Pros
- Up to 4.00% APY on balances up to $1 million
- No account fees, overdraft fees, or minimum balance requirements
- Send & receive international wire transfers
- Built-in accounting & tax prep tools
- FDIC insured up to $3 million
- Android & iOS apps
Cons
- APY and cash-back rewards require a paid subscription
- Cashback is merchant offer-based, not rate-based
- Slow processing times
What Is Lili?
Lili is a financial platform built specifically for small to mid-sized businesses, combining advanced business banking with integrated credit-building tools and built-in accounting software. Unlike many online business accounts, Lili goes beyond basic services by offering invoicing, bookkeeping, tax tools, and rewards on its paid plans.
The platform stands out for delivering a streamlined, all-in-one financial management experience. It also supports a wider range of business types than many competitors and even allows joint account access, so it’s great for businesses with multiple owners.
If you’re looking for a platform that centralizes your banking and day-to-day financial operations, Lili may strike the right balance of features and simplicity. Here’s how it stacks up.
Lili is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Sunrise Banks, N.A., Member FDIC. The Lili Visa® Debit Card is issued by Sunrise Banks, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A., Inc. The Card may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.
Wire Transfer service provided by Column Bank N.A., Member FDIC. All wires are subject to acceptance criteria and risk-based review and may be rejected at the sole discretion of Column Bank N. A. or Lili App Inc.
Services Offered By Lili
Lili offers a solid amount of banking services, as well as a unique suite of built-in bookkeeping and accounting features for small businesses.
Lili offers:
| Lili Accounts Offered |
Value |
| Checking |
|
| Savings |
|
| High-Yield Savings |
|
| CDs |
|
| Treasury Accounts |
|
Lili Rewards & Perks
The Lili Pro plan and higher offer APY of 4.00% on savings accounts. You can set a fixed daily amount to transfer from your business checking account automatically, and you’ll earn this impressive APY on balances up to $1 million.
You can also earn cash back on checking accounts. Cash back is only through specific merchant offers, rather than a flat rate on all purchases.
While this perk is better than nothing, it puts Lili behind other rewards checking accounts. However, the APY is much higher than competitors’ savings accounts.
Lili Fees
Lili has very few fees. For its basic banking service, there are no monthly maintenance fees. Additional fees (or lack thereof) are as follows:
You may see third-party ATM fees for out-of-network ATMs, but since Lili works with over 40,000 MoneyPass ATMs, you’re likely to find plenty of in-network options.
The only real fees you’ll see with Lili are monthly fees for paid plans, which give you access to accounting, tax prep, APY, and cash back.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the different Lili Plans:
| Lili Plans |
Price |
When To Use |
| Lili Basic |
$0/month |
If you want a free business savings account and checking account with no fees but limited perks |
| Lili Pro |
$15/month |
If you want to add cash-back checking rewards and APY earning on savings |
| Lili Smart |
$35/month |
If you want to add smart bookkeeping and financial reporting to your cash-back checking and high-APY savings account |
| Lili Premium |
$55/month |
If you want to add a dedicated account specialist and priority support to your Lili accounts |
If you want to build your credit, Lili’s got you covered with its BusinessBuild program. Created in partnership with Dun & Bradstreet, BusinessBuild lets you build and monitor business credit directly from your Lili account. The program bundles key tools into one place, including a secured credit card that reports to D&B and integrated credit monitoring that tracks six major D&B scores with real-time alerts.
BusinessBuild also includes training and guidance to help you understand and improve your credit profile. It’s available as an add-on to any plan, with a one-month free trial, three months at $18/month, and $30/month thereafter.
Lili Eligibility Requirements
Lili is designed for small to medium businesses and requires a valid SSN and US resident address to sign up. Lili supports the following business types and structures:
- LLCs
- S-Corps
- General partnerships
- Limited liability partnerships
Lili also supports joint account holders so long as the joint account holder is also the business owner and has at least 25% ownership of the business. Overall, Lili supports many more business types than some other fintechs and online banks.
How To Open A Lili Account
You can open a Lili account online or through the Android or Apple mobile app. You’ll be asked to fill in information about yourself and your business.
Once approved, you can start using your virtual debit card right away while your physical card is sent in the mail. Lili’s debit card is a Visa card and can be used anywhere Visa is accepted.
Lili Features
Lili sets itself apart by offering plans with built-in bookkeeping, invoicing, and tax prep. These accounting plans make Lili a great financial solution for businesses. For companies that want to manage their checking, savings, and basic business finances in one spot, Lili’s features are right on the money.
Business Banking
- Business Checking Accounts
- Lili Visa® Debit Card
- Send & receive funds via Express ACH, wires, and expedited same-day checks
- Domestic wire transfers
- International wire transfers in 32+ countries and in 130+ global currencies
- Automatic Savings
- Fee-free withdrawals at 38,000 ATMs
- Get paid up to two days early
With the Lili Pro plan, you’ll get more advanced features, including:
- Advanced Business Checking Account
- Lili Visa® Debit Card with Cashback Awards through Visa SavingsEdge
- Automatic Tax Savings
- Fee-free overdraft up to $200
- 4.00% APY on savings
- Expense management tools & reports
- Tax categories for expense transactions
- Attach receipts & add notes to expenses
- Quarterly and annual expense reports
With the Lili Smart plan, you’ll also be able to grant account access to multiple team members.
Accounting Software
When you subscribe to the Lili Smart plan, you’ll get access to accounting and bookkeeping features, including:
- Unlimited customizable invoices, invoice tracking, and reminders
- Accept invoice payments via card, ACH, Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, & check
- Bill management with auto-scan and instant payments
- Income & expense tracking
- Automatic expense categorizing
- Receipt capture for expenses
- Automate tax savings
- Reports, including P&L and cash flow statements
Tax Preparation Software
Lili’s Smart plan also gives you access to tax prep tools, including:
- Automatically allocate funds towards tax payments
- Instantly sort transactions into tax categories
- Pre-filled business tax forms, including 1065, 1120-S, & Schedule C
Transaction Limits
| Transaction Type |
Transaction Limit |
| ACH outbound |
$20,000 a day or $60,000/month |
| ACH Inbound |
$1k/day or $5k/month |
| ATM Withdrawal |
$1,000 |
| International Incoming Wire Transfer |
N/A |
| Card Purchases |
$10,000/day |
| Cash Deposit |
$1k/day or $9k/month |
| Mobile check deposit |
$50k/month or $10k/day |
Lili has fairly competitive transaction limits, the only exception being the cash deposit limit. With a cash deposit limit of only $9K/month, Lili is not a good fit for businesses with a large amount of cash.
Transaction Processing Times
Lili processes ACH transfers in 1 – 3 days and mobile check deposits in up to 5 days.
Lili Application Process
Lili makes opening a checking account easy and advertises results in “less than three minutes.” Lili doesn’t give too much information about the information you’ll need to provide and says that “additional information” may be required.
While we wish Lili provided specific details about the application process, the company does provide quick application processing, and you can start using a virtual card right away.
Lili Sales & Advertising Transparency
Lili scores high points with us for sales and advertising transparency. What you see is what you get with Lili, and it is refreshingly transparent with its fees. The only information lacking is regarding the specifics of Lili’s application process.
Lili Customer Service
Customer support is available by phone Monday through Friday, and email support is available seven days a week. Lili also has a help center that answers common questions, as well as a digital assistant, social media profiles, and a company blog.
| Lili Customer Service |
Availability |
| Phone Support |
|
| Email Support |
|
| Support Tickets |
|
| Live Chat |
|
| Dedicated Support Representative |
|
| Knowledge Base or Help Center |
|
| Videos & Tutorials |
|
| Company Blog |
|
| Social Media |
|
While not every Lili account has a dedicated account specialist, Lili Premium holders do get this level of support, as well as priority customer support. This means front-of-the-line help when your business needs it.
Several users report positive customer support experiences, though there are a few reviews where users said they had trouble with support. Lili does respond to almost every customer review and tries to right any wrongs, which is a credit to them.
Lili Reviews
Customer reviews for Lili are a bit of a mixed bag. While Lili gets decent ratings on third-party review sites like TrustPilot, the company is not BBB accredited and receives numerous complaints.
While the number of complaints is significantly outweighed by the number of positive reviews, the complaints are consistent across the board that Lili is slow at processing transactions.
Negative Lili Reviews & Complaints
- Multiple issues with transactions processing slower than promised
- One user reported a data leak
- Multiple users reported being unable to reverse unauthorized charges
- One user reported an unexplained account closure
- No tap on the credit cards
Positive Lili Reviews
- Good mobile app
- Easy to use
- Quick expense categorization
- Good tax features
- Good customer support
Is Lili Safe?
Lili offers two-factor authentication, PCI compliance, and FDIC insurance up to $250K. However, this information was pieced together from multiple, scattered Lili resources. For a fintech company, I expected Lili to be more upfront and transparent with its security policies by making them easier to find.
How Does Lili Compare To Other Banking Options?
Lili is one of the few online fintechs to have a full suite of bookkeeping features. The only other alternative like it is Found, which is targeted specifically at freelancers. Lili supports a much larger array of business types, including joint business owners, which is impressive for a fintech.
Lili compares highly favorably to the competition if you want its accounting features since it’s unique in its offerings. However, if you don’t care about the accounting features, Lili’s monthly fees and rewards aren’t as competitive as other options. Lili’s checking rewards are based on merchant offers rather than a flat cash back, and Lili’s savings APY caps out at $100K. While many high-yield savings accounts have similar maxes, they usually offer a much lower interest rate for balances above the max, so Lili outshines them there.
The Bottom Line: Is A Lili Account Worth It?
Lili has a lot going for it: great accounting features, basic tax support, unlimited transactions, no ACH fees, built-in invoicing, checking and savings account options, cash-back rewards, and flexible eligibility requirements.
The company’s customer reviews are a bit of a mixed bag, and the cash deposit limit is low. If you don’t need accounting or tax features, then the rewards don’t compare to other online business bank accounts either, but for businesses that want to manage their checking, savings, and basic bookkeeping and tax support in one spot, Lili is worth looking into.