What's the Best Bank for Self-Employed Business Owners?

Choosing the best bank account as a self-employed US business owner can be a big decision to make. By setting up a business bank account, you can separate your personal and business funds, and better manage your business transactions. But every account has different pros, cons, and features.

The best banks for self-employed businesses are those that offer affordable account fees, mobile access, and convenient payments.

Find out our picks for the best banks for self employed business owners in this guide, and why we chose them.

Open a Wise Business account online:
Easy to set up, easy to use

Best Banks for Self-Employed Business Owners: US Top List

Bank	Monthly fees	Key features
Chase	$15 (can be waived with $2,000 as a minimum balance)	QuickAccept card acceptance Branches in 48 states Fee-free cash deposits up to $5,000 a month
Bluevine	$0	Competitive interest rates $300 sign-up bonus No monthly fees
American Express	$0	24/7 customer support 1.30% APY interest rate No monthly fees
Novo	$0	Set aside earnings for taxes Integration with software tools Fast access to funds

Comparison of The Best Banks for Self-Employed Business Owners

Wise Business

Best for: International transfers & easy online banking

💡 Wise is not a bank, but a Money Services Business (MSB) provider and a smart alternative to banks. You can open an account 100% online with no need for booking appointments or waiting in line. There is also no opening or minimum balance requirement, which makes it a great option for self-employed individuals who are looking to keep the most of their profits. Wise Business is also designed with international business in mind, and makes it easy to send, hold, and manage business funds in 40+ currencies.

Fees:

• Monthly maintenance - $0
• Minimum deposit requirement - $0
• Overdraft - N/A

Some key features of Wise Business include:

Major local account details to receive international payments with ease No monthly account fees just a simple one-off fee for account details Receive payments from e-commerce platforms such as Amazon or via Stripe. Free invoicing tool to generate and send invoices. You can also Create invoices using the Wise invoice generator or invoice templates. Accounting integrations, including a QuickBooks Bill Pay connection. Bill payments will be synced, matched, and categorized in QuickBooks for simple reconciliation. Receive USD payments from Upwork with ease and convert to your preferred currency, all in one account

Open a Wise Business account online

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information.

Chase

Best for: In-person banking

Key features:

• QuickAccept card acceptance - With the Chase Mobile app, you can quickly and conveniently accept card payments through QuickAccept.
• Branches in 48 states - Chase has branches across 48 states, making it easy for you to manage your finances in person.
• $5,000 a month of fee-free cash deposits - Each month you can make up to $5,000 of fee-free cash deposits.

Fees:

• Monthly maintenance - $15 (can be waived with $2,000 as a minimum balance)
• Minimum deposit requirement - $0
• Overdraft - $34¹

Chase is one of the best bank accounts for self-employed businesses that need access to brick-and-mortar branches.

With its Business Complete Banking account, you have access to branches located in 48 states, and fee-free cash deposits up to $5,000 a month. The access to branches makes it easy to manage your finances in person and have any questions you may have answered.

This business account integrates with QuickBooks and other accounting solutions, and makes card acceptance seamless with QuickAccept in the bank’s app. As a result, you can streamline your financial and business management with the Chase Business Complete Checking account.

Bluevine

Best for: Earning interest

Key features:

• ** **Competitive interest rates - Bluevine offers three checking accounts each with competitive interest rates, starting at 2.0% for Bluevine Standard.
• $300 sign-up bonus - Receive $300 when you sign up for a Bluevine business checking account.
• No monthly fees - There are no monthly maintenance fees nor is there a minimum balance requirement to open a Bluevine business checking account.

Fees:

• Monthly maintenance - $0
• Minimum deposit requirement - $0
• Overdraft - $0²

Bluevine offers various business checking accounts that boast competitive interest so your money can work harder for you.

What makes the Bluevine Standard one of the best bank accounts for self employed business owners is the 2.0% APY interest. You can qualify for this interest when you have a balance of up to $250,000, and spend $500 a month from the Bluevine debit card or take in $2,500 from customer payments each month.

The other checking accounts, called Bluevine Plus and Bluevine Premier, offer even more competitive interest rates though come with monthly fees.

American Express

Best for: Around-the-clock support

Key features:

• 24/7 customer support - American Express has 24/7 customer support so wherever you’re located and at any time of day you can get your questions answered.
• 1.30% APY interest rate - The Business Checking account offers a competitive interest rate of 1.30% APY.
• No monthly fees - There are no monthly fees nor is there a minimum opening deposit requirement to set up an American Express business checking account.

Fees:

• Monthly maintenance - $0
• Minimum deposit requirement - $0
• Overdraft - $0³

American Express is a good pick for self-employed business owners if you need around-the-clock support regarding your finances.

The American Express Business Checking account offers an interest rate of 1.30% APY, and has no minimum opening deposit fee nor any monthly fees. Transaction fees are also on the lower side, so this is an excellent option for businesses with frequent transactions.

When you open an American Express Business Checking account, you can also earn 30,000 membership rewards points if you meet qualifying criteria. You can use these points for deposits directly into your account, or to rack up aviation points for flights.

Novo

Best for: Online-only banking

Key features:

• Set aside earnings for taxes - With Novo Reserves, you can easily put aside funds to prepare for tax filing season.
• ** **Integration with software tools - Novo offers integration with a wide range of software tools to help you manage your business.
• Fast access to funds - Free Express ACH transfers gives you an easy way to send and receive payments quickly, and free of charge.

Fees:

• Monthly maintenance - $0
• Minimum deposit requirement - $0
• Overdraft - $0⁴

If you’re an online-only business owner who prefers to handle everything digitally from bookkeeping to banking, Novo offers one of the best business bank accounts for self employed business owners.

There are no maintenance fees associated with Novo’s Business Checking account, and access to Express ACH makes it easier to retrieve your funds when you need to.

Another reason why you could consider Novo as the best online bank for self employed business owners is the integration with a suite of useful business tools. Novo is compatible with software solutions including Xero and Wise, so you can seamlessly bring it into the fold of your existing tech stack.

With Novo Reserves, Novo could be the best bank for self employed mortgage payments as you can easily put aside business funds.

Key Features to Consider When Choosing a Bank as a Self-Employed Business

When choosing the best bank accounts for self employed uses, you should consider the following factors which will influence how you’re able to use the business account.

Savings Options

A business checking account is helpful for managing your day-to-day finances and transactions with customers, but many banks will also offer business savings options too.

With a business savings account, you can put money aside that you don’t need in the short-term for cashflow, and earn interest on it. Look for savings accounts that offer competitive interest rates to get the best return on your investment.

Cash Management

The best business bank accounts for self employed business owners will support you in how you manage your business funds..

For some, it’s important to have ATM networks at their disposal so they can easily withdraw and deposit money when they need to. For others, it may help to have the option to store and deal in multiple currencies.

Finance Management Tools

Self-employed business owners and freelancers have it all to do, from sending invoices to clients to tracking expenses. To simplify these financial processes, some banks offer a range of tools to support streamlined money management.

Some banks make it easy to create and send custom invoices that reflect your business branding, and others allow you to prepare ahead of tax season and handle your bookkeeping.

Flexible Banking

If you’re always on the go, working from cafes or coworking spots, you could benefit from mobile banking.

Most banks that offer checking accounts will provide access to a companion app which will have various payment features and can make it easy to do everything you need to do with your funds from a mobile device.

Consider which features you use most whenever you’re banking to evaluate various mobile banking apps, as some might offer more comprehensive features such as tax payment preparation and invoice creation.

International Use

If you plan on using your business bank account from abroad while you travel, or invoice international customers, you’ll want to choose a bank that supports various currencies and offers cost-effective international transfers.

Some banks support mostly domestic use, meaning they’re ill-suited for international use as they might charge exorbitant transaction fees above the mid-market currency conversion rate.

For example, if you work on Upwork, you'll see that they operate in USD. If you decide to withdraw your payments in another currency, the platform will convert the money at an exchange rate decided by Upwork before paying out. This may not work out in your favour. With an account that can handle multiple currencies, such as Wise Business, you can receieve the payment in USD, to your USD account number, and then simply exchange to your preferred currency at the mid-market rate. This can help you keep more of your profit, rather than losing it to the bank.

The Easy Way to Manage Your Self-Employed Finances

If you’re a self-employed business owner, the last thing you want to worry about is how to manage your finances. You already handle so many aspects of your business, that it can be overwhelming to think about what to do with the money you receive from customers.

If you’re looking for an easy solution to handle your incoming and outgoing payments, and manage your finances on a daily basis, try Wise.

Open a Wise Business account online

The Wise Business account comes with a host of features designed to make life easier for self employed business owners. What’s more, there are no extra subscription fees, just use the tools and features you need:

• No monthly fees
• Free invoicing tool to generate and send invoices
• Make international payments at the mid-market rate
• Send easy batch payments
• Connect to QuickBooks to track invoice payments
• Manage multiple currencies in one place
• Receive payments like a local with major currency account details
• Hold over 40+ currencies

Wise offers a simple way to take control of your finances, and helps you save money on international transfers.

Read the guide on how to open a Wise Business account

About the author:
	Panna is an expert in business finance topics for the US, covering topics from invoicing to international expansion. She creates high-quality reviews on business finance tools and products with the aim to help businesses save time and make informed decisions. You can read more useful business articles on her author profile.

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Sources used :

¹ Chase

² Bluevine

³ American Express

⁴ Novo

Sources last checked on 24-October 2024.