Banking...
 

Getting ready to open a business account and I've been doing my research as far as banks are concerned... I know we all don't have the same banks (because we live in different areas).

But WHO DO YOU do business banking with?

I'm between

Wells Fargo

Citibank

Bank of America

I prefer not to use the big banks. I use a small community bank located about a mile away from my house. It makes it convienent for making deposits of checks I get thru the mail and I can walk in and talk to a real person to resolve any issues. I have also been looking at setting up PayPal credit card payments and having payments transferred to my bank account but need to explore this service's reliability a little more.

Regards,

I live between two branches of a Bank of America. I started banking there when I moved to Florida and didn't have any branches of my bank within 100 miles.

So far so good. They offer a lot of services.

I don't think it matters where you bank. You want one with lots of branches if you need to use an ATM (I never do). You want one with lots of branches if you travel a lot (I do).

Pick one based on what they can do for you, and what they charge to do it.

Of the ones on your list, I would choose B of A, but I would consider what Mark had to say very strongly if it suits your needs.

small community banks rule!

where everybody knows your name.

wells fargo has too many layers of managers, none of whom seem to be around to approve transactions in a timely fashion.

at my local bank, the manager's door is open, and we've gone out for drinks....

I was going to go with bank of America, but the small business checking account they wanted to set me up with would require a minimum balance and an annual maintence fee unless I maintain a certain cash flow every month. US bank on the other hand gave me free small business checking with no restrictions, so I went with US Bank.

My "business" account is actually a personal account with a DBA (Doing Business As).

I get free checking, no minimum balance requirement, and my customers can make their checks payable to my business name. I don't have a credit card merchant status, but by using paypal, I can accept CC payments then transfer it to my bank account.

My bank is regional. I do all my banking and loans through them. I like that when I walk in the branch I use, all the major people (Manager, Loan Officers,etc) know who I am and call me by name. I'm sure the fact that I have a substantial balance and an excellent credit rating helps.

I bank with First Federal Bank. Funny thing... I have yet to come across Second Federal Bank.

Jeff

I send all my money to Chris Hurd. He buries it in a steel box in his backyard for me. He says when I need it he'll even help me dig it back up.

Please, let's keep the discussion centered on the original question of which bank to choose. Political comments about the nature of the US banking system will be removed.

Thanks for your cooperation.

I have a Bank of America Platinum CC card. They're really good though I like the idea of burying money in a box.

When burying money in a box, I prefer to burry gold. It never goes out of style...

But as far as a bank, I use Chase. A starter business account seems to have met all of my needs so far. And there's room to upgrade if I need to later.