US Bank offers a wide range of business services and is fully online and convenient for small businesses.
WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Editor & Senior Staff Writer
| Total Rating | 3.6 |
|---|---|
| Fees & Rates2.5 | |
| Services5.0 | |
| Rewards2.6 | |
| Features4.2 | |
| Eligibility Requirements5.0 | |
| Application Process3.9 | |
| Sales & Advertising Transparency3.2 | |
| Customer Service4.3 | |
| User Reviews2.1 | |
Table of Contents
US Bank is a traditional banking institution founded in 1863 and now serves approximately 11.6 million customers.
US Bank provides personal and banking services, as well as a large number of additional services, including credit cards, wealth management, loans, and various 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 US banking.
US Bank currently operates most heavily on the West Coast and Midwest but is starting to expand to the East Coast. US 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).
| Services5.0 |
|---|
| Banking Services 5.0 |
| Online Portal & Mobile App 5.0 |
US 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.
US Bank also provides personal banking options for business owners who want to manage their personal and business banking with a single bank.
| Rewards2.6 |
|---|
| Quality & Value Of Earned Rewards 2.6 |
US 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 US Bank savings accounts, the rate is low compared to other banking options.
However, US Bank does have competitive APY rates when it comes to its money market accounts.
There are 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 US Bank savings account.
In addition to the Business Savings Sweep account, here are the other US bank rewards you’ll find:
Interest is accrued daily and paid monthly on qualifying accounts.
| Fees & Rates2.5 |
|---|
| Pricing 2.3 |
| Transaction Fees 2.4 |
| Transparency 4.0 |
When it comes to fees, US 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 US Bank knowledge base.
Overall, US 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, US 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.
US 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, US Bank’s fees add up fast.
US Bank has no ATM fees at US Bank ATMs; you will face out-of-network ATM fees, but US Bank does not disclose how much these fees cost.
These fees apply to all US 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 US Bank business account.
The Silver Business Checking Account costs $0/month and requires a $100 minimum deposit to get started.
Here’s what you’ll find with the US Bank Silver Business Checking Account:
*US Bank says: “Cash deposit units are calculated by dividing each cash deposit amount by 100 and rounding the resulting value to a whole number.”
We find this method of advertising cash deposits deceptive and overly complicated and wish US Bank would just give a blanket number of cash deposits allowed as other banks do.
The Gold Business Checking Account costs $20/month, though this monthly fee can be waived and requires a $100 minimum deposit to get started.
Here’s what you’ll find with the US Bank Gold Business Checking Account:
To waive the monthly fee on this account, you must have an active US Bank merchant account, a $10k average checking balance, a $20k average of combined deposit balances, or a $50k average of deposits and credit balances.
The Platinum Business Checking Account costs $30/month, though this monthly fee can be waived and requires a $100 minimum deposit to get started.
Here’s what you’ll find with the US Bank Gold Business Checking Account:
To waive the monthly fee on this account, you must have an active US Bank merchant account, or a $25k average checking balance, or a $75k average of deposits and credit balances.
US Bank offers two savings accounts — a traditional business savings account and a sweep account that automatically “sweeps” your daily business checking account balance and moves excess balances into the Business Savings Sweep account.
US Bank offers three different money market accounts. Each requires a minimum opening deposit of $100 and has no ATM fees at US Bank ATMs. All US Bank Money Market accounts have a minimum opening balance of $100.
Here are the basics of how each US Bank money market account compares:
| Eligibility Requirements5.0 |
|---|
| Eligibility Qualifications 5.0 |
| Eligibility Availability 5.0 |
| Eligibility Transparency 5.0 |
US 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 US Bank’s 2,000+ locations across the country. US Bank’s physical branch locations are currently available in 26 states.
| Application Process3.9 |
|---|
| Ease & Transparency Of Application 4.6 |
| Application Timeline 0.0 |
| Opening Deposit Requirements 5.0 |
US Bank applications are completed online or at one of US Bank’s 2,000+ physical branch locations. You can also apply by phone.
US Bank makes it really 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.
US Bank does not give a timeline for how long the banking application process takes.
| Features4.2 |
|---|
| Transaction Types Supported 5.0 |
| Transaction Limits 3.0 |
| Standard Banking Features 5.0 |
| Finance Management Features 4.0 |
| Extras 3.0 |
The majority of the time, traditional banks offer more features than fintechs because they’ve been in the online banking scene longer. US 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 US 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 US 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 US Bank would work for their company before applying for an account.
Here is an overview of US Bank’s business banking features:
If you use US Bank for your personal banking as well as your business banking, the company makes it easy to toggle between accounts.
| Sales & Advertising Transparency3.2 |
|---|
| Sales Practices 3.0 |
| Web Presence 4.0 |
US 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 US 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.
| Customer Service4.3 |
|---|
| Personal Support 2.5 |
| Self-Service 5.0 |
If you spend any time reading US 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 US 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 US Bank customers.
When you need to get support, there are multiple ways to contact customer service. Support hours may vary based on which US Bank service you need help with and if you are going into a physical branch or not, but most of US Bank’s business banking services have 24/7 phone support.
| User Reviews2.1 |
|---|
| User Feedback 2.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 2.2 |
Customer reviews regarding US Bank are overwhelmingly negative. The company is accredited with the BBB and gets a B rating, but there have been over 3,000 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.
Unfortunately, finding a positive review of US Bank is like finding a need in a haystack. There is the occasional positive customer service review for a specific branch manager, but overall, the feedback on US Bank is overwhelmingly negative.
US Bank is an FDIC-insured bank. Unlike many fintech companies that partner with a bank, US 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 US Bank’s own cyber security practices and physical data center protections.
US Bank does provide a detailed privacy policy so you can know exactly how your data is being collected and used.
US 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, US Bank has an impressive number of services and features, good APY rates on money market accounts, and a great knowledge base. Another perk of US Bank is that the eligibility requirements are easy to meet and even sole proprietors can qualify.
One downside is that US 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 US 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 US 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, US Bank has been around for a century and a half, so it has to have done something right over the years.
US Bank could still be a good option for some businesses, especially if you already use US Bank for personal banking. If you’re still not sure if US Bank is right for you, we recommend taking a tour of US Bank’s unique dashboard simulator and seeing how US Bank compares to our other top business savings accounts and top business checking accounts.
Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing business banking services since 2015. Our writers have tested over thirty different banking products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, employee spending cards, and more. In each review, we evaluate rates and fees, services, rewards, features, eligibility requirements, application process, sales and advertising transparency, customer service, and user reviews.
Read more about how we rate business banking products.
When comparing different banks and banking services, we consider many data points, including the ease and transparency of the account application process, account fees, sales ethics, minimum deposit requirements, and revenue, time in business, and credit score requirements. Our lists of the best banking services include only those we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points, and often share qualities such as widespread accessibility across fifty states, valuable rewards, numerous transaction options, and competitive APY.
We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure the banking services included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.
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