ISO alternative to TD Bank for Low Volume business banking

[ExGingi]

I've had business accounts with TD Bank since they were Commerce Bank. At the time they were the only bank open late (8pm back then, they've cut back on it since), next-day funds availability for most check deposits, and open on Sundays.

Ever since TD took over, they've been creeping away from being a good alternative for me, starting with minimum balances, then changing the way online bill-pay checks are processed, changing the order of transaction processing, and now raising the monthly minimum balance to avoid a $25 monthly fee. It is time for me to say goodbye, and I'm looking for alternatives that will end up being free for my low volume business accounts. Here are some alternatives I'm looking at. I would appreciate any insight/experience (need to be available to open account for NY based business accounts).

My requirements are:
1. No fees with $500 or lower balance.
2. Good funds availability (non-issue most of the time, as I'm depositing less and less checks).
3. Good online banking with bill-pay
4. Favorable transaction posting order.
5. No charge for Quickbooks connectivity.

Ruled out:

Citizen's Bank - "Free" option charges fees for Quickbooks connectivity. Potentially other hidden fees.


Currently looking at:

Bank of America:

Pros:
Walking distance to local branch
Easy to avoid monthly fee with $250 charged monthly to debit card (I am a signer on a certain orgainzation's account with BofA and avoid the fees by attaching the debit card to CashApp and charging $250 every month)
Zelle for business
?

Cons:
Terrible customer service, and terrible branch experience
Need to remember to charge $250 to each business debit card to avoid monthly fee
?


Wells Fargo

Pros:
$0 monthly service fee on your Simple Business Checking account when you maintain a
$500 average ledger balance each fee period. (A rarity in today's day and age, average balances are much easier to maintain and don't trip you off with an overlooked transaction.
Branches available (though not in Brooklyn).
Favorable posting order for credits and debits.
?

Cons:
Only 50 free transactions per month (usually sufficient), extra transactions are $0.50 each.
No Brooklyn branch.
?

iberiabank.com

Pros:
NY Business can open an account online.
200 free monthly transactions
Free online banking, bill-pay and mobile deposit.
NY Business can open account online.
No fee for Quickbooks connectivity
Free bank to bank transfers
?

Cons:
No local branch or ATM
?

Azlo

Pros:
Free (We don’t charge overdraft fees, maintenance fees, transaction fees, card replacement fees, or anything of the sort.)
Free Quickbooks connectivity
Free incoming wires (for that rare occasion)
?

Cons:
Funds availability might not be the greatest (Mobile check deposits are typically available in 1-6 business days, depending on a variety of factors including the size of the check and your deposit history.)
?


nbkc bank

Pros:

No minimum balance
No per item fee
No overdraft or NSF fees
No stop-payment fees
No domestic incoming wire fees
Desktop remote deposit available add-on (fee unknow as of now).

Cons:

No local branch.
Certain add-ons might require fees such as ACH debits and Credits and desktop remote deposit.


Popular

Pros:
No minimum balance
200 Free transactions per month
Local branches
?

Cons:
?

[davidrotts63]

Following

[grodnoking]

I've had business accounts with TD Bank since they were Commerce Bank. At the time they were the only bank open late (8pm back then, they've cut back on it since), next-day funds availability for most check deposits, and open on Sundays.

Ever since TD took over, they've been creeping away from being a good alternative for me, starting with minimum balances, then changing the way online bill-pay checks are processed, changing the order of transaction processing, and now raising the monthly minimum balance to avoid a $25 monthly fee. It is time for me to say goodbye, and I'm looking for alternatives that will end up being free for my low volume business accounts. Here are some alternatives I'm looking at. I would appreciate any insight/experience (need to be available to open account for NY based business accounts).

My requirements are:
1. No fees with $500 or lower balance.
2. Good funds availability (non-issue most of the time, as I'm depositing less and less checks).
3. Good online banking with bill-pay
4. Favorable transaction posting order.
5. No charge for Quickbooks connectivity.

Ruled out:

Citizen's Bank - "Free" option charges fees for Quickbooks connectivity. Potentially other hidden fees.


Currently looking at:

Bank of America:

Pros:
Walking distance to local branch
Easy to avoid monthly fee with $250 charged monthly to debit card (I am a signer on a certain orgainzation's account with BofA and avoid the fees by attaching the debit card to CashApp and charging $250 every month)
Zelle for business
?

Cons:
Terrible customer service, and terrible branch experience
Need to remember to charge $250 to each business debit card to avoid monthly fee
?


Wells Fargo

Pros:
$0 monthly service fee on your Simple Business Checking account when you maintain a
$500 average ledger balance each fee period. (A rarity in today's day and age, average balances are much easier to maintain and don't trip you off with an overlooked transaction.
Branches available (though not in Brooklyn).
Favorable posting order for credits and debits.
?

Cons:
Only 50 free transactions per month (usually sufficient), extra transactions are $0.50 each.
No Brooklyn branch.
?

iberiabank.com

Pros:
NY Business can open an account online.
200 free monthly transactions
Free online banking, bill-pay and mobile deposit.
NY Business can open account online.
No fee for Quickbooks connectivity
Free bank to bank transfers
?

Cons:
No local branch or ATM
?

Azlo

Pros:
Free (We don’t charge overdraft fees, maintenance fees, transaction fees, card replacement fees, or anything of the sort.)
Free Quickbooks connectivity
Free incoming wires (for that rare occasion)
?

Cons:
Funds availability might not be the greatest (Mobile check deposits are typically available in 1-6 business days, depending on a variety of factors including the size of the check and your deposit history.)
?


nbkc bank

Pros:

No minimum balance
No per item fee
No overdraft or NSF fees
No stop-payment fees
No domestic incoming wire fees
Desktop remote deposit available add-on (fee unknow as of now).

Cons:

No local branch.
Certain add-ons might require fees such as ACH debits and Credits and desktop remote deposit.


Popular

Pros:
No minimum balance
200 Free transactions per month
Local branches
?

Cons:
?

I had the same issue, and ended up matching the new business account with my grandfathered premier checking to avoid fees, just because I was to lazy to find another bank. I really appreciate the fact that you put all your research here.

[ExGingi]

I had the same issue, and ended up matching the new business account with my grandfathered premier checking to avoid fees, just because I was to lazy to find another bank. I really appreciate the fact that you put all your research here.

Despite my long relationship, I don't seem to have anything grandfathered. So other than a couple of POA accounts (and a Safe Deposit Box with a POA), it seems like it will be goodbye.

I do have an account with smallbusinessbank.com that is free (though they did want to charge $5 per month if I added another account even if it's a different corporation) and is the only bank I've found so far that offers free remote desktop deposit, but they've changed their online bill pay to a horrendous one, so they're not very practical anymore (though I prefer desktop deposit to mobile deposit, so I might keep them for that, I've been using my USAA personal account as an ACH hub to transfer funds between banks and accounts).

[aygart]

Not BOA.

With CPC or sapphire personal checking Chase biz checking has no minimum.

[ExGingi]

Not BOA

I know. They are terrible. But their branch/atm is very conveniently located (as is Apple Bank, but I've heard horror stories about them, so I'm not considering).

I am also looking at:

M&T Bank

Pros:

Branch not too far away.
No monthly fee with 5 transaction items per month.
100 free transactions.
?

Cons:
$1 per transaction over 100 transactions
?

US Bank

Pros:
I have a free personal checking account and CC with them
Zelle for business available
125 Free transactions per month
?

Cons:
No local branch.
Website leaves a lot to be desired.
?

[aygart]

I know. They are terrible. But their branch/atm is very conveniently located (as is Apple Bank, but I've heard horror stories about them, so I'm not considering).

I am also looking at:

M&T Bank

Pros:

Branch not too far away.
No monthly fee with 5 transaction items per month.
100 free transactions.
?

Cons:
$1 per transaction over 100 transactions
?

US Bank

Pros:
I have a free personal checking account and CC with them
Zelle for business available
125 Free transactions per month
?

Cons:
No local branch.
Website leaves a lot to be desired.
?

You know my horror story with them. I love Chase.

[ExGingi]

You know my horror story with them. I love Chase.

I know that, and I also know my own terrible experiences with BOA for my own account as well as helping a friend get a mortgage modification.

Getting in love with a business/bank is a dangerous proposition. That being said, I'm aware of the many advantages of Chase. I'm not aware of a way to get free business checking with low balance and low transaction volume. I might also be blacklisted by them, IDK. I definitely can't open up an account online.

[yuneeq]

Looked into Santander? Seems like they have a couple options.

[WhiteSocks]

North East Community Bank. NECB.COM
I think mobile deposits have a limit - otherwise, no maintenance fees or minimums and checks clear next business day.

[ExGingi]

I've had business accounts with TD Bank since they were Commerce Bank. At the time they were the only bank open late (8pm back then, they've cut back on it since), next-day funds availability for most check deposits, and open on Sundays.

Ever since TD took over, they've been creeping away from being a good alternative for me, starting with minimum balances, then changing the way online bill-pay checks are processed, changing the order of transaction processing, and now raising the monthly minimum balance to avoid a $25 monthly fee. It is time for me to say goodbye, and I'm looking for alternatives that will end up being free for my low volume business accounts. Here are some alternatives I'm looking at. I would appreciate any insight/experience (need to be available to open account for NY based business accounts).

My requirements are:
1. No fees with $500 or lower balance.
2. Good funds availability (non-issue most of the time, as I'm depositing less and less checks).
3. Good online banking with bill-pay
4. Favorable transaction posting order.
5. No charge for Quickbooks connectivity.

Ruled out:

Citizen's Bank - "Free" option charges fees for Quickbooks connectivity. Potentially other hidden fees.


Currently looking at:

Bank of America:

Pros:
Walking distance to local branch
Easy to avoid monthly fee with $250 charged monthly to debit card (I am a signer on a certain orgainzation's account with BofA and avoid the fees by attaching the debit card to CashApp and charging $250 every month)
Zelle for business
?

Cons:
Terrible customer service, and terrible branch experience
Need to remember to charge $250 to each business debit card to avoid monthly fee
?


Wells Fargo

Pros:
$0 monthly service fee on your Simple Business Checking account when you maintain a
$500 average ledger balance each fee period. (A rarity in today's day and age, average balances are much easier to maintain and don't trip you off with an overlooked transaction.
Branches available (though not in Brooklyn).
Favorable posting order for credits and debits.
?

Cons:
Only 50 free transactions per month (usually sufficient), extra transactions are $0.50 each.
No Brooklyn branch.
?

iberiabank.com

Pros:
NY Business can open an account online.
200 free monthly transactions
Free online banking, bill-pay and mobile deposit.
NY Business can open account online.
No fee for Quickbooks connectivity
Free bank to bank transfers
?

Cons:
No local branch or ATM
?

Azlo

Pros:
Free (We don’t charge overdraft fees, maintenance fees, transaction fees, card replacement fees, or anything of the sort.)
Free Quickbooks connectivity
Free incoming wires (for that rare occasion)
?

Cons:
Funds availability might not be the greatest (Mobile check deposits are typically available in 1-6 business days, depending on a variety of factors including the size of the check and your deposit history.)
?


nbkc bank

Pros:

No minimum balance
No per item fee
No overdraft or NSF fees
No stop-payment fees
No domestic incoming wire fees
Desktop remote deposit available add-on (fee unknow as of now).

Cons:

No local branch.
Certain add-ons might require fees such as ACH debits and Credits and desktop remote deposit.


Popular

Pros:
No minimum balance
200 Free transactions per month
Local branches
?

Cons:
?

Updates:

Chase ruled out due to them having same minimum DAILY balance as TD Bank to waive monthly fee.

nbkc looks promising on several fronts, including no limit on mobile deposits, $5 domestic outgoing wire - I've decided to give them a try, but while in the process was confronted with silence on their phone line today - calling their main phone line revealed that they are closed today due to some celebration of hometown heroes (I assume something to do with the Superbowl).

iberiabank had some good things going for them, including a physical branch in NYC, but they seem to have relatively low limits on mobile deposits, and the person I spoke to over the phone was unaware of a way to deposit larger checks other than at a branch.

Azlo seems to have the same problem many out of NY banks have with NY corporations, there's nowhere on the state website or filings that indicates the identities of the owners of ther corporation. I'm not sure if we will find a way around this. I remember years ago I tried opening an account with MWABank (which I now see was acquired by Axos) and encountered a refusal to open the account due to this issue.

[ExGingi]

Updates:


nbkc looks promising on several fronts, including no limit on mobile deposits, $5 domestic outgoing wire - I've decided to give them a try, but while in the process was confronted with silence on their phone line today - calling their main phone line revealed that they are closed today due to some celebration of hometown heroes (I assume something to do with the Superbowl).



Azlo seems to have the same problem many out of NY banks have with NY corporations, there's nowhere on the state website or filings that indicates the identities of the owners of ther corporation. I'm not sure if we will find a way around this. I remember years ago I tried opening an account with MWABank (which I now see was acquired by Axos) and encountered a refusal to open the account due to this issue.

Update 2:

Azlo totally ruled out. Can’t write checks. I might look into BBVA (which is the actual bank behind the Azlo platform) in the future.
https://www.azlo.com/business-banking/#faq

nbkc I opened one business account and made my first check deposit. Online interface outdated (but I’ve seen worse). Reminds me of the interface of Elements.org.

[Yammer]

I've had business accounts with TD Bank since they were Commerce Bank. At the time they were the only bank open late (8pm back then, they've cut back on it since), next-day funds availability for most check deposits, and open on Sundays.

Ever since TD took over, they've been creeping away from being a good alternative for me, starting with minimum balances, then changing the way online bill-pay checks are processed, changing the order of transaction processing, and now raising the monthly minimum balance to avoid a $25 monthly fee. It is time for me to say goodbye, and I'm looking for alternatives that will end up being free for my low volume business accounts. Here are some alternatives I'm looking at. I would appreciate any insight/experience (need to be available to open account for NY based business accounts).

My requirements are:
1. No fees with $500 or lower balance.
2. Good funds availability (non-issue most of the time, as I'm depositing less and less checks).
3. Good online banking with bill-pay
4. Favorable transaction posting order.
5. No charge for Quickbooks connectivity.

Ruled out:

Citizen's Bank - "Free" option charges fees for Quickbooks connectivity. Potentially other hidden fees.


Currently looking at:

Bank of America:

Pros:
Walking distance to local branch
Easy to avoid monthly fee with $250 charged monthly to debit card (I am a signer on a certain orgainzation's account with BofA and avoid the fees by attaching the debit card to CashApp and charging $250 every month)
Zelle for business
?

Cons:
Terrible customer service, and terrible branch experience
Need to remember to charge $250 to each business debit card to avoid monthly fee
?


Wells Fargo

Pros:
$0 monthly service fee on your Simple Business Checking account when you maintain a
$500 average ledger balance each fee period. (A rarity in today's day and age, average balances are much easier to maintain and don't trip you off with an overlooked transaction.
Branches available (though not in Brooklyn).
Favorable posting order for credits and debits.
?

Cons:
Only 50 free transactions per month (usually sufficient), extra transactions are $0.50 each.
No Brooklyn branch.
?

iberiabank.com

Pros:
NY Business can open an account online.
200 free monthly transactions
Free online banking, bill-pay and mobile deposit.
NY Business can open account online.
No fee for Quickbooks connectivity
Free bank to bank transfers
?

Cons:
No local branch or ATM
?

Azlo

Pros:
Free (We don’t charge overdraft fees, maintenance fees, transaction fees, card replacement fees, or anything of the sort.)
Free Quickbooks connectivity
Free incoming wires (for that rare occasion)
?

Cons:
Funds availability might not be the greatest (Mobile check deposits are typically available in 1-6 business days, depending on a variety of factors including the size of the check and your deposit history.)
?


nbkc bank

Pros:

No minimum balance
No per item fee
No overdraft or NSF fees
No stop-payment fees
No domestic incoming wire fees
Desktop remote deposit available add-on (fee unknow as of now).

Cons:

No local branch.
Certain add-ons might require fees such as ACH debits and Credits and desktop remote deposit.


Popular

Pros:
No minimum balance
200 Free transactions per month
Local branches
?

Cons:
?

Thanks for putting in the time.

You know my horror story with them. I love Chase.

I have a Chase account but Im scared to deposit anything that's unquestionably kosher.

Looking for another bank as well

[ExGingi]

Certain things have changed in my businesses and I decided to actually give Chase a try.

I was almost going to make an appointment with a banker at a local branch, until he told me that for an LLC that I manage all members are going to have to sign paperwork at a Chase branch. That sounded like a totally off the wall requirement.

[Mordyk]

Certain things have changed in my businesses and I decided to actually give Chase a try.

I was almost going to make an appointment with a banker at a local branch, until he told me that for an LLC that I manage all members are going to have to sign paperwork at a Chase branch. That sounded like a totally off the wall requirement.

Just had the same with TD. Even if they weren't signers

[lcm]

I manage an organization bank account,
We use nbkc.

I'm personally not bothered by the interface, and they are constantly working on updating it.

Pros:
All mentioned above, as well as:
CS- The customer service is very good, it seems like the CS is in branch people (from their few branches in Kansas).
ATMs- They use the Money Pass ATM network, which there a quite a lot of. Out of network ATM fees of up to $12 a month are refunded.
Checks- They send checks in bill pay for free.
No fees- Didn't find any fees that affected me yet.
Transparent- They are the real bank (unlike azlos) and not a huge corporation.
Multiple signers- there are multiple signers- with individual logins.

And many other things that I can't remember at the moment

Cons:
No Zelle
No branches except for in Kansas (not a problem for me)
A little strange, but not a problem: the check that was sent from bill pay looked like it was coming from myself personally, not so much from the organization

[ExGingi]

I manage an organization bank account,
We use nbkc.

I'm personally not bothered by the interface, and they are constantly working on updating it.

Pros:
All mentioned above, as well as:
CS- The customer service is very good, it seems like the CS is in branch people (from their few branches in Kansas).
ATMs- They use the Money Pass ATM network, which there a quite a lot of. Out of network ATM fees of up to $12 a month are refunded.
Checks- They send checks in bill pay for free.
No fees- Didn't find any fees that affected me yet.
Transparent- They are the real bank (unlike azlos) and not a huge corporation.
Multiple signers- there are multiple signers- with individual logins.

And many other things that I can't remember at the moment

Cons:
No Zelle
No branches except for in Kansas (not a problem for me)
A little strange, but not a problem: the check that was sent from bill pay looked like it was coming from myself personally, not so much from the organization

I agree with your pros. As long as I'm getting what I need from the bank I don't care about not having a local branch.

Bill Pay check - I don't like it one bit that it says my name on it. Especially since I have two corporations that I pay from. How is a recepient supposed to tell which corp it's coming from?
Another con is that under the "move money" function it will only allow me to do an ACH bill pay to someone defined as an individual, and at that, it seems like the maximum amounts are low.

I don't find a problem with the interface.

[ExGingi]

Just had the same with TD. Even if they weren't signers

Indeed. Crazy!

I wonder what if I try to open up the LLC Bank account as a single member LLC and then switch it to a multiple member LLC. I doubt whether they have a way of seeing any of that.

[lcm]

Bill Pay check - I don't like it one bit that it says my name on it. Especially since I have two corporations that I pay from. How is a recepient supposed to tell which corp it's coming from?
Another con is that under the "move money" function it will only allow me to do an ACH bill pay to someone defined as an individual, and at that, it seems like the maximum amounts are low.

Your able to see the actual check that was sent. Just looked at it now, and I couldn't find any info about the organization, just my personal details! It could be it said something on the envelope. But, being that they are constantly updating things, it could be this did/will change (the check was in January)
This wasn't a problem for us since the recipient was expecting it, but I can understand how it can be problematic.

Sounds right about the ACH bill pay, although I haven't tried it recently.
However, it may be possible by calling the bank to up the limit.

With the above said, all that you get for the cost (read free) is unbeatable

[ExGingi]

Indeed. Crazy!

I wonder what if I try to open up the LLC Bank account as a single member LLC and then switch it to a multiple member LLC. I doubt whether they have a way of seeing any of that.

I ended up applying at Mercury.com for an account for the LLC, after submitting all the documents they said it's 5 to 7 business days until the account is opened. I will report back once I have experience.

In the meantime, I saw this interesting rather well-written comparison: https://satchel.com/store-of-money/#ratings-matrix