Choosing the right bank is a foundational decision for any small business. More than just a place to deposit revenue, your bank should be a financial partner that supports your growth with tailored services, accessible lending, and expert guidance. In 2025, the landscape of business banking is diverse, with options ranging from large national institutions to specialized online platforms. This guide breaks down the top banks for small businesses, highlighting their strengths and helping you determine the best fit for your unique needs.
| Bank | APY | Min. Deposit | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo | 0% | $25 | – Extensive SBA lending experience – Comprehensive suite of business services |
| KeyBank National Association | 0.01% | $25 | – Low monthly fees – Variety of business checking account options |
| Chase Bank | 0% | $0 | – Reputable bank for businesses – Premium business credit card offerings |
| Bank of America | 0% | $100 | – Widespread physical branch network – Abundance of account choices |
| PNC Bank | 0% | $100 | – Wide range of business banking products – Bookkeeping services available |
| Regions Bank | 0.01% | $100 | – Diverse account selections – Major SBA loan provider |
| Truist Bank | 0% | $0 | – Strong lineup of small business services – Good for businesses needing multiple checking accounts |
| Capital One | 0% | $0 | – Customizable banking experience – Robust online and mobile support |
| U.S. Bank | 0.01% | $100 | – Flexible business loan options – Reliable business banking accounts |
| TAB Bank | 0.25% | $25 | – Competitive APY – Specialized business offerings |
| Live Oak Bank | 3.60% | $100 | – Excellent savings APY – Extensive lending product portfolio |
How We Evaluate the Best Banks for Small Businesses
To identify the best banks for small businesses, we conducted in-depth research on nearly 30 national, regional, and online banks. Our analysis focused on several key factors crucial for small business financial management:
- Small Business Lending: We examined the availability and types of small business loans, including SBA loans, lines of credit, and term loans, assessing the bank’s experience and activity in small business lending.
- Business Checking Accounts: We compared the features, fees, and minimum balance requirements of business checking accounts, considering transaction limits, deposit options, and monthly maintenance fees.
- Bonus Services: We evaluated the availability of additional services beneficial to small businesses, such as business credit cards, payroll and benefits processing, merchant services, and business insurance options.
- Branch Network: For traditional banks, we considered the size and accessibility of their branch network, recognizing the importance of in-person banking for some businesses.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo stands out as a leading bank for small businesses, consistently recognized for its robust small business lending programs and comprehensive banking services. Notably, Wells Fargo is a prominent participant in the SBA lending arena, demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting small business growth through financing.
Wells Fargo logo
For businesses seeking diverse lending options, Wells Fargo offers a wide array of solutions, including lines of credit, secured and unsecured term loans, and commercial real estate financing. This extensive selection allows businesses of varying sizes and financial needs to find suitable funding pathways. Loan amounts can reach up to $100,000 with repayment terms ranging from one to six years, depending on the loan type.
Wells Fargo provides a tiered structure of business checking accounts designed to accommodate businesses at different stages of growth. Their offerings include Initiate Business Checking, Navigate Business Checking, and Optimize Business Checking, catering to increasing transaction volumes and complexity as businesses expand. While monthly fees range from $10 to $75, these can be waived by maintaining specific daily balances, such as $500 for Initiate Business Checking or $10,000 for Navigate Business Checking. The Optimize Business Checking account has a variable fee waiver based on account activity.
Beyond core banking, Wells Fargo provides a comprehensive suite of business support services. This includes a proprietary point-of-sale (POS) system, merchant services for payment processing, and solutions for employee payroll, HR management, and business tax services, making it a potential one-stop shop for many business needs.
KeyBank
KeyBank emerges as a top choice for businesses prioritizing affordable and feature-rich business checking accounts. Compared to many banks that impose fee thresholds for monthly deposits between $5,000 and $15,000, KeyBank offers a significantly higher fee-free deposit limit of $25,000 across all its business checking accounts.
KeyBank National Association logo
KeyBank’s business checking account lineup includes the Business Basic Checking, Business Interest Checking, and Business Rewards Checking accounts. The Business Interest Checking account provides 100 free monthly transactions, while the Basic and Rewards accounts offer a generous 500 and 200 free transactions respectively.
Monthly maintenance fees for these accounts range from $5 to $25, but KeyBank makes fee waiver accessible with reasonable average monthly balance requirements, generally capped at $7,500, making it a cost-effective option for many small businesses.
A unique perk of KeyBank’s business checking accounts is the inclusion of a debit card that participates in the Relationship Rewards® program. Similar to credit card rewards, businesses can earn points for debit card swipes, online bill payments, ATM and mobile deposits, and other account activities. These points can be redeemed for cash back, travel rewards, gift cards, and more, adding extra value to everyday business banking.
Chase Bank
Chase Bank consistently ranks among the best banks for small businesses, leveraging its established reputation and extensive service offerings. Its status as a top-five SBA lender in the U.S. underscores its commitment to small business financing. Chase also provides robust online and mobile banking platforms, ensuring accessibility for businesses nationwide, even those without a physical branch presence nearby.
Chase offers a variety of business checking accounts, with the Chase Business Complete Banking account being particularly well-suited for small businesses. This account has a $15 monthly maintenance fee, but it can be waived by maintaining a relatively low daily balance of $2,000.
Fee waiver options also extend to spending $2,000 monthly on a Chase Ink® Business Card, receiving $2,000 in monthly deposits from Chase Merchant Services transactions, or linking a Chase Private Client Checking account. Chase’s other business checking accounts, designed for larger businesses, typically have higher minimum balance requirements.
Beyond checking accounts, Chase boasts a strong portfolio of business credit cards, including the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, a consistent top pick in small business credit card rankings. Chase also provides valuable fraud protection services and merchant services, contributing to a streamlined and secure business financial experience.
Bank of America
Bank of America presents a wide range of banking solutions tailored for small businesses, combining a substantial branch network with comprehensive online and mobile banking access. The bank is recognized for its industry-specific financing expertise, offering specialized solutions for sectors like healthcare and agriculture.
Bank of America logo
For business checking, Bank of America offers two primary accounts: Business Advantage Fundamentals Banking and Business Advantage Relationship Banking. The Fundamentals account is designed for smaller businesses, while the Relationship account caters to larger, more established businesses with higher transaction volumes and balances.
Both accounts have waivable monthly maintenance fees based on minimum balance or spending requirements. The Business Advantage Relationship Banking account builds upon the Fundamentals account with additional perks, such as seamless integration with QuickBooks accounting software.
Bank of America’s extensive branch network across the U.S., coupled with its online and mobile platforms, provides convenient banking access for businesses nationwide. The bank also extends beyond core banking with services like tax preparation assistance and point-of-sale (POS) solutions.
PNC Bank
PNC Bank, while primarily operating branches in the eastern and central U.S., offers a compelling suite of business banking services accessible nationwide through its online and mobile platforms. PNC provides a comprehensive range of products, including checking and savings accounts, credit cards, merchant services, and diverse loan options.
PNC offers four distinct business checking account options: Business Checking, Business Checking Plus, Analysis Business Checking, and Treasury Enterprise Plan. While each account has a monthly fee (except Analysis Business Checking), most fees are waivable. The Business Checking Plus account, for example, waives its fee with a minimum daily balance of just $500.
The account tiers are designed to scale with business size, with Business Checking, Checking Plus, and Treasury Enterprise Plan catering to small, medium, and large businesses, respectively. Each tier includes a specific number of free monthly transactions and free cash deposit allowances. The Analysis Business Checking account is uniquely focused on bookkeeping and simplifying business financial management.
PNC’s commitment to small businesses extends to lending, offering a range of loan and financing options, including secured and unsecured loans, and specialized loans for real estate and equipment purchases. Businesses can also access PNC business credit cards, merchant services, and competitive APYs on business savings products.
Regions Bank
Regions Bank, headquartered in Alabama, provides a broad spectrum of personal and business banking services across its regional footprint. Its business banking offerings include a diverse selection of five checking accounts: Simple Checking, Advantage Business Checking, Business Interest Checking, Business Checking, and Not-for-Profit Checking.
Except for the Not-for-Profit Checking account, each Regions business checking account has a monthly fee, but these fees are generally easily waivable. All accounts require a low $100 minimum deposit to open.
Regions Bank also offers four types of business savings accounts, including the Business Savings account, Business Premium Money Market account, and various business Certificates of Deposit (CDs). While interest rates may be modest, they often surpass the negligible interest earned in standard checking accounts.
Beyond deposit and savings products, Regions Bank provides a comprehensive suite of services for business clients, including business credit cards, secured and unsecured loans, lines of credit, equipment financing, cash management tools, merchant services, and payroll and benefit solutions. Regions Bank is also recognized as a significant SBA loan lender, ranking among the top 50 in the U.S. as of mid-2022.
Truist Bank
Truist Bank, formed through the merger of BB&T and SunTrust, offers a robust set of small business banking solutions, encompassing checking and savings accounts, and specialized services. Truist’s small business offerings include SBA 504 and 507 loans, insurance products, merchant services, and retirement plan options for employees, such as SIMPLE IRAs and SEP IRAs.
Truist Bank logo
Truist provides three small business checking account options: Simple Business Checking, Dynamic Business Checking, and Community Checking, each requiring a $100 minimum opening deposit. The Simple Business Checking account is designed for straightforward banking needs with no monthly fees for businesses with under 50 monthly transactions and less than $2,000 in monthly cash deposits. The Community Checking account, tailored for non-profits and civic organizations, also offers no monthly fees and allows up to 225 free monthly transactions.
The Dynamic Business Checking account caters to growing businesses, allowing up to 500 free monthly transactions and $25,000 in free monthly cash processing. This account has a $20 monthly maintenance fee, which is waived with a $5,000 average combined balance across Truist business checking, savings, money market, or CD accounts. Truist also offers tiered business checking rewards programs (Core, Plus, and Preferred) for accounts with higher combined deposit balances.
Capital One
Capital One’s business banking platform, Spark Business Banking, provides a comprehensive and customizable banking experience. Spark Business Banking emphasizes personalized guidance and advice alongside a wide range of business financial products.
Capital One offers a full suite of business products, including checking and savings accounts, loans, lines of credit, and various lending solutions. They also provide business credit cards and merchant services to support ongoing business operations.
Business checking account options include Basic Checking and Business Unlimited Checking. Both accounts feature unlimited transactions, waivable monthly service fees, and robust online and mobile banking capabilities. Basic Checking is geared towards smaller businesses, while Business Unlimited Checking is designed for larger enterprises. Specialized checking accounts, such as escrow accounts, are also available.
Capital One’s Business Advantage Savings account provides a business savings option. Their business credit cards are also highly regarded, with some earning top rankings for rewards value and business benefits.
U.S. Bank
U.S. Bank is a strong contender for businesses seeking small business loans, offering a diverse range of loan products. Their “quick loans,” specifically designed for equipment, expansion, or vehicle purchases, are particularly attractive for startups, although they typically require businesses to be operational for at least two years for loan approval.
U.S. Bank’s quick loans start at $5,000 and can reach up to $250,000, with flexible repayment terms up to 84 months. Vehicle loans notably require no down payment, reducing upfront financial strain.
The U.S. Bank Silver Business Package is particularly advantageous for startups, offering a low-cost entry point to business banking. It features no monthly fees, 25 free cash deposits, and 125 free monthly transactions. The package also includes a business debit card, remote check deposit, and online/mobile banking access, providing essential banking tools for new businesses.
TAB Bank
TAB Bank, while not a leading SBA lender, is a solid choice for businesses seeking a supportive banking partner with specialized business services. TAB offers various financing solutions, including accounts receivable financing, asset-based lending, equipment financing, and factoring.
TAB Bank provides two business checking account options: TAB Business Checking Account and Analyzed Business Checking account. The Business Checking Account offers 100 free monthly debit transactions, extended customer service hours, and no monthly or annual fees (waivable under certain conditions). The Analyzed Business Checking account provides a dedicated relationship manager and unlimited debit transactions but has a non-waivable $25 monthly fee. The Business Checking Account fee can be waived by maintaining a $1,000 minimum daily balance, making 8 debit card purchases per statement cycle (excluding ATM transactions), or receiving $1,200 in direct deposits per statement cycle.
TAB Bank also offers business loans, Certificates of Deposit (CDs), money market accounts, and business savings accounts to help businesses manage and grow their finances. Their online and highly-rated mobile banking platforms provide convenient account access.
Live Oak Bank
Live Oak Bank, though not widely known, is a consistent leader in SBA lending, having originated the highest SBA loan dollar amount nationally as of mid-2022. Live Oak specializes in SBA loans, USDA loans, and commercial loans, building a strong reputation for tailoring loan solutions to individual business needs.
Live Oak Bank’s Business Savings Account stands out with a highly competitive APY of 3.60%, significantly exceeding the national average. The savings account has no minimum opening deposit and no monthly maintenance fees. Account management is available through desktop and mobile platforms.
Live Oak also offers a Small Business Checking Account, requiring a $100 minimum opening deposit but with no ongoing fees. Live Oak facilitates smooth transitions for businesses that frequently process payments through platforms like PayPal, Venmo, Square, or Stripe.
A primary limitation of Live Oak Bank is its lack of physical branch locations outside of Wilmington, North Carolina, as it operates primarily as an online bank. Additionally, they do not offer a business checking account, which might be a drawback for businesses preferring to consolidate all financial accounts within a single institution. Despite these limitations, Live Oak Bank remains a strong consideration, particularly for businesses prioritizing specialized business loan solutions and high-yield savings options.
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