Best Business Checking Accounts of May 2024

There are a million things to consider when running a small- or medium-sized business, and it’s crucial to have a good handle on your finances.

Between generating invoices, paying out contractors, handling digital and non-digital payment methods and tracking inventory that’s always in flux — today’s business owner needs more than just a standard checking account.

To make your search easier, CNBC Select reviewed dozens of business checking accounts with both digital and in-person access. We considered many factors when ranking the best accounts, including invoicing support, payment flexibility, fees and interest rates. (Read more about our methodology below.)

Who’s this for? Bluevine Business Checking is a great option for small business owners as it doesn’t limit the number of transactions you can make and charges no monthly, minimum daily balances or non-sufficient fund fees. Additionally, it doesn’t charge for overdrafts or ACH payments.

Standout benefits: Bluevine provides the opportunity to earn interest. Premier customers get 4.25% APY without minimum qualifications, Bluevine Plus customers can earn 3.0% APY, and Standard customers get 2% APY on their balance up to $250,000 if they meet the monthly debit transaction or deposit requirement.

Bluevine also provides several business-centric features. For instance, you can deposit checks from your phone, sync your account with QuickBooks online and share access with your team by giving your employees dedicated logins.

Bluevine Business Checking is a digital account so you won’t have the option to visit a branch, but you’ll have free access to over 37,000 MoneyPass ATMs nationwide.

Who’s this for? Novo Business Checking is worth considering if you want to establish a business presence and separate your personal and business finances.

Standout benefits: Novo is an online business checking account that allows unlimited transactions and refunds all ATM fees worldwide, up to $7 per month. It doesn’t charge monthly fees and you don’t need a minimum deposit to open an account.

Novo provides tools for unlimited invoicing, as well as integration with some common business tools, including Stripe, Shopify, QuickBooks and Xero. You’ll also get access to discounts on eligible business services and software.

Novo Business Checking doesn’t allow for cash deposits — you can get a money order and deposit it through Novo’s mobile app instead. This can be a major inconvenience if your business requires frequent cash deposits.

Who’s this for? Chase Business Complete Banking® is an excellent choice for many types of businesses, because of its generous cash bonus, features for fast card and check processing and large network of over 4,700 physical branches.

Standout benefits: When you open a new Chase Business Complete Checking account, you can earn $300 with qualifying activities. Offer ends 7/21/2024. You can avoid the $15 monthly service fee if you maintain a minimum daily balance of $2,000, spend $2,000 or more per month on purchases with your Chase Ink Business card or deposit at least $2,000 in QuickAccept per month. The fee can also be waived if you link a Chase Private Client Checking account or provide qualifying proof of military status.

With Chase Business Complete Banking, you can take advantage of QuickAccept and QuickDeposit. QuickAccept allows you to accept card payments with a mobile card reader or through the Chase app. QuickDeposit offers a few options to scan and deposit checks, such as taking a picture of your check in the mobile app or signing up for a multiple-feed scanner to scan as many as 50 checks at once.

Who’s this for? The Capital One Enhanced Checking account is worth considering if your business has higher balances and transaction volumes.

Standout benefits: You can open the account if your cash deposits are under $40,000 per month — and you’ll pay no fees on any cash you deposit. For check deposits, you can use a remote scanner service without having to visit a Capital One branch. Plus, you’ll have access to mobile banking and deposits from your smartphone.

Incoming domestic wires are free. There’s a $35 monthly service fee but the bank can waive it if your prior 30- or 90-day balance averages $25,000 or more. Digital transactions are unlimited and come without fees as well.

The Enhanced account also allows you to get up to two Basic Checking accounts with no monthly service fees.

Who’s this for? The Bank of America Business Advantage Relationship Banking can be a good option if you’re handling up to $20,000 in monthly cash deposits.

Standout benefits: This account allows you to deposit up to $20,000 in cash per month for free. The Business Advantage Relationship Banking also offers fee-free electronic transactions, such as ACH transactions, debit card transactions, electronic debits and online or ATM deposits.

Additionally, users have access to digital tools, including Zelle, Cash Flow Monitor and Business Advantage 360. Cash Flow Monitor provides tracking of credits and debits, cash flow projections and support from small-business specialists. Business Advantage 360 lets you pay bills, view and manage statements and transactions and download activity to QuickBooks. You can also connect your account to third-party apps like TurboTax and Expensify.

Who’s this for? The Found business checking account can be an excellent choice for freelancers or independent contractors. The account requires no monthly fees or minimum balance — and it’s free to sign up.

Standout benefits: Users get access to built-in tax and accounting tools, including bookkeeping, invoicing and the ability to create categories (“pockets”) to organize their cash flow. Additionally, you can link your account to payment and business apps such as Cash App, PayPal and Venmo, as well as Stripe and Quickbooks. If you want more advanced business tools, you can sign up for Found Plus which costs $19.99 per month or $149.99 per year.

Note that Found has certain deposit and withdrawal limits that might present a challenge if you have a larger cash flow. Specifically, you can deposit up to $3,000 in checks and $2,000 in cash per week. There’s also a monthly limit of $4,000 for cash deposits. Further, you can transfer up to $5,000 to a linked bank account per day. Card purchases and transfers to payment apps have a daily limit of $4,000.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every checking account review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best business checking accounts.

To determine which business checking accounts offer the most convenience, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. business checking accounts offered nationwide by online banks as well as those with physical branches. We narrowed down our rankings by considering no-fee checking accounts or accounts with easy ways to waive the monthly maintenance fees.

We compared each checking account on a range of features, including:

• Fees
• Minimum balance requirement
• Mobile banking ease
• Small business tools and support
• Large ATM network
• Account accessibility
• Customer reviews, when available

All of the accounts included on this list are either members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or FDIC-insured through partner institutions. This insurance protects and reimburses you up to your balance and the legal limit in the event your bank or credit union fails.

The rates and fee structures for checking accounts are subject to change without notice and they often fluctuate in accordance with the prime rate.

Your earnings depend on any associated fees and the balance you have in your checking account. To open an account, some banks and institutions may require a deposit of new money, meaning you can’t transfer money you already had in an account at that bank.

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Novo is a fintech company; not a bank. Deposit account services provided by Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A., Member FDIC.  Physical debit cards issued by Middlesex Federal Savings or Patriot Bank, N.A., Member FDIC;  virtual cards issued by Patriot Bank, pursuant to licenses from Mastercard® International Incorporated.  Mastercard can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted.  Mastercard is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.