PNC Business Checking Account Review 2024

PNC business checking account review for 2024: bank account fees, rating, APR/APY interest rates. Compare PNC Business Checking vs CapitalOne and Chase.

About PNC Bank

PNC Bank is one of the larger institutions tailored to the midsized business, serving over 6 million customers and small businesses around the country. Their range of services covers everyone from the individual investor, to small business to corporations and government organizations.

Business Checking Features

When starting a business checking account with PNC, you will go through an interview process, fleshing out the details, projections and needs of your company. This way the bank can place you in the account that works best with your organization for optimum cash flow and ease of use.

#1 Business Checking: best for smaller businesses with little check writing and deposit activity, used for general banking needs. This account comes with a free VISA debt card, online banking access, overdraft protection and security guarantees. No charge for online monthly statements.

#2 Business Basic Checking: includes the above services with features of no monthly fees with a monthly average maintenance and allowance for increased transactions, again with no fees included. That also incudes fee free ‘night bag’ processing and a discount when ordering your business checks.

#3 Business Enterprise Checking: this type of account serves businesses that have higher cash deposits and increased transaction volume with paid checks and deposits. An additional feature is the option to get bonus rates on select Certificates of Deposit. This account will also provide the business owner with a no fee business VISA credit card. A percentage of any annul fees are waived on any lines of credit taken with PNC Bank.

#4 Analysis Business Checking: this account is geared towards lager business with higher transaction volume and additional cash management that might be more complex. You are offered the ability to link multiple business checking accounts to consolidate and simplify bookkeeping. The account can also earn credits with maintained deposit balances that can offset the cost of banking service charges.

The PNC “Cash Flow Insight” service that is offered to the Analysis Checking customers creates your companies branded invoices online. It includes the ability to sync your existing accounting software and to schedule vendor payments.

One more added benefit is the Cash Rewards program that is offered with all of the above accounts which equals getting up to 1.75% cash back on all purchased made with the PNC credit card every billing cycle.

Customer Comments

As with most bank reviews, there are comments regarding customer service that tend to be biased strongly from one city or region to the next. Overall the general consensus was that online and management support was diligent and effective in managing customer’s issues. The most noted negative comment was that PNC, up until last year, had a fee-free checking account policy. They have recently started a monthly fee and many customers are quite upset about this new rule.

PNC vs CapitalOne 360 Business Checking

CapitalOne 360 Business Checking looks to be quite an attractive option for the small business owner. The services offered are:

Fee-free accounts
No minimums required
Earn interest on your account, an average of 0.20%
Close to 40k ATMs nation wide for deposit & withdrawals
Free MasterCard Debit card

Compared to PNC, they do not offer any distinct or specialized accounts. It is a one size fits all operation. There is also the drawback of not having actual brick and mortar locations to visit if and when any real crisis arises.

Customer feedback is a bit higher in the positive vs. the negative category when talking about CapitalOne checking. They maintain a standard of high customer service. There is of course the odd issue here and there but is seems the benefit of free accounts with no minimums AND earning interest on your balances far outweighs any potential problems.

PNC vs Chase Business Checking

Chase Business Checking is similar to the PNC model with three different types of business accounts for various levels of industry.

Chase Total Business Checking: for smaller business with less than $10k a month in transactions. Minimal fees and those are waived if certain balances are maintained.

Chase Performance Business Checking: for mid-sized companies, up to $20k a month in transactions. All accounts available 24/7 online as well.

Chase Platinum Business Checking: for large business with up to 500 transactions a month.

Small business customers preferred the options Chase had to offer with their accounts, such as access to business loans, a personal checking account and the ability to easily transfer funds from one account to the other. As happens with a few of the larger institutions there was also some undesirable feedback about difficulty getting through to ‘live’ customer help and as well as having a corporate feeling rather than a bank with a more individual and personalized service model such as PNC.