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Operating a small business in Kentucky or any other state in the US can be a challenging endeavor. The problem with access to credit and proper financing can kill your business before it gets a chance to grow. Having a good banking partner saves you the stress. The best banks for small businesses in Kentucky offer extra features and tools that help businesses operate optimally. Read on to learn more about the best banks for small businesses in Kentucky from our top picks.
Best Banks for Small Businesses in Kentucky
- Bluevine: Best Bank for Small Business Operations in Kentucky
- Lili: Best for Sole Proprietorships and Freelancing
- Capital One: Best for Cashback Rewards
- U.S. Bank: Best Bank for Internet and Mobile banking
- Oxygen: Best for Entrepreneurs and Freelance Service Providers
- Axos: Best for Full-service Internet Banking
- Bank of America: Best for Convenience banking and Ease of Access
- Chase Bank: Best Bank for Business Payment Services
Featured Partner
Bluevine Business Checking
Annual Percentage Yield
2.0%
Minimum Deposit Requirement
$0
Maintenance Fee
$0
Our Methodology
To determine the best banks for small businesses in Kentucky, we considered the account maintenance cost, minimum balance requirement, and other benefits.
We also examined any extra charges placed on businesses by any of the examined banks. Finally we reviewed the availability of mobile and internet banking functions provided by each bank.
Click here for a more detailed explanation of our methodology.
Bank
Pricing (Per Month)
Additional Fees
Interest Rates
Minimum Balance
Access to Mobile Banking
$0
$4.95 per cash deposit, $2.50 for out-of-network ATM fees, $15 for outgoing wires
2.0% APY
$0
Pay vendors by wire or check, schedule payments, manage cash flow
$0
$2.5 for out of network
1.50% APY
$0
Manage finances and payments, control expenses, and save money for taxes
$15 (waivable)
$15 per incoming domestic wire, $25 for outgoing domestic wire
0.20% APY
$2,000
Access credit card accounts, transfer money, deposit checks, access bank statements, access to CreditWise service
$0
$0.50 fee for transactions after the first 125, fees at out-of-network ATMs
0.01% APY
$500 for business savings
Transfer funds, view documents, find branch/ATM locations, manage cards
$16
Out-of-network ATM fees, fees for excessive deposits
Up to 0.04% APY
$5,000
Manage accounts, pay and transfer, digital wallets, bill pay
$15 (waivable)
$25 to $40 for wire transfers, $0.40 per transaction (after the first 20)
Up to 0.02% APY
$0
Fraud monitoring, card control, pay, and transfer, view offers
$0
$3 for out-of-network ATM fee, fees for international transactions, $5 international ATM fee, fees for Ingo mobile check deposit
1.0% APY
$0
Check deposit, bill payment, check deposit, account statement
Bluevine: Best Bank for Small Business Operations in Kentucky
4.7
Bluevine provides excellent online banking services to small businesses in Kentucky. With Bluevine bank you have access to low cost banking services including a zero minimum balance, zero cost monthly pricing, and low fees for transactions.
With Bluevine, small businesses can get a 2.0 APY yield interest if they operate a savings account with Bluevine. Customer support is top notch for business owners operating an account with Bluevine.
Why we chose it: High interest rates, minimal fees, and a lack of maintenance requirements make Bluevine the best business bank account for LLCs or other business types.
- High-interest rates
- Very few fees
- No minimum deposit required
- No business savings account
- No ATM reimbursement
- Fee for cash deposits
Fees
You won’t find any monthly fees when using Bluevine, making it possible to bank without ever paying a dime. Expect charges for using out-of-network ATMs, making the mobile app a valuable tool for finding free withdrawal sites. Each cash deposit will set you back $4.95, making this a tool you want to use sparingly if at all.
Interest Rates
Bluevine comes through in a big way with its 2.0% APY. The rate is 50 times the current national average and applicable on balances up to $100,000. Once your small business’s balance grows beyond this amount, those extra funds won’t accrue any interest.
Minimum Balance
There’s no minimum balance requirement for using Bluevine, no matter how much you have in your account. Small businesses can start with next to nothing and take immediate advantage of the high-interest rate.
Access to Mobile Banking
The Bluevine mobile app makes banking from anywhere a breeze. The thoroughly-designed tool makes it easy to manage your accounts and see where your money is going. It’s also possible to pay vendors by wire or check and schedule payments for fulfillment down the road.
Lili: Best for Sole Proprietorships and Freelancing
If you run a sole proprietorship business or you do freelancing then Lili Bank is the bank for you. Lili offers business financing to small businesses, and access to a robust amount of business finance management tools. These tools help businesses to properly manage their finances.
Small businesses using Lili get a free online business checking account. This free online checking account has no monthly fee or minimum opening balance, hence it brings no extra cost to the business.
Why we chose it: Lili’s minimal fees and tax optimization software help businesses hold onto hard-earned income. Plus, if you’re looking for an online best business checking account with no credit checks, Lili is a great option.
- No fees, minimum balance requirements, or minimum opening deposit.
- Unlimited fee-free transactions.
- Fee-free ATM access through the MoneyPass network; ability to deposit cash through the Green Dot network.
- Integrated tools for managing expenses and planning for taxes.
- Offers an early payment feature with direct deposit, allowing you to receive funds up to two days sooner than you might with a traditional bank account.
- Cash deposits at Green Dot locations incur a fee of up to $4.95 per deposit.
- No checkbooks; can’t send or receive wire transfers.
- Limited business-related features, e.g., doesn’t offer joint accounts, multiple business debit cards, or third-party integrations.
Fees
While Lili shines for its free tax software, business owners can also rejoice over a lack of account and overdraft fees. You won’t even incur a charge for foreign transactions or at over 38,000 in-network ATMs in the United States. If you end up using an out-of-network machine, expect a charge between $2.50 and $5.
Interest Rates
There is no interest on Lili’s Business Checking account. Those willing to pay can access a savings account with 1.5% APY, but you’ll need at least $34,000 in your account at all times to offset the monthly cost.
Minimum Balance
Lili Bank has a no minimum balance requirement for its checking account, which means that you do not need to maintain a certain balance to avoid monthly fees. This makes it a good option if you are just starting your business or have a fluctuating income.
Access to Mobile Banking
Lili Bank offers a mobile banking app that is specifically designed for freelancers and small business owners. The app allows you to manage your finances, including controlling expenses, saving money for taxes, and managing payments, all from your mobile devices. Plus, the app includes features such as instant payment notifications, budgeting tools, and the ability to make mobile check deposits.
Capital One: Best for Cashback Rewards
4.6
With Capital One, you have access to amazing cashback rewards on credit usage as a business or individual. The cashback reward offer is valid across the US. The cashback rewards and loan offers provide small businesses in Kentucky a good line of credit that ensures the business does not suffer from lack of funds. Capital one provides businesses with easy-to-use tools and features for proper business management.
Why we chose it: With no limits on digital transfers, Capital One gives you the freedom to keep funds moving.
- Unlimited digital transfers
- Does not charge overdraft fees
- Large ATM network
- Limited physical locations
- Monthly account fee
- Out-of-network ATM fees
Fees
Capital One’s business accounts come with a $15 monthly fee that can be hefty for a small business. Luckily, you can waive this fee by keeping an average balance of $2,000 over a 30 or 90-day window. There’s no charge for using one of Capital One’s 70,000 ATMs nationwide.
Interest Rates
Opening up Capital One’s business savings accounts unlocks interest rates of up to 0.20% for your first year. This amount applies to balances up to $5 million, giving small businesses plenty of wiggle room. None of the bank’s checking accounts offer any interest, making free digital transfers that much sweeter.
Minimum Balance
You don’t need to keep a minimum balance with Capital One to keep your account open. It is in your best interest to maintain at least $2,000 in your checking to avoid the $15 monthly service fee. Keeping extra funds in your savings account allows you to generate some interest on money not currently in use.
Access to Mobile Banking
Since you won’t find many physical Capital One locations, the bank’s top-rated mobile app comes to the rescue. With it, you can do all your transfers, make digital payments, and deposit money with your device’s camera. The app also gives you access to Capital One’s CreditWise service to monitor your credit score and hear cool tips.
U.S. Bank: Best Bank for Internet and Mobile Banking
4.5
As a business owner in Kentucky keen on using lending options and internet banking, U.S Bank is the bank to turn to. U.S Bank offers a plethora of lending options to businesses, giving these Kentucky businesses the much needed funds for expansion and growth. The lending facilities offered by U.S Bank are very affordable for small businesses in Kentucky and the US at large.
Why we chose it: Small businesses in need of extra funds can turn to U.S. Bank for a plethora of lending options.
- Lending to fit your needs
- Specialized merchant services for restaurants, retailers, and service providers
- 2,400 branch locations
- Charges for overdrafts
- Relatively low APY
- Only has locations in 28 states
Fees
You’ll never have to worry about monthly fees when using U.S. Bank’s silver checking package for small businesses. Higher-tier accounts do have waivable monthly fees to contend with as your company grows. You’ll just need to keep tabs on monthly transactions to ensure you don’t incur charges for exceeding the monthly limit.
Interest Rates
U.S. Bank’s checking accounts do not come with any options to generate interest. While savings plans come with different perks, the current maximum interest rate is just 0.01%. Although a minimal amount, there is no balance cap to what you can earn.
Minimum Balance
There’s no minimum balance requirement when starting with U.S. Bank’s silver account package designed specifically for small businesses. Other checking accounts have waivable fees should you keep up with the necessary balance amounts. Savings accounts start at a $500 minimum balance to remove service fees.
Access to Mobile Banking
If you find yourself away from one of U.S. Bank’s physical locations, you can perform all your banking through the mobile app. It’s possible to seamlessly transfer funds from one account to another and stay up to date with your financial status. The U.S. Bank will also keep you informed with customized alerts.
Bank of America: Best for Convenience, Ease of Access and Stability
4.4
Bank of America is a full merchant services bank suited for small businesses in Kentucky. The bank provides a plethora of lending options to small businesses, to make running of business easy without worrying about funds. With Bank of America, small businesses in Kentucky get easy access to credit, accept and process payments seamlessly.
Small businesses in Kentucky have access to several payment options including point-of-sale, mobile payment systems, and online payment gateways. With the variety in payment systems small businesses will not have the problem of unavailability of payment processing. Bank of America infrastructure is secured using advanced encryption, and tokenization tools.
Why we chose it: Bank of America’s rewards come with several perks to make banking a win-win for all parties involved.
- Preferred rewards to boost interest rate
- Over 17,000 ATMs and 4,300 branches
- Can waive the monthly fee
- Lacks 24/7 customer service
- Monthly fees
- Transaction fees when using non-Bank of America ATMs
Fees
Bank of America’s introductory checking account comes with a $16 monthly fee. You can negate this amount by maintaining a $5,000 monthly balance, spending at least $250 on your debit card, or becoming a Preferred Rewards member. The only other fees to watch out for come from out-of-network ATM withdrawals and charges for excessive deposits in a given month.
Interest Rates
Most small businesses opening a savings account will earn 0.01% interest out of the rate. It is possible to increase this to 0.04% with enough activity in Bank of America’s rewards system. There’s no option to accrue interest with a Bank of America checking account.
Minimum Balance
Keeping an average monthly balance of $5,000 in your checking account will remove the $16 service fee. Similarly, you’ll want to have at least $2,500 in your savings account to avoid a $10 monthly charge there.
Access to Mobile Banking
Bank of America’s mobile app consistently earns high honors for its functionality. Within, you can manage your accounts, pay bills, or transfer funds from any location. You can also make use of the budgeting tool to monitor expenses and control spending.
Axos: Best for Full-service Internet Banking
Axos is a popular full service online bank offering banking services to the banking public and all types of businesses including small businesses in Kentucky. Axos as a pioneering digital bank offers a wide range of competitive banking service products.
Axos offers innovative financial products, checking accounts, high-yield savings accounts, etc. The bank provides all its services with the highest levels of security. Kentucky small businesses have access to a free Axos business checking account.
Small businesses are provided with two main types of business checking accounts: Basic Business checking and Business Interest checking. The basic business checking account is free, and the business interest checking comes with a $10/month cost. Business interest checking accounts owners get a waiver of checking fee, if they maintain a daily balance of $5 on average.
Why we chose it: Free cash deposits and a low fee structure make Axos Basic Business Checking one of the best business banks accounts out there.
- No monthly fee and unlimited transactions.
- Unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements.
- Cash deposits via MoneyPass and AllPoint ATMs.
- Welcome bonus for new customers (terms apply).
- 24/7 customer support.
- No third-party app integrations.
- Interest checking APY is good, but not great
Fees
Axos Bank Basic Business Checking does not charge a monthly maintenance fee or impose requirements on keeping your account open. You’ll receive back any ATM fees you incur each month, making this account effectively free to use. If you plan to spend a lot of wire transfers, be aware of Axos’s $35 charge for each one.
Interest Rates
This particular account does not have an annual percentage yield and instead focuses on business perks. Anyone with extra money can open up one of Axos’s interest-bearing business savings accounts and accrue interest that way.
Minimum Balance
Axos Bank has no minimum balance requirements for its checking and savings accounts. As a small business owner, you do not need to maintain a certain balance to avoid monthly fees. This makes Axos an attractive option for you if you do not have a large amount of money to keep in your account.
Access to Mobile Banking
Axos Bank offers a robust mobile banking app that allows customers to manage their accounts, deposit checks, transfer funds, pay bills, and wire transfer all from their mobile devices. You can also use the account alerts feature and budgeting tools to stay on top of your finances.
Oxygen: Best for Entrepreneurs and Freelance Service Providers
Oxygen is a fintech type bank built for freelancers, online entrepreneurs, small businesses, and several other businesses. Oxygen charges no fees for transactions, this makes it ideal for small businesses in Kentucky.
Oxygen offers businesses a 5% interest cashback on spending they make on their accounts. Oxygen tackles fraud by allowing users to create single-use debit cards, for transacting and running their businesses.
Why we chose it: Oxygen speaks the language of the trendy business owner, offering some cool banking features along the way. It’s also one of the best checking accounts for sole proprietors.
- Aimed at trendy business owners
- 5% Cashback rewards
- Create virtual, single-use debit cards
- Virtual bank, no cash deposits
- Fewer integrations than other options
- No lending options
Fees
Oxygen claims to be fee-free from top to bottom but does specify that out-of-network and international withdrawals may be subject to a charge. You’ll never have to worry about paying for ACH transfers or keeping your account open.
Interest Rates
While you won’t earn interest for funds in your business checking account, Oxygen remedies the problem by adding a business savings account to the mix. Any money hanging out in savings accrues 1.0% interest for balances of $20,000 or less. Amounts in excess still earn interest, but at a much lower rate.
Minimum Balance
Oxygen Bank has no minimum balance requirements for its checking and savings accounts. There will be no monthly fees even if there’s no money in your account. You don’t have to worry about any charges if you don’t make up to a certain amount.
Mobile Banking Features
Oxygen Bank offers a mobile banking app that is designed to help small business owners manage their finances on the go. You can deposit checks, make a bill payment, and generate your account statement. Plus, the app offers spending insights to help you track your finances.
Chase: Best Bank for Business Payment Services
4.2
Chase Bank provides for use a wide range of business credit cards, business loans, and additional credit lines to Kentucky small businesses. The robust offers given to businesses by Chase Bank have continued to make Chase the go-to bank among small businesses. Chase also provides a wide range of tools for business financial management to small businesses.
Why we chose it: Chase adds a long list of merchant services to its traditional banking to help your business succeed.
- Several available merchant services
- Multiple ways to waive the monthly maintenance fee
- $300 sign-on bonus
- Monthly maintenance fees
- Only 20 free transactions per month
- Minimal APY
Fees
Monthly fees start at $15 for Chase Business Complete Banking. You can do away with this charge by maintaining a $2,000 daily balance, and making deposits through Chase QuickAccept, or Chase Ink Business Card purchases. There is a cost for transactions after your first 20, and you’ll want to avoid costly wire transfers if possible.
Interest Rates
As with most banks, Chase doesn’t provide any interest for the money you have in a business checking account. To earn a rate, you’ll need to start up a business savings account that accrues up to 0.02%.
Minimum Balance
If you want to avoid Chase’s monthly service fee, you’ll want to keep at least $2,000 in your checking account at all times. Dipping below this amount even once per month is enough to merit the charge. Savings accounts have no fee as long as you have an active checking account with Chase.
Access to Mobile Banking
In addition to standard banking procedures, you can use the Chase mobile app to lock or unlock your credit card should you misplace it. There’s also a budget planning feature to set aside funds for a large purchase and credit monitoring tools to protect your credit health.
Methodology for the Best Banks for Small Businesses in Kentucky
To determine the best banks for small businesses in Kentucky, we examined several factors for opening a business account and managing business finances. We considered these key factors in deciding the best banks.
- Fees: Small businesses often have to count every penny. Using a bank that nickels and dimes you for every little thing can quickly run your account dry. We looked for banks without maintenance fees or at least the option to waive said charge with a few simple steps. It was also crucial to locate institutions that minimize costs for transactions and transfers that every business needs to perform.
- Interest Rates: We realize business bank accounts function primarily for the purpose of organization and making payments, but that doesn’t mean you can’t earn a little interest on the side. Between checking and savings accounts, we called out banks offering easily accessible rates you can use for some extra cash. Some options even go well beyond the national average.
- Minimum Balance: Banks with maintenance fees will often waive them if you have enough money in said account. Small businesses may not have a lot of money to work with early on, so we identified institutions with low balance requirements to avoid fees. Some banks also have account minimums to unlock interest rates or other rewards.
- Access to Mobile Banking: In our fast-paced world, having all your banking needs at your fingertips is a huge win. Mobile devices also played a role in the emergence of online-only banks with accounts you can access from anywhere. Even banks traditionally known for physical locations are amping up mobile apps to compete with the masses. Our selections highlight banks with top-tier mobile banking options to manage finances and make payments.
- Ease of Use: When making our top banking for small business picks, we wanted to ensure features were straightforward to use. This applies to everything from transfers and payments to opening a business bank account with nothing more than an EIN. No bank account should be more trouble than it’s worth.
Best Banks for Small Businesses in Kentucky Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If you have any more questions about opening a bank account for your small business in Kentucky, this FAQs answers your questions:
Bottom Line
If you operate any kind of business in Kentucky, it is important that you open a business account. Opening a business gives you the leverage for lines of credit from your bank when you have need for it. We examined and picked from very large the best banks for small businesses in Kentucky.
Our selection was based on what these banks have to offer such as low fees, zero or low minimum balance, interest rate, ease of use, low cost of financing, cashback rewards. These banks are your go-to banks for business financing, credit lines, and other business matters in Kentucky.
Best Business Bank Accounts by State
Below you will find an interactive U.S map that can help you locate and compare different banks and financial institutions that offer business accounts in your area.
