Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

This device is too small

If you're on a Galaxy Fold, consider unfolding your phone or viewing it in full screen to best optimize your experience.

Skip to main content
Advertiser Disclosure Many of the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which The Motley Fool receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear) and may influence which products we write about, but our product ratings are not influenced by compensation. We do not include all companies or offers available in the marketplace.
    |    Accessibility Options

American Express® Business Checking Review: Fee-Free Checking With Lots of Perks

Review Updated
Brittney Myers
Brittney Myers
| 1 other [ + ]
Nathan Alderman
Fact Checked: Nathan Alderman
Nathan Alderman
Nathan Alderman
Fact checker

Nathan Alderman has been a full-time Motley Fool employee since 2005, making errors his arch-enemies in a variety of roles including a six-year stint as the dedicated fact-checker for The Motley Fool's premium newsletter services. As Motley Fool Money's Compliance Lead, he makes sure that all the site's information is accurate and up to date, which ensures we always steer readers right and keeps various financial partners happy. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan spends his spare time volunteering for civic causes, writing and podcasting for fun, adoring his wife, and wrangling his two very large young children.

See Full Bio

Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures that our product ratings are not influenced by compensation. APY = Annual Percentage Yield.

American Express National Bank (Member FDIC) may be famous for its credit cards, but the American Express® Business Checking (Member FDIC) is nothing to scoff at, either. The account has few fees, earns interest, and offers Amex's well-regarded customer service. See if this account is right for your small business in our American Express® Business Checking review.

Ratings Methodology
Rates as of Apr 17, 2025

American Express® Business Checking

Member FDIC.
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
APY
1.30% Rate info Circle with letter I in it. APY = annual percentage yield
Min. To Earn APY
$0
  • Competitive APY
  • No account fee
  • Earn rewards on purchases
  • New account bonus with qualifying activity
  • Online-only account
  • Foreign transaction fees
  • No cash deposits
  • Can't link to personal Amex account

Amex is, well, Amex. The bank and card issuer is known for some of the best customer service around. American Express offers an online-only business checking account with a very competitive APY (annual percentage yield) and the ability to earn Membership Rewards® points on debit card purchases.

Alternate business checking options to consider

Here are some of our top picks for other business checking accounts that offer a good mix of features and customer support.

Rates as of Apr 17, 2025
Offer
 
 
 
Account
Bluevine Business Checking

On Bluevine's Secure Website.

Axos Basic Business Checking

On Axos Bank's Secure Website.

U.S. Bank Business Essentials

On U.S. Bank's Secure Website.

Rating
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
APY up to 3.70% Rate info Circle with letter I in it. Bluevine Premier customers will earn 3.70% APY; Premier subscriptions cost $95 per month. Bluevine Standard customers will earn 1.5% interest on total balances up to and including $250,000 only if they spend $500 or more on their debit card or receive $2,500 or more in customer payments each month. No interest earned on balances over $250,000. 0% 0%
Min. to earn APY $0 — N/A
Next Steps
Open Account for Bluevine Business Checking
Open Account for Axos Basic Business Checking
Open Account for U.S. Bank Business Essentials
Disclaimers

*See disclosures here: https://www.axosbank.com/business/business-checking-accounts/basic-business-checking

U.S. Bank Business Checking Special Offer Disclosure

Promo code Q2AFL25 MUST be used when opening a U.S. Bank Business Essentials, Silver, or Platinum Business Checking account. Limit of one bonus per business. A $100 minimum deposit is required to open one of the referenced accounts.

Bonus Options
• Earn your $500 Business Checking bonus by opening a new U.S. Bank Business Essentials or Silver Business Checking account between 4/3/2025 and 6/30/2025. You must make deposit(s) of at least $5,000 in new money within 30 days of account opening and thereafter maintain a daily balance of at least $5,000 until the 60th day after account opening. You must also complete 5 qualifying transactions within 60 days of account opening.

or

  • Earn your $900 Business Checking bonus by opening a new U.S. Bank Platinum Business Checking account between 4/3/2025 and 6/30/2025. You must make deposit(s) of at least $25,000 in new money within 30 days of account opening and thereafter maintain a daily balance of at least $25,000 until the 60th day after account opening. You must also complete 5 qualifying transactions within 60 days of account opening.

Qualifying transactions include debit card purchases, ACH credits, Wire Transfer credits and debits, Zelle credits and debits, U.S. Bank Mobile Check Deposit or Bill Pay. Other transactions such as (but not limited to) other Person to Person payments, transfers to credit card or transfers between U.S. Bank accounts are not eligible.

New money is considered money that is new to U.S. Bank. Funds must come from outside U.S. Bank and cannot be transferred from another U.S. Bank product or a U.S. Bank Affiliate. For accounts opened on non-business days, weekends or federal holidays, the open date is considered the next business day. Account fees (e.g., monthly maintenance, paper statement fee, etc.) could reduce the qualifying daily balance, therefore you must make deposit(s) to cover the fees to maintain the daily balance during the qualifying period to be awarded the bonus. Refer to the Business Pricing Information or Business Essentials® Pricing Information Document for a list of fees.

Bonus will be deposited into your new eligible U.S. Bank Business Checking account within 30 days following the last calendar day of the month you complete all of the offer requirements, as long as the account is open and has a positive available balance.

Offer may not be combined with any other business checking account bonus offers. Existing customers (businesses) with a business checking account or customers (businesses) who had an account in the last 12 months, do not qualify.

All regular account-opening procedures apply. For a comprehensive list of checking account pricing, terms and policies, reference your Business Pricing Information or Business Essentials® Pricing Information and YDAA disclosure. These documents can be obtained by contacting a U.S. Bank branch or calling 800.872.2657.

Bonus will be reported as interest earned on IRS Form 1099-INT and recipient is responsible for any applicable taxes. Current U.S. Bank employees are not eligible. U.S. Bank reserves the right to withdraw this offer at any time without notice.

Member FDIC.

Full American Express® Business Checking review

This account has a lot of pros, but it's not without a few drawbacks to consider.

Top perks

No monthly maintenance fee: There is no monthly account fee or maintenance fee to keep your account open. You also don't need to maintain any kind of minimum balance just to keep your account open or avoid fees.

A competitive APY: Most business checking accounts don't even earn interest, so any APY is great. But this is a particular competitive APY (annual percentage yield) for a checking account. That said, it won't hold up against a high-yield savings account, so this isn't where you should keep any business savings.

Welcome offer: You can earn up to 30,000 Membership Rewards® points with qualifying activity. Specifically, you'll need to meet all three of these conditions to earn the welcome offer:

  • Make a total of $5,000 or more in eligible deposits within 30 days
  • Maintain an average daily balance of $5,000 for the next 60 days
  • Make five or more qualifying transactions within 60 days of opening the account

Debit card purchase rewards: You can earn Membership Rewards® points on your debit card purchases. You can earn 1x point per $2 spent on your business debit card. While this is nice, it's far less than you can earn with pretty much any small business credit card. It's likely more lucrative to use credit cards when you can.

What could be improved

No physical bank branches: Amex's banking arm -- formally called American Express National Bank -- is an online-only bank. This means there are no brick-and-mortar bank branches you can stop into to chat, get service, or even make a deposit.

No cash deposits: Another side-effect of the no branches thing is that you can't deposit cash directly into your account. If you need to deposit cash, you may need to move it from another bank account via ACH or wire transfer.

Can't transfer to/from personal Amex accounts: Of particular annoyance to certain reviewers (me, it's me) is the fact that you can't transfer money directly from a personal Amex bank account to an Amex business bank account. Plus, while you can use the same login information for both personal and business accounts, there are two separate mobile apps.

Fees

Fees Monthly Maintenance ATM Withdrawal Overdraft Stop Payment Insufficient Funds
American Express® Business Checking $0 $0 at MoneyPass® ATMs $0 $0 $0
Data source: American Express.

How to access your money

Amex doesn't have physical branches, but there are still many ways to manage your money.

Deposit options

The glaring lack is the option to make cash deposits in a branch. Here's how you can fund your account instead:

  • Online transfer from another Amex business account (you can't link/transfer between a personal Amex bank account)
  • ACH transfer from an external bank account
  • Wire transfer from an external account
  • Mobile check deposits through the Amex Business Blueprint mobile app
  • Deposits from accepted credit card payments (terms and fees)

The last option -- accepting credit card payments -- is a separate service called American Express Payment Accept. It allows you to accept credit card payments from clients/customers. There are specific terms and fees for using this service.

Withdrawal options

While you can't visit a branch to withdraw money from a teller, you have plenty of ways to get your funds, including the option to pull out cash:

  • Online transfer to another Amex business account (you can't link/transfer between a personal Amex bank account)
  • ACH transfer to an external bank account
  • Wire transfer to an external account (fees apply)
  • Withdraw money from an ATM
  • Make a debit card purchase

ATM withdrawals are free from the thousands of in-network MoneyPass® ATMs. Withdrawals from non-network ATMs may come with fees. There will be a foreign transaction fee for withdrawing money in a foreign currency/from a foreign ATM.

American Express® Business Checking is right for you if:

Small business owners who want a no-nonsense, no-fee checking account could find the American Express® Business Checking to be a great fit. It has no monthly fee, a competitive interest rate, rewards on debit card purchases, and Amex's great customer service. You do miss out on physical branches, however, so this could be a miss if you prefer in-person services.

Keep reading about American Express National Bank:

Our checking account methodology

At Motley Fool Money, we rate checking accounts on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). We evaluate all checking accounts across four main criteria: brand and reputation, APY and rewards, fees and minimum requirements, and perks.

Our scores are weighted as:

  • Brand and reputation: 40%
  • APY and rewards: 30%
  • Fees and minimums: 15%
  • Other perks: 15%

Learn more about how Motley Fool Money rates bank accounts.

FAQs

  • No, American Express® Business Checking isn't compatible with Zelle. This is typical of business bank accounts.

  • No, there is no minimum income or revenue requirement to open an American Express® Business Checking account. There is also no minimum deposit to open an account, although there may be a deposit requirement to earn a welcome bonus.

  • Yes, you can integrate your American Express® Business Checking account with your QuickBooks accounting software. You can also connect your Amex business credit cards.