10 Best Banks for Small Business

There are thousands of banks in the United States, many with thousands of branches, and they all want your business—or in this case, your business’s business. So how are you supposed to find the best bank for your business?

Well, you could look at each of those banks individually to see what kind of value they offer when it comes to small-business banking. Or you could check out our ranking below to see the 10 best banks for small businesses. We’ll tell you which banks we recommend and why, and we’ll even point out some banks that you should steer clear of.

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Small Business Bank: Most bank for small business overall

Small Business Bank is our top bank for small businesses. As the name suggests, this online bank is all business—no personal accounts here. Fortunately, Small Business Bank is good at what it does.

For example, it doesn’t charge monthly fees for checking accounts, and it boasts high APY for savings accounts (up to 1.26%). But its most impressive feat must be its customer reviews—it had better ratings than any other bank we looked at.

Another selling point? Small Business Bank is primarily an online bank, which means its availability isn’t limited across states. Whether you’re in Alabama or Wyoming, you can open a business account with Small Business Bank.

Of course, if you’re a person who prefers in-person banking, Small Business Bank probably isn’t right for you. Likewise, if you want a bank that offers business loans and merchant services, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

For most small businesses, though, Small Business Bank offers the best banking options.

KeyBank: Best for cash-heavy businesses

KeyBank has a lot going for it, like happy customers, 24/7 customer service, and affordable business accounts.

It also offers plenty of additional services for small-business owners, like business lending and merchant services. But in the end, KeyBank provides the best value for businesses that deal with lots of cash.

That’s because KeyBank has the highest amount of free cash deposits we saw on business checking accounts—a whopping $25,000. And if you end up depositing more cash than that (lucky you), KeyBank has some of the lowest cash deposit fees out there.

So if your business has you raking in the Benjamins (and the Washingtons, Lincolns, Hamiltons, and Grants), then KeyBank’s cash-friendly accounts might be right for you.

Huntington Bank: Best one-stop shop

Most of the banks on this list offer more than just checking accounts and savings accounts (Azlo excepted), but Huntington Bank goes above and beyond in offering other business services.

It’s not a stretch to say that Huntington could be your one-stop shop for almost everything business. Because, while Huntington has the usual services (like loans, credit cards, and merchant services), it also offers some surprising products.

For example, Huntington has various kinds of business insurance and a suite of cybersecurity services. Plus, Huntington Bank has some top-notch business resources—like calculators for everything from your business’s value to the cost of leasing vs. owning equipment, as well as an extensive knowledge base about all sorts of business topics.

If you’re the kind of person that likes to keep all your accounts in one place, Huntington should be your first (and possibly your last) stop.

Citizens: Best customer service

Like several of our recommended banks, Citizens doesn’t charge any monthly maintenance fees, and its other fees are pretty affordable. But Citizen really stands out in its customer service. It’s one of a handful of recommended banks that offers 24/7 customer service—but while some of those other banks only offer 24/7 support for credit cards, Citizens has 24/7 support for all your business needs.

Plus, Citizens gives you the most options for getting in touch with customer service. Want to talk on the phone? Go for it. Prefer to take your time with an email? Awesome. Wish you could post questions in a public forum and get expert answers from business bankers? You can do that. Like making a fuss on Twitter? Yep, that’s an option too. In other words, if you’re the kind of business owner that tends to keep customer support on speed dial, Citizens has your back.

BlueVine: Best checking account

BlueVine is pretty new to the small-business banking game (it’s been one of our favorite business lenders for quite a while), but it’s already impressed us with its checking account.

Like all the best online banks, BlueVine offers no-fee checking. That means no maintenance fees, transaction fees, or ATM fees (as long as you stay with the 38,000 in-network ATMs). Plus, it’s available in all 50 states, unlike brick-and-mortar banks.

But BlueVine goes above and beyond the usual online checking account. It lets you earn interest (a healthy 1% APY) when you keep at least $1,000 in your account. But unlike other interest-bearing accounts, it doesn’t require you to keep a large minimum balance. (You just stop earning interest if you drop below the $1,000 threshold.)

So while BlueVine may not offer full-service banking (at least not yet), its checking account alone makes it a great banking option.

Honorable mentions

Azlo: Best for freelancers

Azlo, like BlueVine, is an online bank with just checking accounts. And like other online banks, that makes it cheap, with no fees on its accounts. It does have one unique feature though: invoicing. Azlo lets you create and send invoices right from your Azlo account. That makes it perfect for freelancers (and other businesses that invoice their customers) who just need a simple checking account.

Just keep in mind, Azlo doesn’t let you use checks or deposit cash, so your business will need to accept credit card payments or ACH transfers.

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SunTrust: Best for few transactions

We’ll be real with you: SunTrust isn’t the best bank out there (if it was, it would be higher on this list), but it’s a good bank—especially if you won’t make many transactions. SunTrust waives the monthly fee on checking accounts with five or more transactions a month. And since it has fewer free transactions and costlier transaction fees than other banks, SunTrust is best for businesses that have just a handful of checking transactions each month.

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TD Bank: Best for certificates of deposit (CDs)

While TD Bank is an all-around solid bank, its CDs are what really caught our eye. TD Bank has some of the most flexible CDs out there, with terms ranging from as short as five days to as long as 10 years—with plenty of choices in between. And the APY on those CDs is nothing to scoff at; 0.1% was the lowest rate we saw, while 2.02% was the highest. So if you’re thinking about squirreling away some cash in a CD, TD Bank’s flexible options are worth considering.

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US Bank: Best for scaling businesses

If you need a bank account for your growing business, consider U.S. Bank. It has four tiers of checking accounts, ranging from the basic Silver for new businesses to the Premium for businesses that want an analyzed account. Likewise, U.S. Bank has plenty of other products for expanding businesses, like small-business lending, credit cards, merchant services, and even payroll services. If you see big growth in your business’s future, give U.S. Bank a look.

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BBVA: Best for nonprofits

While several banks offer nonprofit checking accounts, only BBVA (a.ka. BBVA Compass) offers a special fundraising program for nonprofits. With BBVA For Your Cause, you can invite people to get their own BBVA debit account. If they do, you get $50 right away. After that, you get a percentage of the cost of their future debit card purchases.

In other words, your nonprofit can get banking and free money―a deal that’s hard to beat.

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Other banks for small business

The banks above are the best and brightest. But just in case you want to know all your business banking options—including the bad ones—we thought we’d point out that the banks below do exist and offer banking services. Not that you want them.

FAQs

What about my local credit union?

Honestly, your local credit union is probably great. Many small-business owners love credit unions and find great deals there. But with 5,448 credit unions in the United States, there’s no way we can compare them all.¹

So we stuck to reviewing larger banks that are more widely available than credit unions. By all means, though, check out your local credit union to see what they can offer your small business.

What else can a bank do for my small business?

Banks obviously offer the basics, like checking accounts and savings accounts (plus accompanying debit cards). But many banks also offer several small-business funding options (including lines of credit, term loans, and business credit cards). Some banks even offer payroll services, merchant services (so you can accept credit card payments), and even retirement accounts for your employees.

What fees are associated with business banking?

Your exact business banking fees will depend on your bank, but most banks charge at least some of these common fees:

• Monthly maintenance fee
• Transaction fees
• Deposit fees
• Overdraft fees
• ATM fees (for out-of-network ATMs)

Keep in mind that almost all banks let you waive the monthly service fee on your business checking account if you maintain a certain minimum account balance, though that minimum balance will vary from bank to bank.

Plus, most banks give you a certain number of free transactions and cash deposits per month.

Which banks are available in my state?

We’re so glad you asked.

You can always open an online checking account. Any of the online banks—Small Business Bank, Azlo, Axos Bank, and TIAA Bank—should be available in your state.

But maybe you don’t have reliable internet access (how are you reading this?), or you prefer that in-person banking touch, or you just like getting a lollipop when you make a deposit in your business checking account. If that’s you, take a look at this table to see if our favorite banks are in your state.

The takeaway

There are a lot of banks out there, but our 10 recommended banks are some of the best. Whether you prefer online or in-person banking, run a cash-based or credit card–based business, or have lots of money on hand or just a little, one of our favorite banks should meet your business needs.

Now that you’ve found the right bank for your business, check out the best accounting services so you can keep your business’s finances in order.

Disclaimer

At zhulitouzi.com, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don’t guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

Sources

1. CUNA, “U.S. Credit Union Profile”