Grasshopper Bank Review
Grasshopper Bank is a chartered bank, a national bank and FDIC member based in New York, that sells self-serve business checking, savings, debit cards and a read-only AI connector to US small businesses and startups.
Independently scored, one dimension at a time. Every dimension is sourced, and we say whether a claim is published, reported, or estimated.
Every account type has a public fee schedule, including the commercial Forward Checking tier, and a rate sheet dated 01/05/2026 is linked from the legal page (checked 11 October 2026). The gaps: fee schedules carry no date, one product page lists a 5 dollar wire fee against 10 dollars on the fee schedule, three Forward Checking schedules with different monthly fees are live at once, the FX margin on foreign currency wires is not published, and Treasury fees appear only in a footnote.
The bank says the online application takes as little as 5 minutes with an automated decision in seconds, and the opening deposit is 100 dollars (FAQ pages, checked 11 October 2026). Eligibility is narrow but clear: US entities with a US citizen or permanent resident applicant, and a published list of activities that need extra due diligence. There is no switch kit, and the agreement asks for 30 days written notice to terminate services.
Grasshopper hosts a first-party MCP connector that Claude's directory lists with six tools, all list operations, behind OAuth (checked 11 October 2026). It is a read-only beta that must be re-authenticated every 7 days, and the beta agreement of 13 August 2026 rules out any transaction or account change. The banking product has no AI of its own on the public pages; the AI Advisor belongs to the Waldo-run Treasury product.
Checking, money market savings, Visa debit and virtual cards, bill pay by ACH or mailed check, digital invoicing, ACH, same-day ACH, domestic and USD international wires and instant transfers are all on the fee schedules (checked 11 October 2026). Lending covers a term loan of up to 200,000 dollars and SBA 7(a) and 504 loans. Missing: Zelle, multi-currency balances, self-serve FX wires, branch cash and a credit card of its own (corporate cards are a Ramp referral).
The site lists user permissions, approval workflows and alerts, and the Master Service Agreement (revised 10/2026) defines Admin, Collaborator and Viewer access, requires multi-factor authentication and offers dual control, though dual control is off unless the account holder turns it on. Viewer access excludes statements, which limits it for an outside accountant. Disclosure is plain: the footer names Grasshopper Bank, N.A. as a Member FDIC bank and the Treasury page states that Treasury accounts are brokerage accounts. No SOC 1 or SOC 2 report or single sign-on option is described on the product and legal pages (checked 11 October 2026).
Client Services is reachable by phone, chat, text and email, Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm ET, with secure messaging in the app (contact and mobile banking pages, checked 11 October 2026). Fund clients have relationship managers, and the startup page offers a direct contact for startup banking. Trustpilot showed 4.1 from 461 reviews on 11 October 2026, with 21 percent one-star; the recurring complaint is accounts closed soon after opening.
The comparison page lists QuickBooks Online, Autobooks, Plaid, MX and Xero integrations, with Xero marked beta on product pages (checked 11 October 2026). The read-only API covers seven resource areas, including statements and payees, with no webhooks documented and the full reference behind a login. No NetSuite or Sage Intacct connector is listed, and the depth of the QuickBooks sync is not documented publicly.
The account comparison page caps the self-serve relationship at 2 entities or less and 4 signers or less, with published ACH limits of 10,000 dollars a day on Innovator and 50,000 dollars on Accelerator and up to 5 active virtual cards. Accounts are USD only and applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents. The site does not say what a larger structure is offered; the commercial Forward Checking schedule on the venture capital and private equity page adds monthly service fees. The read-only API allows 1,000 requests a day (API documentation, checked 11 October 2026).
A chartered bank with a fintech front end: clear fees and disclosure, thin on scale, ERP sync and write APIs.
Written by the Audit Friendly research team. No vendor edits, no sponsored placement.
Grasshopper Bank is a national bank that holds deposits on its own balance sheet and sells accounts through a self-serve digital front end built on Narmi. The Innovator and Accelerator accounts carry no monthly fee after a 100 dollar opening deposit, with free ACH and same-day ACH (published, checked 11 October 2026). User permissions, approval workflows, virtual debit cards, bill pay, digital invoicing and a QuickBooks Online connection come with the account. The bank says it was the first US bank to launch an MCP server, in August 2025, and the connector now sits in Claude's directory with six read-only tools.
The self-serve accounts are built for small structures. The comparison page lists a relationship of 2 entities or less and 4 signers or less, and the limits FAQs list ACH limits of 10,000 dollars a day on Innovator and 50,000 dollars on Accelerator, with up to 5 active virtual cards (checked 11 October 2026). The site does not say which account a larger structure is offered. The commercial schedule it publishes is Forward Checking, the account on its venture capital and private equity page, which carries monthly service fees and account analysis. Everything runs in US dollars: USD international wires go out online, foreign currency wires go through Client Services, and no multi-currency balances are listed. No native NetSuite or Sage Intacct connector is listed. The AI connector and the API are read-only betas. Ownership is unsettled too: Enova International agreed to buy the bank in December 2025 and withdrew its regulatory applications on 14 September 2026.
Confirm in writing the current outgoing wire fee (the fee schedule says 10 dollars and one product page footnote says 5 dollars), the current deposit rate and its as-of date, the ACH and wire limits for the account, whether dual control is switched on (the agreement says it is off by default), and the status of the Enova merger agreement. If Grasshopper Treasury is in scope, get the Waldo advisory agreement and fee schedule: the site says Treasury accounts are brokerage accounts and are SIPC insured, so they sit outside the bank account.
- A US small business or early-stage startup with one or two entities that wants a chartered bank with self-serve onboarding and a QuickBooks Online connection
- A finance lead who wants Claude or ChatGPT to read balances and transactions with no ability to move money
- A company that expects to borrow from its bank, through a term loan of up to 200,000 dollars or an SBA 7(a) loan
- Groups with more than 2 entities or more than 4 signers that want to stay on a no-fee self-serve account
- Teams that need multi-currency balances, local-currency payouts or self-serve foreign currency wires
- Finance teams that need a native NetSuite or Sage Intacct sync, webhooks, or an API that can initiate payments on the standard account
The jobs a finance team actually hires Grasshopper Bank for
Jobs, mapped to how finance teams actually buy.
Run a no-fee operating account for a small US company
Innovator and Accelerator checking list monthly maintenance, ACH, same-day ACH, bill pay and incoming domestic wires as complimentary. The costs are per item: 10 dollars for an outgoing domestic wire and 25 dollars for an outgoing international wire. The published ACH cutoff is 4:30 PM ET.
Let Claude or ChatGPT answer cash questions from live bank data
A finance lead connects the account through OAuth and asks for balances, vendor spend or a cash summary. The connector reads accounts, transactions, scheduled transfers, external accounts and documents. It is a beta, it cannot move money, and it has to be re-authenticated every 7 days.
Give a team virtual debit cards with limits
Virtual Visa debit cards are issued instantly and can carry spend limits and merchant or category restrictions. Debit purchases are capped at 5,000 dollars a day per the FAQ. Companies that need a credit line on cards are referred to Ramp.
Pull statements and transactions into internal tools
Admin users create read-scoped API tokens in online banking, each tied to an IP allowlist. The API returns accounts, transactions with check images, transfers, routing details, external accounts, PDF statements and saved payees. It is a beta with no webhooks documented, so integrations have to poll.
Borrow from the same bank that holds the operating account
The Innovator Term Loan is an unsecured loan of 10,000 to 200,000 dollars on a fixed 36-month term, open to clients that have held a deposit account for at least 6 months. Grasshopper is also an SBA preferred lender, with 7(a) loans of up to 5 million dollars. Loan pricing depends on underwriting and is not a list price.
Pay vendors by ACH or mailed check and send invoices
Business Bill Pay schedules one-time or recurring payments by ACH or paper check, with payee import. Digital invoicing is part of online banking, and the fee schedule lists the Autobooks integration as complimentary while noting that Autobooks may charge for some functions. Approval workflows and user permissions sit in front of payments when the account holder sets them up.
Watch the same task in each tool
Forget the 40-row feature grid. Pick a finance workflow and see how this tool and its closest peers actually do it, with our verdict on who wins for whom.
Compare on what matters
What it actually costs
Here's what it really costs: published rates where a vendor lists them, aggregated quote data where they don't, plus a path to your own number.
Small business checking. No monthly maintenance fee or minimum balance after a $100 opening deposit; unlimited transactions, debit and virtual cards, bill pay, ACH and same-day ACH included.
Startup checking on the same $0 fee schedule, with a higher published ACH limit: $50,000 a day against $10,000 on Innovator.
Savings accounts with no monthly maintenance fee, $100 to open, and the same wire and transfer fees as checking.
Commercial account shown on the venture capital and private equity page. The schedule linked from the legal page lists online and mobile banking at $50 a month plus $25 per account (1 to 10) and $4 per account (11 and up), ACH service at $40 a month, wire service at $30 a month and maintenance at $5 per account, under account analysis; two other Forward Checking schedules on the site list a flat $100 or $75 a month, so confirm which applies.
Incoming domestic wires are free. The Accelerator fee schedules rebate the fee the following month when the monthly average balance is $25,000 or more. The comparison page shows the same rebate for Innovator accounts, but the Innovator fee schedule does not list it, so confirm it for Innovator. A product page footnote lists $5 for Innovator; the fee schedule says $10 (checked 11 October 2026).
USD international wires are sent online. Foreign currency wires go through Client Services, and no FX margin is published.
$1 minimum and $10 maximum per instant transfer to an external account.
ACH credits and debits, same-day ACH, bill pay, internal and external transfers are listed as complimentary on the Innovator and Accelerator fee schedules.
Physical Visa debit card and virtual card issuance are complimentary; expedited card delivery is $35 per card. The bank charges no foreign transaction fee, though Visa may.
Deposited check return $10, ACH return $10, stop payment $25, foreign item collection $30, dormant account $5 a month, account research $25 an hour, levy $50.
Write APIs for ACH, domestic wires, transfers and bill payments are sold through a contact form; the Forward Checking schedule lists the API implementation fee and banking access as "Varies".
Site says, as of 11/03/2025 on the product pages and 01/05/2026 on the rate sheet: 1.00 percent APY on balances under $25,000, 1.35 percent APY from $25,000 to $250,000 and 1.00 percent APY above that. This is a deposit rate on a bank account, and it is variable.
What it actually takes to go live
The site footer reads "© 2026 Grasshopper Bank, N.A. | Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender | All rights reserved" (https://www.grasshopper.bank/, read 11 October 2026). There is no partner bank between the customer and the deposit: Grasshopper is a national bank chartered by the OCC. The site also says "funds are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 and you can access extended coverage up to $125 million" through its ICS Deposit product, which a footnote describes as a sweep into deposit accounts across a network of FDIC-insured banks, run with a third-party vendor (https://www.grasshopper.bank/banking-solutions/startup-banking/, read 11 October 2026). The extended figure depends on opting into that sweep and on its placement agreement, and the bank reserves the right to change or end the program. Grasshopper is also a sponsor bank for fintech programs, so its routing number appears on accounts sold by other companies.
The Treasury page says "Treasury accounts are brokerage accounts, not bank accounts and are SIPC insured, not FDIC insured." It also says "All investment services are provided by Waldo.ai, Inc. and its custodian." (https://www.grasshopper.bank/banking-solutions/treasury/, read 11 October 2026). The advertised figure is a target yield that Waldo calculates, assuming an account above 10,000,000 dollars and a 0.1 percent management fee, with an estimate date of 3/4/26. Access needs 250,000 dollars across eligible Grasshopper deposit accounts and an eligibility review, and the page says it is intended solely for US accredited investors. Treat it as a separate securities product with its own agreement, fees and risk of loss.
The account comparison page lists a relationship structure of "2 entities or less" and "4 or less" signers for each of the Innovator and Accelerator accounts (https://www.grasshopper.bank/banking-solutions/business-banking-features/, read 11 October 2026). Published limits are 10,000 dollars of ACH a day on Innovator and 50,000 dollars on Accelerator, with up to 5 active virtual cards; increases are by request to Client Services. The site does not say which account a company above those limits is offered. The Forward Checking schedule linked from the legal page, for the commercial account named on the venture capital and private equity page, lists 50 dollars a month for online and mobile banking plus 25 dollars per account, 40 dollars a month for ACH service and 30 dollars a month for wire service, under account analysis. A group planning a third entity should ask Client Services which account and fee schedule would apply before opening.
The product pages say the checking APY "is accurate as of 11/03/2025" and the savings APY as of 01/05/2026, and the rate sheet is headed "Current as of 01/05/2026" (https://www.grasshopper.bank/legal/deposit-rates/, read 11 October 2026). Both dates are more than nine months old, and the rate sheet says rates are variable at the bank's discretion. The fee schedules carry no date at all. The small business checking page footnote says the outgoing domestic wire fee for Innovator is 5 dollars, while the Innovator fee schedule and the comparison page say 10 dollars each. Ask Client Services for the current rate sheet and fee schedule in writing before funding.
Enova International agreed on 11 December 2025 to buy Grasshopper Bancorp and the bank for about 369 million dollars (https://www.grasshopper.bank/press-releases/enova-announces-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-grasshopper-bank/). Enova's 8-K dated 14 September 2026 reports the withdrawal of its applications with the OCC and the Federal Reserve. American Banker reported on 17 September 2026 that Enova had not announced the deal's termination and that a 5 million dollar reverse termination fee was unresolved; Grasshopper declined to comment. Enova's EDGAR filing list showed no later 8-K about the agreement when checked on 11 October 2026. The bank remains privately owned by Grasshopper Bancorp, so ask what the ownership plan is before a multi-year commitment.
The API documentation calls the API "strictly read-only" and lists a global limit of 1000 requests a day, 200 per 5 minutes and 60 a minute; a troubleshooting note on the same page cites 5,000 hourly requests per IP (https://www.grasshopper.bank/banking-solutions/read-only-api/read-only-api-documentation/, read 11 October 2026). Every token needs an IP allowlist, and the full endpoint reference sits behind an online banking login. No webhooks are documented. The beta agreement, revised 13 August 2026, says both the API and the connector are provided as is for testing and evaluation. Payment APIs exist under a separate API Banking product sold through a contact form.
Scored on what an outside agent can actually reach: the documented API, how it authenticates, and whether the vendor ships an MCP server.
Exists: Yes. Grasshopper and its platform vendor Narmi launched an MCP server on 20 August 2025, added ChatGPT support and OAuth 2.0 on 18 November 2025, and the bank's 14 July 2026 post says it is listed in Anthropic's connector directory. The directory page shows the connector as made by Grasshopper Bank and marked Anthropic verified, with a hosted endpoint at grasshopper-mcp.prd.narmitech.com/mcp (checked 11 October 2026). A search of the public MCP registry and GitHub found no other server under the bank's name.
Scope: Read only. The directory lists six tools: accounts_list, documents_list, external_accounts_list, products_list, scheduled_transfers_list and transactions_list. The beta agreement says the connector returns balances, transaction detail and scheduled transfers and leaves out full account numbers and personal data. The site says the AI assistant "cannot initiate transactions, move funds, or make any changes" to the account. A separate read-only API, also in beta, gives GET access to accounts, transactions, transfers, routing details, external accounts, documents and payees at 60 requests a minute and 1,000 a day.
Turnkey: Mostly. A user with Grasshopper login credentials adds the connector inside Claude (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise) or ChatGPT (Pro, Business or Enterprise), signs in through OAuth and accepts the beta agreement. The connection must be re-authenticated every 7 days. API tokens are self-serve for Admin users under Settings, API Banking, and each token needs an IP allowlist.
In-product AI: the banking product shows no AI assistant of its own on the public pages. Grasshopper Treasury, run by Waldo, advertises an AI Advisor for guidance on risk, liquidity and yield; that is the vendor's description and no independent account confirms what it does. A customer CFO quoted on the bank's site says a balance check takes about a minute through the connector against at least five before, which is a vendor-published testimonial.
Grasshopper Bank, kept current
Enova International reported the withdrawal of its OCC and Federal Reserve applications for the Grasshopper Bancorp acquisition. American Banker reported on 17 September 2026 that Enova had not announced termination of the merger agreement.
The beta agreement was renamed the Programmatic Data Access Beta Program and now covers self-serve read-only API tokens as well as the AI connector. The bank's 14 July 2026 post says the connector is listed in Anthropic's directory.
A treasury offering run by Waldo, an SEC-registered investment adviser, opened to clients on a rolling basis with a $250,000 eligibility minimum. Treasury accounts are brokerage accounts and sit outside the bank's deposit accounts.
Enova International announced a definitive agreement to buy Grasshopper Bancorp, Inc. and Grasshopper Bank, N.A. in a cash and stock deal valued at about $369 million, subject to OCC and Federal Reserve approval.
Grasshopper and Narmi launched an MCP server for business banking clients, which the bank describes as the first by a US bank. ChatGPT support and OAuth 2.0 followed on 18 November 2025.
Grasshopper Bancorp completed the merger of Grasshopper Bank, N.A. with Auto Club Trust, FSB, creating an institution with about $1.4 billion in assets and adding consumer banking for AAA members.
Grasshopper Bank FAQ
The Innovator and Accelerator checking and savings accounts have no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance after a 100 dollar opening deposit (published, checked 11 October 2026). ACH, same-day ACH, bill pay, incoming domestic wires, debit cards and virtual cards are free.
A typical small company pays per item: 10 dollars for each outgoing domestic wire, 25 dollars for each outgoing international wire, 5 dollars for each incoming international wire, and 0.65 percent (1 dollar minimum, 10 dollar maximum) for an instant transfer. A company sending ten domestic wires and two international wires a month would pay about 150 dollars (Audit Friendly estimate from the fee schedule), or about 50 dollars if the 25,000 dollar balance rebate on domestic wires applies.
Forward Checking, the commercial account on the venture capital and private equity page, carries monthly service fees. The schedule linked from the legal page lists 50 dollars for online and mobile banking plus 25 dollars per account, 40 dollars for ACH service and 30 dollars for wire service, before per-item charges and any account analysis offset (published, checked 11 October 2026). Two other Forward Checking schedules on the site list a flat 100 or 75 dollars a month instead. The site does not say which account a company with more than 2 entities is offered, so ask before applying.
The Master Service Agreement (revised 10/2026) lets a client terminate services with or without cause on 30 days prior written notice to the bank. The bank can close an account at any time, and the agreement says it may return any remaining funds, less amounts owed, by mailed check or by transfer to a linked account. The public pages do not describe a self-serve close option, so plan on contacting Client Services by phone, chat or email. The rate sheet says interest that has accrued but has not been credited is lost if the account closes first.
Before closing, export what the next bank will ask for. The read-only API returns PDF statements, 1099s, transaction history, saved ACH payees and wire recipients, and scheduled transfers; statements and documents are also in online banking. The bank publishes no switch kit, so recurring ACH debits, payroll and card-on-file payments have to be repointed by hand. Cash back accrued in the current statement cycle is forfeited when the account closes.
The applicant must be 18 or older and a US citizen or permanent US resident with a verifiable address in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; US territories, including Puerto Rico, are ineligible (published, checked 11 October 2026). Innovator Business Checking excludes businesses in adult entertainment, gambling, illegal substances, virtual currency, and weapons and firearms. A separate guideline lists activities that need tailored due diligence, including money service businesses, cryptocurrency, cannabis and non-profit organizations.
Grasshopper says the application takes as little as 5 minutes and that the decision is automated in seconds. Applications flagged for manual review take longer, and a credit freeze adds up to 3 business days once it is lifted. The bank asks for the entity type, EIN, state of registration, and identity details for the applicant and each owner of 25 percent or more. The opening deposit is 100 dollars.
An agent can read. Grasshopper hosts an MCP connector, listed in Claude's connector directory, with six list tools for accounts, transactions, scheduled transfers, external accounts, products and documents. It works with Claude Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise and with ChatGPT Pro, Business and Enterprise, signs in through OAuth, and must be re-authenticated every 7 days (published, checked 11 October 2026).
An agent cannot move money. The site says the AI assistant "cannot initiate transactions, move funds, or make any changes" to the account, and the API is read-only too. Payments are made by a person in online banking, under the user permissions and approval workflows set there. The beta agreement warns about prompt injection through transaction descriptions and merchant names, so check what the assistant reports before acting on it.
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