BILL vs. Mercury Credit Card Review 2023

The rewards schemes offered by BILL and Mercury are a little different, and which one you like best will ultimately depend on your personal preferences. If you prefer a simpler and straightforward rewards scheme, then you’ll likely appreciate the fact that Mercury provides 1.5% cash back on all transactions regardless of the spend category. 

BILL, meanwhile, is a little trickier to keep up with, offering 1x-7x membership points on purchases depending on the spend category and your payoff frequency. With the potential for up to 7x points, though, BILL has a higher ceiling regarding rewards on purchases such as restaurants and hotels.

BILL and Mercury have different eligibility requirements for their corporate credit cards. To sign up for a BILL Divvy Corporate Card, you will need to have a good or very good personal credit score and at least $20,000 in your business bank account. BILL is available to LLCs, corporations, and sole proprietors. 

Mercury’s corporate card, meanwhile, requires a credit score of 640+ and also requires you to have a Mercury bank account. The biggest difference is that Mercury is only available to corporations and LLCs and not to sole proprietors.

We mentioned in the last section that a Mercury bank account is required to apply for a Mercury credit card, and business bank accounts are just one of the financial products that Mercury offers in addition to its corporate credit card. Other offerings from Mercury include venture debt, APIs, and financial management. 

BILL likewise offers other financial products to business owners in addition to the BILL Divvy Corporate Card, including accounts payable automation tools, expense management tools, and business credit.

Neither BILL nor Mercury are typical credit cards and are instead what is known as “charge cards.” Charge cards are similar to credit cards, but instead of having the option to carry a balance, you must pay off the card’s balance in full every month. This is a good practice regardless for business owners that want to avoid paying high interest rates. However, it is still an important detail to note about both the BILL and Mercury corporate cards. 

With both the BILL and Mercury corporate credit cards, you can look forward to a number of helpful features designed to help businesses flourish. Mercury offers a dashboard that allows you to assign employee cards with set spending limits, track your company’s expenditures, change user permissions, and much more. Mercury also offers integrations with third-party apps like Shopify and QuickBooks as well as iOS and Android apps. BILL likewise offers a highly-rated mobile app in addition to powerful expense management features that provide real-time insights into spending by department, team, project, or employee. 

One benefit that BILL and Mercury share in common is that neither card has a lot of fees. Both offer no annual fee and no setup fee. BILL charges a foreign transaction fee and currency conversion fee on overseas purchases, while Mercury charges only a currency conversion fee. Another benefit to note is the fact that neither card requires a personal guarantee to apply. 

BILL is an excellent corporate credit card that offers useful expense management features, a generous rewards scheme, and an impressive lack of fees. Depending on your payoff frequency, BILL allows you to receive up to 7x points on restaurants, 5x points on hotels, 2x points on recurring software, and 1.5x points on everything else. 

BILL does not charge any annual fees or setup fees. However, there is a late payment fee of 2.99%. Aside from this late payment fee, the only fees that BILL charges are fees for currency conversions and cross-border transactions. 

To qualify for a BILL Divvy Corporate Card, you will need to have either a good or very good personal credit score along with $20k+ in your business bank account. BILL does not require a personal guarantee. 

Features and Rewards:

• Up to 7x points on purchases 
• No annual fees or setup fees 
• Accounting automation and expense management features 
• Hundreds of partner perks 

Fees and Interest Rates:

• Late Payment Fee: 2.99%
• Cross-Border Fee: 0.2%–0.9% for foreign transactions
• Currency Conversion Fee: 0.2% of the total transaction
• No setup fee
• No annual fee

If you are looking for the best credit cards for startups, there is a lot to like about Mercury’s corporate credit card. This includes a straightforward rewards scheme that provides 1.5% cash back on all purchases, a user-friendly dashboard complete with numerous tools for managing your account and business expenses, and a near-complete lack of fees. 

With a Mercury corporate card, the only fee that you will pay is a currency conversion fee on foreign transactions. Mercury does not charge annual fees, setup fees, or late payment fees. 

With Mercury’s convenient user dashboard, you’ll be able to perform a wide range of expense management tasks, including managing employee cards and tracking expenditures by spend category. 

To qualify for a Mercury corporate credit card, you will need to have a personal credit score of 640+ as well as a Mercury bank account for your business. Mercury is available for LLCs and corporations but not informal businesses like sole proprietorships. 

Features and Rewards:

• 1.5% cash back on all purchases 
• Cardholder perks such as software discounts and 24/7 Mastercard Global Emergency assistance
• No annual fee or setup fee
• Convenient expense management tools 

Fees and Interest Rates:

• Currency Conversion Fee: 1%
• No annual fee
• No setup fee
• No late payment fee

BILL and Mercury are corporate cards that offer a similar list of advantages, with both providing generous rewards, limited fees, and powerful features. If you are looking for a great startup corporate card, you really can’t go wrong with either option.