Best business bank account for early-stage startup? Mercury vs traditional?

Just incorporated Delaware C-corp. Need business checking account. Seeing lots of founders recommend Mercury. Anyone have experience with them vs traditional banks like Chase or BofA? Pros/cons?

Mercury pros: Online application (approved in 2 days), great UI, free ACH/wires, integrates with accounting software, no minimum balance, virtual cards.

Cons: No physical branches (can't deposit cash), FDIC insurance through partner banks, some vendors want "real" bank for large contracts.

I use Chase. Reasons: needed a business credit card for travel rewards, wanted relationship for future credit line, have branch near me for occasional cash deposits. Monthly fee is $15 but waived with $2K balance.

Best of both worlds: Mercury for ops (payroll, vendor payments, daily stuff) and a traditional bank account for one-off needs. I keep $5K in Chase for when I need branch services. Mercury is primary.

If you're raising VC: many investors wire to SVB/First Republic type banks. After SVB collapse, Mercury and Brex picked up a lot of startup banking. Investors don't care which bank you use, just that you can receive wires.

Anyone tried Relay? Similar to Mercury but I heard their customer support is better. Just switched from Chase and the no-fee thing is nice when you're pre-revenue.

The separate "buckets" feature for different expenses has been really helpful for keeping track of payroll vs operating expenses.

Word of warning on fintechs - my Mercury account got frozen for 3 weeks last year during a "routine review." No warning, no explanation, couldnt access my own money. It worked out eventually but it was terrifying.

@BothHaver's advice about keeping a traditional bank as backup is smart. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially with newer financial institutions.

Late to this thread but wanted to add - if you're doing international payments, Mercury and Wise integrate really well together. I pay contractors in 5 different countries and the fees are way lower than traditional wire transfers.

Also make sure you have solid contractor agreements in place before sending money overseas - there's a good template here that covers international considerations.