Choosing the right business banking platform matters
The banking platform you choose isn’t just where you store your money—it’s how you manage, move, and grow it. Whether you’re running solo, hiring your first team member, or scaling fast, the right banking partner can streamline your back office, unlock savings, and support smarter financial decisions.
Lili and Relay are both online-first banking platforms built for small businesses, but their focus is different. Lili is a unified financial platform designed to simplify financial management by bringing together banking, credit-building, accounting, and tax tools. Relay, on the other hand, focuses on cash flow management through multi-account structures and team debit cards.
This guide breaks down the key differences between Lili and Relay across platform features, APY, support, credit-building, international wires, and team access.
In this article
- What is Lili?
- What is Relay?
- Differences between Lili and Relay
- Lili vs. Relay comparison chart
- Platform & tools
- APY & savings
- Support
- Credit & BusinessBuild
- Lili vs. Relay: Which is better?
What is Lili?
Lili is a unified business banking platform built specifically for the needs of small business owners, entrepreneurs, and growing teams. It’s designed to simplify financial operations and support business growth from day one and through every stage of scaling.
Unlike traditional business checking accounts, Lili brings together high-yield savings (with 3.00% APY), built-in invoicing, bill pay, automated bookkeeping, tax tools, and a secured BusinessBuild Card that reports payments to Dun & Bradstreet—helping businesses establish and grow their credit profiles. The platform also supports global operations with the ability to send and receive international wire transfers in over 130 currencies, and enables collaborative finance management through secure, role-based team access.
By combining essential banking services with tools typically found in back-office software—and eliminating the need for multiple scattered apps to handle each task—Lili helps businesses operate more efficiently, scale with confidence, and build a strong financial foundation for the long term.
What is Relay?
Relay is a banking and money management platform focused on organizing business finances. It offers multi-account structures, team debit cards, and integrations with QuickBooks and Xero.
Relay customers can upgrade to Relay Pro to unlock APY savings (1–3% based on subscription), same-day ACH, and accounts payable workflows with free domestic and international wires. Relay is best suited for teams that want multi-account budgeting and deep collaboration with accountants and bookkeepers.
Differences between Lili and Relay
- Lili is a true all-in-one financial operating system. It unifies banking, savings, invoicing, bookkeeping, tax preparation, and credit-building in one platform—eliminating the need for multiple scattered tools to handle each task. These core features are included out of the box.
- Relay, on the other hand, is built primarily for multi-account cash-flow management. To access essentials like bookkeeping, tax support, or credit-building, businesses must rely on external integrations.
Lili vs. Relay comparison chart
| Feature | Lili | Relay |
| Type of businesses served | Small businesses and teams, LLCs, growth-focused entrepreneurs, and global entrepreneurs with U.S.-based businesses. | Small businesses and teams, accountants, 2–100 employees, and global entrepreneurs with U.S.-based businesses. |
| Free checking accounts | 1 checking account | Up to 20 individual checking accounts |
| No hidden fees | ✅ | ✅ |
| No minimum balance requirements | ✅ | ✅ |
| No overdraft fees | ✅ | ✅ |
| Mobile check deposits | 80% of checks disbursed same day, others between 1-5 business days | Up to seven business days |
| Savings with APY | ✅ (Earn 3.00% APY from the first dollar up to $1,000,000) | ✅ (1–3% APY depending on subscription plan) |
| Debit cards | 1 physical | Up to 50 (physical + virtual) |
| Customer support | Live human support, 7 days a week, 24/7 AI chatbot | Email + scheduled calls |
| Credit-building | ✅ (BusinessBuild Card reports to D&B) | ❌ |
| Accounts payable workflows | ✅ (Built-in bill pay) | ✅ (Built-in bill pay) |
| Accounts receivable | ✅ (Built-in invoicing with tracking & reminders) | ✅ (Invoice creation & tracking) |
| Auto-categorization | ✅ (Automated expense categorization) | ❌ (Manual or via integrations) |
| Real-time P&L and cash flow reports | ✅ (In-app reporting & insights) | ❌ (Requires integrations) |
| Pre-filled Schedule C/1040/1120 tax forms | ✅ (Auto-prep based on categorized transactions) | ❌ |
| Accounting & tax tools | ✅ (Auto-categorization, real-time reports, tax forms) | ❌ (Requires integrations) |
| International wires | ✅ | ✅ |
| Team access | ✅ (Granular role-based permissions for internal & external users) | ✅ (Granular role-based permissions for internal & external users) |
| App integrations | Built-in tools + QuickBooks, Xero, Gusto, payroll & fintech apps | QuickBooks, Xero, Gusto, payroll & fintech apps |
| FDIC insured | ✅ Up to $3M | ✅ Up to $3M |
| Trustpilot | 4.7 | 4.5 |
Platform & tools
Lili offers a complete all-in-one platform—with banking, savings, invoicing, bill pay, bookkeeping, tax tools, and financial reporting built right in. It’s ideal for business owners who want to streamline operations without juggling multiple third-party apps.
Relay, on the other hand, focuses on cash flow clarity through its multi-account structure. But beyond that, it leans heavily on external integrations for core functions like accounting and invoicing.
APY & savings
Lili provides 3.00% APY on its Savings Account, starting from the very first dollar and up to $1M, giving small businesses the ability to grow idle cash while keeping full access to funds.
Relay offers 1–3% APY on savings, but only for Relay Pro subscribers. For free-tier users, savings functionality is limited.
Support
Lili provides live human support 7 days a week and 24/7 AI chat support, with priority access for premium users. This makes it especially valuable for business owners handling urgent financial needs.
Relay’s support is more limited, with email and scheduled calls as the main channels. While sufficient for many, it lacks real-time responsiveness.
Credit & BusinessBuild
Lili includes its BusinessBuild program, anchored by a secured BusinessBuild Card that reports to Dun & Bradstreet. This helps entrepreneurs build their business credit profile, track progress via a live dashboard, and gain insights to strengthen their creditworthiness over time.
Relay does not offer a credit card or credit-building solutions.
Lili vs. Relay: Which is Better?
For business owners looking for a streamlined, all-in-one platform, Lili offers more out of the box. Banking, savings, invoicing, bill pay, bookkeeping, tax tools, and credit-building are all built in—eliminating the need for multiple third-party apps or paid upgrades. It’s 3.00% APY, 7-day live support, and BusinessBuild credit program make it especially well-suited for those focused on long-term financial growth.
Relay, in contrast, centers on multi-account cash flow organization and leans on integrations to fill functionality gaps. Core features like invoicing, tax tools, and credit-building aren’t included and often require external tools or paid upgrades.
If your priority is comprehensive business banking with integrated tools to save, operate, and grow—Lili is the clear choice.
