My business checking needs
Earlier this year, I started a freelancing business. One thing I need for my business is a business checking account.
But with so many options, how to choose?
I decided I needed to narrow down the list of possibilities. To do this, I first determined my priorities. Having a list of priorities has helped me efficiently evaluate my options and eliminate options that don’t meet my need.
My top priorities (and why they’re important to me):
- No-cost Zelle transfers for business accounts. This is important to me, because I want to be able to quickly and securely transfer funds for free between my personal and business checking accounts. One alternative would be to open a business account at the same bank that houses my checking account, so that I could do internal fund transfers between accounts. But the business accounts that my current bank offers do not meet some of my other criteria. So the next best option seems to be Zelle. ACH is not ideal for me, because the transfers take a few days to clear, and it seems that it usually costs money to do ACH (although I did find one option with no ACH fees).
- No maintenance fees OR easy ways to waive them. Again, I want to keep costs low. Since I do not anticipate high transaction volumes or dealing with cash, I want a simple, no-frills bank account. Some accounts come with monthly maintenance fees, but there are often ways to waive these fees (e.g., maintaining a certain minimum balance in the account).
- Low or zero minimum opening balance. I don’t have a lot of startup capital.
Put it in a spreadsheet!
At some point in my research, I realized there was too much information to keep organized on the back of an envelope. So I made a spreadsheet!
| Bank | Account | Zelle for business | monthly fee | minimum balance | APY | other fees | URLs | Branches | notes | Advantages | Bankrate rating | DepositAccounts.com ratings | ConsumerAffairs.com rating | JD Power 2021 Banking Satisfaction Study Rank (Score) | Nerd Wallet Rating |
| US Bank | Silver Business Checking Account | yes (free) | $0.00 | 100 | 0 | 50% off first order of checks; ATM fees at non-US Bank ATMS | https://www.usbank.com/business-banking/business-bank-accounts/business-checking/silver-business-checking-account-package.html https://www.usbank.com/business-banking/business-services/payment-processing/zelle-for-business-accounts.html | Closest: Ohio Generally branches everywhere except southern & Atlantic states | No branches in PA (closest is Ohio), but I can still open an account online. Can open account online. Terms and fees NOT easily accessible through their website. 24/7 customer service | No monthly fees 24/7 customer service “Best national bank in Midwest & West” (Bussiness Insider) | 3.4 Overall 4.1 Checking 2.4 Savings 3.3 CDs 2.1 MMAs | 2/5 stars A health rating | 4.0/5 | #5 (663) | 3.5 overall 3.5 checking 5.0 banking experience |
| Wells Fargo | Initiate Business Checking | yes (free) | $10 (waived with $500 minimum daily balance) | 25 | 0 | $2.50 ATM fee (on top of ATM owner’s fee) | https://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/checking/initiate/ https://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/help/faqs/zelle/ | Branches pretty much all over the country, including PA | Apparently can open account online, w/o visiting branch. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/open-business-checking-account-online Extend customer service hours. One of best banks for customer service: https://www.bankrate.com/banking/best-banks-customer-experience/ One of Consumer Affairs’ top 3 banks (best for small business) | Branches all over country. Extend hours for customer service A top 3 bank (Consumer Affairs) 24/7 customer service | 3.4 Overall 4.6 checking 2.7 savings 2.5 CDs 2.1 MMAs | 2/5 stars A health rating | 3.7/5 | #10 (628) | 3.5 overall 3.5 checking 4.5 banking experience |
| PNC Bank | Business Checking | yes (free) | $10 (waived with $500 minimum average monthly balance) (waived for first 3 months) | 100 | 0 | ATM fees (first 2 fees each month are waived) | https://www.pnc.com/en/small-business/banking/zelle.html https://www.pnc.com/en/small-business/banking/business-checking-overview/basic-business-checking-account.html | Branches everywhere except WA, OR, ID, NV, UT, WY, MT, ND, SD, AR, NE, OK, IA, MO, KS, LA | Need to go to branch to open account According to Nerd Wallet “Two refunds per month of fees charged by PNC for using out of network ATMs.” https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/pnc-business-checking [confirmed on PNC’s website] One of Best banks for customer service: https://www.bankrate.com/banking/best-banks-customer-experience/ Customer service is available 7 days a week, but only during extended business hours. | Waive monthly fee for first 3 months Waive first two out-of-network ATM fees each month (but ATM owner fee still applies) | 3.9 Overall 4.3 Checking 5.0 savings 2.8 CDs 2.4 MMAs | 1.5/5 stars A health rating | 3.4/5 | #2 (684) “performs highest in resolving customer problems and instilling overall brand trust” https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2021-us-national-banking-satisfaction-study | 4.0 overall 4.0 checking 4.5 banking experience |
| BMO Harris Bank | BMO Simple Business Checking Account | yes (free) | $10 (waived with $100 minimum average balance) (waived for first 3 months) | 100 | 0 | No fees at Allpoint ATMs | https://www.bmoharris.com/main/business-banking/business-services/zelle/ https://www.bmoharris.com/main/business-banking/checking-accounts/simple-business-checking/ https://www.bmoharris.com/pdf/sb/simple-business-checking.pdf | Closest:Detroit Most branches in Great Lakes area, Florida, and Arizona. A few other scattered here and there. | Online application | Online application | 3.4 Overall 4.6 checking 3.3 savings 2.8 CDs 1.5 MMAs | 1.5/5 stars A health rating | NA | NA | 4.0 overall 4.5 checking 4.5 banking experience |
| BMO Harris Bank | BMO Digital Business Checking Account | yes (free) | $10 (waived with $500 minimum average balance) (Waived for first 3 months) | 100 | 0 | No fees at Allpoint ATMs | https://www.bmoharris.com/main/business-banking/business-services/zelle/ https://www.bmoharris.com/main/business-banking/checking-accounts/digital-business-checking/ https://www.bmoharris.com/pdf/sb/digital-business-checking.pdf | Closest:Detroit Most branches in Great Lakes area, Florida, and Arizona. A few other scattered here and there. | Online application Unlimited free ACH transfers | Online application Unlimited free ACH transfers and incoming wires | 3.4 Overall 4.6 checking 3.3 savings 2.8 CDs 1.5 MMAs | 1.5/5 stars A health rating | NA | NA | 4.0 overall 4.5 checking 4.5 banking experience |
| Amalgamated Bank | no (see part D, section 2: https://www.amalgamatedbank.com/mobile-banking-disclosures) | $18 (waived if avg daily balance above $1500) | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Lead Bank | no (asked a chat agent on their website) | unclear | |||||||||||||
| NBKC Bank | Business Account | no | 0 | 0 | Missouri (only 4 branches in the world) | Up to $14/mo ATM fee refunds | |||||||||
| Bluevine | no | ||||||||||||||
| Novo | no | ||||||||||||||
| Relay | no | ||||||||||||||
| Mercury | no | ||||||||||||||
| Axos Bank | no | ||||||||||||||
| Capital One | Spark Business Basic Checking | $15 (waived with minimum balance $2000) | |||||||||||||
| Chase | Business Complete Banking | $15 (waived with $1500 minimum balance) | |||||||||||||
| Citi | CitiBusiness Streamlined Checking Account | $15 (waived at minimum balance $5000) | |||||||||||||
| Ally bank | [no business accounts] |
I found these banks through various sources, including this article, recommendations from a friend, and searching for things like “best checking accounts for small businesses.”
My short list of banks
Based on my research (see spreadsheet above), I have narrowed my list down to five business checking accounts at four banks: U.S. Bank, BMO Harris Bank, Wells Fargo, and PNC Bank.
All four banks offer Zelle for Business at no cost. This seems to be a rare feature and really helped me narrow my list down. Note that while many banks offer Zelle for their personal accounts, far fewer seem to offer it for their business accounts.
As for maintenance fees, U.S. Bank’s account has no monthly fees, while the rest have $10 monthly fees that can be waived by maintaining a minimum balance of $100 (BMO Simple Business Checking Account) or $500 (all others); for Wells Fargo, this is a daily balance, while for the rest it appears to be a monthly average balance. Also note that PNC and BMO waive monthly maintenance fees for the first three months.
As far as I can tell, all five of these accounts require a minimum opening balance of $100 or less.
Looking back, looking ahead
As it turns out, writing this article was very helpful for me. Looking through my spreadsheet more carefully before posting it, I noticed that I didn’t have any Zelle or monthly fee information for BMO Harris Bank. As it turns out, BMO offers Zelle for business accounts, has low monthly fees that are easy to waive, and has a low minimum opening balance; it checks off all my main boxes! Over and over again, I have found that writing and publishing can really help me clarify my thoughts and even discover new things.
You’ll notice in the spreadsheet that I also looked into several other factors to help me weigh my choices, factors like branch access, customer service, and third-party reviews/ratings. You’ll also notice that most of the cells are empty. If a bank didn’t meet my main criteria, I didn’t bother looking into it any further, which saved me time.
Obviously, one of the next steps would be to actually open an account with one of these banks. I want to do some more research on my short list before I make that decision, though. But I am confident that when I do, it will be a well-informed and thought-out decision.
Resources
- https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2021-us-national-banking-satisfaction-study
- https://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/banks.htm
- https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/reviews.aspx
- https://www.bankrate.com
- https://www.nerdwallet.com/
- https://www.usbanklocations.com/map.php
DISCLAIMER: To the best of my knowledge, the information presented here is accurate as of the time of research. But, I make no guarantees of it’s accuracy. Do your own research to verify.
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