Best High-Yield Savings Accounts for Small Businesses 2020: 5 Banks That Give You More Interest

In theory, business savings accounts sound great. You get a secure place to store your hard-earned cash, and you get to earn interest at the same time. But in practice, many business savings accounts have low, low annual percentage yield (APY), which makes it feel like the money in your bank account never really grows.

We know how frustrating that feels, so we went looking for business savings accounts that offer higher APY than most. We’ll tell you who offers these high-yield savings accounts, what makes them great, and what you need to consider before opening an account.

Small Business Bank (SBB) is our overall favorite source for high-yield business savings accounts (not too surprising since it also tops our list of the best banks for small business).

SBB offers two savings accounts options: High Yield Savings and Money Market Savings. Both accounts have a relatively low monthly fee. But if you want to waive that maintenance fee, you can do so by keeping a $100 minimum balance in your High Yield Savings or a $10,000 minimum balance in your Money Market Savings.

Of the two accounts, High Yield Savings has a lower minimum opening deposit, but it also has a lower maximum APY. Money Market Savings, on the other hand, requires a much larger opening deposit (like 100 times larger). In return, you get an APY in which the minimum rate is higher than the maximum rate on the High Yield Savings account.

In fact, SBB’s Money Market Savings has the highest maximum APY we’ve found for a business savings account―part of the reason Small Business Bank tops this ranking. In other words, if you want the best commercial savings account rates, you want Small Business Bank.

As you might suspect, though, the Money Market Savings account isn’t all peaches and cream. It’s got one big drawback you should know: deposits into the account can’t come from an existing Small Business Bank deposit account. That’s not super unusual (Axos Bank has a similar rule on one of its accounts), but it could end up being a big frustration depending on how you manage your cash flow.

That said, both accounts are good options for high-yield savings from a well-respected bank that specializes in small businesses.

(You can learn more about why we like SBB in our Small Business Bank review.)

NBKC Bank offers a totally free money market account. Don’t be fooled by the low price tag though―this account can compete with much pricier accounts.

NBKC’s money market account doesn’t require any minimum opening deposit, and it doesn’t charge a monthly fee. You just need to have a free NBKC business checking account (which does have a minimum opening deposit―of $5) , and then you can add on a free money market account.

Like we said, though, it’s a great account. No, NBKC doesn’t offer the high maximum interest rates that Small Business Bank does, but it has better rates than just about any other bank. (And did we mention it’s free?)

Plus, NBKC doesn’t use tiered interest rates. You’ll get that great rate no matter if you have $0.01 or $100,000 in your savings account. That makes it great if you don’t always carry a big balance.

With low costs but respectable rates, NBKC’s free money market account offers a great option for affordable high-yield savings.

Axos Bank offers more choices for high-yield business savings accounts than any other bank we’ve seen. That means you choose the account that best works for your finances and needs.

Two of the accounts, Business Savings and Business Money Market, look pretty similar. They’ve got the same APY (at least for now) and the same minimum opening deposit. Business Money Market does charge a slightly higher maintenance fee, and you’ve got to keep a higher balance to waive that fee ($5,000 versus $2,500 for Business Savings).

So why choose the Business Money Market account and its higher monthly fee? Well, standard savings accounts don’t usually let you use checks. Money market accounts do. If that matters to your business, the higher monthly fee could easily be worth it.

Then there’s the final option, the Axos Bank Business Premium Savings account. As the name suggests, this one requires a much larger opening deposit, but it also gives the highest APY. Plus, it has no monthly fee at all (no minimum balance required to waive it), which is nice. That said, it does have a minimum balance requirement of $25,000 if you want to earn interest. Plus, your funds can’t come from another Axos Bank deposit account.

If that doesn’t work for you, don’t worry―Axos Bank’s three different accounts means you can find a different high-yield savings account to meet your needs.

Before we talk about KeyBank’s specific savings account, let’s make one thing clear: if you don’t already have a checking account and credit card with KeyBank (or you don’t plan to get one), then you don’t need to waste your time with KeyBank’s high-yield savings account.

That’s because KeyBank only offers high APY for customers who qualify for the KeyBank Relationship Rate. That means you need to have a business checking account, business credit card (or other payment product), and a loan or line of credit―all from KeyBank. It’s a lot.

In other words, you need to be really dedicated to your KeyBank relationship to make its Business Gold Money Market Savings worthwhile. If you do most of your banking with CitiBank and have a credit card from American Express (or whatever your brands of choice are), you’re looking at a much lower KeyBank savings account APY―like 0.01%. (Ouch.)

Throw in that you have to have $25,000 to even open an account and to avoid the monthly fee, and you’ve got a high-yield savings account that’s really not right for every business. Or most businesses, if we’re being honest.

But if you’re already part of the KeyBank business ecosystem, then KeyBank’s Business Gold account may not be a bad option.

Much like KeyBank, Santander isn’t right for everyone. It’s only available in eight northeastern states (our Santander review explains more). It offers fair, but not exceptional, APY.

That said, if you already bank with Santander, opening a money market account there isn’t the worst choice you could make. It offers a decent promotional APY on new accounts (though you’ll need a whopping $50,000 account balance to get that promotion), so it can be a good way to earn more while still keeping your money in one bank.

And if nothing else, we like Santander’s relatively low opening deposits. For just $50, you can start earning a decent APY on your money. Sure, if you make that minimum deposit, you shouldn’t expect to earn that much. But we like that Santander makes high-yield savings accounts seem more accessible for more businesses (assuming, of course, you’re in one of the eight states where it does business).

So while it’s not our first pick for high-yield business savings, Santander customers might like the convenience of keeping their accounts together―even if it means settling a little.

A high-yield savings account works just like a normal business savings account―just with a higher interest rate. You get to earn interest on your account balance (and you get FDIC insurance on your money too).

But while typical business savings accounts often have APY around 0.01%, high-yield savings accounts offer much higher APY―sometimes over 1%. Put simply, high-yield savings let you earn more interest with your money.

Historically, the Federal Reserve limited savings accounts to six transactions per month. But the Reserve lifted this rule in 2020. Some banks still self-impose that limit, though, so you’ll want to check with your bank of choice about any transaction limits they have.

Note that the ways you can access your account balance depend on whether you have a traditional savings account or a money market account. With a regular savings account, you usually can't use checks from your account. You can, however, use an ATM card (like a debit card that only works at ATMs) to withdraw money. A money market account, on the other hand, generally lets you use both checks and an ATM card to access your cash.

Interest rates fluctuate, so a good APY can change over time. Right now, the most competitive banks for business offer APY over 0.5%. But generally speaking, anything over 0.1% is already way above what you’d earn with most savings accounts.

The rates on high-yield savings accounts can change pretty much any time, but the frequency depends on the bank you use. Many, if not most, banks tie their rates to the Federal Reserves’ Federal Funds Rate, which means they adjust their rates when the Fed does.
Again, the actual frequency with which this happens can vary, but many banks adjust their rates on a monthly schedule.

You can put as much or as little money in your high-yield savings account as you want―as long as you meet any minimum balance requirements your bank has.

Many banks require a certain minimum deposit to open a savings account (often $100 or more), and some also require you to keep a minimum balance if you want to earn interest.

Of course, the more money you put in your savings accounts, the more interest you’ll earn.

No, you should not use a personal savings account for your business. There may be a few exceptions, but most businesses require business bank accounts. It protects you and your business, which you can learn more about in our guide to why you need a business bank account.

Whether you want to maximize your earnings with the highest interest rate possible or you just want a good place to keep your business’s emergency fund, a high-yield savings account offers a great option.

We think that Small Business Bank offers the best high-yield interest savings account for most businesses, thanks to its stellar rates. But if that doesn’t work for you, one of our four other recommended banks should.

So while your options are somewhat limited (simply because most banks don’t offer high interest savings for business), we hope one of the banks above can meet your business’s needs―and help your money grow and grow.

Interested in a new checking account to go with your new savings account? Find one on our rankings of the best banks for small-business checking.

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.