Managing your business finances can be challenging, but the right tools make it much easier. An online business checking account is essential for your operations.
Opening a business bank account is crucial for keeping personal and company finances separate, and it’s a requirement for registering your business.
The good news is that cost-effective options are available. Many banks offer business checking accounts that are either low-cost or free while providing a wide range of services tailored to the needs of small businesses.
>> Open an LLC Bank Account With Novo >>
Best Online Business Checking Account
Bluevine: Best Overall
Pricing: $0/month
Ranked as the best small business bank account for LLCs, the Bluevine business checking account comes in a close second in our ratings. It offers a broad set of banking features at nearly zero costs. Bluevine doesn’t require a minimum deposit to open an account and doesn’t charge monthly insufficient funds or incoming wire fees.
One of the main benefits of the Bluevine business checking account is its competitive APY interest rate. While most services don’t reach 1%, Bluevine allows businesses to earn up to 2.0% APY on balances up to $250,000.
Bluevine lets you easily schedule one-time and recurring payments and manage bills. The mobile app allows you to check your balance, deposit checks, and set up transfers. Bluevine can also integrate with QuickBooks Online to sync your business’s bill information, and it allows you to lock your card if it’s lost or stolen.
However, Bluevine has a few limitations. It doesn’t offer joint accounts, which can be problematic for multi-owner businesses. As an online-only bank, it lacks physical branches. Deposits incur a $4.95 fee at Green Dot locations or a $1 fee plus 0.5% of the deposit amount at Allpoint+ locations.
Why we chose it: Bluevine offers a free business checking account with interest-earning for users and unlimited transactions at no extra cost.
Pros
- Unlimited transactions with no fees
- Interest rate up to 1.50%
- No monthly fees, no minimum opening deposit, and no minimum balance requirements
Cons
- Fees for deposits
- No joint account options
- No access to physical branches
Pricing:
- $0 minimum opening deposit
- $0 monthly fees
>> Experience Better Banking With Bluevine >>
Novo: Best for Online Banking
Pricing: $0/month
Novo is an excellent choice if you seek a cost-efficient business bank account. Its features cover all the basic banking services your small business might need, all at a very low cost. Novo is transparent about its fees, making the checking fee schedule easily accessible on its website.
While the Novo checking account doesn’t offer an APY interest rate, it provides a wide range of features to elevate your business’s finances without adding complexity. Novo ensures no credit checks are required when you apply, and having an account with Novo doesn’t impact your credit score.
Novo stands out for its integrations. Businesses can connect Novo with tools like Shopify, Stripe, QuickBooks, and Xero.
These integrations help businesses track sales within payment platforms, sync transactions to accounting software, and easily send money overseas. Novo also supports Google Pay and Apple Pay, so you won’t need to carry your plastic card when shopping for your business.
Novo users also enjoy access to discounts and credits with partner companies like Stripe, Booking.com, Google Cloud, and Gusto. However, Novo requires a minimum opening deposit of $50 and charges $27 each for NSF (Non-Sufficient Funds) and UCF (Uncollected Funds).
Why we chose it: Novo is the best overall for small businesses as it offers an affordable business checking account, integrates with essential business tools, and provides discounts with partner companies.
Pros
- Easy transfers
- Low costs with no hidden fees
- Wide range of integrations and discounts with partner companies
Cons
- $27 fee for insufficient funds
- Requires a minimum opening deposit
- $27 fee for returned uncollected funds
Pricing:
- $50 minimum opening deposit
- $0 monthly fees
>> Experience Better Banking With Novo >>
LendingClub: Best Online Business Checking Account for Cash Back
Pricing: $10/month
LendingClub provides a comprehensive business checking account with various banking services and an APY, though its interest rate is lower than that of some competitors. Beyond digital banking, LendingClub offers fee-free ATM access and point-of-sale (POS) solutions, making it an excellent choice for small local businesses.
Applying for an account with LendingClub is quick and easy, taking about 10 minutes. LendingClub only performs a hard credit inquiry when users apply for credit cards, mortgages, small business loans, or other types of credit, and only once the loan is approved.
Being declined for a loan doesn’t affect the user’s credit score. Users can also perform a soft inquiry to check their credit score with LendingClub.
LendingClub offers a unique perk: cashback of up to 1%. Users can earn back up to 1% on online and signature-based transactions made with their debit cards. Users can earn 0.10% interest on APY. However, these benefits are only available for users who maintain an average monthly balance of $5,000 or more.
Why we chose it: LendingClub offers 1% cashback, unlimited transactions, and no ATM withdrawal fees.
Pros
- Digital invoicing and POS
- 1% cashback and 0.10% APY interest rate
- Unlimited transactions and fee-free ATM access
Cons
- $100 minimum opening deposit
- $10 monthly fee, waived with a $5,000 minimum balance
- Charges for incoming and outgoing wire transfers
Pricing:
- $100 minimum opening deposit
- $10 monthly fees, waived with $5,000 minimum balance
>> Experience Better Banking With LendingClub >>
Lili: Best for Tax Optimization
Pricing: $0/month
The Lili Business checking account is ideal for one-person businesses needing essential banking services. Lili offers all the checking account features a small business might need and a competitive APY interest rate.
Lili provides tools to help small business owners manage their companies, such as tax optimization features and accounting tools. A fee-free overdraft of up to $200 is available, which is great for managing cash flow.
However, Lili’s business checking account is only available to sole proprietors and single-member LLCs. Users won’t have access to additional banking services like extra debit cards and third-party integrations. Like most online-only banks, Lili doesn’t allow cash deposits.
Lili stands out thanks to its exclusive features. The tax optimizer includes a write-off tracker, an estimated tax calculator, and automatic tax savings. Lili also offers accounting tools such as invoicing software, transaction categorizations, quarterly expense reports, and receipt scanning and saving.
Worried about bad credit or credit checks? Lili clearly states on its homepage that opening an account will not affect your credit score.
Why we chose it: Lili offers fee-free overdrafts, no minimum balance requirements, no minimum opening deposit, and exclusive features such as a tax optimizer and accounting tools.
Pros
- Tax optimization tool
- Up to $200 fee-free overdraft
- No account fees and no minimum balance
Cons
- Up to $200 fee-free overdraft
- Limited additional banking services
- Only eligible for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs
Pricing:
- $0 minimum opening deposit
- $0 monthly service fees
>> Experience Better Banking With Lili >>
Wells Fargo: Best for Full Banking Service
Pricing: $10/month
Wells Fargo offers comprehensive banking services, making it an excellent option for businesses seeking broader features. The bank provides various account plans, allowing you to start with a basic account and upgrade as your business grows.
Wells Fargo’s convenient payment options enable businesses to pay vendors, employees, and bills using its full set of payment services. With mobile banking, businesses have access to their accounts anytime, anywhere.
If you prefer not to carry your wallet, you can add your debit card to your digital wallet for fast and secure payments and access to a variety of ATMs. For those frequently on the go, Wells Fargo offers alerts to help monitor account balances and track purchases and cash withdrawals.
Wells Fargo also provides “second chance” business checking accounts, granting access to basic banking services regardless of credit score. This makes it a great choice for small businesses seeking a wider range of services.
Besides digital banking services, Wells Fargo offers traditional perks valued by small business owners: over 12,000 ATMs across the USA and approximately 4,900 branches for in-person help when needed.
While there’s a fee for withdrawals at non-Wells Fargo ATMs, the primary drawback is the monthly fee of $10, which is waived if you maintain a minimum daily balance of $500. Opening a business checking account requires a minimum deposit of $25.
Why we chose it: Wells Fargo is an excellent option for businesses of any type and size that need a wide range of banking services and features. It offers thousands of ATMs and branches nationwide.
Pros
- Access to 12,000 ATMs and 4,900 branches
- 24/7 fraud monitoring
- Customized cards and checks
Cons
- $25 minimum opening deposit
- Fees for using non-Wells Fargo ATMs
- $10 monthly fee, waived with a $500 minimum daily balance or $1,000 average ledger balance
Pricing:
- $10 monthly fee
- $25 minimum opening deposit
>> Experience Better Banking With Wells Fargo >>
Methodology for Ranking the Best Online Business Bank Accounts
Early-stage companies can rely on several online business checking accounts, with some offering free business accounts. In writing this review, we selected criteria based on the most relevant aspects a business checking account should meet to cater to small companies’ needs.
Small businesses usually operate on a budget, so we considered fees extensively. Let’s examine each one and explore the other criteria we used for this rating.
Low Costs & Transparency
Costs were a significant consideration. The lower the monthly fees, the better. We also looked for accounts with low minimum deposit requirements, understanding that small businesses often start with limited capital.
Transparency was another major criterion. Business checking accounts that are clear and upfront about their fee schedule receive extra points.
Access to Basic Services
A good checking account should enable you to pay bills, make purchases, receive deposits, and withdraw funds. However, since most businesses are going fully digital, not offering these perks wasn’t a deal-breaker. We favored checking accounts that provide mobile banking with a user-friendly interface (UI/UX) to keep you efficiently connected.
Extra Features
Managing a small business can be tough. Therefore, one of the criteria we considered for this review was business checking accounts offering features to help manage business operations through various integrations and resources.
We highly value business checking accounts that can connect and sync information with other software and services, such as e-commerce platforms, accounting tools, and PoS systems.
Interest
We considered whether the business checking account offered APY earnings. However, this was viewed more as an added perk rather than a necessity.
>> Get Started With Novo >>
Frequently asked questions
A checking account provides easy everyday access to your money. It typically includes a debit card and allows you to move money around. Unlike a savings account, not all checking accounts offer earning features like interest.
While personal accounts are designed for managing individual finances, such as deposits, payments, purchases, transfers to a linked personal savings account, ATM withdrawals, and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, business accounts are specifically for handling business finances.
This includes receiving customer deposits, paying suppliers and employees, paying taxes, and covering business expenses. The primary reason for opening a business checking account is to keep your business finances separate from your personal finances.
Business checking accounts are the best option for small businesses because they offer the essential banking services every company needs. Besides separating business from personal finances, these accounts enable companies to manage cash flow, prepare for taxes, and establish a financial presence.
Good news for small businesses looking for a checking account: opening an account can be nearly cost-free. Many online banking services, like those listed here, don’t require a minimum opening deposit and don’t charge monthly fees.
However, if you need a business checking account with a broader range of services, be prepared for potential fees.
When applying for a business checking account, you may need to provide personal identification, such as a government-issued photo ID, Social Security Number, or EIN. You might need to submit some of your business’s documents, like your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or business licenses.
Most banks rarely run a credit check to open a business checking account, but they will likely run a ChexSystems report. However, when applying for a loan or business line of credit, the bank might conduct credit and score checks.
Yes, a bank can deny your business a checking account if your history with checking and savings accounts doesn’t meet the bank’s criteria.
>> Consider Novo >>
What’s the Best Online Business Checking Account?
For small companies looking to separate their personal and business finances, an online business checking account is the simplest and most efficient option. The options listed in this rating offer comprehensive banking services at low, near-zero costs, making them ideal for the job.
We selected Novo as the best overall checking account due to its low costs and fee transparency, which can be easily accessed on the Novo website. Novo doesn’t run credit checks and offers a wide range of integration options, enhancing its service significantly.
>> Get Started With Novo Business Bank Account >>
gabriel
