Business banking platforms have multiplied, but most small business owners still face the same frustration: tools built for Fortune 500 companies or stripped-down accounts that work until you hire your second employee. The gap between "too simple" and "enterprise overkill" leaves growing businesses constantly evaluating whether to migrate platforms.
Relay and Novo occupy different positions in this landscape. Understanding where each platform excels helps you avoid paying for features you don't need or outgrowing your banking infrastructure within months. This comparison covers how each platform handles account structure, team permissions, pricing, accounting integrations, and FDIC coverage so you can determine which one fits your business model.
How Each Platform Approaches Business Banking
Relay provides up to 20 checking accounts and 2 savings accounts1 on Starter and Grow plans, or up to 50 checking accounts on the Scale plan (sole proprietorships are limited to 10 checking accounts regardless of plan). Each checking account has its own routing number and functions independently, supporting sophisticated fund separation: client deposits can go directly into project-specific accounts, tax transfers can flow to dedicated tax accounts, and operational funds can remain separate.
Savings accounts earn up to 2.68% Annual Percentage Yield3 (APY) on the Scale plan. When you sync to QuickBooks Online or Xero, each checking account appears as a separate bank feed, enabling automatic reconciliation without manual categorization.
Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply. The Relay Visa® Debit Card is issued by Thread Bank, member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.
Novo provides one checking account with up to 10–20 virtual reserve subdivisions within that single account. Built for solo founders and one-person businesses, Novo emphasizes a clean interface ideal when you're the only decision-maker managing business finances. All money initially hits your main checking account, then you allocate portions to virtual reserves. Note that Novo does not support direct cash deposits: businesses handling cash must use alternative methods like purchasing money orders.
That difference affects how you organize money daily. Relay separates accounts genuinely with distinct routing numbers that sync as separate bank feeds. Novo provides virtual organization within a single account structure.
Account Structure
How each platform structures accounts determines whether your money organization shows up automatically in QuickBooks.
Relay supports up to 50 debit cards2 across its accounts. When card transactions post to your checking account, they sync to your accounting software as part of the account feed. Individual cards don't appear as separate feeds, though; all transactions flow through the underlying checking account.
Novo allows certain payments (ACH transfers and checks) to be made directly from a Reserve by selecting it as the payment source. Funds in Reserves remain part of the same checking account balance, however, and if your Available Balance runs low, those Reserve funds aren't protected from being spent. Novo's virtual reserves don't create separate bank feeds in accounting software: your accounting system sees one account with all transactions, requiring manual categorization to track which payments came from which reserve allocation.
Businesses using cash flow methodologies like Profit First benefit from Relay's true account separation, which maintains the structure within your accounting system automatically. Solo operators prioritizing simplicity over granular separation may prefer Novo's single-account approach.
Team Access and Permission Controls
Team size often determines which platform makes more sense. A five-person team with department-specific budgets needs different controls than a solo founder.
Relay offers seven permission levels: Super Administrator, Administrator, Manager, Bill Payer, Cardholder, Deposit-only, and Read-only. This approach enables precise delegation: your bookkeeper gets Bill Payer permissions without card management access, while department heads receive Administrator or Manager rights for their specific accounts only.
Field service businesses illustrate this well. When multiple technicians need to make in-person purchases, each technician can carry their own physical card with individualized spending controls.
Novo takes a different approach, allowing additional users on accounts with each receiving full account owner privileges. This prioritizes simplicity for solo entrepreneurs rather than granular permission controls.
Each Novo user can have one physical Mastercard and one virtual card. To issue additional physical cards, you must add additional users to the account, each with full access privileges. This structure may create constraints for businesses wanting to issue cards to employees without granting complete account access.
Pricing and Features
Fee structures reveal different revenue models and feature sets designed for different business stages.
Feature | Relay | Novo |
Checking accounts | Up to 20 (Starter/Grow), 50 (Scale) | 1 account + virtual reserves |
Debit cards | Up to 50 physical or virtual2 | 1 physical + 1 virtual per user |
Permission levels | 7 role types | Full access for all users |
FDIC coverage | Up to $3 million4 | Up to $250,000 |
Savings APY | Up to 2.68%3 | Check Novo rates |
Monthly subscription fees | $0 (Starter), $30 (Grow), $90 (Scale) | $0 |
Pay-by-Bank fees | 1% to 0.5%, $10 cap | Check Novo pricing |
Relay's tiered pricing unlocks additional features at each level. The Starter plan has no monthly subscription fees, the Grow plan ($30 monthly subscription fee) adds enhanced accounting integrations, and the Scale plan ($90 monthly subscription fee, regularly $120/month as of this writing) provides the highest account limits and lowest transaction fees. Note that the 1% / 0.75% / 0.5% fees apply specifically to Pay-by-Bank and Payment Requests, not all ACH transfers. Incoming wires received via Payment Requests cost $5.
Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply. The Relay Visa® Debit Card is issued by Thread Bank, member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.
Novo charges no monthly maintenance fees across all services, making it cost-predictable for businesses with minimal banking activity. Incoming wire transfers are free, and Novo does not charge overdraft fees (transactions that would overdraw are declined). The platform also refunds a limited amount of ATM fees per month, though Express ACH transfers incur a fee of 1.5% of the transaction amount (minimum $0.50, maximum $20). Outgoing domestic wires cost up to approximately $30 per transfer.
Consider the math for your situation. A solo consultant with minimal transaction needs pays nothing with Novo. A growing agency processing client payments through Pay-by-Bank invoicing might find Relay's Scale plan more economical despite the monthly fee, since per-transaction costs drop significantly at higher volumes.
Integration Quality and Accounting Workflows
Both platforms connect to QuickBooks Online and Xero, but with different sync architectures affecting how financial data flows into your accounting system.
Relay syncs transactions, categories, vendors, memos, and receipts to your accounting software on Grow and Scale plans. Account transactions (including card spend) sync alongside bills, and the platform automatically marks bills paid in Relay as paid in your accounting software. No manual status updates required.
Relay's integrated receipt workflow automatically captures receipts via mobile app or email forwarding and matches them to corresponding transactions. If a cardholder forgets to upload a receipt, Relay can text them a secure link with the transaction amount and vendor so they can upload directly from their phone. Admins and managers can also use the "Nudge cardholder" button to resend receipt requests.
Novo integrates with QuickBooks Online and Xero (via third-party feeds), along with apps like Stripe, Shopify, Slack, and Wise. The platform has added built-in receipt management capabilities including expense categorization and AI-powered bookkeeping tools.
FDIC Insurance
Both platforms provide FDIC deposit insurance through partner banks, but coverage limits differ significantly for businesses maintaining substantial cash reserves.
Relay provides deposit insurance coverage up to $3 million through an insured cash sweep program via Thread Bank, Member FDIC4. Deposits exceeding $250,000 are automatically swept into accounts at multiple FDIC-insured banks. *Pass through insurance coverage is subject to conditions.
Novo provides coverage up to $250,000 through Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A., Member FDIC. With Novo's single-account structure, all virtual reserves aggregate toward this one $250,000 limit. When total reserves exceed $250,000, the excess amount is uninsured.
Support and Customer Service
Relay offers multi-channel support including phone, email, and live chat options, giving businesses multiple ways to get help when questions arise. The platform provides dedicated support resources for businesses on higher-tier plans.
Novo provides in-app and email support, with resources designed for the solo entrepreneur workflow. The platform includes help documentation and responsive chat support for common banking questions.
Which Platform Matches Your Business Model
Team structure and operational complexity tend to point toward one solution or the other.
Choose Relay if:
Your business operates with 2 or more team members requiring banking access
You manage multiple revenue streams benefiting from separate checking accounts
You implement Profit First or other cash flow methodologies requiring enforced fund separation
You maintain or plan to maintain deposits exceeding $250,000
Choose Novo if:
You prefer Novo's single-account structure with virtual reserves over multiple separate accounts
You value Novo's specific third-party integrations like Stripe, Shopify, Slack, and Wise
You prefer all users having full account access rather than granular permission controls
Your business doesn't require direct cash deposits
Making Your Platform Decision
Banking infrastructure should match team structure. Solo operations thrive with simplicity and zero monthly fees, while growing teams need collaborative controls and true fund separation that scales without platform migration.
Setting up accounts with either platform takes less time than traditional banks and is often approved within a few business days. Both typically require documentation including business formation papers, EINs, government-issued ID, and beneficial owner information.
If you're adding your first employee or managing multiple revenue streams requiring separation, sign up for Relay to see how multi-account infrastructure changes team collaboration and cash flow visibility.
Disclosures
1Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply. 2The Relay Visa® Debit Card is issued by Thread Bank, member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.
3For Relay Subscription Plans with an interest-bearing deposit account, the interest rate and Annual Percentage Yield on your account are accurate as of 12/11/2025 and are variable and subject to change based on the target range of the Federal Funds rate. Fees may reduce earnings:
When you are subscribed to the Starter Plan, the interest rate on your savings accounts is 0.91% with an APY of 0.91%.
When you are subscribed to the Grow Plan, the interest rate on your savings accounts is 1.53% with an APY of 1.55%.
When you are subscribed to the Scale Plan, the interest rate on your savings accounts is 2.65% with an APY of 2.68%.
4Your deposits qualify for up to $3,000,000 in FDIC insurance coverage when Thread Bank places them at program banks in its deposit sweep program. Your deposits at each program bank become eligible for FDIC insurance up to $250,000, inclusive of any other deposits you may already hold at the bank in the same ownership capacity. You can access the terms and conditions of the sweep program at (https://thread.bank/sweep-disclosure/) and a list of program banks at (https://thread.bank/program-banks/). Please contact customerservice@thread.bank with questions on the sweep program. Pass-through insurance coverage is subject to conditions.
