Brex Cash account review
- Fee
- $0 per month
- APY
- 4.94%
- Minimum deposit to open
- $0
Our verdict
This business cash management account invests money in mutual funds for a 4.94% yield and smooths out expense tracking for your entire team.
Brex Cash is a cash management account designed as an all-in-one solution for business banking and accounting. Its unique selling point is that it lets you invest part of your money in money market mutual funds for a higher return than with a traditional business savings account.
Investments aside, you get unlimited corporate credit cards for your entire team, and it has budgeting and spending limit features per employee. Brex also lets you track expenses, attach receipts and integrate your account with services like Quickbooks, Xero and Bamboo HR to access all your company data from one dashboard.
Best for: Small businesses looking to scale with accounting, banking and investing.
Pros
-
Invest in money market funds for a 4.94% yield
-
Unlimited employee credit cards and up to eight subaccounts
-
Automated expense tracking
-
1,000+ integrations
Cons
-
No ATM access or cash withdrawals
-
Not available for sole proprietors or individuals
Who is Brex Cash best for?
The Brex Cash account is best for business owners looking to scale their business and save time on accounting. The account works best for teams where key employees need to spend company funds, as you get an unlimited number of credit cards with spending controls and the ability to block certain stores or spending categories.
You’ll also maximize this account if you invest part of your funds in money market mutual funds. You’ll get a return of around 4% historically, much higher than a traditional APY from a business savings account.
Finally, cashback rewards with every purchase and access to venture debt can give your company the boost it needs.
Where Brex Cash shines
Brex Cash makes your daily workflow easier with software integrations, investing in money market mutual funds and expense tracking for entire teams. Let’s dig into these features.
Invest
Brex’s most unique feature is that you can invest part or all of your money in mutual funds, which earn around a 4% yield.
While traditional money market funds require you to contact your brokerage to withdraw funds, Brex lets you spend the invested money the same way you’d use a normal checking account. The 4.94% yield is higher than most business bank account APYs, though it’s a low investment yield because money markets are considered low-risk securities.
Free bookkeeping and bill pay tools
This account lets you send wires either domestically or internationally free of charge, a rare perk — especially for international transactions. The account also lets you pay vendors or automate running payroll for contractors or employees, including paying in an international currency.
Every transaction you make is accounted for in your transaction history, and there’s an option for you to snap a photo of receipts and attach them to transactions.
Request unlimited corporate credit cards for your employees. And since the cards are tied to your Brex account, you’ll get alerts each time your employee spends money — no more chasing receipts and reimbursement requests.
Set a budget for different spending categories and see how much is spent toward that budget in real time. Budgets and rules are set per employee for maximum spending control.
Review and approve expenses directly in the app to reconcile your account quickly. Plus, set up pre-approved payments for invoices and set rules to classify expenses automatically, saving you hours in accounting.
Software integrations
Your Brex account integrates with thousands of software services, including accounting software like Quickbooks and Xero and HR services like Bamboo HR, Gusto and SAP. That way you can seamlessly transfer data and review expenses from one dashboard.
Brex’s software integrations include:
- 1 Password
- Acumatica
- ADP
- Bamboo HR
- Ceridian Dayforce
- Chrome River
- Concur
- Coupa
- Dashblock
- Deel
- Gusto
- Intuit Quickbooks
- Okta
- Oracle Cloud
- Oracle PeopleSoft
- Oracle NetSuite
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Microsoft Teams
- Paycor
- Paylocity
- Pipedream
- Quickbooks Online
- Rippling
- Sage Intacct
- SAP Business One
- SAP
- TriNet
- UKG
- Workato
- Workday
- Xero
- Zapier
Brex also partners with Pry to integrate banking and accounting. Pry is an accounting service that goes beyond importing transactions to forecasting the financial impact of different activities. For example, it shows how hiring an employee or improving customer churn will impact revenue. Pry services are only available through the Brex Empower account.
Rewards credit card
The Brex Cash card is a rewards credit card that functions like a charge card, as it requires full payment of the balance from your Brex Cash account. But since it requires you to make a payment daily, the payment structure is similar to a debit card.
You and your employees can use the card in over 100 countries. Plus, you earn points on every purchase.
At signup, you’ll kick off with 10,000 points with your first $1,000 spent. Get 10,000 additional points for spending $3,000 in three months. After that, you’ll earn points in these categories:
| Category | Points earned |
|---|---|
| Rideshare | 7 pts. / dollar |
| Travel | 4 pts. / dollar |
| Restaurants | 3 pts. / dollar |
| Software | 2 pts. / dollar |
| All purchases other than listed categories | 1 pt. / dollar |
Points are redeemable for spending with partners for billboards, offsite events, coaching or mental health sessions. This differs quite a bit from traditional business rewards cards, which typically allow businesses to redeem points on travel, merchandise or cash back.
Raise capital
Brex offers venture debt to qualifying startups to help companies launch and grow their business. You’ll need to show a product that fits the market and a scalable business model to qualify, in addition to having at least $500,000 in annual, recurring revenue.
Where it falls short
Because the Brex Cash account doesn’t come with a debit card, you can’t withdraw money from any ATMs. It’s common for digital bank accounts not to offer ATM access, but some digital banks are partnering with ATM networks to give customers this convenience.
You also have to get approved for the account, and Brex doesn’t approve every type of business. You shouldn’t apply for a Brex Cash account if you’re a sole proprietor or individual – and you have to use your Brex account only for business purposes.
Lastly, you can’t reach live customer support unless you already have a Brex Cash account. Its phone support is an automated system with pre-recorded answers to questions. You can access the live chat from your dashboard once you’re an established customer.
Is Brex Cash safe?
Yes. Brex is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which means any funds you have invested are insured for up to $500,000. Any uninvested funds in your Brex Cash account are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for up to $250,000. Brex also uses two-factor authentication, strong security protocols and advanced fraud monitoring.
Other accounts on the market insure for more, however. For example, Betterment Cash Reserve insures up to $1 million and Fidelity Cash Management insures up to $1,250,000. Depending on your business needs, $500,000 might not be enough.
Brex Cash fees and access
| Type of fee | Fee details |
|---|---|
| Pry monthly service | $0 |
| Brex Empower |
|
| Opening deposit | $0 |
| ATMs | No ATM access or ATM card |
| Brex card fees | No cash withdrawals |
| Overdraft or nonsufficient funds | $0 |
| Wire transfers | $0 – incoming or outgoing, domestic and international |
| Other fees |
|
We contacted Brex to ask them about potential additional fees, but we haven’t yet received a response.
Compare Brex to other business financial management accounts
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What you need to open a Brex Cash account
Open a Brex Cash account if you’re an organized company, such as an LLC, LLP or Corporation. Brex currently doesn’t support sole proprietors or individuals.
Your proof of identity and business documents will vary based on your type of business. But you’ll need the following information:
- Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Business formation documents to prove your entity
- Name and address of business owners or key employees
- Social Security numbers
- Company financial details
- External linked account information — Must have at least one linked business account
Customer experience
Brex is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and holds an A+ with the organization for how it deals with customer complaints. It’s closed about 20 complaints in the last year. That count is low compared to large banks that see hundreds of complaints each year.
Overall, the company sees mixed reviews on review sites like Trustpilot, though its app gets high praise. Satisfied business owners report that Brex saves time with accounting. They love that Brex integrates with accounting software like Quickbooks, helping them reconcile transactions at the touch of a button. Others say this account works well with a large team that needs access to company funds.
However, multiple customers say Brex denied their application after submitting sensitive documents. Other customers had their accounts closed abruptly and were forced to go through a lengthy process to get funds reimbursed. With the app, some people experience glitches with specific features like attaching receipts to charges.
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Michael Finder
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