“The traditional players have a legacy of strong brand and trust. That’s not something you can replicate simply with no-fee, easy digital onboarding,” said Alenka Grealish, an analyst at the financial research and advisory firm Celent.

Ultimately, both Brex and Ramp will have to focus more on customers outside the tech startup demographic. “At the end of the day, you definitely have to scale beyond the niche that gravitates to this kind of value proposition,” Grealish said.