Brex Business Account Review 2023

For larger businesses and companies that have received equity investments, Brex Business Account is an excellent business checking product. In the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse, Brex has been a popular choice for companies searching for a new bank or for those who might have been considering SVB.

Your funds can earn a high-interest yield and are protected with up to $2.25 million in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance through Brex’s nine partner banks. In addition, you get access to the Brex Card, a unique and powerful business credit card product.

Last year, Brex tightened its qualifications for a Brex Business Account. To be sure of qualification, your business and your potential Brex account will need to meet one of the following criteria:

Received an equity investment of any amount, such as an accelerator, angel investor, venture capitalist (VC), or web3 token, or plan to in the near future
Have more than $1 million a year in revenue
Have more than 50 employees
Have above $400,000 in cash (for midmarket and enterprise companies) or $50,000 for startups
Are a tech startup that is on a path to meeting the criteria above and is referred by an existing customer or partner

If you don’t meet these, you can contact Brex to see if your business qualifies, as businesses that might soon meet one of the criteria may still be eligible for an account. You can also check out our list of the best Brex Business Account alternatives.

What We Like

No minimum balance or opening deposit requirement
No monthly fees
All automated clearing house (ACH) and wire transfers are free
Fee-free Brex Card comes with all Brex business accounts

Drawbacks

No ATM card option and cash deposits
No physical locations
Not open to sole proprietors or unregistered businesses
Tightened requirements may make it difficult to qualify

Features

No fees on money transfers, including ACH, checks, and wire transfers, both domestic and international
No monthly maintenance fees
Uncapped rewards and 10x to 20x higher limits on Brex Mastercard with no personal guarantee
Spend management for accounting automation and accuracy
Partner perks with businesses, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apple, QuickBooks, and UPS
Powerful mobile app with expense tracking and integrations with popular financial and business software
Deposits can be spread among nine partner banks that are FDIC-insured for a maximum of $2.25 million

Visit Brex

Brex Business Account Video Review

How Brex Business Account Stacks Up With Its Competitors

Annual Percentage Yield (APY)	Cash Deposit Fee	ATM Fee	FDIC Insurance
Cash invested earns up to 4.20% APY	No cash deposits	No ATM card available	Up to $2.25 million
Visit Brex*
Treasury account up to 4.65% APY	No cash deposits	None at Allpoint ATMs	Up to $3 million
Visit Mercury*
2.0% on balances of $250,000 or less	$4.95 per deposit; at Green Dot	None at MoneyPass ATMs	Up to $250,000
Visit Bluevine*

*Providers are financial technology (fintech) platforms backed and FDIC-insured through a supporting bank partnership: Nine partner banks for Brex (see Brex’s list of partner banks); Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust for Mercury, and Coastal Community Bank for Bluevine.

When Brex Is a Good Fit

You have more than $250,000 and want it insured: Using its nine partner banks, Brex can insure your business funds through the FDIC for up to $2.25 million.
You make frequent money transfers: If you need to transfer money frequently, Brex is an excellent choice, as all ACH, check, and wire transfers are free.
You don’t need to deposit cash: If your business doesn’t deal with cash regularly, Brex is ideal because it does not accept cash deposits.
You don’t need to withdraw cash: If your business doesn’t need to withdraw cash from an ATM, Brex is a good choice because the Brex Card does not allow you to withdraw at an ATM.
You have an advanced startup or a scaling business: Because of Brex’s new qualification requirements, if you have an advanced startup (with at least $1 million in annual revenue) or a scaling business, Brex is a good fit.

When Brex Isn’t a Good Fit

Your business needs to deposit cash regularly: Brex does not allow you to deposit cash. If you are depositing cash constantly, you might consider a bank with a physical location, such as Bank of America. We have a full review of Bank of America business checking which details both its account options.
You need to withdraw cash from your account for your business: The Brex card does not allow you to withdraw cash at all. Novo is a good digital banking alternative because it refunds all ATM fees at the end of each month. See our Novo business checking review for more information.
You have more than $2.25 million in reserves: Mercury, using partner banks through a sweep account, can insure up to $3 million in funds with the FDIC. Our review of Mercury’s business checking has more details on its product.

For more alternatives to Brex, check out our list of the best small business checking accounts.


Required Opening Deposit	None
Required Balance Minimum	None
Transaction Limit Before Fees	None
ACH Fees	None
Monthly Fees	None
Domestic Wire Transfer Fees	No wire fees
International Wire Transfer Fees	No wire fees
ATM Fees	No ATM card available
Cash Deposited	None; cash deposits not accepted
APY	N/A; invested cash in money market can draw up to 4.20%


Debit Card	One active physical card for each individual user; cannot be used at ATMs
Physical Checks	N/A, but checks can be sent from the app
Accounting Software Integrations	QuickBooks, 1Password, Zapier, Rippling, Gusto, SAP Concur, Oracle NetSuite, Sage, Slack, and Xero
Business Payment Integrations	Can auto-sync with Xero and QuickBooks, or can send payments directly from Brex business account by wire, ACH, and check for free
Customer Service	Via chat seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific time, or by email
Invoicing Products	Unavailable
Other Products Available	Credit card, spend management, rewards, expense tracking, bill pay, and financial modeling

Brex Business Account Requirements

To qualify for an account, Brex has a list of requirements your business must satisfy.

Company is a business entity that’s organized, registered, and located in the United States
Company has a valid US employer identification number (EIN)
Company is validly existing and in good standing in its jurisdiction of organization
Company isn’t engaged in any prohibited activities
The natural person applicant is authorized to provide information about company, submit the application on behalf of company, enter into binding agreements on behalf of company, authorize debits from linked accounts, and manage company’s Brex account
The natural person applicant isn’t affiliated with a prohibited person
All information company and natural person applicant provide to us is and will be current, accurate, and complete
Company will use its Brex account exclusively for business purposes and not for any personal, family, or household use
Company has reviewed this platform agreement and the terms, agreements, or policies incorporated by reference and agrees to be bound by them
All linked accounts designated by company are business rather than consumer accounts and are not established or used for personal, family, or household purposes

Brex tightened its qualifications for an account. While it’s possible to get an account without meeting any of these qualifications, the company requires you to meet one of the following criteria:

Received an equity investment of any amount, such as accelerator, angel investor, VC, or web3 token, or plan to in the near future
Have more than $1 million a year in revenue
Have more than 50 employees
Have above $400,000 in cash (for midmarket and enterprise companies) or $50,000 for startups
Are a tech startup that is on a path to meeting the criteria above and is referred by an existing customer or partner

Regardless of how your business is organized, you must have the following to open an account:

Business name and address
Ownership details, including a list of beneficial owners, administrators and users’ dates of birth and personal information
Contact information, including email and phone number of business and all beneficial owners, administrators, and users
Tax ID number and beneficial owners’ Social Security numbers
Nature of the business
Financial information
Details for your linked accounts

For more information on how to open a business checking account, check out our guide on how to open a business bank account, which includes a convenient checklist to help you through the process.

Brex Business Account Features

Brex’s business account has some great features that can benefit your startup or scaling small business.

Brex Business Checking

Brex business account serves as a business checking account. It has no opening deposit and minimum balance requirement, no transaction limit, and no monthly fees. All incoming and outgoing wires and ACHs are free, domestic and international.

Brex also allows you to invest extra funds in a money market, which is currently earning up to 4.20% APY. You cannot order physical checks, but you can send them from the app. And while you cannot deposit or withdraw cash with Brex, you can issue an unlimited number of Brex Cards for free.

A significant advantage the company provides is spreading your funds across nine partner banks. This allows your funds to be insured by the FDIC for up to $2.25 million instead of the usual $250,000.

Brex Card

The Brex Card, which you can learn more about through our detailed Brex Card review, is one of the biggest perks of Brex. It combines the credit-building benefits of a business credit card with the access to your business account of a debit card.

You can choose the daily or monthly payment option with the Brex Card. Daily payment comes with every Brex account, while monthly requires an application. Both are fee-free, with no personal guarantee required, and report to credit bureaus, just like other business credit cards.

The terms, benefits, and qualifications of each card are listed in the table below.

	Paid Daily	Paid Monthly
Qualification	Comes with every Brex account	Companies that meet certain size and revenue requirements; requires application
Limits	100% of Brex account’s available balance	Qualify for 10 to 20x higher limits than traditional corporate cards
Rewards	Earn up to 8x rewards points on all card spend	Earn up to 7x rewards points on all card spend
How Card is Paid	Paid daily from Brex account balance	Billed monthly and can be paid from any account
Fees	None	None
Personal Guarantee	None	None

The Brex Card offers 7x points on rideshares, 4x on Brex travel, 3x on restaurants, 2x on software, and 1x on all other spending. You can issue unlimited cards with custom limits and track team expenses. It comes with Mastercard Zero Liability Protection to protect your users from fraud. There are also partner perks of more than $180,000 with Brex Card.

One downside is your company must be organized with an employer identification number (EIN) to qualify. It is unavailable to sole proprietors and other unregistered businesses.

Brex Empower

Brex’s latest product is its spend management program called Brex Empower. It allows you to control and monitor several aspects of your business finances. Brex Cards are also controlled through Empower. Empower features include:

Global corporate cards: Cards with chip and PIN are accepted in more than 100 countries, with 24/7 customer support
Built-in spend controls: You can set up pre-approved spend via budgets, with expense policies that the system will enforce.
Automatic general ledger (GL) sync: You can sync your transactions to your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with custom categorization, allowing you to close the books in real time.
Auto-generated receipts: As long as the receipt is IRS-compliant, it will be added automatically to expenses from major merchants with no action needed.
Fast reimbursements globally: You can pay employees back in their local currency and bank account in two days or less.

You can visit the Brex Empower page to learn more about the program.

Brex Integrations

Outside of Brex Empower, the company offers dozens of integrations with companies in ERP/procurement, human resources information system (HRIS), workflow automation, and comms/authentication. Visit Brex’s integration page for the list of available tools.

Brex Rewards

In addition to the Brex Card rewards, you can use Brex points to purchase Billboard advertising, executive coaching, team off-sites, and more. You can even earn extra Brex points by purchasing those items with cash on the Brex Card.

Brex also offers partner rewards of more than $180,000. Companies offering those rewards include AWS, Apple, QuickBooks, UPS, Gusto, Slack, Google Ads, Vouch, Experian, and Freshworks. You can also earn 4x on travel, redeeming points for miles with Aeromexico, Air France KLM, Avianca, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Asia Miles, and Qantas.

See Brex’s page for the list of rewards and for more details on the perks.

Brex Expenses

You can text or email receipts to Brex, and it will match them to expenses. You can sync expense data across systems to automate reconciliation. Custom spend reports that find ways to save your company money are also available.

Spending can be tracked in real time on the app. Unique Brex Cards can be created for free with custom limits for each subscription, vendor, and employee.

Brex Bill Pay

You can manage all bills in one place. Invoices can be paid by forwarding an email, and you won’t pay transaction fees.

You can send payments from wire, ACH, or check for free, even internationally. You can also auto-sync with Xero or QuickBooks.

Brex Mobile App

Brex has designed a powerful mobile app that will allow you to make online payments or even connect your card through Apple Pay for in-person transactions. Through the app, you can add receipts and memos by uploading photos of receipts into the app, check limits and transactions, track cash flow, and get live tech support 24/7.

What’s more, you can deposit checks or use your account and routing number to receive ACH or wire transfers. You can also send free ACH and wire transfers from your app.

Brex Pry

Brex offers Pry, a platform that helps founders manage budgets, hiring plans, financial models, and runways. It lets you get accurate financial forecasts in real time and create scenarios to plan for different possible financial scenarios. Interactive dashboards show you real-time financial data to help display your current financial picture.

Brex Pros & Cons


PROS	CONS
No minimum balance or opening deposit requirement	No ATM card option and cash deposits
No monthly fees	No physical locations
All ACH and wire transfers are free	Not open to sole proprietors or unregistered businesses
Fee-free Brex Card comes with all Brex accounts	Recently tightened qualifications may leave some businesses unable to qualify

For incorporated businesses looking for a largely fee-free banking experience, Brex is an excellent choice. It has no minimum balance and opening deposit requirement, has no monthly fees, offers free wires and ACH transfers, and provides an unlimited number of fee-free Brex Cards.

However, businesses dealing with cash or needing physical locations might consider an alternative. Also, sole proprietors and unregistered businesses are ineligible, and other businesses might find eligibility more difficult with Brex’s recently-tightened requirements.

The Brex app is very highly rated on both Google Play and App Store. It has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Google Play (out of more than 860 reviews) and 4.9 out of 5 stars (with more than 2,600 reviews) on App Store. Most users raved about the app’s interface on both systems, while some negative reviews revolved around accounts recently closed with Brex’s tightened qualification requirements.

Brex Business Account User Reviews


PROS	CONS
Brex rewards system	Accounts being closed in mid-2022 when qualifications tightened
Online UX and mobile app	Applications being rejected for companies that believed they should qualify
Integration with QuickBooks	Some issues with customer service, especially for closed accounts or rejected businesses

Brex has a 3.3-star rating on Trustpilot¹ out of around 560 reviews. Brex’s reviews are mixed between its business checking product and the Brex Card. Also, Brex received many negative reviews when the company tightened qualification requirements and closed accounts in mid-2022.

Nevertheless, people who like Brex raved about interactions with customer support, the company’s user experience (UX) and mobile app, and its strong integration with QuickBooks. Those users also appreciate Brex’s rewards.

Those who left a negative review were frustrated that accounts were suddenly closed. Other users believed they met Brex’s new qualifications only to have their applications declined. While some raved about Brex’s customer service, many who left negative comments were less than pleased with interactions with Brex.

Bottom Line

Brex is a great choice for businesses that had SVB accounts or were considering an account with SVB. However, in many ways, Brex was always a better option thanks to its cash sweep policy, allowing for additional FDIC insurance for your business.

Brex and Mercury are two of the best options for fintech banking for companies that have received equity investment or will in the future. They are also two of the best SVB alternatives on the market—and you can check out our Brex vs Mercury business checking comparison to see how they stack up with each other.

Thanks to extra FDIC insurance, robust integrations and perks, and excellent customer services, Brex is an outstanding choice for your large company.

User review reference:
¹Trustpilot