As of 2026-10-06, Bluevine publishes its rates by tier: 3.0% APY on Premier ($95 a month), 1.75% on Plus ($30 a month) and 1.3% on Standard ($0 a month). The Standard rate is subject to a monthly activity goal, so a $0 fee does not mean an unconditional rate. Axos Bank's Business Interest Checking is the other listed interest account, at $10 a month, waived with a $5,000 minimum average daily balance. Found, Lili, Mercury, Novo and Relay publish any interest terms on their own sites.

Which business bank accounts pay interest on balances?

Two of the listed providers publish interest-bearing accounts with stated terms: Bluevine and Axos Bank. Axos states its interest-bearing fee and waiver condition, and Axos lists its current APY on its own rate page. For Found, Lili, Mercury, Novo and Relay, whether the account pays interest, and at what rate, is set out on each provider's own site, so check there rather than assuming a rate.

The providers are listed alphabetically, which is not a ranking. All prices were checked at each provider's own pricing page on 2026-10-06 and may have changed since.

Axos Bank

Axos Bank has two business checking accounts. Basic Business Checking is $0 a month, with no minimum balance and no maintenance fee. Business Interest Checking is $10 a month, waived with a $5,000 minimum average daily balance, and it takes a $100 opening deposit.

The current APY on Business Interest Checking is on Axos's own rate page. Best for: a business that expects to keep at least $5,000 on average each day, so the fee is waived and the interest is not offset by a charge. The trade-off is that a dip in the daily average brings the $10 back.

Bluevine

Bluevine has three plans: Standard at $0 a month, Plus at $30 a month and Premier at $95 a month. The APY is 1.3% on Standard, subject to a monthly activity goal, 1.75% on Plus and 3.0% on Premier. The Plus and Premier fees are waivable, and Bluevine sets out the waiver conditions and the activity goal itself on its own site.

Best for: a business that holds enough to make the higher rate matter. The Premier fee of $95 a month is $1,140 a year, so the extra interest has to exceed that unless the fee is waived. On a small balance, Standard's $0 fee is the cleaner fit, with the activity goal as the condition to confirm.

Found

Found has a Free plan at $0, a Plus plan at $35 a month or $315 a year, and a Pro plan at $80 a month or $720 a year. Found's own site says whether any tier pays interest, and at what rate.

Best for: a business choosing on fees and features that treats interest as secondary. Check Found's own pages for any rate before counting on one.

Lili

Lili lists four tiers: Core at $0, Pro at $15 a month, Smart at $35 a month and Premium at $55 a month. The paid tiers are often advertised at roughly 40% off for the first three months. That is promotional only, and the ongoing prices are the ones just given.

Lili publishes any interest terms on its own site. Best for: a business that wants a free tier and does not depend on interest income.

Mercury

Mercury has a $0 monthly base account, a Plus plan at $29.90 a month and a Pro plan at $299 a month. Mercury publishes any interest or yield it offers on its own site.

Best for: a business that wants a free online account and will confirm any yield on Mercury's own site before deciding. The Pro tier at $299 a month is hard to justify through interest alone on a small balance.

Novo

Novo lists $0 a month with no monthly fee. Novo's own site says whether it pays interest on balances.

Best for: a business that wants the simplest fee picture and will look elsewhere for yield. If interest is the main goal, confirm Novo's position on its own site first.

Relay

Relay has three plans: Starter at $0 a month, Grow at $30 a month and Scale at $90 a month. Relay publishes any interest terms on its own site.

Best for: a business that expects to add accounts or users and wants a free start. Check any interest on Relay on its own pages before counting on it.

Is a higher rate worth a monthly fee?

A paid tier makes sense only when the interest earned beats the fee with room to spare. The break-even depends on the average balance. Divide the annual fee by the difference in rate between tiers, and the result is the balance at which the upgrade starts paying for itself.

As an illustration using Bluevine's published figures, moving from Standard (1.3%) to Plus (1.75%) is a gain of 0.45 percentage points, against $360 a year in fees if not waived. That works out to a balance of $80,000 before the extra interest covers the fee. The calculation ignores the activity goal and any waiver, both of which change the result, and it is arithmetic on published rates rather than a forecast.

Is the money insured if the provider is not a bank?

Interest is only worth earning on money that is protected. The FDIC says the deposit accounts of a corporation, partnership or unincorporated association are insured up to $250,000, and that all accounts one entity holds at the same insured bank are combined. Opening extra accounts for different purposes at that bank does not raise the limit.

Many online business accounts are offered by companies that are not banks. The FDIC states that nonbank companies are never themselves FDIC-insured. In its guidance on banking with third-party apps, it adds that funds sent to a nonbank company are not eligible for FDIC insurance until the company deposits them in an FDIC-insured bank and other conditions are met.

The failure case matters as much as the limit. The FDIC says deposit insurance does not protect against the insolvency or bankruptcy of a nonbank company, and that recovery then runs through an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding that may take some time. Axos Bank is itself a bank. For each of the other providers, confirm whether it is a bank or a nonbank and which insured bank holds the funds, especially when balances are large enough to be chasing yield.

Which fees remain on a no-monthly-fee account?

The monthly fee is one line on a fee schedule. Wires, cash deposits, out-of-network ATM use and expedited card delivery are commonly priced separately. Wire fees, cash deposit fees, out-of-network ATM fees and expedited card fees are set out on each provider's own fee schedule.

Why keep business money in its own account?

The Small Business Administration says that keeping personal and business funds completely separate requires two different bank accounts. It ties separation to liability: failing to separate risks forfeiting the legal protections that entity structures offer, and separation is pivotal for protecting a person's own assets and credit. The Internal Revenue Service adds, in Publication 583, that opening a business checking account is one of the first things to do when starting a business.

How should a business choose?

Start with how much cash will sit in the account. A small working balance points to a $0 tier, where the fee is certain and the interest is a bonus. A larger reserve points to Bluevine's higher tiers or Axos Business Interest Checking, where the interest can outweigh the fee.

Then check the conditions: Bluevine's activity goal and fee waivers, and the Axos daily balance. Finally, confirm the insurance structure for any provider that is not a bank. A reserve that earns a high rate but sits outside deposit insurance in a failure is a different risk from one held at an insured bank.

Frequently asked questions

Does a $0 monthly fee mean the interest rate is unconditional? Not necessarily. Bluevine's 1.3% APY on Standard is subject to a monthly activity goal, even though the plan costs $0 a month.

Does opening several accounts raise the insured amount? Not at the same insured bank. The FDIC combines all accounts held by the same entity there, so separate accounts for different divisions or purposes do not each get their own coverage.

Is a balance at a nonbank insured? The FDIC says nonbank companies are never themselves FDIC-insured, and that funds sent to one are not eligible for FDIC insurance until the company deposits them in an insured bank and other conditions are met.

Sources

This is general information rather than legal, tax or accounting advice, and requirements vary and change.