For a small agency with multiple owners, which digital banks offer the most flexible user permissions and access controls for partners and staff?

Brands AI recommends here

1. Mercury — Best overall for most agencies

Mercury

Mercury has become one of the most flexible options for SMBs. It offers:

• Admin, employee, accountant, and fully customizable roles
• Permissions for payments, cards, accounting access, reimbursements, and user management
• Access restricted to specific bank accounts
• Approval policies and dual-admin controls for payments
• Reusable role templates such as Finance Lead, Read Only, and Money Moversupport.mercury.com

For a 5–30 person agency, a common setup would be:

• Owners = Admins
• Operations manager = Custom role with payment authority
• Bookkeeper = Read-only accounting role
• Staff = Expense/card-only access

2. Relay — Best if you separate money into many accounts

Relay

Relay is particularly attractive for agencies because many firms maintain separate accounts for:

• Operating expenses
• Payroll
• Taxes
• Client retainers
• Profit distributions

Relay supports multiple permission levels and advisor/bookkeeper roles. It is known for letting businesses limit access to specific accounts rather than exposing the entire banking dashboard.support.relayfi.com

If your partners want visibility into everything while staff only see certain budgets or client funds, Relay is often the cleanest solution.

3. Brex — Best for advanced governance

Brex

Brex offers:

• Multiple admin types
• User-management-only administrators
• Bookkeeper roles
• Per-user permission overrides
• Custom roles on higher-tier plans
• Strong approval chains and spend controlswww.brex.com

For agencies with:

• 20+ employees
• Department budgets
• Complex approval requirements
• Significant ad spend

Brex is usually the most sophisticated option.

Recommended ranking for a multi-owner agency

If you have 2–5 partners and under 25 employees:

1. Mercury
2. Relay
3. Brex

If client funds or project budgets need strict separation:

1. Relay
2. Mercury
3. Brex

If you're scaling toward a finance team and formal approvals:

1. Brex
2. Mercury
3. Relay

If you tell me:

• number of owners,
• number of staff,
• whether you hold client funds,
• and whether you use an external bookkeeper/accountant,

I can suggest a specific role-and-permission structure that fits your agency.

Key Features for Agency Owners

When selecting a digital bank, prioritize those that offer:

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Ability to assign roles such as "Admin," "Viewer," or "Initiator" to ensure staff can only perform tasks necessary for their job.
• Multi-User Access: Unique logins for each team member, rather than sharing a single password.
• Transaction Approvals/Dual Control: Ability to require approval from multiple partners before a large wire transfer or invoice payment is sent.
• Virtual/Physical Card Controls: Ability to issue corporate cards to staff with specific spend limits and budget restrictions. www.slash.com +3

Comparison of Top Picks

For agencies looking to automate expense management and streamline permissions, Relay and Mercury are generally considered the strongest, most intuitive choices. Reddit

• Very granular role system (admin, AP clerk, bookkeeper, employee, custom roles)

• Strong approval workflows for payments and card spend

• Detailed visibility controls (what each user can see/do)

• Dedicated card management permissions (issue, freeze, limit cards per user/team)

• Clean separation between finance ops vs general employees

It’s especially good if you have:

• Multiple partners needing oversight

• Staff issuing ad spend / vendor payments

• A bookkeeper or fractional CFO who should not have full control

Tradeoff: slightly more “startup/tech-oriented” and less simple than others.Source 1

🥈 Best for multi-owner small teams + simplicity: Relay

Relay

Relay is probably the most practical option for small agencies that want simple but powerful permissioning without enterprise complexity.

Key strengths:

• Up to ~20 checking accounts (great for splitting revenue, taxes, client funds)Source 1

• Multiple team members with controlled access

• Role separation (owners vs bookkeepers vs employees)

• Debit cards with spend limits and category controls

• Easy onboarding for non-finance users

Why agencies like it:

• You can mirror your agency structure (clients, departments, projects)

• Partners can each manage areas without seeing everything

• Staff can only spend within assigned limits

Tradeoff: fewer advanced approval workflows than Brex.

🥉 Strong all-in-one finance + spend control: Ramp

Ramp

Ramp is less a “bank” and more a spend management + corporate card platform with banking-like features.

Best for:

• Agencies with heavy ad spend (Meta, Google, SaaS tools)

• Strict approval flows before spending happens

• Department-level budgets and controls

Access control strengths:

• Role-based permissions (approvers vs cardholders vs finance)

• Very strong spend policies (per vendor, category, employee)

• Real-time enforcement of rules (not just reporting)

Tradeoff: less “bank account structure” flexibility than Relay.

Also worth considering

Mercury (good baseline, weaker permissions depth)

Mercury

• Clean UI, solid for startups

• Has team access and permissions

• But fewer granular controls compared to Brex or Ramp Source 1 Best if you want simplicity over control depth.

Bluevine / Grasshopper (more traditional SMB banking)

Bluevine
Grasshopper Bank

• More basic role access

• Less sophisticated permissions and workflows

• Better for straightforward checking accounts than structured teams

Quick recommendation for a small agency

• Best overall control + scalability: Brex

• Best balance of simplicity + multi-owner structure: Relay

• Best for spend-heavy agencies (ads, SaaS tools): Ramp

• Simplest “good enough” option: Mercury

If you want a sharper recommendation

Tell me:

• number of owners + staff

• whether you run paid ads / client billing / payroll through the account

• whether you need client-by-client separation

I can map a specific setup (e.g., “Relay + Ramp combo” or “Brex-only structure”) that fits your workflow.

Best for: agencies that want simple-but-real RBAC without heavy configuration overhead.

2) 🥈 Most flexible “power-user” controls: Relay Financial

Relay Financial

Relay is designed specifically around multi-user financial workflows , which makes it especially strong for agencies and partnerships.

Key strengths:

• Multiple checking accounts under one structure (useful for clients/projects)

• Up to 20+ users depending on plan

• Highly granular permissions:

• Who can create payments

• Who can approve payments (dual control workflows)

• Who can only view transactions

• Built-in approval flows (useful for partners or co-founders)

Best for: agencies with partner approval workflows or client-by-client budgeting.

3) 🥉 Strong all-round SMB option: Brex (Business + Spend Controls)

Brex

Brex is widely used in venture-backed startups and agencies with structured spend management.

Key strengths:

• Very granular card-level permissions

• per employee

• per department

• per vendor/category

• Approval chains for expenses

• Spend limits and policy controls

• Admin hierarchy (Owner → Admin → Cardholder-style roles)

Limitations:

• More spend-management focused than full banking flexibility

• Some features optimized for venture-backed companies

Best for: agencies that care more about expense control than full banking workflows.

4) Solid EU/global alternative: Revolut Business

Revolut Business

Revolut is one of the more mature platforms for multi-user permissions with international teams.

Key strengths:

• Role-based permissions (Admin, Finance Manager, Employee, Read-only, etc.)

• Ability to restrict:

• payments

• FX transfers

• card usage

• Approval workflows for outgoing payments

• Good for distributed teams and contractors abroad

Best for: agencies operating internationally or with remote teams.

5) Simple but limited option: Novo

Novo

Novo is popular with freelancers and very small agencies.

Key strengths:

• Basic multi-user access

• Simple permissions (mostly “view vs transact”)

• Integrates with tools like QuickBooks

Limitations:

• Not very granular (no deep approval chains or role hierarchies)

Best for: very small agencies (2–5 people) without complex approval needs.

Quick comparison (what actually matters)

Practical recommendation for a small agency

If your structure includes multiple owners + staff + contractors , the decision usually breaks down like this:

• Need real financial governance (approvals, partner controls) → 👉 Relay Financial

• Need simple clean banking with decent roles → 👉 Mercury

• Need tight spending control + cards per employee → 👉 Brex

• Need international teams + FX control → 👉 Revolut Business

If you want, I can map this specifically to your agency structure (e.g., “2 owners + 3 staff + contractors + client funds”) and suggest the best setup pattern for permissions and accounts.

Other Notable Options

• Airwallex: Provides multi-user access that enables team members to create and authorize debit cards while managing international transactions.
• Revolut Business: Strong for team collaboration, allowing you to assign permissions for managing cards and expenses, with dual approval options. Airwallex +35

Key Considerations for Agencies

• Accountant Access: Both Relay and Mercury allow you to grant direct, limited access to your CPA or accountant.
• Virtual Cards: These are essential for agencies to assign, track, and limit spending for different team members or client projects.
• Approval Workflows: Select platforms that allow you to set multiple levels of approval for payments. Mercury +3

Disclaimer: Mercury and Brex are financial technology companies, not banks. Banking services are provided by partner banks. Bluevine

Multiple users with customizable permissions per account and per action

👉 Why it stands out:
Mercury balances ease of use + real control , which many traditional banks fail at.

👉 Limitation:
Not fully “enterprise-grade” RBAC (role-based access control) like a treasury system.

2. Relay Financial

Best for budgeting + role-based access by account (“envelope-style”)

• Create multiple accounts and assign user access per account

• Roles include:

• Admin

• Bookkeeper (read + limited actions)

• Employee (card-only access)

• Strong separation between partners vs. staff

👉 Why it’s powerful:
You can segment money + permissions together , which is ideal for agencies managing client budgets.

3. Brex

Best for advanced permissions + spend control (especially with cards)

• Highly granular permissions:

• Department-level budgets

• Employee-specific card rules

• Built-in approval workflows for spend

• Deep integration with accounting tools

👉 Why it stands out:
Closer to a finance operations platform than just a bank.

👉 Limitation:
Less flexible if you want simple banking without the spend-management layer.

4. Ramp

Best for automation + approval chains

• Fine-grained permissions for:

• Bill pay approvals

• Vendor payments

• Expense categories

• Automated approval flows and policy enforcement

👉 Why it’s useful:
Great if your agency has multiple partners approving expenses or invoices.

5. Wise Business

Best for international teams with decent (not best-in-class) permissions

• Multi-user access with roles like:

• Admin

• Standard user

• Good visibility + audit logs

👉 Tradeoff:
Permissions are simpler and less customizable than Mercury/Brex.

6. Revolut Business

Best for highly customizable roles (especially outside the US)

• Advanced role system:

• Custom roles

• Approval workflows

• Spending limits per user

• Can scale from small teams to larger orgs

👉 Why it’s notable:
One of the few fintechs offering near enterprise-level role customization.Source 1

🧠 What “good permissions” actually look like (so you can evaluate options)

Across modern digital banking platforms, the strongest setups include:

• Role-based access (Owner, Admin, Read-only, Cardholder)Source 1

• Ability to:

• Separate view vs. transact vs. approve

• Set transaction limits per user

• Restrict access to specific accounts only

• Full audit logs of user activitySource 1

• Easy ability to add/remove users instantlySource 1

The gap between average and best platforms is how customizable those roles are.

⚖️ Quick comparison (practical lens)

🧭 Straight recommendation

For a small agency with multiple owners + staff , I’d narrow it down to:

• Mercury → best balance of simplicity + control

• Relay → best if you want clean separation of funds by team/client

• Brex or Ramp → best if approvals + expense governance matter heavily

• Revolut Business → best if you want maximum customization (especially globally)

If you want, tell me:

• team size

• how many partners

• whether approvals are required (e.g., 2 signatures)

I can suggest a tighter stack (or even a combo of bank + expense tool) that fits your exact workflow.

2. Mercury (Best for Tech/Growth-Focused Agencies)

Mercury offers a sophisticated, tech-forward platform tailored to fast-moving startups and agencies that require virtual cards and high-level financial oversight. Mercury +1

• Permissions: Offers robust, granular user permissions to manage team access without requiring manual intervention for every update.
• Team Access: Allows owners to assign unique logins to partners and employees, with specific permissions for team members.
• Virtual Cards: Issues multiple virtual cards for team members to manage spending.
• Scalability: Allows adding multiple users with different roles as the agency grows. Alkami Technology +2

3. Ramp (Best for Spend Management & Staff)

While technically a spend management platform with integrated banking, Ramp is excellent for agencies needing tight controls over staff spending and expense automation. Relay Financial

• Permissions: Offers sophisticated approval workflows for expenses.
• Access Controls: Provides 1.5% unlimited cashback on all purchases with detailed spend controls.
• Automation: Automates expense categorization and receipt matching, saving time for staff. Brex +1

4. Chase Business Complete Banking (Best Hybrid Option)

If your agency needs to combine digital flexibility with physical branch access, Chase is a strong contender. North One business banking

• Permissions: Allows customization of user access, including adding authorized users with limited, restricted access.
• Control: Offers tools for setting up and managing employee access to accounts and transactions. YouTube +49

Summary of Key Features for Agencies

Important Note: NorthOne, while mentioned in some 2025 lists, may not be suitable for multiple-owner agencies as it historically did not offer granular user permissions (any added user got full admin access). Fintech Labs

I can help you narrow this down if you let me know:

• How many partners need admin access versus staff needing limited access?
• Do you need physical cash deposits?
• Do you operate internationally?