Oxygen Business Banking Review

Pros

• $0 monthly fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• Up to 5% cash back
• Link to payment apps
• High APY available

Cons

• Online only
• No loans or credit cards
• 1% foreign transaction fee

What Is Oxygen Mobile Banking?

Oxygen banking is an online financial service that markets itself to small and mid-sized businesses, from freelancers to LLCs to corporations. Oxygen bank includes personal and business checking accounts with APYs that vary depending on the account type but are well above the national average.

Loaded with benefits that include cash back rewards, Oxygen bank promises a new approach to business banking. But how well does Oxygen bank deliver on that promise? This Oxygen banking review will explore that question and help you decide if an Oxygen business account is what your business needs.

Is Oxygen Bank A Real Bank?

Oxygen is not a real bank; it’s a financial technology (“fintech”) company. Oxygen provides banking services through a partnership with The Bancorp Bank, Member FDIC. Because of this partnership, Oxygen bank accounts are FDIC-insured to the legal limit. Oxygen banking offers the services you’d expect to find at any bank: checking, savings, debit cards, ATM access, and more.

Is Oxygen FDIC Insured?

Oxygen bank accounts are FDIC insured to the legal maximum. Although Oxygen is not a bank but instead a financial services company, Oxygen partners with FDIC member The Bancorp Bank to offer FDIC protections to Oxygen customers.

Oxygen Rewards & Perks

Oxygen offers exciting rewards and perks that rise a little above the competition’s offerings. Although Oxygen banking does not include credit cards, the Oxygen debit card has the types of rewards you might expect to see with a credit card.

Let’s take a closer look at the perks and privileges Oxygen bank customers can expect to find:

Cash Back Rewards

Although Oxygen does not offer credit cards, the Oxygen debit card comes with generous cash back rewards more typically found attached to credit cards. Again, this is a complicated rewards system that depends on what Element tier you choose. Check out Oxygen’s cash back rewards terms and conditions online for full details.

• Oxygen Visa Business Debit Cards: You can earn cash back when you use your Visa debit card for purchases. Business accounts earn 5% on qualifying purchases plus $1 on food and coffee purchases.
• Virtual Cards With Spending Controls: You can create a number of single-use cards for online purchases. These cards can be single-use or locked to a specific merchant.
• Cash Back On RideShare, Gas, & More: You’ll be able to choose a rewards type, such as gas or meal delivery. You can activate only one offer at a time and tap your offer every one to five days, depending on the offer type. You can change your rewards settings in the mobile app under the Cashback tab. Redeeming rewards is simple. Once you’ve earned at least $10, you can cash out part or all of your rewards instantly to your Oxygen account.

Oxygen Business Savings Accounts

Once you’ve opened an Oxygen checking account, you’re eligible to apply for a savings account, using the mobile app to do so. To take money out of savings, you’ll need to transfer it to your checking account first. Oxygen savings accounts offer valuable benefits, including these features:

• Business Savings Account With A 1.00% APY: The current interest rate for Oxygen savings is 1.00%, though that’s subject to change. Interest is paid only on the first $20,000 in your account. Deposit amounts above that cap will not earn any interest. With the national average for savings APY standing at 0.61% today, Oxygen’s 1% is a refreshing APY.
• No Minimum Balance Requirements: You can apply to open an Oxygen savings account as soon as your Oxygen checking account is active. There is no minimum opening deposit requirement.

Oxygen Business Savings Tools

In addition to a higher-than-average APY, Oxygen savings accounts offer some neat features that can help you set aside money to earn that interest. Here are three:

• Round-Up Rules: You can set up your debit card purchases to “round up” to the next whole dollar amount. The round-up amount, from $0.01 to $0.99, will be automatically transferred to your linked Oxygen savings account.
• Automatic Transfers To Savings: Oxygen offers automatic transfers called Save When You Get Money. This feature allows you to set a rule that automatically transfers a set percentage or a specific dollar amount to your savings whenever you get a qualified deposit to your checking account. Qualified deposits include incoming ACH transfers, incoming wires, mobile check deposits, cash deposits, and money transfers.
• Savings Goal Setting: Use the mobile app to create savings goals. You can add a savings goal’s name, the goal amount, and its deadline. You can even add a photo to motivate you. You’ll have the option to add rules to transfer money to this goal automatically. You can turn your rules on and off at any time.

Lines Of Credit

After your Oxygen account has been open for at least 90 days, you may be offered a line of credit with Oxygen. Lines of credit offers are contingent on many factors, including your business history and creditworthiness.

Oxygen Banking App & Mobile Tools

As an online-only bank, Oxygen’s mobile app is a key part of this bank’s structure. Fortunately, Oxygen’s app delivers. It’s rated highly on the Google Play store (4.7/5 stars with 28,900+ reviews) and the Apple App Store (4.8/5 stars with 20,100+ reviews).

Here’s a sample of what you can use the app for:

• Mobile check deposit
• Integrate with Plaid (connect your Oxygen account with Plaid’s API, and you’ll have a secure way to customize your banking experience)
• Cash flow projections
• Create and send customized invoices
• Create virtual cards with spend control
• Pay bills
• Access account statements
• Form an LLC from within the app (if you have a business, you can connect with CorpNet, Inc., for assistance in making your business official, and you can do it all from inside the app; fees will vary depending on your location)

Oxygen Pricing & Fees

The list of fees you can expect to pay with an Oxygen business bank account is short and sweet. Out-of-network ATM use will cost you $3 (the ATM owner may also apply a surcharge), and international use will bring a 1% transaction fee and 1% of ATM withdrawals plus a $5 ATM fee (you get one free international ATM withdrawal each month).

If you deposit cash to your Oxygen account, you’ll need to do that through a service called GreenDot, which charges $4.95 per deposit, with a limit of three deposits per day and up to a maximum cash deposit of $1,000 per deposit and per day. Other transaction limits to keep in mind include:

There’s also an option for instant access to cash from mobile check deposits. If you don’t want to wait the standard 10 business days for processing, you can pay for immediate access to the funds. That will cost you 2% of the check amount for payroll and government accounts with a preprinted signature or 5% for all other accepted checks, with a $5 minimum fee.

That’s it for Oxygen business banking fees. If you add a personal Oxygen account, you may see some other fees attached to that account.

Oxygen Eligibility Requirements

Oxygen business banking is open to all kinds of businesses, from freelancers to complex businesses structured as S-Corps and C-Corps. Applications are processed entirely online, so you’ll need to begin by downloading the mobile app for iOS or Android. Remember, you can use the resources available through the app to form an LLC. Oxygen says it can take two to four weeks for applications to process.

Oxygen bank does not support certain businesses considered high risk, including marijuana-related businesses and services, gambling businesses and services, and other prohibited categories. Financial and insurance businesses and services are also ineligible.

Oxygen Business Banking Features

An Oxygen business bank account delivers all the features you’ll need to run your business finances, with two notable exceptions: Oxygen does not offer merchant services or robust credit options. You won’t find linked credit cards or loans, although it seems some users may be offered access to lines of credit after their accounts have been open for a minimum of three months.

Oxygen excels in some areas. Here are some services worth highlighting:

• Free Transfers: You can add money to your account via direct deposit or ACH from external accounts with no limits. You can also add money via payment apps (such as CashApp, Venmo, and PayPal) and by mobile check deposit, though you’ll run into daily and monthly limits on those methods.
• Savings: Oxygen savings accounts offer an APY that’s significantly above the national average. And Oxygen makes savings easy, with tools that allow you to set savings goals and automatically direct money toward those goals.
• Cash Deposits: Not all online banks accept cash deposits, and we appreciate that Oxygen does allow users to put cash into their business accounts. Oxygen partners with GreenDot for cash deposits, and you will need to pay $4.95 each time you make a cash deposit, with limited deposit amounts available.
• Mobile App: As a digital bank with no in-person service provided, you’d expect Oxygen to have a strong app. Not all online banks meet this challenge, but Oxygen does. Users highly rate the apps for iOS and Android, and when customers raise complaints, Oxygen seems responsive.

One final note: Like most banks, whether physical or digital, Oxygen takes time to process transactions. Here’s what you can expect:

Oxygen Customer Service & Support

Oxygen again holds an edge against some of its digital banking competitors by offering live phone support to customers. That’s in addition to email support and a relatively robust help center with online resources. Oxygen is also active on social media, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

We also note that the company is very responsive to questions and comments left by online reviewers, especially in the app stores.

Oxygen Business Banking Customer Reviews

Oxygen banking is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and maintains a B rating on the BBB site. Customers don’t seem to like Oxygen quite as much as the BBB does: The bank has a 1.14/5 star rating on the BBB website, with 66 complaints closed in the past 12 months. Oxygen fares slightly better on Trustpilot, with a still-poor 2.5/5 star rating. We do note that these Oxygen ratings are based on relatively few reviews, with just seven on the BBB website and 104 on Trustpilot.

As a digital bank, most customers will interact with Oxygen via its mobile app, and we are encouraged to see significantly higher ratings there. Both the iOS app (4.8/5 stars) and the Android app (4.7/5 stars) seem to satisfy users much better.

Let’s look at what these online reviews users have posted and the common threads we can identify.

Negative Oxygen Reviews & Complaints

With almost 29,000 reviews on the Google Play store and 20,000+ on the Apple App Store, we can gain a broad picture of users’ satisfaction with Oxygen banking and see what complaints arise repeatedly. Here’s a sample of what we found:

• Too Long To Open An Account: Unlike many banks that offer almost instant account setup, Oxygen says it can take weeks. Some customers say it has taken months.
• App Can Be Buggy: Some users say they have to uninstall and reinstall the app to make things work smoothly. Others say they’re automatically logged out and have difficulty logging in again.
• UI Is Cluttered: A recent redesign has left some users feeling the UI is too “busy” for their taste. Although we did not test the mobile app, we can share that the Oxygen banking website was difficult to navigate and seemed focused far more on style than substance. High-fashion images feature heavily, but useful information is hard to dig up, and the font is very hard to read.

Positive Oxygen Reviews & Testimonials

Fortunately, we found many more accolades than complaints related to Oxygen banking. Here’s a sample of what Oxygen users say they like:

• Virtual Cards: Customers like the convenience and security of using virtual cards.
• Cash Back Rewards: It’s uncommon to see these rewards for debit card use and even more uncommon to see such a high cash back rate.
• Savings: Not all business bank accounts include savings options. Oxygen takes it a step further by giving a high APY and providing tools to make saving easier.

Final Verdict: Is Oxygen Business Banking Right For Your Business?

How comfortable are you working online? The answer to that question may go a long way toward predicting your satisfaction with Oxygen banking. By most accounts, Oxygen has a solid mobile app that most users find relatively easy to navigate. With strong rewards, including a cash back debit card and a high APY on savings, Oxygen has a lot to offer.

Although we saw some negatives, including a lack of some features that your business may need as it grows, we think Oxygen’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses. However, if you’re particularly interested in a bank that offers merchant services or access to credit, Oxygen will not be the best choice for you. In general, we think Oxygen is best suited to smaller businesses with a single owner and will not work well for larger businesses with many employees.

In particular, Oxygen could be a good choice for freelancers and independent contractors who are wondering if they really need to transition from using their personal bank accounts for business expenses. For those people, we suggest you start with understanding some of the key differences between business and personal banking, so you know why you definitely should be using business banking services instead of personal banking.

If you’re looking for your first business bank account and wondering how you can be sure you’re choosing a good bank to work with, take a look at our business banking guide. You’ll see tips to help you find and open the right small business bank account. If you decide that Oxygen might not be a perfect match, we have resources that can help you explore other business bank account options. With such a variety of banks offering services to small businesses, we know you’ll find just the right one for your business.

Along with getting your banking needs taken care of, you might also be interested in how to balance your books with the funds you have in your bank account. In that case, be sure to also check out our post on picks for the best accounting software for small businesses.

Oxygen Business Banking FAQs

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