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American Express® National Bank (Member FDIC) may be famous for its credit cards, but the American Express® Business Checking (Member FDIC) is nothing to scoff at, either. The account has few fees, earns interest, and offers Amex's well-regarded customer service. See if this account is right for your small business in our American Express® Business Checking review.
American Express® Business Checking
Amex is, well, Amex. The bank and card issuer is known for some of the best customer service around. American Express offers an online-only business checking account with a very competitive APY (annual percentage yield) and the ability to earn Membership Rewards® points on debit card purchases.
We recommend comparing checking account options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of standout accounts.
This account has a lot of pros, but it's not without a few drawbacks to consider.
No monthly maintenance fee: There is no monthly account fee or maintenance fee to keep your account open. You also don't need to maintain any kind of minimum balance just to keep your account open or avoid fees.
A competitive APY: Most business checking accounts don't even earn interest, so any APY is great. But this is a particular competitive APY (annual percentage yield) for a checking account. That said, it won't hold up against a high-yield savings account, so this isn't where you should keep any business savings.
Welcome offer: You can earn up to 30,000 Membership Rewards® points with qualifying activity. Specifically, you'll need to meet all three of these conditions to earn the welcome offer:
Debit card purchase rewards: You can earn Membership Rewards® points on your debit card purchases. You can earn 1x point per $2 spent on your business debit card. While this is nice, it's far less than you can earn with pretty much any small business credit card. It's likely more lucrative to use credit cards when you can.
No physical bank branches: Amex's banking arm -- formally called American Express® National Bank -- is an online-only bank. This means there are no brick-and-mortar bank branches you can stop into to chat, get service, or even make a deposit.
No cash deposits: Another side-effect of the no branches thing is that you can't deposit cash directly into your account. If you need to deposit cash, you may need to move it from another bank account via ACH or wire transfer.
Can't transfer to/from personal Amex accounts: Of particular annoyance to certain reviewers (me, it's me) is the fact that you can't transfer money directly from a personal Amex bank account to an Amex business bank account. Plus, while you can use the same login information for both personal and business accounts, there are two separate mobile apps.
Fees | Monthly Maintenance | ATM Withdrawal | Overdraft | Stop Payment | Insufficient Funds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Express® Business Checking | $0 | $0 at MoneyPass® ATMs | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Amex doesn't have physical branches, but there are still many ways to manage your money.
The glaring lack is the option to make cash deposits in a branch. Here's how you can fund your account instead:
The last option -- accepting credit card payments -- is a separate service called American Express Payment Accept. It allows you to accept credit card payments from clients/customers. There are specific terms and fees for using this service.
While you can't visit a branch to withdraw money from a teller, you have plenty of ways to get your funds, including the option to pull out cash:
ATM withdrawals are free from the thousands of in-network MoneyPass® ATMs. Withdrawals from non-network ATMs may come with fees. There will be a foreign transaction fee for withdrawing money in a foreign currency/from a foreign ATM.
Small business owners who want a no-nonsense, no-fee checking account could find the American Express® Business Checking to be a great fit. It has no monthly fee, a competitive interest rate, rewards on debit card purchases, and Amex's great customer service. You do miss out on physical branches, however, so this could be a miss if you prefer in-person services.
At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate checking accounts on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). We evaluate all checking accounts across four main criteria: brand and reputation, APY and rewards, fees and minimum requirements, and perks.
Our scores are weighted as:
Learn more about how The Motley Fool Ascent rates bank accounts.
No, American Express® Business Checking isn't compatible with Zelle. This is typical of business bank accounts.
No, there is no minimum income or revenue requirement to open an American Express® Business Checking account. There is also no minimum deposit to open an account, although there may be a deposit requirement to earn a welcome bonus.
Yes, you can integrate your American Express® Business Checking account with your QuickBooks accounting software. You can also connect your Amex business credit cards.
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