U.S. Bank Business Banking Review

Pros

• Numerous business services available
• Cash deposits supported
• Free ATM access at U.S. Bank ATMs
• Over 2,000 physical branch locations
• High APY on money market accounts

Cons

• A large number of customer complaints
• Issues with account closures & unreturned payments
• High wire transfer fees & cash deposit fees
• Limited checking rewards

What Is U.S. Bank?

U.S. Bank is a traditional banking institution founded in 1863 and now serves approximately 11.6 million customers.

U.S. Bank provides personal and banking services, as well as a large number of additional services, including credit cards, wealth management, loans, and business services like merchant accounts and payroll. The company is currently #107 on the Fortune 500, and despite a large number of negative customer complaints, has maintained one of the biggest names in U.S. banking.

U.S. Bank currently operates most heavily on the West Coast and Midwest but is starting to expand to the East Coast. U.S. Bank’s banking services are fully online, so you don’t have to be near a physical branch to utilize this banking option (though you may face more out-of-network ATM fees).

Services Offered By U.S. Bank

U.S. Bank offers a long list of business services, making it a good choice for businesses that want to run multiple elements of their business with the same company.

• Business checking accounts
• Business savings accounts
• Money market accounts
• Certificates of Deposits (CDs)
• Credit cards
• Corporate cards
• Business loans
• Lines of credit
• Merchant services
• Payroll services
• Legal services
• Fraud protection
• Gift cards

U.S. Bank also provides personal banking options for business owners who want to manage their personal and business banking with a single bank.

U.S. Bank Rewards & Perks

U.S. Bank’s rewards are not as compelling as some of the other top business bank accounts. Their checking accounts have no cashback or APY earning potential, and while there is an APY on U.S. Bank savings accounts, the rate is low compared to other banking options.

However, U.S. Bank does have competitive rates when it comes to its money market accounts.

You can receive a bonus interest rate up to 4.00% from the account opening date when you open a new Platinum Business Money Market Acccount and complete qualifying activities, subject to certain terms and limitations. Member FDIC.

U.S. Bank offers some unique perks as well, like the Business Savings Sweep account, which automates the business savings process by letting you automatically transfer excess daily checking balances to your U.S. Bank savings account.

In addition to the Business Savings Sweep account, here are the other U.S. bank rewards you’ll find:

• Welcome bonus based on qualifying activities (usually deposit amounts)
• Discounts on check orders through U.S. Bank
• 0.05%+ APY on savings accounts
• Up to 4.08% APY on money market accounts

Interest is accrued daily and paid monthly on qualifying accounts.

U.S. Bank Fees

When it comes to fees, U.S. Bank makes most monthly account fees easy to compare,  but most transaction fees are difficult to find and have to be searched for individually within the U.S. Bank knowledge base.

Overall, U.S. Bank’s fees are slightly higher than average, which we expect with a bank (generally, fintech companies are much cheaper than traditional banks because they don’t have the overhead of physical branches). However, U.S. Bank’s wire transfer fees are some of the highest, if not the highest, in the business banking space, even compared to other traditional banks.

U.S. Bank also charges monthly maintenance fees instead of annual maintenance fees, and while these are waivable, the criteria for waiving these fees are not always easy to meet.

If you send a lot of wire transfer fees or are unable to meet the requirements for waiving monthly fees, U.S. Bank’s fees add up fast.

U.S. Bank has no ATM fees at U.S. Bank ATMs; you will face out-of-network ATM fees, but U.S. Bank does not disclose how much these fees cost.

These fees apply to all U.S. Bank accounts:

Paper statement fees may apply as well, depending on which checking account you go with.

Here’s a further breakdown of fees and costs unique to each U.S. Bank business account.

U.S. Bank Eligibility Requirements

U.S. Bank’s eligibility requirements are fairly lax for a bank. All types of businesses are supported, including sole proprietors. The main requirement you’ll need to meet is that you must own 20% or more of the business to apply online.

This requirement can vary if you apply in person, so there seems to be some wiggle room on this if you’re close enough to one of U.S. Bank’s 2,000+ branches across the country.

U.S. Bank’s physical branch locations are currently available in 26 states.

U.S. Bank Application Process

U.S. Bank applications are completed online or at one of U.S. Bank’s physical branch locations. You can also apply by phone.

U.S. Bank makes it easy for businesses to know exactly what information they’ll need to apply. All applicants will need to provide standard personal and business contact information, an SSN or ITIN, TIN, and a history or estimate of debit and credit card sales. You may have to provide some additional information based on your business type, and all accounts require a $100 minimum opening deposit.

U.S. Bank does not give a timeline for how long the banking application process takes.

U.S. Bank Features

The majority of the time, traditional banks offer more features than fintechs because they’ve been in the online banking scene longer. U.S. Bank does offer a good amount of features, however, it seems that the company markets only the most important ones on its site. It’s difficult to find a full list of U.S. Bank’s features. You have to hop around multiple pages to get a clearer picture of exactly which features US Bank offers.

The good news is that once we did a little digging, we found that U.S. Bank offers a unique online business banking dashboard simulator where you can see the product in action. There’s even a section of this simulator where you can see integrations in action, which is not common when it comes to demos and trials, so this is a really nice touch for business owners who want to know how U.S. Bank would work for their company before applying for an account.

Here is an overview of U.S. Bank’s business banking features:

If you use U.S. Bank for your personal banking as well as your business banking, the company makes it easy to toggle between accounts.

U.S. Bank Sales & Advertising Transparency

U.S. Bank is relatively transparent with information, and the website is free of heavy marketing jargon. Some information requires more digging and hoping around the website than we feel is necessary. For example, finding information on fees and features isn’t as straightforward as could be, but the info is there if you look.

The only real area where U.S. Bank is not transparent is with its security measures, which seems like the one place you really don’t want to leave potential customers guessing on.

U.S. Bank Customer Service

If you spend any time reading U.S. Bank’s customer reviews, you’ll quickly see many complaints about customer service. There are a few positive customer service reviews hidden in there, but it seems that support experiences can vary widely from physical branch to branch.

For online customer support, the good news is that U.S. Bank’s knowledge base is so extensive that you likely won’t need to phone support too often. There are a lot of helpful how-to articles as well as educational banking resources and best practices available to U.S. Bank customers.

When you need to get support, there are multiple ways to contact customer service. Support hours may vary based on which U.S. Bank service you need help with and if you are going into a physical branch or not, but most of U.S. Bank’s business banking services have 24/7 phone support.

U.S. Bank Reviews & Complaints

Customer reviews regarding U.S. Bank are overwhelmingly negative. The company is accredited with the BBB and gets an A- rating, but there have been over 2,000 complaints in the last three years on the BBB alone, let alone other customer review sites.

Usually, I take customer reviews with a grain of salt and there’s often a mixed bag of happy and unhappy users. However, it has been a long time since I have seen this volume of negative reviews and the reviews themselves are quite concerning. Unexplained account closures, month-long pending transactions, and a frequent unwillingness to refund fraudulent transactions are not something you want your bank to be known for.

Negative U.S. Bank Reviews

• Poor customer support
• Unexplained account closures
• Issues with long pending transactions
• Many issues with receiving payment refunds
• Low spending limits

Positive U.S. Bank Reviews

• Great service from branch employees
• Multiple banking accounts and business services to choose from
• Easy deposits and transfers

Is U.S. Bank Safe?

U.S. Bank is an FDIC-insured bank. Unlike many fintech companies that partner with a bank, U.S. Bank is a traditional bank so that adds a layer of security. The company also has built-in fraud detection and many help articles educating users on the best cyber security practices.

Unfortunately, it’s a bit harder to find information on U.S. Bank’s own cyber security practices and physical data center protections.

U.S. Bank does provide a detailed privacy policy so you can know exactly how your data is being collected and used.

Final Verdict: Is U.S. Bank Business Banking Worth It?

U.S. Bank is an established traditional banking institution that offers a large number of business banking services and additional business services like merchant accounts, payroll, loans, and credit cards.

Overall, U.S. Bank has an impressive number of services and features, good APY rates on money market accounts, and a great knowledge base. Another perk of U.S. Bank is that the eligibility requirements are easy to meet and even sole proprietors can qualify.

One downside is that U.S. Bank has far less competitive rewards than our top online banking options (this is fairly standard for traditional banks vs fintechs though — fintech online banks usually make up for their less established reputation by offering higher incentives). The other downside is that U.S. Banks’ wire transfer fees are some of the highest I’ve seen, and their cash deposit fee system is incredibly convoluted.

We also have to note two red flags with U.S. Bank — one, the company is not transparent about its security measures, and two, there is an overwhelming number of negative reviews and the gravity of some of these reviews is not something we can ignore.

That being said, U.S. Bank has been around for a century and a half, so it has to have done something right over the years.

U.S. Bank could still be a good option for some businesses, especially if you already use U.S. Bank for personal banking. If you’re still not sure if U.S. Bank is right for you, we recommend taking a tour of U.S. Bank’s unique dashboard simulator and seeing how U.S. Bank compares to our other top business savings accounts and top business checking accounts.

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