Lili Banking review 2025
Being a small business owner comes with certain benefits, including flexibility and high earning potential. But if you’re one of the millions of entrepreneurs in the U.S., it’s important to have a plan for managing the money you’re making.
Enter Lili. Lili is a small business banking app that’s designed to meet the unique financial needs of people who are self-employed, run their own businesses, or work as independent contractors. Its product has evolved significantly to become one of the most robust banking solutions for SMBs, specifically those with small teams of up to 20 people.
Lili is a banking app that’s built around the way small businesses earn, spend, and manage money. It offers multiple tools in one place to help you stay on top of your finances.
Whether you’re an established business owner or a new entrepreneur, Lili could be the banking solution you’re looking for. This in-depth Lili review can help you decide if it’s a good fit.
What is Lili Banking?
Lili is a banking app for small businesses. When you open a Lili account, you get access to a Visa business debit card. This makes it easy to make purchases online or in stores, pay bills, and access cash at ATMs.
Lili supports a wide range of business types, including LLCs, partnerships, S-corps, and C-corps, and also accepts non-US business owners from over 30 countries. It provides a suite of tools that are useful for growing businesses, including:
- Expense management
- Invoice management
- Direct deposit
- Tax savings
- Send and receive international wires
- Secure access for your team members and the accountant
The tools you have access to depend on which plan you choose: Basic, Pro, Smart, or Premium. We’ll dive into the finer points of each one a little later in this Lili review.
It’s important to note that Lili is not a bank; it’s a fintech startup. But Lili accounts are FDIC-insured through Choice Financial Group, up to the FDIC limits. So that means your money is secure.
Compare the best checking accounts online
Find the best rates and lowest fees. Compare Lili to other top checking accounts and see how it stacks up.
Who is Lili Banking for?
Lili was created with small business owners in mind. If you do any type of work as a business owner or independent contractor you could open an account with Lili.
Small business owners who bank with Lili include:
- Writers
- Photographers
- Social influencers
- Delivery drivers
- Artists
- Food industry workers
Bottom line, Lili is all about helping SMBs stay on top of their finances. Its business banking approach is what sets Lili apart from other mobile banking apps.
Top features of Lili Banking
As this is a small business banking app, the features and benefits included are tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs.
When you open an account with Lili, here’s what you can get:
- Visa business debit card, which can be used to make purchases, pay bills, or withdraw cash fee-free at more than 38,000 ATM locations.
- High-Yield Savings Account with 3.00% APY on balances up to $1M (available on paid plans).
- Expense tracking and management tools.
- Invoice tracking and management tools (Pro and above).
- Tax Bucket savings, so you can save money toward estimated quarterly taxes automatically.
- Tax refund optimization to help you maximize deductions and credits (Pro and above).
- Direct deposit, which allows you to get paid up to two days earlier than traditional banks.
- BalanceUp overdraft protection, which lets you overdraft up to $200 on your debit card with no fees (Pro and above).
- Send and receive international wires, a new feature for businesses working with clients or vendors abroad.
- Secure access for your team members and the accountant (Smart and above).
- Multiple business accounts under a single login, to help manage various ventures.
- Real-time transaction alerts.
- Card freeze and unfreeze security tools.
Since Lili isn’t a traditional bank, this isn’t the same thing as a regular business or personal checking account. But you do get the benefit of convenience, along with tools that can make business banking easier to manage.
How Lili Banking works
Banking with Lili isn’t complicated. Using the Lili banking app involves four steps:
- Completing the application online
- Downloading the Lili app
- Pairing your device
- Getting your Lili Visa card
Once your Lili account is open, you can use your Visa business debit card to make purchases online or at stores. When you shop with participating merchants you can earn cashback on what you spend (Pro and above). Cashback is credited to your Lili account automatically.
You can set up direct deposit to get paid up to two days early. You can also link your Lili account to Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App to accept payments that way.
Paying bills with Lili is as easy as scheduling an ACH payment or debit card payment. If you need cash, you can withdraw it fee-free at over 38,000 MoneyPass ATMs nationwide.
Getting set up
You can open your Lili account online through the website. To do so, you’ll need to tell Lili:
- Your name
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
- Address
- What type of work your business does
For certain business types like LLCs and corporations, you may also need to provide your Employer Identification Number (EIN). Once you enter this basic information, you’ll be able to choose between the four plans:
Lili Premium is $33/month with promotional pricing (regularly $55/month). This includes all features, including team access.
Lili Basic is a free account that includes: Visa debit card, expense tracking, automatic tax savings, and direct deposit.
Lili Pro is $9/month with promotional pricing (regularly $15/month). This plan adds overdraft protection, invoicing, and a high-yield savings account.
Lili Smart is $21/month with promotional pricing (regularly $35/month). This includes all Pro features plus advanced bookkeeping and tax tools.
For a full breakdown of pricing, please visit the updated Plans page.
Here are the daily spending limits for each account type:
And here’s how Lili limits deposits for Standard and Pro accounts:
Rating the features
So far, this Lili review has offered an overview of the banking app and its highlights. Here’s more on how individual aspects of using Lili for business banking work.
User experience: Opening an account with Lili is simple and fairly quick. The app itself is easy to use, and the website is well-organized. Customer support is available Monday through Friday only, via email.
Goal setting: Lili is all about providing a comprehensive approach to money management for small business owners. With a Pro account or higher, you can send invoices, get paid, manage your taxes, and pay business expenses all in one place. The savings account offers a 3.00% APY, helping your money work for you.
Services: Lili is unique because it’s a banking app that caters its services to small businesses. You can use the app to oversee tasks from getting paid to keeping up with your tax obligations. And Lili makes it easier to get paid through direct deposit and compatibility with Venmo, Cash App, and PayPal. The new ability to send and receive international wires and give team members secure access makes it an even more robust solution for growing businesses.
Safety and security: Lili takes security seriously. All Lili accounts are FDIC insured by its sponsor banks. Lili also uses multiple layers of security on the website and within the Lili app to keep your information private and safe.
Education: To help with the learning curve of running a business, Lili offers a thorough guide and a blog that covers some of the most important aspects of managing money as an entrepreneur.
Commission and fees
Lili does a good job of keeping fees to a minimum. If you have a Lili Standard account, there’s no monthly fee.
Here’s what the rest of Lili’s fee schedule looks like:
Overall, Lili is more fee-friendly compared to many traditional business or personal banking options.
Pros and cons for Lili Banking
The Lili banking app has a lot of positives but it may not work for everyone. Weighing the pros and cons can help you decide whether it’s the right place for your money.
Pros
- Offers a comprehensive financial platform with banking, business credit, and accounting services.
- Provides specialized tools for tax preparation, including automatic savings and pre-filled forms.
- Allows for team collaboration with secure, role-based access for managing finances.
- Enables international payments for businesses working with global clients and vendors.
Cons
- Lacks the physical branch network of traditional banks.
- Advanced accounting and tax features require a paid subscription.
- Some business-building features are not available to all business types.
- Limits and fees apply to certain transactions, such as cash deposits.
Bottom line
Lili is meant to appeal to small business owners who want a simplified solution for managing money. If you struggle with keeping track of business spending, invoicing, or what you need to save for taxes, Lili can help you get organized. With a new focus on SMBs with teams, international payments, and a competitive APY, Lili is a powerful tool for modern entrepreneurs.
