Relay

Payments & transfers

• •International wires aren't enabled by default: they require activation, reviewed by Nium, and are limited to business-to-business payments, so non-profits can't send or receive them.
• •Relay's list of 24 blocked countries applies to both SWIFT and local-network wires. The list is published by whole country, with no regional carve-outs: Ukraine is blocked in full, and China is not on it.
• •The international-wire feature can be blocked based on a beneficial owner's citizenship, under a separate list of 69 countries.
• •Relay doesn't support cryptocurrency transactions because Thread Bank, Member FDIC, prohibits crypto-related activity across debit card purchases, ACH transfers and wire transfers.
• •Some Relay add-on products are stricter than the checking account on business type: its Relay Capital lending product (via Fundbox) bars extra industries such as firearms and ammunition, and its international wire transfers apply their own broader list of restricted industries (for example alcohol, tobacco, weapons, and pharmaceuticals).
• •Relay accounts hold dollars only: an incoming wire in another currency is not refused, it is converted into USD once received.

Cards

• •A separate Visa list of 58 fully restricted countries blocks card use at merchants located there. The UAE is partially restricted: card purchases there of $1,000 USD or more may be declined.
• •Accepting card payments on invoices runs through Adyen and has its own eligibility rules, separate from account opening: a country blocklist based on the owners' citizenship and residence, which includes some countries that aren't under sanctions, and a prohibited-industry list published as 14 categories, broader than the account's own prohibited industries. Being ineligible for this feature doesn't stop you from opening an account.
• •The Relay Visa Credit Card is a separate, invitation-only product with stricter eligibility: limited to LLC, general partnership, or corporation entities with US owners, and subject to revenue thresholds.

Business activity

• •The account also prohibits a few business types that no standard sector label captures: US Postal Service, prescription drugs, direct marketing and telemarketing, and the promotion of racism or bigotry.

Opening an account

• •Beyond being incorporated in the US, the business must also have a US operating presence to qualify, not just US registration.

Licence & regulation

• •Relay is a US financial-technology company, not a bank, and is not itself FDIC-insured; banking services and Visa cards are provided through partner Thread Bank (an FDIC member), with deposits swept to program banks for FDIC coverage of up to $3M.