay is not itself a bank. Thread Bank holds eligible deposits and uses an IntraFi network to distribute balances. Relay advertises up to $3 million in FDIC coverage per business, subject to pass-through conditions and bank placement.
The standard $250,000 limit applies per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. Other deposits at a program bank count toward that limit. Amounts beyond network capacity or the $3 million maximum can be placed at an excess bank without equivalent coverage. Large-balance users should review current allocation.
Unit supports parts of the technology stack, and international payments can involve additional regulated providers. The agreement and escalation path depend on whether a problem concerns deposits, ACH, wires, cards, invoices, or software.
Profit First and team controls
Relay is promoted as the official banking platform for Profit First. Multiple accounts and automated transfers can make the method concrete, but no allocation framework guarantees profit. Percentages should fit actual margins, taxes, debt, payroll, and working capital.
Users can collaborate with employees, bookkeepers, and accountants, issue controlled cards, collect receipts, and create bill approvals. Grow and Scale support custom rules by amount or vendor. Relay notes that a payment created outside the Bills workflow may bypass those bill rules, so procedure matters as much as configuration.
QuickBooks, Xero, Gusto, Plaid, and Yodlee connections improve visibility. Many accounts still mean many reconciliations. Transfers between Relay accounts must be mapped correctly so they are not booked as income or expense.
Cash access
Relay accepts cash through Allpoint+ ATMs and Green Dot retailers. Allpoint+ supports up to $1,000 per transaction without a Relay surcharge. Retail locations can charge up to $4.95 and often impose $500 transaction and $1,500 daily limits.
That is useful for occasional currency but not identical to branch commercial service. High-volume cash businesses should compare deposit time, fees, availability, receipts, limits, and employee custody risk with a local bank.
Where Relay appears on DollarScout
DollarScout’s full Relay review scores fees, yield, integrations, onboarding, and customer service. Comparisons position Relay against Bluevine’s interest-bearing checking, Mercury’s global startup operations, Novo’s integration-led free account, and Found or Lili’s tax and bookkeeping workflows.
The site treats plan APY as savings yield, preserves the regular Scale price in cost modeling, and distinguishes the $3 million program maximum from unconditional coverage.
Decision checklist
Relay is a strong candidate when:
- Many real accounts make cash purpose and ownership clearer.
- Employees, bookkeepers, or accountants need delegated access.
- Bills, approvals, cards, invoices, and accounting sync can share one workflow.
- Paid-plan savings and automation exceed the subscription cost.
- Occasional cash deposits need a network option.
It is easier to skip when one account is enough, automation will go unused, or full-service branch cash operations are required.
Editorial conclusion
Relay is one of the strongest online options for structured business cash management. Starter is capable without a monthly fee, and Grow or Scale can add substantial control for teams. Current savings APY and conditional sweep coverage broaden the value.
Its power can also create complexity. Model the regular subscription price, include transaction fees, keep savings and checking balances distinct, and standardize approval routes and account names. Relay works best when every account and rule has an owner and a purpose.