Bank of America Business Checking Review

Is It Worth It? (Pros, Cons & More)

Bank of America Business Checking Review

Do you need to open a business bank account, but you’re not sure which bank has the features and convenience you need for your company? With how many companies offer business banking solutions, it can be tough to figure out which one is the best fit for you.

To supplement your own research, my team and I invested countless hours researching the best business banks. My goal is to give you the information you need to make a fully informed decision for your company.

In this Bank of America business banking review, I’ll walk through the pros and cons, pricing and features, customer feedback and much more. Let’s find out if they’re the right bank for your business!

Pros & Cons of Bank of America

Pros of Bank of America

  • With 4,600 bank branches and 16,000 ATMs, there’s (almost) always a Bank of America right around the corner no matter where you are in the US.
  • Customers absolutely love their mobile banking app. Both their Android and iOS apps have overwhelmingly positive reviews.
  • Their fees are low to begin with, but Bank of America also offers customers a number of ways to avoid paying them entirely, for example maintaining minimum balances and making credit/debit card purchases.
  • All of their checking accounts come with account activity alerts, so there’s never any statement surprises. They’ll also set up one of their business savings accounts for free with any business checking account.

Cons of Bank of America

  • While there are ways to avoid monthly account fees, their Business Fundamentals checking package includes several fees, like charges for additional checking accounts, wire transfers and account management tools.
  • Their business savings accounts bring in miniscule interest, with rates currently running at 0.02-0.04% APY.

Bank of America Business Checking Alternative

Capital One's lack of fees, minimums, and their digital banking platform make it quite convenient. Read Review

Capital One

Bank of America Pricing & Features

With Bank of America, you can choose between two primary checking accounts: Fundamentals and Advantage. Take a look at how they compare:

Bank of America Business Checking Pricing

Fundamentals

What It Includes: 200 monthly transactions, $14 monthly fee (waived with $5,000 average balance, or $3,000 minimum balance, $250 debit/credit card purchases, etc.), $12 monthly fee for additional checking account, $15/month account management, $15 incoming wire transfers.

Who It’s Right For: If all you need is a basic checking account, Fundamentals is great for small businesses. However, if you foresee requiring any of the advanced features, know that they can add up in a hurry.

Advantage

What It Includes: 500 monthly transactions, $29.95 monthly fee (waived with $15,000 average balance, or $2,500 credit card purchases, Payroll or Merchant Services subscription, etc.), account management tools, no fees for additional accounts or incoming wire transfers.

Who It’s Right For: Any business needing multiple checking accounts or regular wire transfers will enjoy the unlimited nature of those features with the Advantage package.

Recommended Package

In my opinion, both of these packages are well-rounded values. It really just comes down to whether your company needs the advanced features found in the Advantage package or not.

Savings Accounts

When it comes to savings accounts, I don’t have much good news for you. With interest rates so small you practically need to squint to see them, there’s really not much point to opening a Bank of America business savings account.

  • $0-$49,999 balance: 0.02% APY
  • $50,000-$499,999: 0.03%
  • $500,00+: 0.04%

Customer Reviews

It can be tough to find honest customer reviews for major banks like this, but one place I can always get some good feedback is mobile app reviews. Feedback for the apps themselves is quite good as they have a strong 4.3 average score on Google Play. Historically, their iTunes app hasn’t fared as well, but the latest version of the app has a near-flawless 4.8 rating.

When it comes to other areas, Bank of America is a bit more hit or miss. Their customer support gets mixed reviews, and it’s clear that some business owners get surprised by fees with the Fundamentals account.

Customer Reviews Last Updated 8-21-17
  • Google Play: 4.3 out of 292,755 reviews
  • iTunes (current version of app): 4.8 out of 1,442 reviews

Conclusion: Overall, their customer feedback is fairly good. Sure, there are a few issues here and there, but nothing I would call a bad trend. Customer reviews aren’t a huge point in Bank of America’s favor, but I’ll give them a small bump up the scale.

How Bank of America Compares

I’ve spent so much time researching the best business banks that I’ve noticed some of them have better deals than others. Still, the goal is to figure out which one hits that sweet spot between features and convenience for your company.

Bank of America is one of the top banks for business due to their great apps and low fees. It’s always a good idea to be aware of the competition though, so let’s also look at Spark Business by Capital One, my personal favorite.

Pricing: Spark Business has no fees and no minimum balances.

Features: Spark Business gives you access to 40,000+ ATMs, whereas Bank of America has about 16,000. However, Spark Business is a digital product without physical branch locations, while Bank of America has 4,600 branches nationwide. When it comes to savings accounts, the Spark Business rates of 0.40-1.00% blow away Bank of America’s 0.02-0.04% APY.

Customer Support: These are both huge financial institutions with broad-reaching support teams. As such, opinions on their service department are somewhat mixed. In my opinion, this is inevitable with companies so large — not every single support agent is going to be awesome. Still, in my experience, both Bank of America and Spark Business have helpful reps that are a pleasure to work with.

Experience: Bank of America opened in 1904 and is the 2nd biggest bank in the US. Capital One is the 8th largest American bank and opened in 1988.

Capital One

Service Fee Starts at $0

In Business in 1988

Perfect for: Anyone looking for a startup-friendly, cost-effective business bank

Bank of America

Service Fee Starts at $16/month

In Business Since 1904

Perfect for: Anyone looking for business banking with the most number of locations

Frequently Asked Questions

How Easy Is It to Get Set Up?

It’s so simple that you can do it online. Of course, if you’d rather speak with one of their representatives in person, you can open your business bank account at the nearest Bank of America branch.

What Perks Come with Checking Accounts?

Their checking accounts don’t really have any bonuses, but their business credit cards have some cash back and travel rewards, as most business banking cards do.

How Are Deposits Made?

Make a deposit with their mobile banking app, at an ATM or at a Bank of America branch.

Should You Use Bank of America?

Bank of America gets a score of 3.9/5 in my book. Their apps are sleekly designed and their massive number of branches is really convenient. That being said, if this doesn’t sound like you perfect fit, check out our Best Business Bank Accounts