Wells Fargo Review

Monday, December 2nd

2024 Business Bank Account Reviews

Wells Fargo

• 3 tiers of business checking
• Can create multiple linked checking accounts to serve as "envelopes” for better money management (with no additional monthly fees)
• Easy-to-navigate website
• Offers partner connections for merchant and payroll services
• In business since 1852

In operation since 1852, Wells Fargo is one of the biggest names in banking in the United States. Chances are good that there's a branch located near you. As you'd expect from a full-service financial institution, Wells Fargo offers a complete spectrum of options ranging from loans and mortgages to checking and savings accounts, plus everything you might need to manage your business' money.

Site is wonderfully easy to navigate

If there's one immediate win for Wells Fargo as a business banking option, it's the clear layout. Some rivals make it hard to see exactly what services are offered or how they all integrate, but Wells Fargo lays it all out in simple, easy-to-follow ways. For example, when you land on the main business banking page, you'll be invited to read about the five key steps you should know before you even apply. Next, you're told about various products, from checking and savings to merchant and payroll services - and beyond. Still not sure what you need? No problem: use the "Get started” button under the paragraph that talks about the Product Selector, and Wells Fargo will make a personalized recommendation based on your business' size and needs.

Options for business checking and savings

But, since most business owners already know they'll need at least a checking and savings account, let's look at what Wells Fargo offers in those departments:

• 3 tiers of business checking
• Initiate: designed for smaller businesses with lower balances and fewer transactions, this checking account has a $10 monthly service fee (unless you have a $500 minimum daily balance or a $1,000 average ledger balance). The first 100 transactions per month are included ($0.50 for each transaction beyond that), as well as the first $5,000 in cash deposits ($0.30 per $100 deposited after that). This account requires a minimum opening deposit of $25.
• Navigate: this service tier is for slightly larger businesses, with a $25 monthly service fee unless a minimum daily balance of $10,000 or a $15,000 average combined business balance is maintained. It comes with 250 free transactions and no cash deposit processing fees on the first $20,000 each month. This checking account is interest-bearing, and it comes with additional benefits (no fees for cashier's checks or money orders, no fees on incoming wire transfers, and the ability to create multiple linked checking accounts with no additional service fees). You'll also need at least $25 to open this type of checking account.
• Optimize: designed for "the seasoned business owner focused on efficiency”, it comes with a $75 monthly maintenance fee, but there's an earnings allowance that can help bring that cost down. You're still limited to 250 fee-free transactions (which surprised us, given that this is meant for established companies), but the rest of the benefits of the Navigate tier are included. You also get up to 5 linked Optimize checking accounts, access to treasury management services, and five free outgoing wires per month. And yes, once again, you'll have to put in at least $25 to open an Optimize checking account.
• 3 options for business savings
• Business Market Rate Savings: for smaller businesses who might just be starting to save money or to set funds aside for unexpected expenses, this type of account has a $5 monthly service fee unless you maintain a $300 minimum daily balance or have a total of at least $25 in deposit transfers from a connected Wells Fargo business checking account. It requires a minimum opening deposit of $25.
• Business Platinum Savings: this is the right choice if you want higher interest rates and you're going to open a Navigate or Optimize business checking account, because either of those will waive the $15 monthly service fee (or you can keep a $10,000 minimum daily balance). You'll need at least $25 to open this savings account too.
• Business Time Accounts (CDs): there's no monthly service fees on Wells Fargo's business certificates of deposit (CDs), but you'll need to deposit at least $2,500 to start. And, of course, this locks away your funds for a fixed period of time.

We love that all of the banking options with multiple tiers of service are displayed in a convenient side-by-side format, so you can tell at a glance what to expect from each one.

Needs to explain its features more directly

On the other hand, we wish that Wells Fargo made it a little easier to see how business owners can use their banking to integrate with services and platforms they might already be using. Is it possible to connect an account with QuickBooks, for example? Can accountants be added as users? We think so, but from what we could tell, it might take an Optimize-level account to "access advanced features”. What about running payroll through, say, Gusto, instead of using Wells Fargo's partner ADP? It would be helpful if those details were spelled out as directly as the information on the checking and savings accounts.

"F” from the BBB and billion-dollar CFPB penalties

But, maybe none of that matters: Wells Fargo has a shaky reputation overall, with an "F” from the Better Business Bureau and over 6,300 complaints registered there in the last three years. Many of the complaints are related to issues detailed in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's 2022 allegations that resulted in a $3.7 billion penalty and settlement - including overdraft fees even when there was enough money in the accounts and freezing more than a million accounts when Wells Fargo's automated filters were faulty. It's hard to say how much of that affected business banking accounts, but it stands to reason that the number is greater than zero. Most of the complaints filed within a couple months of this review were not related to business banking products, but a handful were.

Business owners aren't happy here

We then checked in with Wells Fargo's reputation over on Trustpilot, and there we found rants related to business banking that worry us. One business owner said that their account was closed with no warning when Wells Fargo claimed that they hadn't filled out critical forms - even though the bank had never told the customer that there was a problem, and that form had been turned in properly at a specific Wells Fargo branch. Another ranted about how her company business credit card had been frozen for over two weeks, even though they were still well under their credit limit; all of the issues made it so that payments from recurring partners started bouncing, but Wells Fargo offered no help.

Go somewhere else for business banking

At first glance, Wells Fargo seems like a business banking option that will make your life easier, with simple-to-understand account types and tiers and uncomplicated ways to get monthly fees waived. Unfortunately, though, when you look at how this bank is actually performing for its clients, especially business owners, all you're likely to feel is disappointment. We don't recommend Wells Fargo for business bank accounts.