For Relay accounts that were opened prior to January 1, 2025, you can open up to 2 savings accounts per business account. Savings accounts earn 1.03-3.03% APY (Annual Percentage Yield)1 based on the balances kept in savings.
For Relay accounts that were opened on or after January 1, 2025, you can open up to 2 savings accounts per business account. Savings accounts earn 1.75-3.76% APY (Annual Percentage Yield)2 based on the balances kept in savings. More information on this can be found throughout this article.
For more information on how to open a savings account please see Adding and editing savings accounts.
How do these accounts work? (Accounts created on or after January 1, 2025)
Relay customers will earn 1.75-3.76% APY (Annual Percentage Yield)2 on their savings account balances.
You will be grouped into one of three tiers that determine the APY you earn: Starter, Plus, and Premium. The tier you're grouped into is determined by your total monthly average account balance—inclusive of checking and savings accounts. However, only the balance kept in savings accounts will earn interest. Your total monthly average account balance is the average of end-of-day balances for every day in a month for all of your accounts.
This is the APY each tier earns:
- Starter Tier: 1.75% APY for balances under $10k
- Plus Tier: 2.75% APY for balances between $10k and $50K
- Premium Tier: 3.76% APY for balances over $50K
Interest is paid out monthly.
Each business can open up to 2 savings accounts. When you sign up for Relay, you will have one savings account automatically created once your account is approved.
When is interest paid out? (Accounts created on or after January 1, 2025)
Interest will be paid out within the first three days of the month (for the previous month). Please also note the following:
- The monthly average balance is determined at the end of every month; this means that upgrades or downgrades between tiers/interest rates will happen at the end of every month.
- You will have 30 days post-approval to fund your account and receive an instant upgrade to a higher tier. (This is the only time a tier will change not at the end of the month).
What happens if my monthly average balance dips below the minimum for Plus or Premium?
- You will continue to earn your Plus or Premium interest rate for 1 month before you are moved to the lower tier. You will only be moved to the lower tier if your monthly average balance is below the Plus or Premium for 2 months in a row.
- Relay offers a 10% grace margin. If you're in the Premium tier and your monthly balance is only 10% lower than the $50k minimum you will remain in the Premium tier.
How do these accounts work? (Accounts created prior to January 1, 2025)
Relay customers will earn between 1.03% and 3.03% APY (Annual Percentage Yield)1 on the balance kept in their savings account.
Each business can open up to 2 savings accounts. Customers who joined Relay on or after July 24, 2023 will have one savings account automatically created for them when their account is approved. If you have two savings accounts, then we’ll add up the balance in both savings accounts and use the total to determine which rate to apply to both of your savings accounts.
The APY you can earn is dependent on the balance in your savings accounts at the end of every day. The APY rate bands are as follows:
- 1.03% APY for balances under $50k
- 1.51% APY for balances between $50k and $250k
- 2.03% APY for balances between $250k and $1M
- 3.03% APY for balances over $1M
Interest is paid out monthly.
Account limitations
Savings accounts have deposit and payment limitations. More specifically:
- Savings accounts cannot hold debit cards. We want you to be able to optimize interest earnings, so as a result, savings accounts have limitations that prevent money from being moved out of them (like card purchases).
- Savings accounts cannot send payments to external accounts or vendors. Money can be transferred out of a savings account into another Relay checking account within the same business account but not to an external account or vendor.
- Savings accounts cannot be used as deposit accounts for tools like Stripe or Shopify, and they cannot receive payments via ACH, wire, check deposit, or cash deposit.
- The only way to fund a savings account is through an internal transfer from a Relay checking account within the same business account.
How many savings accounts can I open?
One business can open up to 2 savings accounts.
Please note: The maximum amount of total accounts per business is still 20. One business can create 18 checking accounts and 2 savings accounts, for example.
Can I convert one of my checking accounts to a savings account?
No, an existing checking account cannot be converted into a savings account (and vice versa). Instead, you will need to create a brand new savings account following the steps outlined here.
When is interest paid out?
Interest will be paid out within the first three days of the month (for the previous month). Please also note the following:
- APY earnings will be calculated at the end of every day based on your end-of-day balance but will be paid out monthly.
- APY is compounding, meaning APY will be earned on the principal balance plus interest earnings in your savings accounts.
- Daily APY earnings will be calculated every day using [EOD balance x 0.01] ÷ 365 (using a 1% APY as an example). The daily interest earnings will be added up for every day in a month, and the total amount will be deposited into each savings account within the first three days of the following month.
1 The interest rates and annual percentage yield on your account are accurate as of 01/01/2025 and are variable and subject to change based on the target range of the Federal Funds rate. For customers with accounts opened before 01/01/25, APY will vary between 1.03%-3.03% depending on the savings balances held: When your savings account balance is less than $50,000, the interest rate on your savings account is 1.02% with an APY of 1.03% When your savings account balance is between $50,000 and $250,000, the interest rate on your savings account is 1.50% with an APY of 1.51% When your savings account balance is between $250,000 and $1,000,000, the interest rate on your savings account is 2.01% with an APY of 2.03% When your savings account balance is more than $1,000,000, the interest rate on your savings account is 2.99% with an APY of 3.03%
2 For customers with accounts opened on or after 01/01/25, APY will vary between 1.75%-3.76% depending on monthly average account balance: When your monthly average account balance is under $10,000, the interest rate on your savings accounts is 1.73% with an APY of 1.75%. When your monthly average account balance is between $10,000 and $50,000, the interest rate on your savings accounts is 2.72% with an APY of 2.75%. When your monthly average account balance is above $50,000, the interest rate on your savings accounts is 3.70% with an APY of 3.76%.