Novo review: Small-Business Checking 2024

Summary of our opinion

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

Novo is an independent tech company that partners with Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A. bank to provide online financial services. With Novo, you get the benefits of FDIC insurance and the security protections of a traditional bank through their partner, but with a powerful suite of digital tools designed for small businesses.

As an online platform for small businesses, it offers a digital-first experience to help freelancers, entrepreneurs and small businesses to manage their business finances with a single product – a free business checking account.

In summary, Novo makes it easy and affordable to set up a business bank account with no monthly fees, no min. balance requirements and no transaction fees. They also include free mobile check deposit and free bill pay with physical checks. 

For a full in-depth review, the following is our opinion of Novo in detail.

Novo fees

Fees and features

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

	Novo Business Checking Account
Monthly fees	$0
Minimum deposit to open	$0
Minimum balance	$0
Overdraft fee	$0
NSF fee	$27
Incoming ACH	$0
Outgoing ACH	$0
Mailed checks	$0
Online banking	Included
Monthly transactions	Unlimited
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)*	None
Cash Deposits	Not provided
ATM Fee	No out-of-network ATM fees. Novo reimburses fees charged by ATM’s worldwide.
Support	Mon – Fri: 9am to 6pm EST
Checks	Users can deposit checks into the account using the mobile app

When you join up, you may get up to $20k in fee-free bank card transactions and $3k in Google Cloud vouchers, $150 against Google Advertising, 40 per cent off 6 months of QuickBooks, and more.

Other benefits for small companies include integration with major merchant tools like Stripe, Xero, TransferWise, Slack, Quickbooks, Shopify and Zapier.

The annual percentage yield (APY) is a percentage that reflects the amount of money, or interest, you earn on a bank account over one year. 

Our opinion on the monthly cost

As business bank accounts for LLCs, freelancers and startups go, Novo offers a very competitive price point. 

Novo charges almost no fees. You’ll need a $50 opening deposit in order to open a new account, but after that, there are no min. balance requirements or recurring fees of any kind.

We like the fact that there are no monthly, minimum deposits for opening or min. balance requirements, a huge help for businesses starting out. 

If you do need an overdraft, again there are no fees for this and the Novo Business Checking Account can be rightfully classified as one of the best banking offers on the market for the self-employed.

Users can deposit checks into the account using the smartphone app. All ACH transfers, mailed checks, and incoming wires are free of charge. If you are charged an ATM fee, it will be automatically reimbursed at the end of every month.

Customers should note that Novo doesn’t offer lines of credit, loans, savings accounts or other interest-bearing accounts. 

If your LLC only needs a checking account, mobile app and tool integrations with Stripe or Shopify, then Novo may be the perfect fit. Given the range of features offered, the price seems very affordable.

Our opinion of the other fees

When using Novo, the only times you’ll be subject to costs are when your account has insufficient money or when uncollected payments are refunded, resulting in a charge of $27.

You won’t be charged any fees to use any cash machine in the United States or anywhere else in the world when you have a Novo card.

In addition, Novo will refund any costs that you are charged by banks charging to use their cash machines, and the money will be sent back into your bank at the end of each calendar month.

Who can use Novo?

To open a Novo Business Checking account, requirements including being a small business owner, at least 18 years old, and to have a verifiable U.S. address. 

You will need to provide information about yourself, your business and any additional business owners, as well as personal identification and legal business documents. You’ll also need to provide a valid U.S. mailing address, Social Security number and mobile phone number.

Means of payment

Regarding payment methods, Novo mainly offers the following:

Payment	Features offered?
Debit card	Mastercard
Checks	Can’t write traditional checks. Users can however have checks sent for them via the mobile app
Wire transfers	Can’t send domestic wires via the Novo account
ACH transfers	Yes
International wires	Send payments internationally via Wise

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. 

If the answer is no, you can always consider Novo in addition to a traditional bank (and still pay a smaller overall price if you combine all the banking services in the traditional bank).

Clients may make as many fee-free check deposits as they’d like using the Novo app. Checks may be deposited, payments made, money sent, and even physical checks sent using the tools provided by online and mobile banking.

Means of collection

The means of collection are the basics of any financial institution. Novo customers can conduct wire transfers, generally the fastest method to transfer funds electronically. 

There are no costs associated with either inbound or outbound ACH transactions, stopping payments, replacing lost or stolen debit cards, or receiving printed statements.

Payment	Features offered?
Check	Deposit checks instantly
Wire transfers	Yes, can receive domestic & int’l wire transfers
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.

Credit rard reader

Novo doesn’t offer a credit card reader, but is compatible with the vast majority of classic terminals as well as modern payment terminals including Square, SumUp, Clover and Payanywhere.

Digital Wallets

Link Novo’s virtual debit card to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or Google Pay for card-free transactions.

Services and features offered by Novo

Novo offers a bank account focused around features dedicated to small businesses and professionals. These offers are exactly what have made Novo stand out from the competition.

A quality business bank account

Novo offers the classic services of an online bank, within an intuitive interface. The use of the account is straightforward and you can carry out all your tasks within a few clicks.

With an online application that takes only minutes and one iOS app to manage your entire account, there’s no doubt that Novo was designed for business owners to be able to use it quickly and easily. 

A wide range of services for all entrepreneurs

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

• Online Deposits
• Mobile banking 
• Send checks from your phone
• Digital integrations with popular online tools 

Online and mobile banking

Novo is online only. You can easily manage your money with the Novo online banking website and mobile apps.

Through the use of online payments on your desktop or laptop computer, as well as the mobile applications available for Android and iPhone, you are able to manage your account.

This financial technology firm is designed for company owners who are happy handling their finances online, either via the Novo site or mobile applications.

Novo may not provide all of the functions of a conventional checking account; nevertheless, it does include a large number of features that are useful for most contemporary enterprises and cashless operations.

Send invoices 

Send in your invoices

Utilizing the Novo app, you are able to create and manage an infinite amount of invoices without spending a dime. Additionally, you are able to take payment through ACH transfer, card via Novo’s interfaces with Stripe, PayPal, Square or with check.

International access

If using your debit card outside of the country, you will be reimbursed for any costs you incurred at ATMs. Wise allows you to send money to anybody in the world.

More users

Include staff of fiduciaries as extra users in the system. By order of the court, the fiduciary should be appointed in one of the following capacities: trustee, admin, executor, or conservator. You have the option of providing that individual with a corporate debit card that may be used with the account.

Online banking tools and integrations

Integrations: A Novo corporate checking account may be linked to fifteen other well-known company applications, including e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce,  Shopify, Etsy, and Amazon.com.

In addition to that, POS partners like Stripe and Square, as well as accounting software like QuickBooks and Zero, are a part of the package. You will also discover an integration with Zapier, which gives you the ability to link with hundreds of important apps and automate your work using those connections.

Set aside money with Novo Reserves

Novo Reserves allow you to set aside funds for taxes, profit, payroll, and other large business expenses.

Customers can easily manage multiple budgets with up to 5 Reserves allowing them to instantly move funds into and out of your Reserves. The feature to automatically allocate income to selected Reserves will also become available soon.  

A useful mobile application

Keeping track of your financial dealings, making and receiving payments, and contacting Novo’s customer service are all made a breeze with the app.

In addition, the fact that your Novo banking account can be accessed in its entirety on iOS devices gives you more freedom in terms of when and when you are able to handle the financial aspects of your company.

You are able to readily manage your bank account regardless of where you are, which is a feature that is helpful for busy company owners.

Open a Novo account

Opening a bank account with Novo 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 Novo, you’ll need to accept the account agreement and then you’ll be able to fund and access your account.

Novo will not check your credit history when you apply for an account, so applying will not affect your credit score.

Customer Service and Support

Novo is available from Monday to Friday from 9am – 6pm EST. Customers can connect with customer support via the app or send an email to support@novo.co. 

As of now, Novo offers phone support to current customers only.

They also have multiple resources, FAQs and support articles on their website. 

Novo: Customer reviews

Per this review update, Novo had more than 1,100 reviews on Trustpilot, for an average rating of 3.5/5.

When looking through the negative reviews, there are two things to notice. Clients who complain about the lack of available customers agents to answer phone queries and those who complain about check waiting times after accounts had been closed.  

We did appreciate seeing their customer service respond to all opinions and efforts to find a solution to each problem.

When reading the positive reviews, two elements also stand out. This includes prompt customer service email response times, no hidden fees and deposits made through the app are easy.

Novo: Overall verdict

Novo asserts itself as one of the best professional banking offerings at the moment, whether you are self-employed, a startup or a growing LLC. 

Novo offers a professional bank account underpinned by their:

• No monthly fee and few other fees
• Integration with Stripe, QuickBooks, Shopify and PayPal
• Virtual card through the app and spend funds online or through Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay
• Ability to send unlimited, personalized invoices and accept online payments for your business.

Novo continues to establish itself as a business bank account of choice for SMB’s, sole proprietorships and freelancers. Word of this is spreading and Novo already has over 150,000 SMB customers in the U.S.