Best High-Yield Savings Accounts for Small Businesses: 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: Best overall

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.

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.)

Axos Bank: Most savings account options

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 account, Business Premium Savings. 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.

TIAA Bank: Most ATMs

TIAA offers just one high-yield business savings account (a money market account, to be more specific). Luckily, it’s a good one. No, the rates aren’t the highest out there, and the monthly fee isn’t the lowest (you can waive it with a $5,000 account balance). Even so, there’s a good reason to choose TIAA Bank: ATMs everywhere.

TIAA Bank has the widest ATM network we’ve seen, with 80,000 ATMs spread across the United States. So no matter where you are, there’s a good chance you’ve got an in-network ATM nearby.

Now, savings accounts only let you make six withdrawals or transfers per month (it’s a legal thing), so you probably won’t be running off the ATM every single day. Still, we’ve found that when you do need an ATM, you don’t want to hunt for one you can use.

So if your business plans on withdrawing funds even somewhat regularly from your savings account, TIAA’s ATM network might be just the thing you need.

KeyBank: Best for current KeyBank customers

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 savings account rate from KeyBank―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.

Santander: Lowest minimum opening deposit

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.

Still, there’s one reason we like Santander’s Money Market Savings account: the really low minimum initial deposit.

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’s low minimum initial deposit makes it worth including on this list.

FAQs about high-yield savings accounts for business

How does a high-yield savings account work?

A high-yield savings account works just like a normal business savings account―just with a higher interest rate. That means that you get a limited number of transactions per month (just six, by federal law). In return, you earn interest on the money in your account (and FDIC insurance on your money).

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.

(If six transactions feels too limiting, you probably want to open a business checking account instead.)

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.

What is a good APY for a business savings account?

Interest rates fluctuate, so a good APY can change over time. Right now, the most competitive banks for business offer APY over 1%. But generally speaking, anything over 0.5% is already way above what you’d earn with most savings accounts.

How often do high-yield savings rates change?

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.

Can I use a personal savings account for my business?

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.

The takeaway

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.

While your options are somewhat limited (simply because most banks don’t offer high-yield accounts), 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.