5 Best Business Checking Accounts

Finding the best business checking account is vital to the success of your business. That’s because commercial accounts offer a wide array of features designed specifically to help businesses succeed. Separating your personal and business expenses makes it easier to manage your cash flow, which will make tax time much less confusing. And for those who operate as a limited liability company (LLC), having a separate business account is crucial for protecting your personal assets.

When deciding on an account, you’ll want to look for banks offering zero fees (or banks that will waive the fees), reliable digital banking platforms and minimal opening balance requirements. But with so many great options available, searching for the right account to suit your personal finance goals can seem daunting.

We’ve put together our picks for the top five best business bank accounts to help you make that decision a little bit easier.

Our Picks for Best Business Checking Accounts

• Chase Bank – Best Sign-Up Bonus
• Axos Bank – Best for High Yields
• BlueVine – Best for High Transaction Volume
• NBKC Bank – Best Small Business Checking Account
• Novo – Best for Business App Integrations

Best Business Checking Account Reviews

Why We Chose Them: One of the biggest advantages to opening one of Chase’s business bank accounts is that they have a $300 sign-on bonus. This bonus is the highest of any bank we’ve reviewed. On top of that, the bank has a fully integrated platform, so you’ll get excellent service whether you prefer online, mobile app, or in-person banking.

Chase’s QuickAccept feature allows you to accept debit and credit card payments on-the-go by using a credit card scanner or entering the card in the app. While transaction fees apply, the money will be available in your account immediately.

On a similar note, Chase’s QuickDeposit allows you to scan and deposit checks. If you’re only depositing a few checks, you can use the mobile app. But if your business receives a lot of checks, you can sign up for their multiple feed scanner and deposit 50 checks at once. However, you’ll need a contract for this service.

This account is also great if you make numerous cash deposits because you get up to $5,000 in free cash deposits for each statement cycle. And with 16,000 ATMs and more than 4,700 branches, it’s easy to find a location to deposit your cash.

Keep in mind, however, that there’s a monthly $15 fee associated with this account. But you can waive the fee if you maintain a minimum daily balance of $2,000, spend at least $2,000 per month using your Chase Ink Business card or deposit a minimum of $2,000 in QuickAccept each month.

Why we chose them: We chose Axos as the best for those who seek high yields on their account balances because it has a high APY compared to other banks–and because it also has an excellent new business bonus.

To qualify for the startup business bonus, you’ll need to keep a minimum of $2,500 in your account for two months. If your business isn’t new,  Chase will still offer a sign-on bonus, but it’s only $100.

Balances up to $50,000 earn 0.81% APY. After that, the rate decreases. Balances from $50,000 to $250,000 will earn 0.20% interest, and balances from $250,000 to $5 million will earn 0.10%.

If you’re interested in a Business Interest Checking account, you can open one with a minimum deposit of $100. But the account has a $10 monthly maintenance fee if it has less than an average daily balance of $5,000.

If you’re looking to avoid that fee, you can open an Axos Basic Business Checking account. However, this account has a minimum opening balance of $1,000, which is higher than other banks. With this account, your first 50 checks are free, and you have 200 free transactions each month (deposits, credits and debits).

Regardless of which account you ultimately choose, you’ll be able to accept ACH payments and integrate with QuickBooks. And Axos reimburses an unlimited number of ATM fees because it does not have an ATM network of its own.

Why we chose them: We chose BlueVine as the best bank for customers who make numerous deposits and withdrawals because it allows unlimited transactions and combines that with an accessible platform and a high APY.

BlueVine’s Business Checking allows you to pay your bills and vendors without fees by using their payments platform. And there are low fees in general for this account. You won’t need to keep a monthly or minimum daily balance and there are no non-sufficient fund fees or overdraft fees. You also won’t pay for ACH payments.

BlueVine also places no limit on the number of account transactions. You can deposit, withdraw, or transfer as many times as you need to. That is a significant feature if your business processes a high number of transactions.

They also have one of the biggest yields on our list. You can earn 1.2% APY on the accounts if you either spend $500 a month with your BlueVine Business Debit Mastercard or if you receive $2,500 per month in customer payments into your account. If you don’t, you’ll still earn 0.60% APR – something most banks don’t offer.

BlueVine doesn’t offer an ATM system or have physical branches, but you can use any of MoneyPass ATMs nationwide for free. If you use an out-of-network ATM, there is a $2.50 charge. If you want to deposit cash, you can do so at one of the 90,000 Green Dot retail locations for a $4.95 fee.

Why we chose them: We chose NBKC as the best bank for small business owners because it offers a free business checking account that has no overdraft fees, transaction fees, opening deposit requirements, or minimum balance. Account holders also have access to NBKC’s robust digital banking platform.

One notable feature of this bank is that they offer three cashback credit cards. One of their cards, the Visa Business Cash card, allows you to earn 3% cashback on eligible purchases. Their other two cards, the Visa Business Real Rewards card and the Smart Business Rewards Visa Signature card, accumulate points you can redeem for various travel, merchandise and gift cards.

NBKC is a great small business bank because it also offers quite a few options for accessing your money. While domestic outgoing wire transfers are $5, domestic incoming wire transfers are free. But for incoming and outgoing international wire transfers, there is a $45 fee. And if you use one of MoneyPass’s ATMs, you can make cash deposits and withdrawals using NBKC’s credit/debit Business Mastercard for free. They will reimburse out-of-network ATM fees up to $12 per billing cycle. And they offer check scanning equipment.

Why we chose them: Novo earned our nod as offering the best online business checking account with business app integrations. If your business uses Square, Shopify, Slack and Stripe or other similar services, you’ll be able to connect them to your bank account, along with 15 popular third-party apps that help you run your business more smoothly. These apps handle everything from money management to payroll to taxes and eliminate the need to constantly switch between platforms.

Online Business Banking from Novo doesn’t require any monthly fees or mandate a minimum account balance. To set up an account, you’ll need to make an initial deposit of $50. The bank will reimburse you for all ATM fees.

The robust app that accompanies this account offers many different ways to process payments from wires, transfers, mobile check deposits and more. Customers can even link their PayPal accounts. Unfortunately, the only way to process cash payments is to purchase a money order. But if your business requires you to make payments by check, Novo will send them directly to the payee at no charge.

Additionally, the account comes with discounts and rewards for programs such as Google Ads and Homebase. You can also use QuickBooks for six months at a 40% discount. And all fees are waived for the first $20,000 in credit card processing using Swipe.

Other business checking accounts we considered

Bank of America

Bank of America offers its customers two different business bank accounts. The Business Advantage Relationship is the more robust of the two options, but it costs $29.50 per month unless you maintain over $15,000 across all BoA accounts. The Business Fundamentals Banking account is a basic account and comes with a $16 monthly fee unless you have an average account balance of over $5,000.

Both accounts give you access to the “Erica” virtual financial assistant, mobile banking, and a cash flow monitoring tool.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo offers three different business accounts: The Initiate Business Checking, Navigate Business Checking and Optimize Business Checking. Each tier provides customer service, robust mobile and online banking tools, and access to over 5,000 Wells Fargo branches and 13,000 ATMs.

US Bank

U.S. Bank offers the Platinum Business Checking Package (with a waivable $30 monthly fee), the Gold Business Checking Package (with a waivable $20 monthly fee) and the Silver Business Checking Packages (which has no monthly fee).

When you bank with U.S. Bank, you get access to their U.S. Bank Visa debit card, free U.S. Bank ATM transactions and their popular business products and services. This bank also has two specialty checking accounts: the Premium Business Checking Account and the Nonprofit Checking Account.

Citizens Bank

Citizen Bank offers the Clearly Better Business Checking (no monthly maintenance fee), the Business Advisor Checking (waivable $25 monthly maintenance fee) and Citizens Analysis Business Checking ($20 non-waivable monthly maintenance fee).

Other features offered include online and mobile banking and overdraft protections, including an overdraft line of credit.

Capital One

Capital One offers a wide range of services for both their Spark Business Basic Checking ($15 waivable monthly maintenance fee) and Spark Business Unlimited Checking ($35 waivable monthly maintenance fee). These services include overdraft protection, 24/7 real-time access to your banking information and online bill pay.

Capital One also offers Spark Business credit cards, business loans and lines of credit.

Lending Club

LendingClub Tailored Checking has a robust app, allowing you to pay bills, transfer funds, create and send invoices and more. And you can start an account with as little as $100.

Business Checking Accounts Guide

What’s the difference between a personal checking account and business checking?

Business checking accounts do a lot more than personal checking accounts. A business checking account can receive ACH transfers, take card payments, organize the business’s financial statements, and more. Its purpose is to help a business owner manage incoming and outgoing cash flow.

Choosing the best business checking account

Before choosing the best business bank account for your company, you must first determine the needs of your business.

If you’re a cash-based business, you’ll want to find a checking account that allows you to deposit cash for free. If you are a high transaction business, you’ll need an account that accepts a high or unlimited number of monthly transactions.

Our tips for choosing the best business checking account

Regardless of your business needs, there are some things that you can look for when choosing a business account.

Fees and Balance Requirements

Look for a business checking account that has low to no monthly maintenance fees. If they have a fee, can you get it waived? If you can, then this might not be a bad option. But if you can’t, look for a different banking account.

Also, consider banks that offer overdraft protection, which will keep you from paying fees for insufficient funds.

APY and Bonuses

Accounts with high APYs and opening bonuses are good to consider as well. Banks often make competitive offers to attract new clients. If you can find a bank with an attractive sign-on package, you should consider it.

If your business writes a number of paper checks each month, check and see if the bank offers free checks, which will help reduce business costs.

Features and Accessibility

Check for the features that you need. Mobile and online banking should be standard. Your account should also allow you to transfer funds, automate bill payments and process payments.

On top of that, you should have easy access to your money. The account should come with a business debit card. Banks should provide free ATM access, either to their own ATMs or by offering to reimburse you for ATM fees. It’s also helpful to have nearby physical branches for when you need to work out a banking issue face-to-face.

Reliability and Ratings

Any bank you choose must be FDIC-insured. If you decide to go with a credit union, it should be backed by the NCUA. This way, if the financial institution you’re using fails, your deposits will be insured up to $250,000.

Setting up a business checking account

Opening a business bank account is relatively easy. Most banks have an online system that allows you to open a business account in minutes. You can also do it in person or by calling the bank and setting up an appointment.

Depending on the method you choose, you will have access to your deposit account in anywhere from 15 minutes (if you open it online) to 7 business days or a month (if you open an account in person).

Documents needed to apply

Make sure to locate the following documents before you apply for a business account, and the process will go smoothly:

• Articles of Incorporation
• Business License
• Social Security number or a business Tax Identification Number (for sole proprietors)
• Employer Identification Number or Tax Identification Number (for other businesses)
• Certificate of Assumed Name (DBA)
• One or two types of personal identification
• Partnership Agreement, if applicable

How We Picked the Best Business Checking Accounts

To compile this list, we looked at banks that offer national availability and robust digital platforms. This excluded credit unions. However, you should also consider credit unions in your area. They often have better interest rates and more specialized merchant services that could be a good fit for your business.

We chose our top five banks by reviewing the following:

• Monthly fees – We looked for banks without monthly fees or fees that could be easily waived.
• ATM Access – We considered ATM Network size and potential ATM fees.
• Transaction limits – We looked for banks with either unlimited or high transaction limits.

Summary of the Best Business Checking Accounts

• Chase Bank – Best Sign-Up Bonus
• Axos Bank – Best for High Yields
• BlueVine – Best for High Transaction Volume
• NBKC Bank – Best Small Business Checking Account
• Novo – Best for Business App Integrations