The 4 Best High-Yield Business Savings Accounts In 2024

Get Started With Live Oak Bank

Read our Review

Total Rating	2.9
Rates & Fees2.1 Pricing 3.0 Affordability 1.2
Services4.4
Eligibility Requirements2.1
Application1.0
Sales & Advertising Transparency4.6 Sales Practices 5.0 Web Presence 4.0
Customer Service3.9
User Reviews3.9

Pros

APY is more than 8x the national average
No monthly fees
Up to $10M in FDIC Insurance
No minimum balance or maximum APY earning cap

Cons

No ATM access
No cash deposits

Why We Chose Live Oak As The Overall Best High-Yield Business Savings Account

Live Oak Bank offers an impressive 4.00% APY which is 8x the national average. Live Oak Bank also stands out with up to $10m of FDIC insurance available. Live Oak Bank has affordable fees, an easy application, and one of the highest interest rates we've seen from a high-yield business savings account. While other HYSAs require a minimum balance, have tiered APYs, or max out at a certain point, Live Oak Bank's APY applies to all balance sizes, making it our top choice for the best high-yield business savings account.

APY: 4.0%
Interest Compounded: Daily
Monthly Fee: $0/month
Minimum Balance: $0

Live Oak Bank Fees

Live Oak charges no regular monthly or maintenance fees for its high-yield business savings account. However, you may incur some charges for various optional transactions. Here’s a rundown:

$10 excess transaction fee after six free transactions each month
A returned item fee of $10
Stop payment fee of $25
NSF fee of $25
An outgoing wire fee of $19
Dormant account fee maximum of $10 on accounts with a balance of $10 or lower and no activity for 24 consecutive months

Live Oak Bank Eligibility Requirements

The application process for a Live Oak high-yield business savings account is entirely online. Eligibility requirements are easy to meet. You’ll need the following:

No minimum opening balance
A verified bank account to transfer the initial deposit from
Personal identification, including Social Security numbers for authorized signers
Business information, including name, physical address, and EIN

Watch Out For:

Live Oak Bank does not support cash deposits
Live Oak Bank only allows six free transactions a month
No ATM access

While we wish that Live Oak Bank would allow cash deposits and ATM access, it’s possible to work around this by depositing cash into your business checking account and then transferring the funds to Live Oak Bank via free ACH transfers. This extra step isn’t ideal but could still be worth it if you want the high APY and no balance minimum or maximum offered by Live Oak Bank.

Read our in-depth review

Lili: Best for freelancers & smaller businesses

Lili

Read our Review

Total Rating	4.1
Fees & Rates4.0
Services5.0
Rewards3.3 Quality & Value Of Earned Rewards 3.3
Features3.6
Eligibility Requirements4.5
Application Process4.5
Sales & Advertising Transparency4.9 Sales Practices 5.0 Web Presence 4.3
Customer Service4.1
User Reviews2.9

APY

4.15%

Monthly Fee

$0-35/month

Minimum Account Balance

Pros

High APY
No minimum balance
Easy to qualify for
Helpful additional business features

Cons

APY has a maximum cap
Fees for cash deposits

Why We Chose Lili As The Best High-Yield Business Savings Account For Freelancers & Smaller Businesses

With an APY of 4.15%, we can't have a list of business high-yield savings accounts without Lili. Lili Bank is ideal for smaller businesses, sole proprietors, and even freelancers. Lili offers unique built-in bookkeeping and tax tools and even has automated savings capabilities to help you grow your business savings. Lili's APY rewards do cap out at $100k (though there's no minimum balance), which is why we designate it as the best option for smaller business endeavors.

APY: 4.15%
Interest Compounded: Daily
Monthly Fee: $15/month
Minimum Balance: $0

Lili Bank Fees

Although Lili does have a basic free checking account, if you want access to high-yield savings, you’ll need to upgrade to a Lili Pro account which costs $15/month.

In exchange for that monthly fee, you’ll be able to set up automatic savings and earn a high APY that’s currently at 4.15%. You’ll also unlock cash-back rewards on purchases made with your Lili debit card and a slew of bookkeeping tools.

Lili charges very few other fees: You won’t pay ATM, overdraft, check deposit, or foreign transaction fees. The most common fee you’re likely to find is a $5 cash deposit fee.

Lili Bank Eligibility Requirements

Any business owner 18 or older with a Social Security number and a US address is eligible to use Lili’s small business banking services. It’s ideal for small and nontraditional business owners, such as freelancers, side hustlers, and independent contractors.

Watch Out For:

Lili Bank’s APY caps out at $100k
Lili does have a monthly fee, though you’re paying for a bunch of business finance and bookkeeping tools, rather than just paying a traditional monthly bank maintenance fee

Get Started With Lili

Read our in-depth review

LendingClub: Best for savings & checking

LendingClub

Get Started With LendingClub

Read our Review

Total Rating	4.3
Fees & Rates3.9
Services5.0
Rewards4.2 Quality & Value Of Earned Rewards 4.2
Features4.0
Eligibility Requirements5.0
Application Process5.0
Sales & Advertising Transparency3.9 Sales Practices 4.0 Web Presence 3.7
Customer Service4.4
User Reviews4.2

APY

1.5%-3.5%

Monthly Fee

0$-$10

Minimum Account Balance

$0-$500

Pros

High APY
No minimum balance
High-yield checking account available

Cons

Monthly fee
Interest compounded monthly

Why We Chose LendingClub For The Best High-Yield Business Savings & Checking

LendingClub earns a spot on this list for having a high-yield business savings account and a high-yield business checking account. LendingClub offers 4.65% for its high-yield business savings and 1.5% for its high-yield business checking accounts. Previously, LendingClub had an APY cap of $200k. Now, the company doesn't openly disclose any earnings caps, and while LendingClub does have tiered APY earnings, currently every single tier earns 4.65% no matter the balance. While LendingClub currently has a higher APY than Live Oak Bank, it only has FDIC insurance up to the standard $250k, and interest is compounded monthly instead of daily.

APY: 4.65%
Interest Compounded: Monthly
Monthly Fee: $0-$10/month
Minimum Balance: $0

LendingClub Fees

LendingClub has a $10/month maintenance fee. You’ll also find fees for wire transfers, foreign transactions, and stop payments. There are no fees on in-network ATMS, and you’ll even find an unlimited rebate on out-of-network ATM fees.

LendingClub Eligibility Requirements

If you are a legal US resident with a DBA, EIN, or tax ID and a valid US address, you are likely eligible for a LendingClub bank account. You’ll also need an existing debit card to make your opening deposit of $100. Lending Club does require a $100 minimum balance once you’ve opened your account.

Watch Out For:

LendingClub only offers $250k of FDIC insurance
LendingClub compounds interest monthly instead of daily, leading to slightly lower earnings
While LendingClub does not advertise a LendingCap and says their APY applies from $0 – “25,000 and greater”, the company’s online savings calculator only goes to $100,000; it’s unclear if $100k is the cap, and we were unable to get an answer from LendingClub on this, so if your business anticipates large sums in your HYSA, talk with LendingClub first before opening

Read our in-depth review

Get Started With First Internet Bank

First Internet Bank: Best for large balances

First Internet Bank	Visit Site

Pros

Low opening balance
Low monthly fees
Savings, money market, CDs, and checking accounts available

Cons

Limited support
ATM cards available only to sole proprietors

Why We Chose First Internet Bank As The Best High-Yield Business Savings Account For Large Balances

First Internet's HYSA account comes in at 0.80%, but their money market account is where this company shines. While First Internet Bank used to have an incredibly high balance requirement to get the max APY on a money market account, they've recently redone their tiered APY so that balances under $1M earn 3.76% APY and balances over $1M earn 5.46% APY, making First Internet Bank a solid option for businesses looking to earn on large balances. First Internet Bank also offers certificate deposits (CDs).

APY: 0.80% - 5.46%
Interest Compounded: Daily
Monthly Fee: $5/month (waivable)
Minimum Balance: $0 ($4,000 to waive fee)

First Internet Bank Fees

First, Internet Bank’s savings account costs $0/month, and its money market account costs $5/month. You can make up to six free transactions each month and waive the monthly fees by maintaining a balance of $4,000. You may also encounter wire transfers, foreign transactions, and excessive transaction fees.

First Internet Bank Eligibility Requirements

It’s easy to apply for a First Internet Bank high-yield savings account, and you’ll complete your application entirely online. First Internet says you’ll need to be prepared to share this information:

Government-issued identification for all signers
Name of authorized signers and owners
Legal documents for the business

Watch Out For:

First Internet Bank’s HYSA has a much smaller APY than its money market account
First Internet Bank charges a monthly fee, and the minimum to waive it is much higher than other banking options, though the monthly fee is small at only $5/month for money market accounts

Business Banking Review Methodology

We spend hours researching and evaluating each business banking service we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings.

When rating banks and banking services, we use a 53-point rubric that looks at rates and fees, services, eligibility requirements, application, sales and advertising transparency, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.

Rates & Fees: 25% of the total star rating
Services: 15% of the total star rating
Rewards: 15% of the total star rating
Features: 15% of the total star rating
Eligibility Requirements: 10% of the total star rating
Application Process: 5% of the total star rating
Sales & Advertising Transparency: 5% of the total star rating
Customer Support: 5% of the total star rating
User Reviews: 5% of the total star rating

Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we examine specific attributes like the variety of banking features available, transaction types supported, requirements for revenue, credit score, or time in business, ease of application, opening deposit requirements, and the ethics involved in promoting the bank.

Read more about how we rate business banking services.

Other High-Yield Options For Businesses

There are other high-yield interest-earning options that aren’t technically “savings” accounts, but are definitely still worth keeping on your radar. Here are the most noteworthy high-yield interest-earning accounts for businesses.

Mercury: Best High-Yield Mutual Funds For Business

Mercury doesn’t offer HYSA, but if you are already using Mercury Bank or are in the market for a business checking account, Mercury has a unique perk up its sleeve — mutual funds. Mercury offers businesses a high-yield mutual funds option with earnings of 5.47%. You can transfer funds directly from your Mercury checking account to your mutual funds for easy earnings. Plus, you’ll already be earning 1.5% cashback with the Mercury credit card.

BlueVine: Best High-Yield Business Checking Account

BlueVine doesn’t offer HYSA, but it does offer a business check account with 2.0% APY on balances between $-$100,000. Whether you don’t have the long-term savings for a high-yield savings account or you want to have a high-yield checking account in addition to your HYSA, BlueVine Checking is definitely worth looking into.

How We Chose The Best High-Yield Business Savings Accounts

To choose the best high-yield business savings accounts, we researched and analyzed over 2 dozen different banks. We only included banks with:

High APY: While the national average APY is 0.46 currently, we only picked banks that had over 4.00% APY to ensure businesses earn the most possible with their HYSA.
Interest Method: We ruled out any companies with interest compounded quarterly, favoring daily compounding overall.
FDIC Insurance: We only included backs with at least the standard $250k in FDIC insurance and gave bonus points to banks with a higher FDIC insurance allowance.
Account Type: While many other HYSA lists include businesses that don’t offer business savings accounts, we only included unique account types (like money market accounts), if the company still provided a high-yield savings account option and that option was still above the national average.
Eligibility Requirements: Eligibility requirements played a big factor in our decisions. Only companies with easy requirements that many businesses could qualify for made the cut.
Fees: We ruled out companies with large monthly fees (unless additional non-banking services were included in the monthly price like Lili). We also took additional fees and fee transparency into account.
Company Reputation: We looked at customer reviews to ensure that each company on the list is reputable and has a decent number of positive customer reviews.

What To Look For In A Good High-Yield Business Savings Account

The best high-interest business savings accounts have a few things in common, and some differences, too. The best business savings account for you may not be the best for everyone.

In compiling this list of the best high-yield savings accounts for business, we considered these factors and spotlighted them so that you can choose the business savings account that meets your needs:

Above-average APY (2% is decent, 3% is good, and 4% is the best; but why settle for less than the best when you can be getting at least 4% in APY?)
Number of no-fee withdrawals allowed
Minimum balance requirements
Monthly account maintenance fees
ATM access
Bill payment
Cash deposit
ACH fees

Which High-Yield Savings Account Is Right For Your Business?

The work involved in finding and opening a business bank account is an important process for a small business. Your work hard for your money; your money should work hard for you too.

A business high-yield savings account is a great choice if you have an established savings, like a business emergency fund, or if you want to build one.

If your current business bank offers a HYSA, adding a savings account may be very easy. But when looking for a business savings account, you shouldn’t necessarily settle for your current bank. Expanding your search to find the best high-yield savings account is a good move. And you already took the first step by reading this post.

Any of the options on this list offer the top APYs on the market, but the right account will depend on what features you need, how much FDIC insurance you want, and what minimum and maximum balances you expect to have. Once you know what’s important to your business, choosing the right business HYSA gets much easier.

Best of luck, and happy earning!

High-Yield Business Savings Account FAQs

Can I open a high-yield savings account for my business?

Yes, you can open a high-yield savings account for your business and probably should do so. Look beyond the banks where you do your personal banking and your business checking account to find the highest possible APY with the lowest fees and easiest access to your money.

Are high-yield business savings accounts safe?

A high-yield savings account is a safe way to store money while earning a high return, as long as you’re banking with a bank or credit union that offers FDIC insurance.

Especially during times of economic uncertainty, such as the current debt-ceiling negotiations and general inflationary period, a high-yield savings account is a safe way to put your money to work for you.

Which bank has the highest high-yield savings?

The highest APY we found for business banking is from Live Oak Bank. With a rate of 3.50%, Live Oak also offers free checking with no minimum balance and no monthly fees.

Is a high-yield business savings account a good idea?

A high-yield savings account is a good idea for businesses that want to put their money to work for them. High-yield means you can expect a higher-than-average interest rate from the savings account. And that means your money will be working as hard as you do.

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Chelsea Krause

Lead Staff Writer

Chelsea Krause is a writer who specializes in accounting, payroll, and small business loans. She has been with Merchant Maverick helping small business owners manage their finances since 2016. She is a QuickBooks Certified User and former eCommerce store owner. Her accounting expertise has been quoted in Forbes and her work appears in Startup Nation, Small Business Bonfire, and Women on Business. Chelsea graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English & Creative Writing from George Fox University and studied abroad at the University of Oxford as well. She currently resides in Boise, Idaho.

@AccountingMage

View Chelsea Krause's professional experience on LinkedIn.

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Sources

National Rates and Rate Caps (Accessed 01/24/2024) — FDIC

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1. Live Oak Bank

❮ ❯

4.0% APY
$0/month
No minimum balance; no maximum APY cap

2. Lili

❮ ❯

4.15% APY
$15 monthly fees
No minimum balance; APY earnings on balance up to $100k

3. LendingClub

❮ ❯

4.65% APY
$0-$10/month
$100 minimum balance; no posted maximum cap

4. First Internet Bank

❮ ❯

3.30%-5.20% APY and up
$0-$5 monthly fees
Online only