Mercury Perks
Business banking with a $5M FDIC sweep, plus a partner perks marketplace with 300+ offers. Mercury Raise shut down in September 2025.
Mercury Perks offers up to 300+ partner perks to bootstrapped, pre-seed, seed startups, no VC referral required. Review takes 1–21 business days.
About
Mercury is a fintech banking platform, not a bank, offering FDIC insurance up to $5M through partner banks. Opening an account unlocks a partner perks marketplace with more than 300 offers across cloud, software, and services, bundled into starter packs for new companies.
Mercury Raise no longer exists. Mercury announced its closure in September 2025, and the Founder Community, Investor Connect, and Fundraising Lab all ended with it. If you came here looking for Raise investor matching, that is gone and there is no successor product.
One change worth noting: Mercury no longer publishes a total dollar value for the perks bundle. The $200,000-plus figure that circulates for this program, including on earlier versions of this page, came from a time when it did. Individual perk values are shown inside the Mercury dashboard once your account is open, so treat the bundle as real but unquantified until you can see it yourself.
Non-resident founders should expect an extended compliance review, often several weeks, and should keep a backup banking option open while it runs.
Tiers
- US entity
- Pass Mercury compliance review
- Open Mercury account in good standing
Eligibility
- Must have US entity
- Pass Mercury compliance review
- For partner credit perks: business name and email must match your Mercury account exactly
- No US entity
- Previously received full credits from a partner through another channel, which can reduce or void the equivalent Mercury perk
How to apply
- 1
- 2Pass compliance reviewNon-residents should prepare for an extended review and document requests.
- 3
- 4Redeem individuallyEach perk has its own redemption flow and its own terms.
What else you get
- $0/month basic plan
- Up to $5M FDIC insurance via sweep networks
- Free USD wires and ACH
- API access (read and write) for all customers
- Corporate cards, SAFE-building tools, bill pay
- Mercury Treasury for yield on idle cash
What credits cover (and don't)
- Banking
- Cards
- Treasury
- Bill pay
- Partner perks marketplace
Tactical tips
- Tip 1.Claim a partner credit through Mercury before applying to that provider directly, because most cap you at one grant per company across all channels.
- Tip 2.Check the perk value inside your dashboard before planning around it, since Mercury no longer publishes bundle totals and individual offers change.
- Tip 3.Open a Mercury Treasury account after a raise so idle cash earns yield instead of sitting flat.
- Tip 4.Non-resident founders should expect weeks of review and keep Relay, Meow, or Wise Business open as a backup.
Common rejection reasons
- Non-resident founder on a complex KYC path
- Mismatched business name or email between the perk application and the Mercury account
Frequently asked about Mercury Perks
Is Mercury Perks free to apply?
Yes. Applying to Mercury Perks does not cost anything and does not require giving up equity. Some programs require a payment method on file that activates only after credits are consumed or expire, check the program detail page for specifics.
How long does Mercury Perks take to review applications?
Processing times are shown on the program detail page. Most programs reply within 1–3 weeks. Self-serve tiers (like AWS Activate Founders) can approve in 2–7 days; partner-referred tiers (like AWS Activate Portfolio) usually take 5–10 days.
Can I combine Mercury Perks with other startup programs?
Most programs stack. The "Stacks well with" section on each detail page lists commonly combined programs. A few important exceptions: if you already claimed AWS credits via Brex or Mercury, your direct AWS Activate amount may be reduced.
What is the most common reason applications to Mercury get rejected?
The top rejection reasons are (1) using a personal Gmail/Outlook address instead of a company domain, (2) having a thin or placeholder website, and (3) mismatched information between the application and Crunchbase/Pitchbook. The tips section on the program page details program-specific factors.
Related programs
Brex
Startup-first corporate charge card with a Marketplace that rivals AWS Activate, $350K+ in partner discounts.
Ramp
Spend management + corporate card with $350K+ partner perks, including $2,500 OpenAI credits.
Stripe Startups
Credits that offset your Stripe processing fees for 12 months, plus a capped Stripe Invoicing rate. Requires proof of institutional funding.