Bank of America Business Checking Review

Summary of our opinion

Don’t have time to read it all? Here is a summary of our opinion on Bank of America, to help you understand whether Bank of America is a good choice for you or not!

The bank serves approximately 56 million U.S. consumer and small business relationships and is among the world’s leading wealth management companies as well as being a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading.

Bank of America has an award-winning mobile banking app and has invested heavily in its digital technology, however the number of bank branches has decreased over the past few years to approximately 3,900 locations in 37 states and D.C. 

They do offer limitless eTransactions with no fees and large caps on cash deposit amounts however if you’re looking to avoid bank fees or you’re trying to earn a high rate of return, it may be wise to seek an alternative bank. 

In summary, Bank of America offers decent customer service across a large geographic spread of the U.S. however trade-offs include high fees, low interest yields and minimum balances requirements. For a full in-depth review, the following is our opinion of Bank of America in detail.

Bank of America fees

Bank of America offers two SMB checking accounts: 

• Business Advantage Fundamentals Banking
• Business Advantage Relationship Banking

Our review includes information on both accounts.

Fees and features

Here is a summary table of Bank of America’s main pricing plans for self-employed workers, freelancers and others:

	Business Advantage Fundamental banking	Business Advantage Relationship banking
Monthly fees	$16 (exempted with $5k monthly amount or $250 in net new eligible business debit card purchases)*	$29.95 (Exempted it $15k combined avg. amount per month)*
Transaction fees	Limitless eTransactions with no fees (ACH, debit card transactions, electronic debits, deposits made with mobile check deposit, remote deposit online or at a Bank of America ATM).	Limitless eTransactions with no fees
Fee free transactions	After 200 free non-electronic transfers (checks sent, debit transactions, deposited goods), 45 cents per item.	Non-electronic transactions are free for the first 500 and then cost 45 cents each after that.
Minimum opening deposit	$100	$100
Account management	$15 per month	Free
Additional checking account	$12 per month	Free
Bonus	None	None
Monthly transactions	Limitless eTransactions with no fees (ACH, debit card transactions, electronic debits, deposits made with mobile check deposit, remote deposit online or at a Bank of America ATM).	Limitless eTransactions with no fees
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)	None	Rates vary based on location
Cash Deposit Fee	Up to $7.5k gratis, then $0.30 per deposited $100.	Up to $20k gratis, then $0.30 per deposited $100.
ATM Fee	$2.50 for withdrawals at non-U.S. ATMs & $5 for international ATMs	.
Customer Service	Mon – Fri 7am–11pm ET, Sat 8am – 8pm ET	.

Our opinion on the monthly cost

Bank of America charges extra for LLC, freelancer, and startup company bank accounts. Maintaining a minimum monthly amount or joining Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards for Business program for either account waives the fees.

You must have a current Bank of America corporate checking account and a 3 month daily avg. amount of $20k to get the business deposit a/c and Merrill business investment accounts.

Bank of America also charges a $10 fee for overdrafts — which is low for a traditional high street bank — as well as varying fees for outgoing wires. 

It’s also important to note that while Bank of America waives fees for stop payments, incoming wires, check image service, copies of checks and statements and ATM and debit card replacements for Business Advantage Relationship account holders, these services all have associated fees for Business Advantage Fundamentals account holders.

While it’s possible to get your monthly fees waived with a Bank of America checking account, not all businesses will qualify, fees do vary from state to state and other fees may impact your business.

Our opinion of the other fees

Entrepreneurs, sole proprietors and SMB’s who average less than $5,000 in their accounts or conduct mostly digital transactions should consider an online, fee-free checking account like Bluevine for a more affordable way to bank.

Who can use Bank of America?

To open a Bank of America Business Checking account, you must be a small business owner, at least 18 years old, and have a verifiable U.S. address. 

Depending on the legal structure that you have chosen for your company, you may require some of the following, all of them, or none of them at all:

• The location of your business as well as its contact information
• Details of the individual(s) who will be shown as the proprietors of the account.
• Documentation of your identity, such as a driver’s license, is required.
• Documentation that may be used to demonstrate that the company does in fact exist. The following are examples of documents that qualify:
  • A tax identification number issued by the federal government to the company i.e. the EIN
  • A mixture of your Social Security number plus documentation issued by state or municipal authorities proving that you have established a legal corporation, like an LLC
• The least amount that may be deposited into a bank account. Accounts that are not funded may be closed without warning or be subject to overdraft fines.

Means of payment

Regarding payment methods, Bank of America mainly offers the following:

Payment	Features offered?
Debit card	Visa or Mastercard
Check	Yes
Wire transfers	Yes
ACH transfers	Yes
International wires	Yes

The question of means of payment remains the same as for other financial institutions: Will your business be satisfied with these means of payment. This is a decision each individual business owner will have to make. 

After your account has been opened, it should take between five and seven business days for you to receive your debit card and checks, if you have requested them.

Bank of America has operations in 35 countries across four continents: Africa/MENA, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. This gives Bank of America a considerable presence on the worldwide stage.

You also have access to mobile payments with Zelle when you bank with Business Advantage Banking. Zelle is a tool that enables you to transmit payments to suppliers in a quick and safe manner, and it also enables you to collect payments from consumers at no additional cost.

Zelle is a fantastic option for mobile payments, and you can use it directly from the BoA smartphone app, which is something that many owners of small businesses may be searching for as a method to make it simpler for them to collect payments without having to pay transaction fees.

Means of collection

The means of collection are the basics of any financial institution. Bank of America customers can conduct wire transfers, generally the fastest method to transfer funds electronically. Incoming wire transfers will cost $15 per domestic transfer, and $16 per international transfer. 

Payment	Features offered?
Check	Yes
Wire transfers	Yes
ACH transfers	Yes
International wires	Yes

Transfers

Customers can quickly transfer funds in and out of your checking account from accounts at other financial institutions.

Payment terminal

Bank of America does also offer Merchant Services payment processing solutions in the form of handheld point of sale (POS) credit card machines as well as stationary retail payment terminals. 

Services and features offered by Bank of America

Bank of America offers a business bank account focused on various features which sets them apart from their competitors.

A quality business bank account

Banking is made quick and easy with their organized and user-friendly interface. The customer service experience and setup are similar to PNC Bank customer service, website, and mobile app, with a clean user interface and excellent user experience.

A wide range of services

In addition to being an excellent professional bank account, we appreciate the various services offered by Bank of America including:

• Collection by check
• Pay via ACH, wire transfer or check
• Mobile app transactions

Payroll services

Bank of America collaborates with various partners including Quickbooks and Intuit to help simplify payroll administration and other human resource tasks. These options help save you time and effort.

With Quickbooks, you get access to a full-service payroll solution and access to HR services in one place where you can pay your team and file your payroll taxes with ease.

Account Management

Customers also have the option to expand their Internet Banking experience by adding Account Management.

This add-on provides customers with more account management in addition to the additional capabilities and adaptability that come with QuickBooks integration.

Features include the power to grant customized access to your accounts:

• Create individualized access levels for each account
• In addition to giving your accountant access to all of your financial information and authorizing withdrawals from any account they want, you can also allow access to the specifics of a single account to a single employee in order to meet the unique demands of your company.
• Manage users in an easy manner with the User Management page.

Control permissions for your Merchant accounts:

• Give staff Merchant Services account access.
• Control online processing, view-only, or unfettered access to the Virtual Interface for one or more locations.
• Full-access workers may manage employee permissions.

Managing numerous accounts

• One User ID for several company accounts
• Transfer money between your profile-linked business entity accounts.

Online banking tools and integrations

The Bank of America business checking account access to Cash Flow Monitor and Connected Apps. 

Bank of America provides these tools at no cost to owners of small businesses in order to assist such companies in tracking their working capital and monitoring their overall performance as a company.

Connected Apps and Cash Flow Monitor can assist you in the automatic analysis of the financial data of your company, the identification of key insights regarding the performance of your company, and the discovery of opportunities to improve operational efficiency or invest for increased profitability.

If you manage your books using QuickBooks or ADP and handle payroll with either of those programs, Bank of America will enable you link your account so that it can integrate seamlessly with those programs. If you have a small company and want assistance, small business lenders are also accessible.

As well as Zelle mobile payments tool to send or receive payments to vendors, Bank of America also offers Erica, a virtual assistant that helps you stay on top of your finances with alerts for merchant refunds to your account, receive bill reminders, monitor recurring charges and increases and more. 

Remote online depositing

With Remote Deposit Online, you can use remote deposit capture technology to make multiple deposits to your small business account from your home or office for a low monthly fee. 

Using a bank scanner, your company is able to make deposits using Distant Deposit Online from a remote location.

Paper checks may easily be deposited with Bank of America by simply scanning them at your business location and sending the scanned pictures in a secure manner over the internet.

One of the many advantages of using this service is that it allows you to operate your company according to your own schedule.

Mobile application

Checking customers have access to Bank of America’s mobile app, which allows them to monitor and perform daily transactions, as needed. Small business owners can manage their finances and cash flow from anywhere by using the app.

However, despite the fact that it is not designed specifically for business banking, the mobile app that Bank of America offers to its customers receives a variety of reviews, and it does not appear to be as feature-rich as other mobile apps that are geared specifically toward SMB owners.

Signup bonus

Bank of America wants to welcome you as a new customer, with several hundred dollars cash when you open a business checking account. The bank note they will attempt to deposit your bonus within 60 days after you satisfy the qualification requirements. Bonuses typically range from $100 – $200 and upwards. 

Open a Bank of America account

Opening a bank account with Bank of America is very simple. Start by going to the official website, and follow the instructions. You will need to provide some information related to the company in order to complete the procedure (which only takes a few minutes).

At a minimum, you’ll need to provide the following information:

• Proof of identification: This can be verified either through supplementary documents like your driver’s license and/or social security number.
• Business business information: This will include information about your business like address, EIN, and articles of incorporation.

Generally, applications are reviewed within 24 hours; however, the process may take anywhere from 3 – 5 business days. After you receive approval from Bank of America, you’ll need to accept the account agreement and then you’ll be able to fund and access your account.

Customer Service and Support

Bank of America is available from Monday to Friday from 7am – 11pm EST and Saturday from 8am – 8pm EST. Customers can call 1-888-287-4637. They also have multiple resources and support articles on their website. 

Bank of America: Customer reviews

Per this review update, Bank of America had more than 1,400 reviews on Trustpilot, for an average rating of 1.4/5. It should be noted this includes personal and business customer reviews.

The reviews that are favorable comment favorably on the customer service provided by Bank of America. They also had positive things to say about the online banking options that Bank of America provides, with many customers praising the fact that they don’t have to interact with bankers very often, if at all.

However, the reviews that were given are very much saying the complete opposite. People are unhappy with the customer care they get and state that the mobile banking app for Bank of America is difficult to use and that the BoA website is also difficult to browse. They also claim that it is difficult to receive assistance from a genuine person.

Your experience may differ based on your familiarity with computers and (as is the case with most conventional banks), the people working at the Bank of America location in your neighborhood.

On the bright side, in contrast to some of their rivals, Bank of America has earned an A+ score from the Better Business Bureau.

Bank of America: Overall verdict

There are several reasons to like Bank of America, one of which being the company’s vast number of branches and reasonably widespread presence throughout 37 states. Their rewards program is extremely nice for company owners, and it integrates well with the capabilities that accounting software provides, which is a benefit.

On the other hand, there are business banks available that are more cost-effective and do not have any minimum balance restrictions. These banks also provide superior mobile app experiences, improved customer support, and more product connections with Stripe and PayPal. 

All in all, the fees may push away many small to medium size businesses and solopreneur however Bank of America this may be a good option if you’re in healthcare or agriculture, where the bank offers industry-specific financing solutions.