Wells Fargo Business Checking and Savings Review: Avoid It for Now

Wells Fargo is a popular bank with locations across the nation. And since it has a variety of business bank accounts (not to mention loans, merchant services, and other products), it’s easy to see why many entrepreneurs turn to Wells Fargo for business banking. But should they?

In this review, we’ll unpack the good (some of its bank accounts), the bad (its customer reviews), and the ugly (the government action) to help you decide if Wells Fargo is the right business bank for you.

Shall we?

There are some obvious reasons you’d want to bank with Wells Fargo:

• You’ve heard of it, unlike some of those online banks.
• It’s pretty widespread, with locations in 36 states.
• You might already do personal banking with Wells Fargo.
• You’ve seen that Wells Fargo has a bunch of stuff for small businesses.

And honestly, we get it. Wells Fargo has some big brand-name recognition as one of the largest banks in the United States.

But much like with Chase Bank, we have a hard time actually recommending Wells Fargo to anyone.

You’ve probably already heard of the 2016 fake account scandal—you know, when we found out that Wells Fargo opened over two million unauthorized bank accounts in customers’ names?¹ Yeah, that wasn’t great. But that was just the tip of the corrupt iceberg. Here are some other highlights from Wells Fargo’s last 10 years:

• Fined for price gouging via overdraft fees²
• Paid fines for violating credit card laws³
• Settled a racketeering lawsuit regarding overcharging on home appraisals⁴
• Agreed to pay customers $575 million to settle a suit about improper sales practices⁵
• Settled a lawsuit about fraudulently forcing customers to get auto insurance⁶

But let’s not forget the grand finale:

• Mandated by the U.S. Federal Reserve to no longer grow or expand “until it sufficiently improves its governance and controls”⁷

In other words, the Fed told Wells Fargo that it’s grounded until it cleans up its act. (That regulation is still in place, a year later.)

That’s a pretty big deal. In fact, Wells Fargo is the only bank the Fed has ever smacked down quite like that (and given Chase’s colorful history, that’s saying something). And when the Fed says that a bank needs to make some big changes, we think it’s wise to pay attention.

So we ask you: Is that the kind of institution you want to hand over your business’s hard-earned cash to? Because we can’t, in good conscience, recommend that you do so.

Maybe you don’t care. After all, the likelihood that the employees at your local branch are scheming about how to best scam you is, admittedly, small.

Of course, it’s ultimately your choice. We’ve told you why we don’t recommend Wells Fargo. But we’re also going to tell you all about the different bank accounts and other products that Wells Fargo can offer your business.

If you do decide to do your business banking with Wells Fargo—though we strongly suggest you go with one of the best online banks, one of the other big banks, or your local credit union instead—you’ll know full well what you’re getting into.

So let’s dive in.

Wells Fargo has the types of business bank accounts you’d expect to find: checking accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs) for your business.

Wells Fargo has several business checking accounts you can choose from. It has options for both flat-rate checking and analyzed checking accounts.

If you don’t plan on having loads of transactions and you keep a low account balance, Initiate Business Checking is probably your best bet. It has the lowest monthly fee, which you can waive by keeping an average balance of $500 in your account. But this business checking account has the fewest freebies, so it’s not right for heavy users.

Navigate Business Checking gives you more free transactions and cash deposits with only a slightly higher monthly fee, making it a solid everyday checking account. You have plenty of ways to waive that fee: keep a $10,000 average account balance, have a $15,000 combined balance across your business accounts.

Then you’ve got Wells Fargo’s Optimize Business Checking. It has a higher, non-waivable, monthly service fee with no free cash deposits. So why get them? Easy—a higher ledger balance gives you credits that offset the per-item fees. That makes them ideal for power bank users.

When it comes to savings, Wells Fargo gives you a few options. Let’s start with its standard savings accounts.

The Business Market Rate Savings account is your most basic option for business savings. It has a low monthly fee, which you can waive with an average account balance of $25 or by scheduling automatic monthly transfers of at least $25 into your savings account.

The Business Platinum Savings account has a higher service fee, but it gives you the potential to earn more with its higher APY (annual percentage yield). And of course, you can waive the monthly fee—in this case, by linking your account to a Platinum Checking account or by maintaining a $10,000 minimum balance.

Neither of these accounts gives you a great APY. If you’re looking for higher returns on your savings, then you’ll want to look at Wells Fargo’s certificates of deposit (CDs) instead. (Or get your savings account at Small Business Bank, which has APYs ranging from 0.75% to 1.76%.)

Wells Fargo has one CD option you can choose from, with varying term lengths and a fixed APY.

Standard CD has the lowest APY, but it also offers the shortest and longest terms. So if, say, you just want to stash some money for a handful of months, this will be your best bet.

While it might be best known for its bank accounts, Wells Fargo has far more than just those. Here are some of its other offerings for small businesses.

Wells Fargo is the biggest small-business lender in the United States.⁹ No surprise, then, that it has a wide range of financing options, from unsecured term loans to lines of credit to real estate loans.

Like most traditional lenders, Wells Fargo’s rates are quite low and competitive—if you can qualify for them. Wells Fargo expects your business to be at least three years old, have a healthy credit history, and make at least $1.50 in revenue for each $1 you’re trying to borrow.

You can learn more about Wells Fargo’s financing options in our Wells Fargo business loans review.

(Or if those requirements sound too strict for you, check out our ranking of the best alternative business loans to see some easier-to-qualify-for options.)

Interested in a business credit card? Wells Fargo gives you three options: two Visas and one Mastercard. All three offer cash back rewards, but the fees and APR vary from card to card.

The right card for your business will depend on how established and healthy your business is. The Business Secured Credit Card works best for young businesses getting off the ground, while the Business Elite Signature Card is for businesses that make over $1 million a year. The Business Platinum Credit Card provides an option for businesses in between.

Finally, Wells Fargo has a few more services that might interest you:

• Merchant services/credit card processing
• Retirement investment accounts (including IRA and 401(k) plans)
• International services (including foreign payment and currency exchange)

Wells Fargo’s customer reviews aren’t great. In fact, in most cases, they’re downright bad. Wells Fargo has a 1.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot and 1 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB).^{10, 11} On the other hand, Wells Fargo did manage to earn a 2.9 out of 5 on Bank Branch Locator.¹²

The negative reviews range from annoyances (a bad app) to accusations of fraud (which, given all those lawsuits, are probably true). Many people complain that employees misled or outright lied to them, while others complain about horrendous customer support.

Most of the positive reviews are about specific interactions with employees, with customers writing to praise a local bank manager or a helpful customer service rep.

For what’s it’s worth, we asked small-business owners about their banks, and at least one person reported a (mostly) positive experience with Wells Fargo.

So it’s entirely possible that you’ll have a nice experience at your local Wells Fargo branch. But it’s also possible that Wells Fargo will give you the runaround and charge you fraudulent fees.

Proceed with caution.

We’ll be blunt: we recommend that you take your business elsewhere—at least until Wells Fargo figures out what it will do differently. We’d rather see you get a business account (whether that’s checking, savings, or a CD) at a bank that doesn’t have quite as many scandals.

But, as always, we know that no one knows your business and your needs better than you do. We hope the information we provided can help you decide if Wells Fargo does, in fact, meet those needs.

Just be careful out there, okay?

We may not recommend Wells Fargo, but we do have some great alternatives. Check out our ranking of the 10 best banks for small business to find the right one for you.

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.