Best Banks for Small Businesses

Chase is your best option as a small business owner if you're looking for the traditional bank experience. Chase has locations in every state except Alaska, plus one of the best online banking and mobile banking systems available.

Chase is also a great bank for business credit cards. Chase Ink Business Preferred offers high-value rewards you can use toward free and discounted travel. If you have your checking and savings accounts in the same place, it is easier to manage everything with one online banking login.

However, if your small business doesn't maintain a $2,000 minimum balance, you might be subject to fees.

Axos Bank claimed our spot for the best online checking account for small businesses. Axos Bank pioneered online-only banking in the United States when it opened in 2000. The company has ample experience in providing banking services for both business and personal customers.

The Small Business Interest Checking account is free with a rather large $5,000 average daily balance requirement. Otherwise, you’ll pay a $10 monthly fee. The account includes up to 100 free transactions per month, so it is not ideal for businesses that demand a large number of transactions or smaller businesses that keep a low daily balance. But it pays interest, currently 1.01% APY, as well as offering great online and mobile banking options.

Axos also offers a Basic Business Checking account with no monthly fee, unlimited free transactions per month, and other goodies with no interest. Depending on your needs, this may be better than the Small Business Interest Checking account.

Axos includes money market and savings accounts for businesses, in addition to CDs and a full suite of cash management services. Even so, if your small business requires cash deposits, you'll need to be prepared to use ATMs rather than a bank branch. As an online-only bank, Axos relies on MoneyPass and AllPoint networks for cash deposits.

Navy Federal Credit Union offers top-notch business banking services perfect for a wide range of small businesses. These include business checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, payment processing, and even retirement and insurance for you and your employees.

Credit unions are not-for-profit entities. This means they tend to charge lower fees and offer higher interest rates on savings than for-profit banks.

To open a business bank account at Navy Federal, you’ll first need to become a business member. This requires you to join the credit union yourself as an individual first, and you must be an active-duty military service member, a veteran, have ties to the U.S. Department of Defense, or have an immediate family member with a Navy Federal membership.

You’ll also need a $250 opening deposit for sole proprietorships or $255 for business entities to get started as a business member. Additionally, the individual membership requires a $5 deposit into a savings account.

Wells Fargo made our top pick as the best small business bank for its number of branches because it has more branches than any other bank in the United States. Additionally, it boasts a massive network of ATMs.

Wells Fargo offers three different business checking accounts. These accounts all have monthly fees, but you can avoid them with a minimum balance requirement in most cases. For the Initiate Business Checking Account, the minimum is $500 to avoid fees.

Wells Fargo also includes virtually any service your business might need. That includes options like payroll, HR, and business tax services.

If you live on the East Coast, consider M&T Bank for your small business banking. M&T has over 700 branches in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C, and West Virginia.

M&T Bank offers relationship managers who do more than offer you bank accounts and help you with customer service questions. These bankers review your business finances inside and out to help you better understand them and achieve the best small business success.

M&T Bank claims it is a top 10 SBA lender and offers a range of bank accounts. There are five checking options that may be a fit for most small businesses, plus a specific account for nonprofit organizations.

The biggest downside is that you need to maintain a significant balance or meet other criteria in order to avoid fees in most of those accounts. To avoid the $10 fee on the basic Simple Checking for Business account, you have to maintain a $2,500 average balance or complete at least five transactions each month.

U.S. Bank isn't quite as big as some of its competitors, but it still offers a large network of branches and ATMs around the United States. The biggest standout for small businesses is the Silver Business account, which offers checking with no monthly maintenance fee.

This account is great for smaller businesses with fewer than 125 transactions per month (you'll pay $0.50 each for additional items). There's a limit of 25 free cash deposit units per month, but you can deposit mobile checks for free without a limit.

Keep in mind that other checking account options like Gold and Platinum have a higher number of free transactions but require a large average balance to avoid monthly service fees of up to $30 per account.

Like others on this list, U.S. Bank offers additional services through a bundle including credit card processing, payroll servicing, and invoicing. This makes it a great choice for small businesses.