It's Here.

Karat Business Banking has arrived

Author

Grace Lemire
June 03, 2025

Hey.

After 6 years of building Karat, we’ve finally launched the product we’re most excited about: business banking for creators.

This isn’t just another neobank with a fresh coat of paint.

This is banking built from the ground up to understand your irregular income, seasonal fluctuations, and unique business needs.

In today’s newsletter:

  • Karat business banking

  • An exclusive offer for you

From Credit Cards to Complete Banking

This isn’t our first rodeo in creator finance.

Over the past six years, we’ve issued over $1.5 billion in credit through our Business Credit Card, solving real problems for creators like:

  • William Osman (3M+ YouTube subscribers) who couldn’t get six figures in credit for his Open Sauce convention.

    We helped him get the funding he needed.

  • Multi-million dollar creator businesses who had $100 purchases declined at department stores.

    We approved their transactions.

But this work revealed a bigger problem.

As our co-founder Eric Wei told TechCrunch:

Six years in, the problem we’re solving is still the same. Creators are real businesses, and banks don’t understand them.

The Problem We’re Solving Now

There’s no need for creators to:

  • Have accounts frozen because of ‘suspicious’ large deposits from brand deals

  • Be denied banking because banks don’t understand creator income

  • Get terrible customer service when they try to explain their business model

As our co-founders Will and Eric put it:

Building great creator banking requires unusually specific expertise in two very different domains—you have to deeply understand content creators and fintech simultaneously.

Better Banking for Creators

We built what other banks couldn’t.

Here’s what makes Karat Banking different:

Two Tiers to Fit Your Business

1️⃣ Karat Standard Banking (Free Forever)

  • FDIC-insured business checking account

  • Automated tax planning

  • Up to 1.00% APY on checking accounts

  • Creator-focused customer support that understands your business model

  • No monthly fees, no minimums

2️⃣ Karat Premium Banking ($20/month - waived with $35k minimum balance)

  • Everything in Standard, plus:

  • 2.00-3.00% APY on checking accounts

  • Free wire transfers

  • Enhanced customer support

  • AI bookkeeping (coming soon)

  • Advanced analytics and forecasting

Why checking accounts with high APY? As Eric explains: We know creators actually keep a lot of money in their checking account because the industry is so unstable, so we pay meaningful APY on checking, which most banks actually don’t do.”

Why not earn interest on the money that sits in your account?

Creator-Specific Features Built from Experience

  • Automated tax-planning: Set aside the right percentage for quarterly taxes based on creator income patterns.

  • Platform integration: Connect your revenue streams for automatic categorization.

  • Expense tracking: Built-in tools for tracking deductible business expenses, including creator-specific categories.

  • Real-time analytics: Understand your cash flow patterns and seasonal trends.

Exclusive Benefits and Bonuses

Banking with Karat unlocks exclusive discounts with creator-focused companies:

  • Epidemic Sound: Music licensing for your content

  • ManyChat: DM automation software to increase conversions

  • ViewStats: Advanced YouTube analytics

  • Othership: Immersive wellness and productivity services

Backed by the Best

We didn’t build this alone. Karat Banking is backed by some of the biggest names in business and technology:

  • Steve Chen (Co-founder, YouTube)

  • Kevin Lin (Co-founder, Twitch)

  • Biz Stone (Co-founder, Twitter)

  • Charlie Chang (Entrepreneur and YouTuber, 1.3M+ subscribers)

  • Nick DiGiovanni (Entrepreneur and Creator, 30M+ followers)

Get Your $100 Early User Bonus* 💰

As a newsletter subscriber, you’re getting first access to Karat Banking. Here’s how to claim your early user bonus:

  1. Comment BANKING on our latest Instagram post or send us a DM.

  2. Complete your application (takes about 5 minutes).

  3. Make your first deposit and keep $10,000 in your account for 90 days.

  4. Receive your $100 bonus!

🎥 Viral hooks to try in your content.

📧 Email template for pitching brands.

👩‍💻 How to use AI to make better content.

This Week in Creator Studio

This Thursday at 1 PM PST in Creator Studio (our free Discord community) we’re interviewing Estefannie!

Estefannie

feminine rage tech 💕✨️💅 

www.youtube.com/@Estefannie/videos

See ya next week,

Karat

P.S. Legally obligated: Karat is a financial technology company and not a bank. Banking services are provided through Grasshopper Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. The FDIC’s deposit insurance only protects against the failure of an FDIC-insured bank. APY comparison based on an average publicly available interest rate of 0.08% APY at other banks and an advertised rate offered by Karat of up to 3.00%. Rate as of 06/03/2025, subject to change.
*Limited time offer. Terms apply. See Karat Banking Premium Terms of Service Agreement for details.