Business cash management: 8 options compared

A company can keep its spare cash in 8 common places, from a checking account paying almost nothing to tokenized funds and stablecoin vaults. In October 2026 the gap between average checking and a Treasury bill alone was about 4 percentage points.

On 2 October 2026, a 13-week US Treasury bill paid 4.11%, while the average US interest checking account paid 0.07%. Business cash management means moving company cash between those two ends without running short on payday. The options are an operating account, high-yield business savings, an insured sweep, government money market funds, T-bills, treasury accounts from Brex, Mercury, Rho, Meow and Ramp, tokenized money market funds such as BlackRock's BUIDL, and stablecoin vaults such as Upshift's.

Most finance teams use three or four of these at once, one for each slice of cash.

Business cash management options compared

Rates are as each source published them on the date shown, and they move with US short-term rates. The Federal Reserve raised its target range to 3.75% to 4.00% on 16 September 2026, its first increase since 2023.

Bank accounts and insured sweeps hold the operating cash

A business checking account pays whatever the bank sets, and the FDIC's national rate table put interest checking at 0.07% on 21 September 2026. Some fintech accounts pay more. Ramp's checking account, held at First Internet Bank of Indiana, paid 2% APY on 4 October 2026. FDIC insurance covers at least $250,000 per depositor at each insured bank, and the money is there the same day for payroll.

High-yield business savings moves the reserve up a step. Live Oak Bank showed 2.75% APY on business savings with no minimum on 4 October 2026, against a national savings average of 0.37%. Transfers back to checking usually land the next business day. Rates change often.

An insured cash sweep gets around the $250,000 limit. The provider splits the balance across partner banks, each holding less than the limit, and the company gets pass-through FDIC cover on the total. Brex offers up to $6 million of coverage through 24 partner banks, Mercury up to $5 million and Rho's business savings up to $75 million. IntraFi, which runs the network many US banks use, notes that certain conditions must be met for pass-through insurance to apply. The swept money still earns a deposit rate, set by the provider (Brex and Mercury don't publish theirs on the account pages).

Money market funds and T-bills pay close to the Fed rate

A government money market fund holds Treasury bills, agency debt and repurchase agreements backed by government securities, and aims to keep each share at $1. SEC Rule 2a-7 caps the maturity, credit quality and concentration of what it can own. The SEC's 2023 reforms raised the funds' minimum liquidity, removed redemption gates and made institutional prime funds charge a fee when daily net redemptions pass 5% of assets. The BNY Dreyfus Government Cash Management Fund (DGVXX), which sits behind Brex's treasury account, showed a 3.50% 7-day yield on 4 October 2026.

Fund shares are securities held at a broker. SIPC covers up to $500,000 per customer, including $250,000 of cash, if that broker fails, and it doesn't cover a fall in the shares' value.

Treasury bills pay the government's own borrowing rate. TreasuryDirect sells them from $100 in terms of 4 to 52 weeks. On 2 October 2026 the 13-week bill yielded 4.11% on a coupon-equivalent basis, according to the US Treasury's daily bill rates. A ladder of bills maturing each month lines up with known payments such as quarterly tax or a loan repayment. Selling before maturity happens at the market price, on business days. Our T-bill calculator turns a discount price into a yield.

Startup treasury accounts package funds and bills

Brex, Mercury, Rho, Meow and Ramp put money market funds or T-bills behind a business account and sweep cash back to checking when it's needed. The rates below are net of fees as each provider published them. Brex is the exception: its figure adds an extra return Brex pays on top of the fund's yield.

Mercury and Rho charge 0.15% to 0.60% a year, falling as balances grow, and both quote rates after that fee. Ramp's 4.71% is a yield to maturity on a sample $10 million portfolio, a different measure from a fund's 7-day yield. Treasury management software compared covers the systems that sit above these accounts, from Kyriba to Trovata.

Tokenized money market funds move fund shares onchain

A tokenized money market fund holds the same short-dated government paper as a conventional fund and records each holder's shares as tokens on a blockchain. The tokens can move between approved wallets at any hour, and some issuers redeem straight into USDC. Four funds cover most corporate use:

• BlackRock BUIDL paid a 3.69% 7-day APY on 4 October 2026 (rwa.xyz). It's open to US qualified purchasers from $5 million and redeems daily before 3pm ET, in amounts of at least $250,000.
• Franklin Templeton BENJI is a share in the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, a US-registered money market fund, at a 3.72% 7-day APY on 4 October 2026 (rwa.xyz), from $20.
• Ondo OUSG showed 3.57% APY on Ondo's site on 4 October 2026. Qualified purchasers can mint and redeem from $5,000 in USDC around the clock, and most of its assets sit in BUIDL.
• Superstate USTB, now the Invesco Short Duration US Government Securities Fund, showed a 3.61% 30-day yield on Superstate's site on 4 October 2026, with same-day redemption that settles immediately in USDC for accredited investors and qualified purchasers.

Eligibility rules out more companies than the rate does. A company counts as a qualified purchaser with $25 million or more in investments, which leaves most startups with BENJI alone. Tokenized treasuries compared lists the larger funds by size and exit speed, and tokenized money market funds vs stablecoin vaults sets the two onchain options side by side.

Stablecoin vaults earn on stablecoin balances

Stablecoins don't pay their holders. The GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, bars payment stablecoin issuers from paying interest (Congressional Research Service). A company holding USDC earns only by putting the balance to work somewhere else. A stablecoin vault pools USDC or USDT in a smart contract and invests it under a written mandate. A curator, typically a hedge fund or asset manager, runs the strategy inside limits the contract enforces.

Upshift is onchain yield infrastructure for fintechs and asset managers with stablecoin balances, and its vaults sit in bands by the indicative yield of what they hold, before vault fees:

• Conservative, 3-4%: tokenized Treasury and money market funds, with a USDC buffer that pays instant redemptions at weekends too.
• Core, 5-7%: blue-chip lending, fixed-rate positions and funding-rate capture, or a basket of tokenized credit. Sentora USD earned 7.17% and earnAUSD 7.23% over the 30 days to 6 October 2026, simple annualised (Upshift API).
• Enhanced, 8%+: market-neutral quant strategies and looped carry, with capacity caps and longer withdrawal windows.

Every Upshift vault processes redemptions daily, each with its own lag, and most offer instant redemption for a fee, subject to liquidity. The contracts have had 11 smart contract audits by 6 independent firms. Upshift has held more than $550 million at peak across 50+ vaults on more than 30 chains, for over 66,000 users. A fintech can offer the same vaults to its own customers through the SDK or API and take a share of the fees. Stablecoin treasury management covers the policy and custody side, and crypto treasury management solutions lists the wallet and accounting tools around it.

A finance team splits idle cash by when it's needed

In the diagram, operating cash for the next 30 days stays in checking or an insured sweep, where it's available the same day and covered by FDIC insurance. Reserve cash needed in 1 to 12 months goes into government money market funds or T-bills, at about 3.5% to 4.1% in early October 2026. Stablecoin balances stay onchain in a tokenized fund or a vault, which can pay out at weekends from a USDC buffer. How companies earn yield on idle treasury cash compares the wrappers behind each slice.

Cash sweep account vs tokenized money market fund

A sweep keeps cash inside the banking system and its insurance. A tokenized fund pays a fund rate and settles in stablecoins. Many companies hold both.

Where a startup keeps its cash

A seed-stage company with $3 million of runway usually keeps two or three months of spending in checking. The rest goes into a treasury account or a T-bill ladder. At Rho, $3 million in 13-week bills earned 3.66% net on 3 October 2026, or roughly $110,000 a year, with the fee already taken out. At the national checking average it would earn about $2,100. Stablecoins come in once the company pays or gets paid in them, for contractors abroad, say. Then a tokenized fund or a stablecoin vault keeps that balance earning without a round trip through a bank wire.

An onchain vault in a treasury product shows how a fintech puts the same vaults behind its own treasury account.

Risks across the options

Deposits above the FDIC limit at a single bank are unsecured claims on that bank, and pass-through cover on a sweep depends on the provider keeping accurate records. Money market funds can fall below $1 a share in a stress event, and T-bills sold before maturity can lose value if rates rise. Tokenized funds add smart contract and wallet risk to the fund's own, and their USDC redemptions depend on the issuer's liquidity facility. Vault yields vary and aren't guaranteed. Vaults carry smart contract, strategy and liquidity risk, and there's no deposit insurance on them.

Always make sure to do your own research and be aware of the above and any other risks before depositing.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way for a company to manage idle cash?

Split it by the date it's needed. Then write the split into an investment policy the board approves, with limits per bank, per fund and per instrument. Most policies also set a minimum share of cash that must be available the same day.

How do finance teams earn yield on idle operating cash?

Through an automatic sweep. The account moves anything above a target balance into a money market fund and pulls it back when checking runs low. Rho, for one, lets teams set a standing rule for checking to top itself up.

Where should a startup keep its cash: money market fund, T-bills or stablecoins?

A government money market fund gives same-day access at about 3.5%. A 13-week T-bill paid 4.11% on 2 October 2026, though the money is locked until it matures or is sold. Stablecoins make sense only for a company that transacts in them, and they earn only inside a fund or vault.

Business cash management options compared: sweep accounts, MMFs, T-bills, tokenized funds

Sweep accounts keep cash as insured deposits at a bank rate. Money market funds and T-bills pay close to the Fed's 3.75% to 4.00% range and settle on business days. Tokenized funds pay a similar rate onchain, with minimums from $20 for BENJI to $5 million for BUIDL.

Cash sweep account vs tokenized money market fund for business balances

A sweep fits balances that must stay as deposits with FDIC cover. A company holding USDC can subscribe to a tokenized fund such as USTB or OUSG in USDC directly, with no bank wire in either direction.

What is corporate treasury management?

Corporate treasury management covers cash positioning, forecasting, payments, bank relationships, investments, debt and currency risk. In the 2026 AFP Liquidity Survey, bank deposits fell to 42% of corporate short-term investments, the lowest share since 2011.

Keep reading

• How fintechs offer stablecoin yield with tokenized money market funds. The conservative end of the vault menu.
• How the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts reshape stablecoin yield. What the stablecoin law says about interest.
• Vault provider due diligence. Questions to ask before allocating to a vault.
• Upshift risk management framework. How limits are set and enforced in each vault.