Chase Business Checking Review

Overall Ranking

4/5

Overview

Ease of Use

4/5

Fees

3/5

Features

4/5

Customer Service

4.5/5

Chase Business Checking accounts are available for businesses of all sizes. Read on to find out which one suits your business best.

TJ Porter

Editor's Note

You can trust the integrity of our balanced, independent financial advice. We may, however, receive compensation from the issuers of some products mentioned in this article. Opinions are the author's alone. This content has not been provided by, reviewed, approved or endorsed by any advertiser, unless otherwise noted below.

A checking account is like a financial clearinghouse. It serves as the center of your financial life. Any money you make arrives in your checking account and all the money you spend comes out of your checking account.

Businesses, just like people, need access to banking services like checking accounts. Business owners can use business checking accounts to keep their personal and company finances separate and many banks offer specialized, business-focused features in their business checking accounts.

Chase is a large bank that offers both personal and business banking services. It offers three different types of business checking accounts, each serving different size businesses.

Product Features

These are some of the top features of Chase’s business checking accounts.

Three account types

Every business is different, which means every business has different banking needs.

Chase offers three different business checking accounts so it can best meet each company’s banking needs.

The Chase Business Complete Banking SM is the company’s basic business checking account. It offers basic features and the easiest ways to avoid the monthly fee.

The Performance Checking account is designed for medium-sized businesses that need to make more frequent transactions, that work with large sums of cash, and that want to earn interest on their account balance. In exchange, account holders must meet more stringent minimum balance requirements to avoid fees.

The Platinum Business Checking account is Chase’s premier business account, offering the most features and fee-free deposits and transactions. However, account holders have to maintain a $100,000 balance to avoid fees, meaning this account is designed primarily for large businesses.

Point of sale systems

One thing that any successful business needs is a way to get paid for the goods and services it provides. Even if you have the best products in the world, you can’t make money if people can’t pay you.

Chase offers point of sale solutions that you can use with any of its business checking accounts. The Chase QuickAccept tool lets you accept both credit card and debit card payments with an easy-to-understand fee structure and same-day deposits of the payments you receive.

You can install the app on your phone or tablet, which means you don’t have to buy any additional equipment to accept payments for your business.

Online bill payment

Businesses, just like people, have bills to pay. Whether it’s paying your employees or paying invoices submitted by suppliers, your business will have to send money to other people from time to time.

Chase offers multiple options for both sending and receiving payments. Chase’s online bill payment service has a few business-focused features, making it easy to track your payments in progress and your bills so you can be sure to never miss a due date.

The company also offers an online bill payment guarantee. Chase guarantees that your bill payments will always arrive by the time they were scheduled to arrive. If an error by Chase causes you to miss a due date and incur a fee, Chase will pay the late fee for you.

Earn interest on checking balance

Most checking accounts don’t pay interest on the money you have in the account, but the Chase Performance Checking and Platinum Business Checking accounts do offer interest. You can speak with your banker to ask about the different options.

These days, interest rates are low so you probably won’t earn huge amounts from the balance of your checking account, but every little bit helps.

Business savings and lending services

One of the benefits of banking with Chase is that it is a large, well-known brand that offers a variety of banking services. If you like your experience with your Chase checking account, odds are good that you won’t have to find another bank if you need other services, like credit cards or loans.

Related: Best Small Business Loans

Business credit cards are a great way for business owners to finance smaller purchases over the short-term and give employees who need to make business purchases a way to do so without complicated reimbursement arrangements. Chase also has generous rewards programs if you use its business credit cards.

Chase also offers loans and lines of credit to companies large and small, giving you a way to finance an expansion of your company or the money you need to tackle other projects.

Pricing and Fees

The pricing for Chase’s business checking accounts differs based on the type of account you open.

The Complete Business Checking Account charges a $15 monthly fee, which you can avoid by maintaining a $2,000 balance, making $2,000 in purchases on your Chase Ink card, receiving $2,000 in deposits from eligible Chase Merchant Services (like QuickAccept), or linking a Chase Private Checking account.

The many ways to avoid the monthly fee make this the best option for smaller businesses.

The Performance Checking account charges a $30 monthly fee which you can avoid with a $35,000 balance.

The Platinum Checking account charges a $95 monthly fee which you can avoid with a $100,000 balance.

Some of Chase’s account services also involve fees. For QuickAccept transactions, you’ll pay 3.5% + $0.10 per key entry transaction and 2.6% + $0.10 for card reader transactions.

You’ll also pay $0.40 per transaction (deposit, withdrawal, ACH transfer, etc.) you make in excess of each account’s free transaction limit.

Signing Up

Opening a business checking account with Chase is just like opening an account with any other bank. Visit the company’s website, choose the type of account you want to open, and fill out the application. During the application process, you’ll be asked for some basic information about yourself and your business.

You’ll also have to link another bank account if you want to fund your business account with an online transfer. If you have an existing personal bank account at Chase, they make this process easy.

You can also open the account in-person at a branch. The application process will be similar in-person or through your computer.

Learn More: How to Open a Business Bank Account

Mobile Support

Chase offers one powerful mobile app that you can use to manage all of your Chase accounts in one place. This includes business and personal bank accounts, credit cards, and loans.

The app is easy to use and has a sleek interface. You can accomplish almost any task you need to through the app, including transferring money between accounts, paying bills, setting up automatic transfers, and accepting card payments from customers.

Related: Best Mobile Banking Apps

Security

When it comes to your money, security is a top concern, so you want to know that the money you keep in your Chase business checking account will be safe.

Chase uses state of the art encryption and internet security tools to protect your personal information and your money. The same is true for its mobile application. You can also set up multi-factor authentication for additional account security.

Related: Is Online Banking Safe?

Customer Service

Chase offers many ways to contact customer service when you need help. Some of these options are available 24/7 while others have more limited hours, but there’s always a way to get the help that you need.

The simplest way to get help is to call the company’s support line. Assistance is available 24/7.

If you’d rather not chat with someone over the phone, you can send a secure message through your account portal any time of the day or night. Chat support through the company’s Twitter account is also available from 7 AM – 11 PM Eastern on weekdays and 10 AM – 7 PM Eastern on weekends.

Chase also accepts support requests through the mail and of course, you can visit a branch to speak to a banker anytime a branch is open.

Related: Best ATM Locator Apps

Pros and Cons

There are both benefits and drawbacks to consider before opening a Chase Business checking account.

Widely available customer support — Customer support is available 24/7 by phone and there are also options to speak with someone in person at a branch or online through social media.
Multiple account types available — Chase offers three different checking accounts to suit the size of your business.
Banking services — Full suite of banking services, including lending and savings.
Large network — National network of branches and ATMs.

Fees — High fees for some account types.
Transactions — Some limits on transactions.
Extra perks — Lack of features and perks, like integrations with bookkeeping tools or discounts on business services.

Honest Recommendation

I’ve used Chase’s credit cards, both personal and business, for years now and I’ve had nothing but good experiences with them. I also banked with the company for a short time and had a lovely experience.

If you want a business checking account that works and has the ability to grow with your business, the Chase Complete Checking account is a great choice. The account’s fee structure is reasonable and it’s easy to avoid the monthly maintenance charge.

Opening the account also gets you access to many other services your business could use, like credit cards and loans, making it easy to recommend trying the account out.

Alternatives

Chase is one of many banks that offers business checking accounts. Whenever you’re thinking about opening a new bank account, applying for a loan, or signing up for a new credit card, it’s worth shopping around. You may be able to find a better deal.

Minimum balance: None
APY: N/A
Transaction Limits: 20 check deposits per month
Fees: None
Credit cards: None
Loans: None

Novo offers an online business checking account that is great for business owners that do most of their business online.

As a fintech company, Novo doesn’t offer an option for depositing cash. However, it offers many perks and features that can benefit online businesses. For example, account holders can get discounts on services like Google Cloud, Quickbooks, HubSpot, Google Ads, and more.

Novo also integrates with tools like Slack, Shopify, and Stripe to make it easier for you and your team to keep your business running smoothly.

Best of all, Novo doesn’t charge any hidden or monthly fees. Once you make the $50 opening deposit, there are no minimum balance requirements and very few fees to worry about.

Check out our full review of Novo.

Minimum balance: None
APY: 1.50% APY on savings with Lili Pro
Transaction Limits: $5,000 per day for debit card spending
Fees: None; $9 for Lili Pro
Credit cards: None
Loans: None

If you’re a freelancer that doesn’t need all of the services that Chase provides, Lili might be a good choice for you. Lili is a mobile-focused bank that was designed specifically for freelancers.

There are no minimum balance requirements to worry about and the account is practically fee-free. There is no monthly fee and you don’t even have to worry about overdraft fees.

You’ll maintain easy access to your cash with a debit card that you can use anywhere and a network of more than 30,000 fee-free ATMs around the country.

Lili can also help make paying your taxes easier by automatically setting some of your income aside to make estimated tax payments. Lili also tracks your debit card spend, which can make it easier to claim business expenses on your tax return.

To learn more, check out our full review.

Minimum balance: None
APY: None
Transaction Limits: None
Fees: $10 per month (cannot be waived)
Credit cards: None
Loans: Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loans

NorthOne is an online checking account that offers the unusual option to deposit cash at MoneyPass and NYCE ATMs, making it a good choice for business owners that need to work with cash but who want the convenience of an online bank.

The bank also integrates with a variety of external accounting tools, which can help business owners manage their company’s books.

The main drawback of the account is its fee structure. NorthOne charges a $10 monthly fee. There is no way to avoid the fee or get the bank to waive it, which makes it more costly than many other online banks.

Does Chase have free business checking?

No, Chase does not have a completely free business checking account. The closest account it offers is the Chase Complete Checking account, which has a $15 monthly fee but offers many ways to avoid the fee.

Who can open a business checking account?

Anyone with a business or who is planning to start a business can open a business checking account, and there are many benefits to doing so. Chase will allow people with officially organized businesses as well as sole proprietors with no special business documents to open accounts.

Can I use a personal bank account for my business?

It is possible to use your personal bank account for your business, but it isn’t a good idea. Having a dedicated business bank account keeps your personal and business finances separate, making it much easier to keep track of your business’s money. In some cases, it’s required. For example, owners of limited liability companies can lose their liability protections if they mix their business and personal funds.

Business bank accounts also come with features that are focused on making it easier for business owners to manage their company’s finances. Personal bank accounts focus on individuals’ financial needs, meaning the features won’t be as applicable to a small business.

Scoring the Product

I’ve used Chase’s banking and credit card services in the past, making it easy to score the company. Its website, app, and customer service are all exemplary. You can get help quickly and easily by contacting a representative and they will work to resolve your issues.

The greatest drawback of Chase’s business checking accounts is their fees. Even the most basic account charges $15 per month. While the fee is relatively easy to avoid, it’s still expensive compared to the many free options out there.

Who is it For?

Chase is best for medium to large businesses that can take full advantage of its more premium accounts while meeting their fee waiver requirements. Small business owners who plan to grow their business and who want to use Chase’s more premium services in the future will also be well-served by Chase.

If you have a small, online business, there are likely to be better options than Chase, such as a low or no-fee online business checking account designed for e-commerce companies.

Bottom Line

Chase’s business checking accounts are a solid option for anyone with a physical business that needs to accept card payments and deal with cash. Most businesses will be best served by the Complete Checking account, which has a relatively easy-to-avoid monthly fee.

If you have a business that operates primarily online, Chase isn’t a poor choice, but an online business checking account is more likely to provide value and tends to have fewer and easier-to-avoid fees.