Wells Fargo and Chase are two of the largest banks for small business. Both boast extensive nationwide branch access, large welcome offers and a full menu of business products — loans, business credit cards and merchant services.
Chase is the better choice for most modern businesses, though. Chase Business Complete Banking® includes unlimited electronic transactions, built-in invoicing and the ability to accept tap-to-pay payments from the Chase mobile app.
Wells Fargo Initiate Business Checking℠ Account has no built-in business tools, beyond Zelle for Business (Chase has that too). And every single debit, deposit and transfer counts toward your monthly limit. But Wells Fargo has one edge Chase doesn't: free incoming wire transfers.
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Wells Fargo vs. Chase business checking
This guide breaks down the fees, perks and limits to help you decide which of these banks best suits your business. We’re focusing on each bank’s entry-level account for this comparison, but both offer options to upgrade as your business grows.
Account details
Wells Fargo Initiate Business Checking℠ Account | Chase Business Complete Banking® | |
|---|---|---|
NerdWallet star rating | ||
Monthly fee | $15 | $15 |
Ways to avoid monthly fee |
|
|
Welcome offer | $825. Terms apply. | $500. Terms apply. |
Free transactions | 100 | Unlimited electronic transactions. 20 in-person transactions and/or paper checks per month. |
Free cash deposits | $5,000 | In branch: $5,000. ATM: No fee or monthly limit. |
Branch locations | 4,000+ | 5,000+ |
ATM network | 11,000 | ~14,000 |
Customer support | Phone support 7 days/week. No live chat. | Chase doesn't publish business support hours. No live chat support. |
Chase wins for cash deposits, transaction limits
Chase and Wells Fargo both cap free monthly cash deposits at $5,000 on their entry-level accounts. That's pretty standard for brick-and-mortar banks. But Chase only counts in-person deposits toward that limit. There's no additional charge for cash deposits made at a Chase ATM.
The same rule applies to the transaction limits. Chase Business Complete Banking includes unlimited electronic transactions (mobile deposits, ACH transfers, ATM transactions, internal transfers and the like). It caps in-person transactions and paper checks at 20 per statement cycle. That’s great for digital-first businesses, less so for traditional operations that rely on paper checks and in-person transactions.
Wells Fargo offers a little more breathing room for that type of business. The Wells Fargo Initiate Business Checking℠ Account includes up to 100 free transactions per statement cycle. There's no distinction between in-person and electronic transactions.
Wells Fargo wins for sign-up bonus
Wells Fargo's current offer (up to $825) is the best bonus we've seen from the bank. It's a hard one to beat, assuming you can earn the full amount.
This offer applies to eligible new Wells Fargo Initiate Business Checking℠ Accounts opened by 09/08/2026. Qualifying for the bonus has three parts.
- Deposit at least $2,500 within 30 days. Your balance on day 30 determines your bonus amount:
- $2,500-$9,999 = $400 bonus.
- $10,000-$24,999 = $550 bonus.
- $25,000 or more = $825 bonus.
- Maintain that balance through day 60.
- Complete five qualifying transactions within the 60-day window.
Chase Business Complete Banking® has a welcome offer too. Earn up to $500 when you open a new Chase Business Complete Checking® account. For new Chase business checking customers with qualifying activities.
- Deposit at least $2,000 within the first 30 days, then maintain that balance for 60 days.
- $2,000 - $9,999 = $400 bonus.
- $10,000 or more = $500 bonus.
- Complete five qualifying transactions within 90 days of opening the account. Can be a debit card purchase, Chase QuickAccept deposit, ACH credit, Chase QuickDeposit℠ or wire transfer.
Incidental fees
Wells Fargo Initiate Business Checking℠ Account | Chase Business Complete Banking® | |
|---|---|---|
Out-of-network ATM fees | $3 | $3 |
ACH transfers | No additional charge for standard ACH. | No additional charge for standard ACH. |
Incoming wires | Free incoming wires | $15 domestic and international ($0 if from Chase) |
Outgoing wires | $25 digital, $40 in-branch (domestic and international) | $25-$35 domestic; $40-$50 international |
Overdraft fees | $35 per item; max 4/day No fee on items ≤ $10 or if overdrawn by ≤ $10 at the end of the day. | $34 if overdrawn $50+; max 6/day |
Wells Fargo wins on wire transfers
Free incoming wire transfers are one of Wells Fargo's standout features. In our review of more than 50 business checking accounts, Wells Fargo was one of just three brick-and-mortar banks that didn't charge for any incoming wires. The other two are credit unions (Boeing Employees Credit Union and Navy Federal Credit Union). Chase has free incoming wires, but only from other Chase accounts.
Outgoing wires are less expensive with Wells Fargo too — especially international wires. You'll pay almost twice as much to send a digital international wire with Chase versus Wells Fargo. If outgoing wires are key to your business operations, check out an online business account. Mercury Business Account has no monthly fee and all U.S. dollar wire transfers are free, for instance.
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Software tools
Wells Fargo Initiate Business Checking℠ Account | Chase Business Complete Banking® | |
|---|---|---|
Built-in invoicing | — | ✓ |
Accept tap-to-pay in mobile app | — | ✓ |
Zelle for Business | ✓ | ✓ |
Sub-accounts | — | — |
Tax-planning tools | — | — |
Contractor management | — | — |
Chase wins on built-in business tools
Chase's online and mobile banking goes beyond standard mobile banking. In addition to the expected features — mobile deposit, online bill pay, easy balance transfers — you get invoicing and integrated payment processing.
Chase QuickAccept lets you accept payments in the Chase mobile app. Business owners can manually enter credit card information to process a payment — and iPhone users can accept tap-to-pay directly from the mobile app. Non-iPhone users need to purchase a contactless card reader to accept tap-to-pay, chip or swipe payments. QuickAccept is included with all Chase Business Complete Banking® accounts.
Wells Fargo’s included banking tools are pretty bare bones. You get bill pay and Zelle for Business — that's it. There’s no invoicing, accounts payable or in-app credit card processing.
Notes from financial institutions
*The monthly service fee can be avoided with one of the following each fee period:
$2,000 minimum daily balance.
OR
$5,000 combined account balance.
The combined balance is determined on the last business day of your fee period. Combined business deposit balances include the average ledger balance in your Initiate Business Checking account plus other qualified accounts, including: Business checking accounts: Initiate Business Checking, Navigate Business Checking, Optimize Business Checking, and Analyzed Business Checking. Business savings accounts: Business Market Rate Savings and Business Platinum Savings. Business time accounts (CDs): Business Time Accounts. The combined business deposit balance waiver will be applied as a refund after the statement cycle ends.
OR
Own a Premier Checking, Private Bank Checking, or Private Bank Interest Checking
account.
account.
Customers who own a Premier Checking, Private Bank Checking, or Private Bank Interest Checking account and own a business with an Initiate Business Checking, Navigate Business Checking, Business Market Rate Savings, or Business Platinum Savings will have their monthly service fee waived on the business account(s). Customer must be an individual owner, joint owner, or trustee of the Premier Checking, Private Bank Checking, or Private Bank Interest Checking account and be a business owner with transaction authority on the business account. If a business has multiple owners, the benefit will apply as long as one of the owners has a Premier Checking, Private Bank Checking, or Private Bank Interest Checking account. In the event a customer no longer has a Premier Checking, Private Bank Checking, or Private Bank Interest Checking account, that customer is no longer eligible for the monthly service fee waiver benefit.
See the Business Account Fee and Information Schedule for additional business account information.
