Our Take
The bottom line:
Live Oak’s online business checking account lacks the bells and whistles of its competitors, but the bank’s high-yield business savings account shines with a high APY and no minimum balance requirement.
Live Oak Bank Business Savings
Checking
Member FDIC
APY
4.00% With $0.01 min. balance for APY
Bonus
$300 Requirements to qualify
Learn more
at Live Oak Bank, Member FDIC
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Industry-leading APY.
- No minimum balance to earn interest.
- No monthly fee or minimum deposit.
- Access up to $10 million in FDIC insurance with Insured Cash Sweep.
Cons
- No ATM or debit card access.
- No weekend customer support.
Full Review
Editor's note (Oct. 30, 2023): Live Oak business checking is currently unavailable to new customers.
Live Oak is a fully online bank headquartered in North Carolina. Perhaps best known as one of the most active lenders in the SBA’s 7(a) loan program, Live Oak Bank also offers a range of business banking accounts fully insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Live Oak’s Tidal Business Checking account is a no-frills free business checking account. There’s a minimum opening deposit of $
100
but no monthly fee, overdraft fees or excess transaction fees. Other online business checking accounts offer more bells and whistles, including tax-planning tools, cash back on purchases and integrations with popular business apps.The real star of the show is Live Oak’s business savings account. This account earns
4.00%
annual percentage yield (APY), and interest compounds daily to give you the best return on your savings. There is no monthly fee or minimum balance to start earning interest. The bank also has multiple options for business certificates of deposit, as well as a sweep account that can offer FDIC insurance beyond the standard $250,000 maximum.While this review covers Live Oak business checking and savings accounts, the star rating refers to the business checking account only.
Live Oak business banking is best for small business owners who:
- Want a high-yield business savings account.
- Need a simple, free business checking account (and don’t need to deposit cash).
- Want an Insured Cash Sweep account to maximize savings and FDIC insurance coverage.
Live Oak business checking and savings at a glance
Live Oak Banking Business Checking | Live Oak Bank Business Savings | |
Monthly fee | $ 0 . | $ 0 . |
Minimum opening deposit | $ 100 . | $0. |
APY | None. | 4.00% . |
Transactions | Unlimited. | Unlimited. |
Bonus | None. | None. |
How to open a Live Oak business account
Live Oak business checking and savings accounts are open to all business entity types, including nonprofits and associations. Most Live Oak business accounts are opened entirely online, though businesses interested in opening an Insured Cash Sweep account need to work directly with a business banker.
What you need to open an account
- Personal information: Name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and driver’s license or government-issued photo identification.
- Business information: Business name, address, phone number and website, as well as your tax identification number (EIN or SSN for sole proprietors), business structure, industry, annual revenue, number of employees and years in business.
- Business documentation: Articles of incorporation or other relevant business formation documents.
Live Oak’s business account application is more involved than that of other online banks. In addition to providing basic business information, you’ll also need to answer questions about how the account will be used (credit card processing, general operating funds, savings, etc.), the services you provide, and the account features you intend to use — including the number and amount of monthly mobile deposits, wire transfers and other services your business currently uses.
Once your application is approved, you can open your business account. You’ll need to link an external bank account to fund your new account. The Tidal Business Checking account requires a $100 minimum opening deposit.
Where Live Oak business banking stands out
Industry-leading APY on business savings: Live Oak’s business savings account is the standout account of this business bank. Account holders earn
4.00%
APY on all balances, with no monthly fee or minimum balance required to start earning interest. That’s well above the national average for savings accounts (0.42% APY as of this writing, according to the FDIC) and easily bests other business savings accounts.Want a higher yield? Live Oak also offers a 12-month business CD that earns 5.00% APY and has a $2,500 minimum balance to open.
Expansive ATM network: Live Oak leverages the Allpoint ATM network, giving business checking customers fee-free access to more than 55,000 ATMs (business savings accounts do not have ATM access). Live Oak doesn’t charge if you use an ATM outside of the network, but you’ll likely get hit with third-party fees from ATM operators.
Up to $10 million in FDIC insurance coverage: Live Oak business savings customers can access up to $10 million in FDIC coverage through the bank’s Insured Cash Sweep service, which distributes funds across a network of FDIC-insured banks to maximize protection and reduce the need for multiple business accounts. This is a great option for businesses with more than $250,000 in savings (the standard FDIC insurance limit).
There’s no additional fee to open a sweep account — a departure from some other banks — and all funds are still managed and accessed through your Live Oak account. However, some transactions will need to go through your dedicated Live Oak business banker rather than the bank’s website or mobile app.
Lender relationship: You don’t need to have a Live Oak business account to apply for a small-business loan from the bank. But building that relationship may be useful if you need funding in the future. Live Oak Bank is one of the best SBA lenders, as it routinely tops the list of most active lenders by dollar amount for low-interest, long repayment term 7(a) loans.
Where Live Oak business banking falls short
No cash deposits: Live Oak doesn’t support cash deposits, making the bank’s business checking account a no-go for cash-heavy businesses. Need an option to deposit cash? The NBKC Business Account and Relay Business Banking both offer fee-free cash deposits at select ATMs. These online banks also offer high-yield business savings options, though the interest rates don’t match that of Live Oak’s stellar savings account.
No weekend support: Live Oak’s customer support is just a phone call away during the week — from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday, to be exact. But if you have a business banking issue on the weekend, you’re likely stuck until Monday morning.
A handful of other free business checking accounts offer weekend and after-hours support, including Axos Basic Business Checking, which has 24/7 live customer support and offers cash deposits through compatible Allpoint and MoneyPass ATMs.
Longer hold on funds for new customers: Avoid depositing all of your business’s assets at once when you open a new Live Oak account. Why? Checks deposited by new customers (accounts open fewer than 30 days) are held for five business days.
Guaranteed funds, like cashier’s checks, certified checks or government checks, have a shorter hold time — just one business day — but only up to $5,525. Anything beyond that threshold is held for five business days.
Even after the first 30 days, depositing more than $5,525 in checks on one day can trigger an extended hold. While banks often place a hold on checks for new accounts as a fraud prevention method, Live Oak’s policy is among the more unforgiving and inconvenient for small-business owners.
Poorly rated mobile app: An online-only bank should have a stellar mobile app. Live Oak falls short of that bar. Reviews of Live Oak’s app on iOS and Android consistently cite issues with mobile check deposit — a key feature for small-business owners — and other glitches that limit the usefulness of Live Oak’s mobile app.
Learn more
at Live Oak Bank, Member FDIC
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