Mercury

Mercury is a financial technology company that provides business banking and financial operations software, primarily to startups, small businesses and scaling companies. It is not itself an FDIC-insured bank; banking services are provided through partner banks Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., both FDIC members. Customers can apply online in about 10 minutes for checking and savings accounts with no minimums, and access debit and credit cards, domestic and international wire transfers, treasury products, invoicing, bill pay and lending.

The product set extends beyond deposit accounts into broader financial operations: virtual and physical cards, expense management with limits, approvals and reimbursements, AI-assisted bill capture and transaction categorization, invoicing and accounts receivable, and accounting integrations with QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite. Treasury by Mercury Advisory offers yield of up to 3.88% through portfolios described as powered by J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Morgan Stanley, and credit cards carry 1.5% cashback. Deposit protection of up to $5 million is offered via partner banks and their sweep networks. Mercury also markets a personal banking product with a 3.25% APY savings account, joint accounts and free USD wires, and has launched "Mercury Spend" for cards, budgets and controls, including for AI agents.

Beyond product, Mercury runs community programs for founders and describes itself as backed by venture capitalists, angel investors and more than 2,500 community members. In 2026 it disclosed conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become a federally regulated bank, which would let it expand lending, join the Zelle network and reduce dependence on sponsor banks; final approval is anticipated by the CEO as possibly ready in 2027.

Founding story

Mercury was founded in 2017 on the premise that banking should support rather than obstruct entrepreneurs, and the company says it spent its first five years reworking the banking experience. Co-founders are CEO Immad Akhund and COO Jason Zhang, both previously at Heyzap (Akhund as co-founder and CEO, Zhang as VP of business development), together with CTO Maximilian Tagher.

Business model

Mercury operates a software-led banking platform on top of partner banks, monetizing customer deposits and financial activity rather than charging monthly account fees. Checking and savings accounts are offered at $0/month with zero minimums and no fees on USD wires, while revenue-generating products include credit cards, treasury/cash-management portfolios, lending and venture debt, and paid business-operations tooling. Obtaining its own bank charter is expected to let the company retain more of the economics currently shared with sponsor banks.

Revenue derives from banking-adjacent financial products layered over free accounts — interchange and card programs, treasury and cash management, and lending — with the company reporting $650 million in annualized revenue as of the third quarter and four consecutive years of profitability.

Traction

More than 300,000 customers, including roughly a third of early-stage startups; over $20 billion in monthly transaction volume; a 4.9 Apple App Store rating; $650 million in annualized revenue and four years of profitability; and more than 1,000 employees. Earlier reported traction included 100,000 customers in 180 countries and $50 billion in transactions processed in 2022. After Silicon Valley Bank's failure in March 2023, Mercury took in more than $2 billion in deposits and retained 92% of those customers six months later.

Latest developments

In May 2026 CNBC reported a $200 million Series D led by TCV with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Coatue, valuing Mercury at $5.2 billion — 49% above the round 14 months earlier. Weeks before, Mercury disclosed conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become a federally regulated bank, which would permit expanded lending, Zelle membership and reduced reliance on partner banks, with final approval possibly ready in 2027. Mercury also launched Mercury Spend (cards, budgets and controls for teams and AI agents) and AI agent access to accounts, and plans a conversational AI finance interface. CEO Immad Akhund said he intends to keep the company independent and eventually take it public.