Relay
Business banking and money platform that keeps every dollar clear, organized, and ready for what's next.
By Relay Financial Technologies, Inc. · 4.0/5 verified-buyer score
Positioning guardrails
Best for
- Owner-operated US small businesses that want multiple segregated checking accounts for real cash-flow visibility
- Teams running the Profit First method who need automated transfers and earmarked profit, tax and payroll accounts
- Businesses that want bills, invoicing, expense cards and accounting sync in a single login
- Accountants and bookkeepers managing banking and bookkeeping for multiple client businesses
Ideal size: 1-200 (solopreneurs through larger teams) people · US small business or growing team actively managing cash flow
Not for
- Businesses outside the United States: accounts are provided through Thread Bank, Member FDIC
- Enterprises needing global treasury, multi-currency or ERP-grade procurement depth
- Companies whose primary need is lending, credit lines or investment management
- Teams planning custom automation: no public developer API or MCP server is documented on the vendor site
Value metrics scorecard
Time-to-Value
Minutes to open; days to configure
~1 days to first production value
Total Cost of Ownership
$360/yr
Starts at $0 · Monthly subscription per business: Starter $0, Grow $30, Scale $90-$120 (discounted); plus per-transaction fees
Implementation Friction
1/5
Engineering + admin effort required
Buyer Score
out of 5 · verified buyers
Full cost breakdown
Mandatory implementation fee
None
Seat tiers
Unlimited users on every plan; 20 checking accounts per business (50 on Scale)
Add-on costs
- Per-transaction fees for domestic and international wires and ACH; same-day ACH free on Scale
- Savings APY and credit card cash back vary by plan (1.19%-3.21% APY; 1%-1.5% cash back)
Company & support
Who is behind Relay, and how your team gets help once it is live.
Company
- Founded
- Not recorded
- Headquarters
- Not recorded
How you get support
- PhoneEnterprise only
- EmailAll plans
- Live chatNot listed
- Support portal / ticketsNot listed
- Community forumNot listed
- Help centre / docsAll plans
- Dedicated account managerNot listed
- In person / on-siteNot listed
- Hours
- Not recorded
- Response time
- Not stated
Vendor pages state customers are helped by email and a self-serve Help Center; the Scale plan advertises faster support by phone and email. No hours or SLA published.
“Not listed” means the vendor’s public pages don’t mention that channel, not that it is unavailable. Ask about it during evaluation.
Market position
Where Relay sits against its closest alternatives. Pick any two of cost, speed, friction and buyer score, and up to 9 companies to compare.
Quadrant view
Typical annual cost × Time-to-value
The lines cross at the median of the solutions shown, so about half sit on each side of each line. A dashed ring marks an outlier pinned to the edge; hover for its value.
Companies on the chart 6 / 10
- Relay
- SurePayroll
- Jetpack Workflow
- OptimoRoute
- Otter
- Blueprint
Add or change companies
Up to 10 companies including Relay. Listed closest first.
Stack fit signal
Compatibility with standard B2B ecosystems.
No supported MCP path today, so it cannot be driven from an AI client.
AI & MCP readiness
What Relay ships in AI, and what it asks of your ecosystem.
Compliance attestations
* IAPP AIGP certifies individuals, not products. It means named staff hold the credential — not that the platform does.
Bottom line
Relay is a US business banking and money platform used by 110,000+ small businesses. Through partner Thread Bank it offers up to 50 checking accounts, high-yield savings, Visa debit and credit cards, spend controls, bill pay with approvals, invoicing and receivables, receipt capture, and accounting sync to QuickBooks Online and Xero. Plans run from free Starter to $30/month Grow and $90-$120/month Scale. Best for owner-operated and growing teams that want cash-flow clarity rather than enterprise treasury.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Relay cost?
Relay has three monthly plans: Starter is $0, Grow is $30 per month, and Scale is $90-$120 per month with a limited-time discount. All plans include unlimited users, up to 50 cards per cardholder, invoice creation and tracking, and accounting integrations. Additional per-transaction fees apply to wires and ACH, and savings APY plus card cash back rise with the plan tier.
How quickly can a team start using Relay?
Relay says an account can be opened and funded in minutes, with no minimum balance and no branch visits or paperwork. Grow and Scale include a 14-day trial. Day-one value comes from creating multiple checking and savings accounts and setting auto-transfer rules; higher-tier automation such as multi-step approval rules and bookkeeping automation takes longer to configure.
Is Relay a bank, and are deposits FDIC insured?
No. Relay is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. Deposits qualify for up to $3,000,000 in FDIC insurance when Thread Bank places them at program banks in its deposit sweep program, with $250,000 of coverage per program bank and conditions that must be satisfied for pass-through insurance to apply.
What software does Relay integrate with?
Relay syncs detailed transaction data and monthly statements to QuickBooks Online and Xero, and connects to Gusto for payroll data and shortfall alerts, Plaid and Yodlee for other money apps such as Expensify, Freshbooks, Stessa and PayPal, and Collective for self-employed tax support. These are the integrations documented on the vendor's integrations page.
Does Relay offer phone support?
The About and Contact pages say customers are supported by email, alongside a self-serve Help Center, and the Scale plan advertises faster customer support by phone and email. The vendor site does not publish support hours or a response-time SLA.
Who should not choose Relay?
Businesses outside the United States, large enterprises needing global treasury, multi-currency or ERP-grade procurement, and companies whose main need is lending, credit or investment management are a poor fit. Relay also publishes no developer API or MCP server, so teams planning custom automation on top of the banking data should expect to work through its built-in integrations instead.