The Review of Chase Performance Business Checking

When it comes to business checking accounts, mid-sized businesses have an option that’s specifically tailored toward them in the Chase Performance Business Checking account.

In order to figure out if Chase Performance Checking is the right business bank account for you, let’s dive into all that this business checking account can offer your business.

We’ll go over all of the details of the Chase Performance Business Checking account to help you decide whether it’s the right one for your business.

The default service fee for Chase Performance Business Checking is $30.

However, if you maintain an average daily balance of at least $35,000, then this fee will be waived.

Compared to the other two Chase business checking accounts—Complete and Platinum—Chase Performance Business Checking has the second-highest service fee.

250 fee-free transactions every month. Beyond that cap, you’ll have to pay a fee of $0.40 per transaction.

What does Chase mean by “transaction,” exactly? They’ll count all of the deposits you make with a teller, all incoming wires, and all debits toward your 250 monthly cap. Whereas activity like electronic deposits, ATM deposits, and ACH deposits will be fee-free, no matter how many you perform per month.

As for cash deposits, with Chase Performance Business Checking, you’ll be able to deposit up to $20,000 worth of cash every month without paying a cash deposit processing fee. Beyond that cap, you’ll have to pay $2.50 for every $1,000 you deposit in cash.

Finally, if you choose Chase Performance Business Checking for your business’s finances, then you’ll need to make sure you’re familiar with the intricacies of its wiring policy.

For one, you’ll be able to accept unlimited incoming wires, whether domestic or international, for no charge at all each month.

Additionally, you’ll be able to perform two outgoing wires every month for no charge. However, beyond those two per month, you’ll have to pay outgoing Chase wiring fees at the following rates:

• $25 for domestic wires sent through Chase.com
• $35 for domestic wires sent through a Chase branch
• $40 for international U.S. dollar wires sent through Chase.com
• $5 for international foreign currency wires sent through chase.com (waived if wire is equivalent to $5,000 USD or more)
• $50 for USD or foreign currency wire sent through a Chase branch

If we zoom out from the details, we can figure out if you’re running the kind of business that Chase Performance Business Checking works best for. You already know that, generally speaking, Chase Performance Business Checking works well for mid-size businesses. But, of course, as with all things business finance, it gets a bit more nuanced than that.

Let’s take a look at the different types of businesses that Chase Performance Business Checking works best for.

As you’re already familiar with, Chase Performance Business Checking is a wonderful option for mid-size businesses who need to find the perfect in-between, balancing service fees and higher activity allowances.

While medium-sized businesses may not be willing to shell out the big-bucks for high-service fee checking options—and aren’t able to reach the high account balance thresholds to get these fees waived—they might need a little more wiggle room when it comes to transactions, cash deposits, and wires.

Additionally, businesses on the smaller side might want to opt for Chase Performance Business Checking if they need to perform wires.

With most business checking accounts geared toward small businesses, you will be charged for every single wire you receive and send. As such, if your small business needs to receive and send multiple wires per month, then you’ll save your business from wire fees if you opt for the Chase Performance Business Checking account over other small business checking options.

On the other hand, Chase Performance Business Checking might work for your bigger business if it’s performing less-frequent activity than your average big business.

What does this mean? Picture larger transactions happening less frequently.

However, if your big business is dealing with lots of cash, then you’ll want to keep an eye out for a checking account’s monthly cap on free cash deposits. If you’re depositing much more than $20,000 worth of cash each month, then Chase Performance might not be the right fit.

With all its merits, Chase Performance Business Checking simply might not be the right fit for your business.

What types of businesses should avoid doing their checking with Chase Performance Business Checking? Well, pretty much any business that doesn’t fall into the above three categories who should consider this option.

Basically, if you’re a small business who doesn’t perform many wires, you should opt for a business checking account that’s more designed for the less frequent activity and lower balances that small businesses often have.

Business checking accounts with lower transaction, cash deposit, and wiring allowances typically come with lower service fees and lower account balance thresholds for waiving those fees.

Simply put, unless your small business needs to send or receive wires every month, it should look for a smaller-scale business checking account than Chase Performance Business Checking.

Finally, if your business performs lots of transactions, deposits lots of cash, or performs lots of wires—or all of the above—every month, we’d suggest you look to business checking accounts that are more geared to bigger businesses.

Though Chase Performance Business Checking is generous with its monthly allowances for account activity, there are certainly business checking accounts out there that allow for more fee-free activity every month.

For a business bank account that offers much more flexibility in terms of transactions, cash deposits, and your ability to open an account, you might consider Bluevine business checking as a top alternative to Chase Performance.

Bluevine business checking can be opened quickly and easily online—plus, this account offers unlimited transactions, two free checkbooks, a free business debit card, mobile and online banking—and all without monthly service fees.

In addition, the Bluevine account earns interest, has no NSF fees, no minimum opening deposit requirement, no minimum balance requirement, no ACH fees, and no incoming wire fees. The only fees you’ll pay are for outgoing wires—$15.

Moreover, this business bank account gives you access to over 38,000 fee-free ATMs around the U.S., as well as over 90,000 Green Dot locations—where you can deposit cash for a fee—something that’s not always an option for online-based business checking accounts.

Finally, you can manage your entire account online—pay vendors and bills, make transfers to and from other accounts, schedule one-time and recurring payments, and more.

If you don’t want to be limited by the number of transactions you can process with your business checking account, you might consider the NBKC business checking account.

Not only can you process an unlimited number of transactions, but the NBKC business account also has no transaction fees, no monthly account fees, no fees for incoming domestic wires, and doesn’t require a minimum opening deposit or minimum balance.

Additionally, you’ll be able to apply for an NBKC account quickly and easily online—as well as manage the whole of your account from your computer or mobile device. The NBKC business account includes free online bill pay, online and mobile banking, as well as the ability to deposit checks (fee-free) using the NBKC mobile app.

Moreover, NBKC allows you to access over 32,000 MoneyPass ATMs across the U.S., for free by using your NBKC business debit card. If you use another ATM that does charge a fee, NBKC will provide up to $12 in monthly refunds to cover those fees.

Finally, NBKC won’t charge for instances such as stop payments, returned items, overdrafts, and more—the only two fees you’ll face are $5 for outgoing domestic wires and $45 for incoming or outgoing international wires. Therefore, if you’re looking to avoid the $95 fee and transaction limits of the Chase Performance Business Checking account, then NBKC could be a better fit for you.

If you’re running a small business that doesn’t need the wiggle room (or the higher service fee) that Chase Performance Business Checking comes with, then we suggest looking to Chase Business Complete Banking as your best alternative.

The Chase Business Complete Banking account acts as a small business counterpart to the mid-size business Performance Checking.

On the one hand, Chase Business Complete Banking comes with a low monthly fee that can be waived multiple ways—including by maintaining the minimum daily balance.

Of course, Chase Business Complete Banking will come with lower monthly allowances for account activity than Chase Performance Business Checking will.

You’ll only be able to deposit up to $5,000 in cash for free each month, but you get unlimited electronic deposits. Plus, you’ll have to pay for every wire you send or receive, no matter how many you perform a month.

That said, if you’re a small business who doesn’t require anything more than this form its business checking account, then Chase Business Complete Banking could be the perfect fit for you.

If you’re interested in comparing banking products from other large, national banks, check out our review of Bank of America business checking accounts and Capital One business checking accounts.

Now that you’ve read through this comprehensive review of this business checking option, you’re more than equipped to decide whether the Chase Performance Business Checking account is right for you.

This is one of the very few business checking accounts designed specifically with the needs of middle-of-the-road businesses in mind, and it shows. If you’re looking for the perfect balance, then Chase Performance Business Checking should definitely be on your short list.