Best Business Bank Account for Childcare: Daycares, Babysitters, Nannies

The Quick Answer

Mercury is the top choice for most solo home daycare providers, babysitters, or individual nannies. It has a clean design, no fees, and simply works for tracking daily income and expenses. Relay is better if you run a team, like a larger daycare with an assistant or a nanny agency, and need separate accounts for payroll, taxes, or specific spending buckets for art supplies versus snacks. Brex Cash makes sense if you already use Brex for corporate cards to manage expenses for a bigger nanny agency and want everything in one spot.

Side-by-Side Breakdown

Mercury: No monthly fees. No minimum balance required. Your money is FDIC insured up to $5M through partner banks. You can earn a little extra on idle cash, which is great for saving up for a new playset or a business vehicle. It's easy to track parent payments, buy childcare supplies like diapers and craft materials, and integrate with simple accounting software.

Relay: No monthly fees (Relay Pro at $30/month adds more features). You can get up to 20 separate checking accounts and 50 debit cards for your business. This is perfect for setting aside money for specific needs, such as one account for 'Nanny Payroll,' another for 'Tax Savings,' and another for 'Childcare Supplies' (e.g., snacks, art projects, field trip costs). It also offers strong controls if you have staff making purchases.

Brex Cash: Free when you use their business credit card. FDIC insured up to $6M. It offers a high-yield on your operating balance, helping your money grow while you manage daily operations like processing parent payments. It's tightly connected to Brex expense management, ideal for tracking costs like background checks, professional insurance, or marketing for new client families. Note: You can't get Brex Cash without also getting their business card.

When to Choose Mercury

Choose Mercury if you are a solo home daycare provider, babysitter, or a single nanny just starting out. You need a simple, no-fee bank account that works from day one. It's excellent for easily tracking weekly or monthly payments from parents (e.g., $300/week per child) and managing expenses for daily items like formula, healthy snacks, art supplies, or professional development courses. Mercury helps you keep your business finances clean and separate from your personal spending (like your own groceries or utilities), making tax preparation much simpler. It's also easy to open, often within 1-2 days without a bank branch visit.

When to Choose Relay

Choose Relay if your childcare business is growing. This means you have a larger home daycare with an assistant, or you run a nanny agency with multiple nannies. You likely need to pay different nannies or staff, and want to easily set aside money for business taxes, marketing to attract new families, or specific operating costs like rent for a dedicated facility. With Relay, you can create separate accounts for 'Payroll,' 'Tax Fund,' 'Client Outreach,' and 'Childcare Supplies.' You can also give your lead nanny or assistant a separate debit card with spending limits to buy specific items like groceries for the kids or new educational toys.

When to Choose Brex Cash

Choose Brex Cash if you are running a larger, more established nanny agency or a multi-location daycare and are already using Brex for your corporate credit cards. This setup lets you manage all your business spending, including staff expenses (e.g., for training materials or travel to client interviews), and cash flow from parent payments on one platform. It's ideal if you want to see all your card spending, reimbursements, and bank balance in a single dashboard. Earning yield on your operating balance can also help offset costs for things like annual licensing fees or professional liability insurance.

The Verdict

For most solo babysitters, nannies, or small home daycare businesses, start with Mercury. It offers the cleanest design, no fees, and the easiest way to separate your business finances. If your childcare business grows, you hire staff, or you want to strictly organize your funds into different categories (like for taxes or payroll), then upgrade to Relay. Consider Brex Cash if you are managing a larger nanny agency and are already using their corporate card system for your team's expenses.

How to Get Started

Mercury: Apply at mercury.com. You'll need your business name (e.g., 'Kiddie Care Home Daycare' or your personal name DBA 'My Babysitting Service'), your EIN (Employer Identification Number) if you have one, or your Social Security Number, and basic business formation documents (like an LLC filing or business license). Approval is typically very quick, often within 24-48 hours.

Relay: Apply at relayfi.com. Before you open, plan out your account structure. Think about how many separate 'buckets' you want for your money: for 'Childcare Income,' 'Nanny Payroll,' 'Tax Savings,' 'Diapers & Snacks,' 'Owner's Pay,' etc. Deciding this upfront will save you time later.

Brex Cash: Open this through the Brex onboarding process when you apply for their business credit card. Remember, you cannot open Brex Cash as a standalone bank account without also getting their card, so it's usually for more established childcare businesses with staff.

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