Forbes Advisor analyzed 226 business checking accounts at 79 financial institutions, including traditional brick-and-mortar banks, online banks and credit unions, to find the best business checking accounts for you. We then weighted these offerings based on a series of factors to determine the top business checking account available:
- Fees: 25%
- Limits: 15%
- Customer Experience: 15%
- Features and Integrations: 10%
- Minimums: 10%
- Digital Experience: 10%
- Access: 10%
- APY: 5%
Fees (25%)
A checking account should first do no harm, and that means charging little in fees. We took a broad view of potential penalties for your small business, taking into account monthly fees (as well as your ability to avoid them), excess transaction fees, overdraft fees, ATM fees and deposit fees.
Limits (15%)
We prefer accounts that make it easy for you to operate your business checking account, and that means imposing few restrictions on the number of transactions you can make or the amount of cash you can deposit.
Customer Experience (15%)
You’ll inevitably need assistance with some banking issue at some point, which is why we rated customer experience so highly. The ranking consists of how well a particular bank scores at the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot, as well as if customers can chat with a customer representative online.
Features and Integrations (10%)
We want checking accounts with bells and whistles that make it easier to run your business. That’s why we determined whether accounts integrate with accounting, payroll, invoicing and tax prep software, among other services. We also gave high marks to accounts that offered merchant services, meaning they could process point-of-sale payments.
Minimums (10%)
We want banks that make it simple to open an account and keep it going without imposing huge cash conditions. Therefore, we gauged the minimum deposit requirement and the minimum amount required to open an account.
Digital Experience (10%)
Mobile banking is the norm, and so we wanted to see how well financial institutions ran the bank in your pocket. To that end, we looked at their scores on Google Play and the App Store.
Access (10%)
While online banking is a key component of business banking, we also wanted to reward banks that provide physical locations through access to ATMs and traditional branches. To appear on this list, the business checking account must be nationally available.
APY (5%)
While the point of a checking account isn’t to earn interest, we wanted to give extra points for those accounts that provide a solid yield.
We constantly update rates for our winners so that they are up to date. To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Banks.