Mercury vs Novo: Wires, ACH and Cash Deposits

Mercury is the stronger choice for a U.S. business that regularly sends wires. Novo is a good fit when standard ACH and included invoicing cover most transactions. Mercury’s business banking terms list no required monthly fee, free ACH and domestic and international USD wires, a 1% exchange fee for non-USD international payments, and optional advanced-workflow plans starting at $35 a month.

Novo’s checking terms list no monthly maintenance fee or minimum balance, free standard ACH, included invoicing and reserve tools, and reimbursement of up to $7 a month in eligible third-party ATM fees. Optional faster transfers and outgoing wires may carry charges shown before a transaction. Neither account accepts direct cash deposits, so a business that takes physical cash needs another way to bank it.

When payment method changes the cost

A domestic services firm paying contractors by standard ACH may have little reason to choose on transfer price alone. Both accounts offer that payment method without a transfer fee. The question is whether any supplier, landlord or other recipient requires a wire, and how often that happens.

For a startup that pays U.S. vendors by domestic wire or overseas contractors in USD, Mercury has the clearer published price: those outgoing wires are free under its standard terms. A recipient who requires local currency changes the calculation because conversion brings an exchange fee. In a hypothetical $20,000 payment converted at the stated 1% rate, the fee would be $200. That arithmetic is an illustration, not a quote for a destination or a promise that the recipient will receive a particular amount.

Novo’s domestic-wire guidance makes the feature available only to eligible customers; the option appears when an eligible customer adds or edits a payee. Its checking terms also say that applicable fees, limits and availability appear before a transaction begins. A firm that routinely must send wires should therefore assess both whether the feature is available on its account and what each outgoing payment will cost.

What the free account includes—and what a subscription adds

A free monthly account charge does not mean a business must pay separately for every operating tool. Novo includes invoicing, bookkeeping features and reserve accounts with checking. A service firm can use those features to bill clients and earmark funds without choosing a paid workflow tier.

Mercury also includes basic invoicing and offers connections to QuickBooks and Xero, plus payment approvals and team permissions. Its paid plans add capabilities such as advanced invoicing and richer NetSuite automation. The subscription question is therefore specific: does the business need the added workflow often enough to justify a recurring charge? Sending ordinary ACH or domestic wires through Mercury does not require an upgrade.

Integrations deserve a task-by-task comparison. An accounting connection may reduce manual entry, while invoice creation, payment collection and approval rules address different steps. A firm already using separate billing software may value Mercury’s payment controls more than another invoicing tool; a smaller firm wanting to bill from its checking account may place more value on Novo’s included features.

Account eligibility can settle the choice early

Mercury requires the business to be formed and registered in the United States or a U.S. territory and to have existing or planned U.S. operations. Its application calls for formation and tax documents and identification for a person with operating control and qualifying owners. A U.S. company with founders abroad may apply, subject to location restrictions and review.

Novo’s application requirements include sole proprietorships, LLCs, corporations and partnerships; sole proprietors need both an SSN and an EIN to apply. That makes Novo a possible route for an independent contractor who has not formed a company, provided the applicant meets its documentation and verification requirements. An incorporated startup should compare the people, addresses and records each provider requires before treating either published fee schedule as an available option.

Cash deposits and support are shared limits

Finder’s account comparison scores Mercury 4.4 and Novo 4.2, and finds that neither accepts cash deposits or advertises a customer phone line. Its listing of Novo outgoing domestic wires as unavailable reflects a narrower picture than Novo’s current eligibility guidance. The small scoring gap cannot solve a retailer’s need to deposit the cash collected at a register.

An ATM-fee reimbursement concerns a withdrawal, not cash sales waiting to be deposited. A retailer using either fintech account would need a separate deposit-capable account and could then transfer proceeds electronically. That adds another account to reconcile and may introduce fees at the deposit institution. For a business that frequently needs immediate help with a time-sensitive payment, the lack of an advertised customer phone line also belongs in the decision.

Three businesses, three different answers

Consider a hypothetical consulting firm that invoices clients electronically and pays contractors by standard ACH. Novo’s included invoicing and free standard transfers make it a strong candidate, particularly for a qualifying sole proprietor. Mercury remains viable if its permissions or accounting connections better suit the firm’s process. The absence of a monthly account fee on both sides does not decide this case.

For a hypothetical startup sending domestic wires and paying overseas contractors in USD, Mercury offers the more predictable published transfer cost. If contractors instead require local currency, the exchange fee belongs in the payment budget. Novo may be considered for domestic wires if the account is eligible, but the startup must account for the charge presented before each transfer.

For a hypothetical shop that regularly closes with physical cash, neither account is a complete operating-account solution on its own. A cash-capable deposit account would handle the register proceeds; Mercury or Novo could then serve a separate electronic-payment need. The useful choice follows the shop’s actual mix of cash deposits, wires, ACH payments and invoicing, rather than the shared promise of no monthly maintenance fee.