The 8 Best Business Checking Account Options

There are a number of reasons why you might be looking for a business checking account. Whether you need a secure yet accessible home for your business finances, or know you’ll need a business bank account to eventually apply for a loan or another type of financing, choosing the right checking account is an important decision. In fact, this is one of the first decisions you’ll want to make after you’ve started to establish your business.

This being said, like other business financial products—credit cards, loans, merchant services, etc.—there are a variety of business checking account options on the market.

So, how do you know which one is right for your small business?

We’re here to help you answer that question.

In this guide, we’ve compiled a list of the best business checking accounts, breaking down their fees, features, and more—so that you have everything you need to decide which account is right for you.

Before we dive into the details of each of the best business checking account options on our list, let’s start with a quick overview:

If you’re looking for a fee-free business checking account that earns interest, consider Bluevine’s business account.

You can sign up for the Bluevine business checking account quickly and easily online, as well as manage your account 24/7 with their online and mobile banking.

The Bluevine account has no monthly fees, no minimum opening balance requirement, no ACH fees, no NSF fees, no incoming wire fees, and you have access to an unlimited number of fee-free transactions. Additionally, as we mentioned, this account earns interest—2.00% on your account balance up to and including $100,000. Terms apply.

With the Bluevine business bank account you’ll also be able to deposit checks using the mobile app, schedule one-time and recurring payments, transfer funds between your accounts, and use the Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard. This account gives you access to over 38,000 fee-free ATMs across the country through the MoneyPass network, plus, cash deposit capabilities at over 90,000 Green Dot locations—something you don’t always see with an online-based business checking account.

Moreover, you can review payments via ACH and wire, send payments and pay bills with ACH, wire, or check—and you’ll only pay a $15 fee for outgoing wires.

On the whole, Bluevine is a great choice for fee-free and interest-earning banking—especially if you want access to both ATM withdrawals and cash deposits.

LendingClub can be opened quickly and easily online. Compared to other business banking solutions—where you have to separate your checking account and your payments platform, LendingClub business checking not only offers one seamless solution—with an integrated invoicing and payments platform (called Autobooks) built into your account, but also earns interest on top of it.

With the LendingClub Tailored business checking account, you’ll earn 1.50% APY on balances up to $100,000 and 0.10% APY on all balances after that. If you maintain an account balance of $500, you’ll also have the benefit of waving the $10 monthly service fee for this account.

This being said, the LendingClub Tailored account requires a minimum opening deposit of $100, but offers unlimited, fee-free transactions.

Additionally, with this business checking account, you’ll receive a free business debit card which will give you access to fee-free ATMs around the world through the MoneyPass and SUM networks. Plus, if you use an out-of-network ATM and incur a fee, you can take advantage of LendingClub’s unlimited ATM fee rebates.

On top of these features, you’ll also have access to free bill pay, mobile check deposit, 24/7 mobile and online banking, as well as the ability to earn an unlimited 1.0% cash back on purchases made with your LendingClub business debit card if you maintain an account balance of $500 or more.

For a business checking account that offers significant flexibility, hardly any fees, and a quick and easy application process, you might consider the mostly online-based NBKC bank as one of your top options. With NBKC, you’ll be able to open your business checking account online in only five minutes—and with no opening deposit required, you’ll have access to the following benefits:

• Unlimited transactions with no fees
• $0 minimum balance requirement
• $0 returned items, overdrafts, and NSFs
• $0 for online and mobile banking including bill pay
• Mobile check deposit with no fees
• $0 eStatements and Cashier’s Checks
• $0 for stop payments
• $0 for incoming domestic wires

In addition to these benefits, with an NBKC business checking account, you’ll be able to talk to an NBKC banker on the phone, via email, or in-person for no extra charge, as well as download their free mobile app to manage your account. Using this app, you’ll be able to deposit multiple checks, pay vendors and bills, transfer money between accounts, and originate wires.

Moreover, as an NBKC business checking account holder, you’ll receive a free NBKC Debit Mastercard, which will give you access to over 32,000 MoneyPass ATMs around the U.S. Plus, NBKC will also give you $12 in monthly refunds for ATM fees you incur from other banks.

All of this being said, the only times you’ll face fees with an NBKC business checking account is for sending domestic wires, which is a $5 fee, and sending or receiving international wires, which is a $45 fee. And—if you decide you want to add ACH credits and debits or desktop deposit to your account, you’ll be able to do so for low monthly fees.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to go the more traditional route, Chase is one of the best banks for small business checking accounts.

Not only do they offer a wide range of options—with three Chase business checking accounts to choose from in their suite—but each of these three options is great in its own right.

This being said, however, of the three accounts, the Chase Business Complete Banking account is probably the best option for the majority of small business owners. With this account, you’ll have no minimum opening deposit and 20 free transactions (deposits and withdrawals made with a teller and paper checks written on the account) included monthly. Additionally, you’ll have access to unlimited free electronic deposits and you’ll be able to deposit $5,000 in cash without paying a fee.

Moreover, you’ll have fee-free access to any Chase ATM around the U.S. and you’ll be able to visit any Chase branch for in-person business assistance. Chase will charge a monthly fee, however, of $15—which can be waived multiple ways, such as by maintaining a daily balance of $2,000 or more.

Overall, if you’re looking for a flexible and relatively low-fee business checking account from a traditional financial institution, Chase will be one of your top options. Plus, if you’re interested in an account with higher activity options (but higher monthly fees and balances to waive those fees) you can also look into the Chase Performance or Platinum Business Checking accounts.

Next on our list of the best business checking account options, Novo Bank is another completely online bank that offers a free business bank account for small business owners who don’t need access to physical bank branches.

This being said, Novo offers checking accounts for businesses with any entity-type and those in a variety of industries. Plus, it comes FDIC-insured through Novo’s partner bank, Middlesex Federal Savings.

More specifically, your Novo business bank account allows you to make payments and send money, link to other bank accounts, process ACH transfers, deposit checks, and receive domestic and international wire transfers. Notably, although Novo used ACH transfers instead of paper checks, if you do need to issue a physical check, Novo will process and send it for you. Plus, you can quickly and easily access all of Novo’s features using their iOS app.

As a downside, with no physical branch locations, you can’t deposit cash very easily with a Novo business checking account—you’ll have to purchase a money order and then use Novo’s digital processing. Additionally, if you want to withdraw cash from an ATM, you can do so using your Novo business debit card—and you won’t have to pay any fees the ATM provider charges since Novo reimburses all incurred ATM fees.

Nevertheless, it’s easy to apply for a Novo business checking account—you can fill out a fully online application with just your basic personal information, business information, and a few general questions about your business (you’ll also need a $50 minimum opening deposit).

On the whole, although Novo has fewer features for business owners who deal with cash, their user-friendly, fee-free, digital-first account, is a great option for tech-savvy and online-based businesses.

Like Chase, the online-based Axos Bank also offers multiple business checking account options. This being said, however, unless you’re looking specifically for an interest-bearing account, the Axos Basic Business Checking account will likely be the better option for most small businesses.

With this Axos business bank account, you’ll have no monthly fees and no average minimum balance requirements. You’ll also have access to unlimited fee-free transactions (debits, credits, and items deposits).

The Axos Basic Business Checking account also includes a surcharge-free ATM network as Axos will reimburse you for any domestic fees you incur when taking out cash from physical ATMs. Moreover, this business checking account includes cash deposit capability using the MoneyPass and Allpoint networks, your first set of 50 checks free, QuickBooks compatibility, free online and mobile banking, free image statements, free bill pay, and remote deposit anywhere using your mobile device.

Ultimately, Axos is a good option for a mostly online-based account with fee-free ATM access.

Plus, as we mentioned, Axos also offers an interest-bearing business checking account that you might consider—the Axos Bank Business Interest Checking account—which earns up to 1.01% APY, includes 100 free transactions per month, and requires a $10 monthly fee unless you maintain an average daily balance of $5,000. 

Additionally, you might look into the Business Advantage Fundamentals Checking account from Bank of America.

Like the Chase Complete account, this account is particularly worthwhile for business owners who would prefer a checking account with a traditional, brick-and-mortar bank.

This being said, although Bank of America offers two business checking accounts, Business Advantage Fundamentals and Business Advantage Relationship, the Business Advantage Fundamentals will likely be the better option for most small business owners.

With this account, you’ll receive 200 free transactions per month, as well as the ability to deposit $7,500 in cash every month without paying a fee. Of course, you’ll also have free access to Bank of America ATMs, access to any of their branch locations, and you’ll be able to use their free mobile and online banking.

Additionally, Bank of America charges a $16 monthly fee for this business checking account, however, they also offer three different ways to waive it:

• Spend $250 in new purchases on a business debit card
• Maintain an average monthly balance of $5,000 or more
• Become a member of the Preferred Rewards for Business program

Finally, you’ll able to send and receive wires with this Bank of America business checking account, but will have to pay associated fees to do so.

Ultimately, this Bank of America business checking account is a great option if you’re looking for a brick-and-mortar-based account with a sizable amount of included monthly transactions without facing higher fees or balance requirements. Plus, if you want access to up to 500 free transactions per month, you can consider the Bank of America Business Advantage Relationship account.

Ultimately, although these seven options are some of the best business checking accounts on the market, they may not be the best for your business. After all, these are only seven of the numerous choices out there, so if you think you can find an account that will better suit your needs, you shouldn’t hesitate to continue the search.

With this in mind, let’s break down exactly what you should be looking for to find the best business checking account for your business. Although, as we’ve seen, there are many facets to consider when it comes to business checking accounts, you might start with the four following features:

Generally, business checking accounts include a service fee, typically in the form of a small monthly charge—sometimes also called an account maintenance fee.

Typically, business checking accounts with higher allowances for transactions, cash deposits, and wires will come with higher monthly service fees. This being said, as we’ve seen through our list of the best business checking accounts, many online-based banks have done away with these types of fees.

For brick-and-mortar banks, on the other hand, you’re more likely to see these fees, although many banks offer ways for you to waive them. Like with both Chase and Bank of America, you might be able to waive the fee once your business checking account reaches a certain average balance, once you make a certain value of average deposits, or if you have another business finance product with the bank in question.

With all of this in mind, you’ll want to see what the service or monthly fee looks like for any business checking account you’re considering—after all, this fee will come out of your working capital. Therefore, if you’d prefer a totally free business checking account, you might focus your search on fee-free, online-based banks, or at least brick-and-mortar banks that offer multiple different ways to waive the fee (that you think you can meet).

Next, you’ll want to look out for how many free transactions you’ll be able to make with your business checking account on a monthly basis.

As we’ve seen thus far, many fee-free online business checking accounts will include an unlimited number of transactions. When it comes to more traditional bank accounts, on the other hand, you’ll see a monthly limit with a per-item fee for each transaction over that limit.

Depending on how many transactions, such as credits, debits, or transfers, you plan on making with your business checking account on a monthly basis, you’ll want to consider this feature when comparing different options. If you anticipate making a high number of monthly transactions, you might find that a digital-based account will be able to save you on the extra fees you might face when choosing an account from Chase or Bank of America.

On the other hand, if you don’t think you’ll make a significant amount of monthly transactions, you may not place as much weight on this business checking account feature.

If your business deals with significant amounts of cash, you might pay close attention to a business checking account’s deposit allowances and ATM access.

With most traditional banks, your business checking account will allow a certain amount of cash deposits for free every month, after which you’ll have to pay a cash deposit fee. Additionally, most of these banks will also allow you to withdraw cash from your account for free, as long as you use one of their in-network ATMs.

Conversely, you’ll find that online banks have much greater variation when it comes to cash deposits and ATM withdrawals. Overall, many online banks don’t accommodate cash deposits, unless they work within their own-specific network of ATMs. Along these lines, some online banks allow you to withdraw cash fee-free from a certain network of ATMs, whereas others offer reimbursements for fees you incur from withdrawing cash from ATMs.

Ultimately, all of this is to say that dealing with cash is much more difficult with an online-based business checking account than it is with a more traditional account. Therefore, if your business handles a lot of cash, you may start your search with brick-and-mortar-based business checking accounts.

Finally, you’ll want to consider how any business checking account handles sending and receiving wires.

Whereas some accounts allow for a certain amount of free wires every month, others don’t allow for wires at all. Additionally, you’ll want to look out for any fees associated with wire transfers—some banks will charge hefty fees for wire transfers, especially if they’re international.

This being said, however, you’ll also want to consider the other ways in which a business checking account may allow you to send or receive money. Many online-based accounts can accommodate an unlimited number of free ACH transfers, and some will allow for invoices and corresponding payments directly through their platform.

Ultimately, you’ll want to think about how your business functions in terms of sending and receiving electronic payments in order to help you narrow you search for the best business checking account.

Of course, although these four are some of the most important features to consider when comparing your bank account options, there are numerous others you might prioritize as well—how you can sign up for the account, where you can access your account, other tools that are included, if you can link a savings account, and more. At the end of the day, the features that will be the most significant are the ones that will directly affect the way you manage your business’s finances.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to compare all of the options, consider what’s most important for your business, and finally, choose a checking account.

Without a doubt, any of the seven options on our list may very well be the best business checking account for you—however, if you don’t find what you’re looking for here, you should keep searching (and maybe check out some of the best business checking account promotions) until you find the account that will most fully meet your needs.