Best Banks for Small Businesses

Financial institutions — and the business bank accounts they offer — need to be sensitive to the demands of small businesses, whose needs often include tight control over costs.

Small business owners benefit from checking account options that include a small-business checking account with no fees, or at least with ready ways to skip those charges. Free business checking accounts, low minimum balance requirements, cash management tools, an ample number of free transactions and low transaction fees are big pluses when it comes to meeting diverse business needs.

It also helps if the bank pays an annual percentage yield (APY) on the balance in a business interest checking account, and is also open to being a lender to a small business, even one that hasn't been in business for very long. (Borrowing from a bank can be a better bet than turning to the mostly online sources we picked as sources of the best small business loans, best long-term small business loans and best small business loans for bad credit.)

The banking services and features noted above were among those we considered in picking Money’s best banks for small businesses. In doing so, we emphasized business bank accounts, and especially business checking accounts. While we researched both online banks and those that provide in-person banking, most of our picks have a brick-and-mortar presence.

Capital One - Best Overall
BlueVine - Best for Low Fees
EverBank - Best for Interest Rates
US Bank - Best for Startups
Bank of America - Best For Cash Deposits
Chase - Best for Businesses Owned by Veterans

Rates and APYs are subject to change. All information provided here is accurate as of November 3, 2023.

Why we chose it: Capital One offers small businesses a standout combination of highly satisfying customer service and low fees.

Capital One has consistently finished first – or come close – in recent surveys of satisfaction with small business banking by respected researcher JD Power. The bank’s Basic Business Checking account has relatively modest costs – including fee-free transactions, even for cash deposits of up to $5,000 a month.

You must fulfill certain conditions in order to avoid some fees with Capital One, but the requirements are manageable, even for a modest new business. The $15 monthly fee on checking can be waived through meeting a minimum deposit requirement of keeping at least $2,000 in the account for the past 30 days or 90 days, whichever sum is larger.

To eliminate potential overdraft fees, you must open a Capital One Business Deposit account such as a Business Savings account,, which carries no fee provided you maintain a balance of at least $300.

Why we chose it: For businesses that don’t handle a lot of cash, or need face-to-face service, Bluevine Is an online-only bank that offers low-fees and high-earning business accounts.

BlueVine business checking stands out from most larger banks because it charges very few account fees, and those it does charge are low, like the ones for cash deposits and bill payment with credit cards.

The 2.0% APY you’d receive with its Business Checking Account offers is higher than other comparable accounts we looked into. Earning that APY does, however, come with the requirement that, monthly, either $500 or more is charged to a Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard or at least $2,500 is received in payments to the checking account. Those are conditions an especially small business may struggle to meet.

While it lacks its own ATMs, BlueVine provides access to over 37,000 MoneyPass ATMs with no additional fee. And it integrates unusually well with other platforms and tools that are important in addressing small business needs, including Venmo, Square and QuickBooks.

Why we chose it: Everbank offers interest on its business checking accounts with fewer hurdles than other banks, as well as providing unusually good returns on its money-market accounts and CDs.

Some competitors pay more in interest on checking accounts than Everbank, but they impose more requirements to earn those returns. Everbank pays its interest (0.50%) with practically no conditions.

Everbank also offers better interest rates than many institutions on money-market accounts and CDs. Also, while the Florida-based bank has relatively few ATMs of its own, it offers ATM fee reimbursements on what you pay at other machines (up to $15 a month, or unlimited if you have a monthly balance of $5,000+).

Fees on some of Everbank’s small business checking accounts are a little behind some competitors, though. You must maintain a $5,000 balance to avoid the $14.95 a month account fee, and the basic checking account comes with only 200 free transactions a month. Wire transfers will cost you $25 fee on domestic transactions and $35 for international ones.

Why we chose it: US Bank is unusually fast and flexible when it comes to loans to new, small businesses. Its fees are also modest.

Where many banks require companies to have a track record of several years before they even consider lending, US Bank will loan to companies as young as six months and without collateral. The bank’s Quick Loan program allows online applications for fixed-rate unsecured loans of up to $50,000, financed for up to four years, albeit at high interest rates (at least 8.49% in October 2023). If secured, the rate is reduced and the potential loan size rises to $250,000.

Also, while the bank says its line of credit – Cash Flow Manager – is “best for companies in business for at least two years,” it doesn’t specify a minimum age at which it will extend the credit, for which you can apply online. The bank’s Silver Business Checking account has no monthly service fees and 125 free transactions per month.

US Bank also offers generous sign-up bonuses more often than many banks. In October 2023, it was offering $350 for a new account opened with at least a $5,000 balance, and $800 for one with $25,000 or more.

Why we chose it: Bank of America’s high limits on free cash deposits make it a standout for small businesses who handle a lot of non-electronic transactions.

Enterprises who take in a lot of cash will of course all but eliminate online banks from consideration. Even many brick-and-mortars cap monthly cash deposits, at least those that come without fees.

Bank of America offers one of the highest limits for cash deposits, at $7,500 a month, as well as unlimited non-cash transactions of all kinds.

The standard business checking account ostensibly comes with a $16 monthly fee. But it's waived for every month in which you maintain at least $5,000 in your business savings and checking accounts or charge at least $250 to a linked B of A business debit card.

Access to ATMs (and even physical branch locations) is naturally important to cash-dependent businesses. Bank of America has a robust network, with 3,900 retail financial centers and an ATM network of about 15,000 ATMs located in 39 states. If a company facility isn’t close to you, however, you’ll likely incur fees to make cash deposits elsewhere, since the bank provides no free ATM privileges beyond those at its own machines.

Why we chose it: Chase makes its solid banking offerings less expensive for veterans-turned-entrepreneurs by waiving several fees for those who have served.

Small businesses run by veterans get to skip monthly fees for the Chase Business Complete Banking account – the bank’s basic business checking option – rather than having to maintain at least a $2,000 monthly balance to get that break, as non-veterans must do. Veterans also enjoy a year without fees for a business line of credit.

As a traditional bank, Chase serves all small businesses, veteran-owned or not, with checking accounts that offer unlimited digital transactions, plus allowing up to $5,000 a month in cash deposits without fees – a higher free limit than some banks. There’s also a $300 signup bonus for signing on for a business checking, with a fee-free business savings account thrown in.

In addition, Chase’s Ink line of business credit cards is well-reviewed and includes the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, which earns up to 5% cash back on select business categories and is our best credit card pick as the best no-annual-fee business credit card. We highlighted Chase Merchant Services as a standout for fast deposits in our listing of best credit card processing companies .

How We Chose Money’s Best Banks for Small Business

Our selections for the best banks for serving small business were limited to banks, rather than also including credit unions. We considered both banks with a brick-and-mortar presence and those that operate entirely in online banking.

To determine the winners, we focused primarily on the institution’s basic checking account, since that is the bedrock business bank account for any enterprise. Data points we weighed included monthly fees charged and how readily they might be waived; the number of free transactions allowed per month; the APY paid on the balance; and any bonus paid to open the account. We describe costs and transactions as the “monthly maintenance fees” and “monthly transactions,” since a month is the most common statement cycle.

For the more specialized picks, we considered the perks, if any, that are offered to veterans or those who are currently in the military and the cost and limits on making deposits in cash. As well, while we have a ranking of the best small business loans, we considered some lending provisions to include banks that serve businesses well not only with checking services but stand out for the credit they extend, especially to enterprises so new that they’ve been in business for months rather than years.

Whenever possible, we considered customer service rankings from the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Banking Satisfaction for Small Business Study.

Money’s editorial team collected and analyzed the data in October and November 2023. All interest rates and bonuses quoted are valid as of November 3 2023, and are subject to change at any time. N/A indicates information that was not readily available online.

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