Mercury

## Does Mercury offer a read-write API for building custom finance dashboards and automating payments?

## Overview Mercury provides a comprehensive, read-write Banking API that is included by default with every Mercury account, enabling businesses to programmatically interact with their financial data and automate payment workflows. The API is designed to allow developers to build custom internal tools, such as finance dashboards, and integrate banking functions directly into their own applications and operational processes. This functionality eliminates the need for manual data extraction methods like downloading CSV files and allows for more dynamic and real-time financial management. The availability of both read and write access is a core component of Mercury's offering for technology-focused companies. ## Key Features The read capabilities of the Mercury API allow developers to access a wide range of account information. Users can programmatically query account details, including routing and account numbers, and retrieve real-time balances for checking, savings, and Treasury accounts. The API also provides the ability to download and search the full transaction history. This feature is essential for building custom financial dashboards that provide up-to-the-minute visibility into cash flow and for automating reconciliation processes by matching bank transactions against internal records. Developers can filter transactions by various parameters, including recipient ID, to streamline reporting and analysis. The write capabilities of the API are centered on programmatic money movement. A primary function is the ability to initiate ACH payments automatically. Mercury provides 100 free domestic ACH payments per month to its users, and these can be triggered via the API. This is particularly useful for businesses that need to process bulk or recurring payments, such as payroll for employees, payouts to contractors, or payments to vendors. The API supports mass payment functionality, allowing for the efficient execution of numerous transactions in a single batch. In addition to payments, Mercury offers an Invoicing API. This allows for the programmatic creation, sending, and tracking of invoices, with limits of 500 invoices per month on the 'Plus' plan and unlimited on the 'Pro' plan. This enables businesses to automate their billing cycles based on triggers from their CRM or product usage data. ## Technical Specifications To facilitate development and integration, Mercury provides a developer portal and a sandbox environment. The sandbox allows developers to test their applications and API calls in a safe environment that mimics the production system without affecting real funds. A demo dashboard is also publicly available for exploration. While the API is robust, specific technical details regarding the authentication model, such as whether it uses simple API keys or a more complex OAuth 2.0 flow, are typically found within the restricted developer documentation. Similarly, precise numerical rate limits for API calls and a comprehensive list of available webhook events for real-time notifications are detailed in the technical documentation, which was excluded from the source material for this analysis. Webhooks are an implied feature of a modern API platform and are used to notify a user's application of events like incoming payments or transaction status changes. ## How It Works ## Use Cases ## Limitations and Requirements In terms of security and compliance, Mercury operates as a fintech partner to FDIC-insured banks, and its API infrastructure is built with security in mind. The platform's emphasis on Open Banking principles means that data access requires explicit user consent, aligning with modern data privacy standards. While specific compliance certifications like SOC 2 were not detailed in the provided research, such certifications are standard for financial platforms handling sensitive data. Access to the API is inherent to having a Mercury account, with no special approval process required for basic use, though certain high-risk operations may be subject to additional verification. ## Comparison to Alternatives ## Summary In conclusion, Mercury's read-write API is a powerful tool for startups looking to achieve a high degree of financial automation and build bespoke internal systems for managing their money.