By revenued
Starting a new business? Ready to switch out your banking institution? As one of the nation’s largest small business lenders and a highly rated mobile banking app, Wells Fargo should be on your radar. Here’s the low-down on how their service can affect you.
Business Banking Accounts
Wells Fargo offers checking and savings options for every type of small business. Even for organizations far from a branch location, they offer different account types depending on your company’s financial needs. Here’s a layout of which account type is best for which size and type of business.
| Business Checking Account Type | Best for These Business Types |
|---|---|
| Simple Business Checking | • Sole proprietors • Home-based freelancers |
| Business Choice Checking | • Small businesses with few employees • Growing startups • Established freelance LLCs |
| Platinum Business Checking | • Established businesses with more than a few employees • Corporations |
| Analyzed Business Checking | • Larger businesses requiring greater flexibility • Corporations needing treasury management |
Minimum Deposit and APY
Regardless of the business checking account used, the minimum deposit to open an account is only $25. However, the standard APY rate in the business savings account is only 0.10%.
Mobile App Ratings
I use the Wells Fargo Business Banking mobile app for Apple iOS. As the #9 Finance App in the App Store, it’s rated 4.8 stars out of 5 (over 2.2 million ratings). The Android version is rated 4.4 stars out of 5 (over 365,000 ratings) in the Google Play Store, which does say the app is compatible with all Android devices running 5.0 or later.
Mobile App Features
As a small business owner, you’re always on the go. Access to your account information in any location is important, so here are some pros and cons of the Wells Fargo mobile app in keeping your account straight.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| FastLook The Fastlook feature allows me to view basic info such as my account balance on demand without signing in. This is perfect when trying to quickly determine which account to use to pay this week’s vendors. | Performance Issues Minor bugs such as lagging and the occasional crash can be a major inconvenience, especially when it comes to features such as mobile deposit and transferring funds. |
| Easy Sign-in One of my favorite features of the Wells Fargo app is being able to sign in with touch ID. If you don’t like the idea of using your phone’s fingerprint or facial ID features, the UX design makes it easy to set up your sign-in preferences to your normal username and password. | Check Deposit UX While being able to deposit checks from your mobile device is a great feature, the UX design of the actual capture screen isn’t as high-quality as I’ve seen from some other banking apps. |
| Control Tower Control Tower places on/off control over your business cards and accounts at your fingertips, which is especially handy when you aren’t the only one using cards from the account. |
Pros and Cons of Wells Fargo for Small Businesses
When it comes to making financial decisions for your business, knowledge is power. Here are some other general pros and cons you should be aware of when considering Wells Fargo.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great Lender Wells Fargo offers various types of small business loans at decent rates. They were even voted the nation’s #1 Best Bank for Small Business Loans in 2019. | Fees Like many other commercial banks, Wells Fargo has fees for everything under the sun. Pay attention to ways you can get out of fees on your account, like minimum monthly balances. |
| Small Business Resources An online Small Business Resource Center gives tips on everything from navigating the SBA Loan process to managing small business credit. | Low Interest Rates Don’t expect a huge increase in interest. Interest rates in business savings accounts are typically on the lower end. |
Conclusion: Worth Your While
Overall, I would rank Wells Fargo as 4 out of 5 stars. With plenty of helpful resources and convenient access through the mobile banking app, this is a good banking option for small business owners wanting to establish a lending relationship. Check out other bank reviews like this at Revenued.com
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