Brex Launches New Digital Banking* Products for Startups
June 2024
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – June 18, 2024 - Brex, the leading all-in-one financial stack supporting 1 out of 3 startups in the U.S.**, today launched new digital banking products and a number of updates to its flagship business account, giving founders access to capital where and when they need it. This launch makes Brex the only spend management platform to marry corporate cards, expense management, bill pay, travel booking, treasury, and banking into one vertically integrated offering.
“Henrique and I started Brex after moving from Brazil to the Bay Area and seeing firsthand the uphill financial battle founders face. Traditional banking is too slow, and even ‘founder-friendly’ neobanks still charge hidden fees and lack global support," said Pedro Franchesci, Co-Founder and CEO of Brex. “Access to banking and cash is one of the most critical factors for startup success, and we’re proud to be expanding our Banking capabilities to support founders from inception to IPO.”
Brex business accounts now benefit from new advanced security features including comprehensive fraud protection, authentication tools and built-in payment approval flows, all accessible directly from the Brex mobile app with 24/7 support via the app, by phone, or through WhatsApp. Customers can now access three distinct accounts within business accounts to:
- Confidently open accounts and transfer funds around the world with the new Checking account powered by Column N.A., with no transaction fees on ACH transfers, checks, and domestic wires – plus international wires in over 40 currencies. Opening a Checking account is easy and can be done entirely online.
- Expand spending power with an updated and fully-integrated Treasury account, making it simpler to oversee and manage funds and earn yield from day one with auto-transfer capabilities and no fees, minimum balance requirements, liquidity restrictions, or waiting periods.
- Safeguard capital with the updated Vault account, where funds are diversified across more than 20 program banks with up to $6M of total FDIC insurance (20x the national average).
“Banking is highly complicated and heavily regulated, but Column built a new type of bank from the ground up and redefined what a bank could be,” said Brex Head of Startups Jason Mok. “We partnered with Column because their unique approach to banking provides the speed, flexible account model, and API-first approach that no one else can. These aspects are essential to building banking products that power our customersʼ growth."
Brex’s original business accounts launched in 2019, enabling founders to open operating accounts and manage finances from anywhere without ever stepping foot in a bank. And when SVB collapsed in early 2023, Brex and the Brex business account were on the front lines helping founders in new ways. Between March 9 and March 16 2023, Brex took in 4,000 customers and $2 billion in deposits, and within 48 hours Brex established a $1B emergency bridge loan to help impacted companies make payroll. More than 90% of the customers that signed up during the week of the SVB collapse are still active Brex customers, and more than 1/3 of customers now use Brex business accounts.
This comes as the latest of Brex’s commitment to helping the fastest-growing startups get the most out of every moment of their journey from day one. In addition to business accounts, Brex offers a full financial stack for early-stage companies:
- Get their business off the ground faster by accessing Brex business accounts immediately upon incorporation with Stripe Atlas.
- Unlock operating capital with higher credit limits — without a personal guarantee — and easily issue corporate cards + reimbursements.
- Pay vendors faster with automated bill pay and simplify all of your onboarding and payment processes.
- Extend their runway with over $400K in discounts, founder-friendly rewards, exclusive invites to events with VCs in our network, and more.
To learn more about this new capability and how Brex is giving founders a competitive edge through Banking, click here.
*Brex is a financial technology company, not a bank. Checking accounts and banking services provided by Column N.A., Member FDIC. Treasury and Vault are offered by Brex Treasury LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC. Vault accounts allow customers to sweep cash into program banks. Brex Treasury is not a bank nor an investment adviser. Yield is variable.
** Market share of customers activated on Brex out of all US-headquartered startups with <50 employees and have raised a professionally invested round in the last 8 quarters.
About Brex
Brex is the AI-powered spend platform. We transform finance teams from reactive no-sayers to proactive growth drivers. With Brex, companies spend with confidence by empowering employees to make smarter financial decisions from anywhere. Brex provides corporate cards, business accounts, and global payments, plus intuitive software for travel and expenses, that make it easy to plan and track all company spend in one place, in real time. Tens of thousands of companies from startups to global enterprises — including DoorDash, Flexport, and Compass — use Brex to proactively control spend, reduce costs, and increase efficiency on a global scale.
About Column
Column N.A., Member FDIC, (“Column”) is a nationally chartered bank that provides regulated and developer-first financial infrastructure for technology forward organizations, enabling them to build innovative financial products for their consumer and business customers. Column is both a bank and a software company - built from the ground up - powering the world's leading companies. Learn more at column.com.
Contact
press@brex.com