Mar 8, 2021
Novo Vs Mercury For Online Small Business Banking
UPDATED: 6/7/2021
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This is a review of 2 small business checking account banks, Novo Vs Mercury.
As a serial entrepreneur, having a solid online bank is critical for my needs.
If you want the short version, sign up for Bank Novo as it’s the best small business checking account I have been able to find online in months of testing.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve had no less than 20 bank accounts for multiple small business ventures. These range from brick and mortar banks, credit unions, local regional savings and loans, and big “too big to fail” multinational brands like Chase.
Yikes, that’s a lot of accounts.
In almost all of them, I found myself noticing that some of these banks just had a better overall experience. Even if they offered fewer features.
So when I started my newest business in early 2020, I set off to find a bank that would allow me to open an account remotely ( because of COVID ) and would quickly let me deposit Paypal and Stripe transactions while also having a physical debit card.
I started by opening 2 bank accounts. One with good reviews, and another as a backup in case the first took too long or rejected my application.
My first account was with Azlo, and I just fell in love with it.
That is, until 6 months later when they decided after rolling out new features they would sell off to PNC Bank and close down.
Say Whhhhhaaaaaaaat?
My second account was with Mercury, who touts themselves as the business checking account for start-ups.
Let’s just say, it was a horribly slow and stressful experience with Mercury. I don’t recommend them and was glad ( at the time ) I had Azlo as my first choice. It took 18 days to open my account at Mercury, and 30 days just to get my debit card.
Are you going to wait around and lose revenue while your bank tries to figure out how to open your account?
While I left a lot of my review of Mercury over at my Azlo vs Mercury article, I want to point out how I ended up falling in love with a third option when Azlo shut its doors and Mercury proved too slow for my needs.
Slide-in for the quicksave… Bank Novo.
I signed up for my Novo account after learning that Azlo was shutting down.
I didn’t have high hopes honestly. After all the bank accounts in my past, I just expected long wait times and bad service from any and all banks now.
So I went to Novo’s website and started my application on a Friday night at almost 9pm Eastern.
By 8:37am Eastern the NEXT MORNING on Saturday, my account was approved and ready.
Wow.
As someone who hustles early mornings, late nights, holidays, birthdays, and weekends.. I felt like I had found the bank that really “got me” and was working hard the same hours I did. What a great start.
Did I mention before that it took Mercury 18 days to open my account?
10 of which were simply waiting on an email from them? 10 days to answer an email??? Come on Mercury.
I also got my Novo debit card in less than a week. I had to wait 30 days to get my Mercury debit card. When I asked Mercury about the status of my card, they said they couldn’t “track” the delivery of it to tell me.
In this day and age, shouldn’t Mercury be able to do that?
And I get it if you think, “Big deal, you got your account opened and debit card quickly”. I know you want to know more, right?
Novo’s online interface and mobile app are dead simple and easy to use.
Even better than Azlo’s, which I loved.
No guessing where documents or functions live like I had to do for Mercury. No clicking around and fumbling my way through a confusing interface.
Here is what my Bank Novo account looked like the first day I logged in. Simple, right?
Connecting Stripe was a breeze with Novo, but I did have some trouble getting Paypal to work initially. This is because, with Paypal, Novo is not listed as “Novo” or “Bank Novo” in Paypal. Instead, it is listed as Middlesex Federal.
I blame this more as a Paypal problem than Novo though.
And I’ve been charged exactly $0 in fees since opening my account. It really is a totally free small business checking account the way I use it.
Some people complain that you have to fund the account $50. I want to make clear that the $50 is yours to use and keep and you don’t actually have to have the $50 either…
I was able to open and use my account without the $50 opening deposit. However, the $50 deposit unlocks the rest of the features of your account, and again, is yours to use and keep however you see fit in your account ( like paying bills ).
Connecting Novo with other applications is seamless:
- Shopify = if you run an e-commerce business
- Quickbooks or Xero = for all your accounting needs
- Stripe = direct integration for merchant processing
- Zapier = automated workflows
- Slack = keep notified in real-time of updates from your account
You can connect other accounts, like Paypal or another 3rd party merchant by simply setting up the transfer process in those applications to Novo as well.
I’m not using the “Pay Bills” feature of Novo. But I know you can set up to pay bills for both Domestic and International clients. I use my Novo debit card to pay for everything instead, which I have had no issues with.
For my specific setup, I have Paypal set up on my website to take orders for those that want to pay with Paypal. If they choose a credit card, I allow them to use Stripe.
Both Paypal and Stripe settle the revenues into my Bank Novo account.
If I need to pay for a business expense, I simply use my Novo debit card to pay for it. If for some reason I can’t ( like purchasing products from China ), I simply pay from Paypal which is connected to my Novo account.
You can also send invoices from Novo too.
This is another feature I am not using since I can send invoices from Paypal as well and have been for years. It just works in Paypal and is something I built a habit of doing.
I’m sure the Pay Bills and Invoicing features work great in Novo, but I wanted to be transparent I am not using those. Paypal has just been really convenient to use for years so I stick to what I know.
So who wins in the Novo Vs Mercury battle?
Bank Novo gets 5 stars from me. However, I am going to start reviewing a few other business bank accounts like BlueVine, Small Business Bank ( their real name ), and NorthOne in the coming weeks.
*UPDATE #1*
My recommendation is still Bank Novo.
Stay tuned for any updates I may have on Novo Vs Mercury in the meantime.
*UPDATE #2 from 3/28/2021*
So what are some questions people had about Bank Novo?
I’ll list out the most common I have been emailed below.
- Is Bank Novo Legit?
Yes! Novo is a FDIC insured bank partnered with Middlesex Federal Savings and it’s CEO is Michael Rangel. - Who owns Novo bank?
Middlesex Federal Savings is its partner bank and it’s CEO is Michael Rangel - Is Novo FDIC insured?
Yes! Up to $250,000. - Does Novo integrate with QuickBooks?
Yes! It also integrates with Stripe, Shopify, Slack, Xero, Zapier, and more. - Here are a few more of the perks:
* Backed with FDIC insurance
* No hidden fees
* No monthly fees or minimum balance requirements
* Simple, easy-to-use mobile apps
* Apply in under 10 minutes
* Human-powered customer service
* Free transfers, mailed checks, and incoming wires
* Integrates with other small business tools
* Refunds all ATM fees
* Thousands of dollars in exclusive perks
