Overview of NorthOne Business Banking
Although traditional brick-and-mortar banks like Chase and Bank of America have long been the most popular sources of business checking and savings accounts, digital banks have become more and more sought after for their business bank account offerings.
So, if you’re looking for a digital-first, mobile-friendly business bank account, consider the NorthOne business checking account. Designed with small businesses, freelancers, and startups in mind, the NorthOne business banking account is a highly competitive option for access to unlimited transactions, cash deposits, and integrated apps.
Is this account right for your business? Use our NorthOne business banking review to find out.
NorthOne Business Banking Features
Similar to digital banks like Novo, NorthOne offers a single online-based business checking account that can be opened and managed completely online (in just three minutes, according to their website).
Once you’ve opened your account, you can manage it exclusively through the NorthOne mobile app, available for both iOS and Android.
NorthOne’s business checking account is FDIC-insured and backed by The Bancorp Bank.
Next, let’s review the features of the NorthOne business bank account and mobile app:
Transactions
- Send and receive unlimited payments, deposits, and transfers (including ACH payments, bank transfers, and wires)
- Up to $10,000 daily ACH transfer limit; up to $10,000 wire transfer limit
- Pay bills from your phone
- See your full account history and manage receipts
Deposits
- Mobile check deposits from your phone ($20,000 daily limit)
- Use your free NorthOne debit card to deposit or withdraw cash (or checks) fee-free at any of the 300,000 NorthOne in-network ATMs across the country ($2,000 daily cash withdrawal limit)
Debit Cards
- Get free debit cards for your employees
- Control your cards from your phone—unlock and lock cards, set spending limits, edit PIN
- Get automatic categorization for purchases
Money Management
- Create unlimited dedicated sub-accounts to manage spending and expenses, e.g. tax accounts
- Set custom rules for sub-accounts
- Use insights dashboard to view cash flow reporting, revenue, spending, and payments
- Search transactions across account history with smart filters
- Separate logins for every team member
- Limited bookkeeper access
Integrations
- Free proprietary invoice maker app to build and send professional invoices, track payments, and follow up with customers
- Connect to other business tools including Expensify, FreshBooks, QuickBooks, Wave, Xero, Square, Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, Toast, TouchBistro, Uber, AirBnb, and Amazon
- Sync with accounting software and access unlimited account history, automatically categorize transactions, attach receipts to transactions, and offer read-only access for your accountant
- Receive support from local NorthOne specialists by in-app live chat, phone, or email
NorthOne Business Banking Fees
The NorthOne business checking account has a $10 monthly account fee, which you will not be able to waive by maintaining a certain account balance. And unlike some other online business bank accounts, NorthOne has a minimum opening deposit requirement of $50 or more. They do not, however, have an ongoing minimum balance requirement.
Incidental Fees
There are also a handful of incidental fees associated with this account that you’ll want to keep in mind.
- Wire transfers: $10 to send or receive a domestic wire transfer; $25 to send or receive an international wire transfer
- Overdraft: $5 fee per day
- ACH/PAD returns: $10 fee for a bounced electronic payment due to insufficient funds, stop payment, or incorrect account information
- NSF (non-sufficient funds): $25 fee for ACH, check, or debit when your bank account does not have enough funds to cover a payment drawn from your account
- Expedited new debit card: $35 fee
- Dormant account for one year: $5 per month
- Abandoned account for five years: $50 per account
In addition, it’s important to mention that although NorthOne will not charge you any fees for using your debit card at an out-of-network ATM, you will likely incur fees from the ATM provider.
Customer Reviews
With a focus on mobility, integrated apps, and limited fees, NorthOne business banking is fairly similar to other players in the digital banking space like Novo and even LendingClub’s Tailored Business Checking Account.
With that in mind, it might be useful to see what customers have to say about their experience with this business bank account.
Although there aren’t an abundance of NorthOne business banking reviews available (as the product only launched to the public in August 2019), there are both positive and negative reviews to highlight.
All in all, even though it may seem that NorthOne business bank reviews are pretty mixed, it’s important to remember that this product has only been on the market for a little over a year—which means there’s likely much more fluctuation associated with this digital bank account in comparison with other more established banking products.
Pros and Cons
To help you decide if this bank account is right for your business, we’ve summarized the most notable advantages and disadvantages of NorthOne business banking below:
Pros
- Unlimited transactions: For a $10 monthly fee, you can access unlimited deposits, transfers, and payments every month. It’s also worth noting that the fees to both send and receive wire transfers are on the more affordable side.
- Access to cash deposits: Not only do you have access to fee-free in-network ATMs to withdraw cash, but you can also deposit cash at any of these ATMs—which is not a feature you see with most online-based business bank accounts.
- Unlimited sub-accounts: Access to an unlimited number of sub-accounts allows you to more seamlessly manage your business finances. In particular, these accounts can be useful for taxes, for freelancers, as well as for business owners with multiple team members using the same bank account.
- Variety of integration options: You can connect your account to an unlimited number of business apps—most notably, you can integrate with some of the most popular accounting software platforms and even automatically categorize transactions to streamline your bookkeeping processes.
- Access to customer support: Although NorthOne doesn’t offer 24/7 customer support, they do have longer customer support hours—every day from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. ET—plus, you can access a support representative in one of three ways: in-app live chat, email, or phone support.
- Mobile, digital-first: All of the tools and features you need can be accessed through the mobile app, regardless of location, so you don’t have to worry about visiting a branch to access your money and financial infor
Cons
- Minimum opening deposit required: Unlike many other online-based business bank accounts that do not require a minimum opening deposit, NorthOne requires that you have at least $50 to open your account.
- Can’t waive the monthly fee: Not only does this account have a monthly fee, but there’s also no way for business owners to waive it. In comparison, many other business bank accounts either have no monthly fee—or they offer different ways to can waive their fee, e.g. maintaining a minimum monthly account balance.
- No reimbursements for out-of-network ATM fees: While many online-based bank accounts (e.g. LendingClub, NBKC) reimburse you for fees that you incur from using your debit card at an out-of-network ATM, NorthOne does not offer this feature.
- Mobile-exclusive: Business owners who don’t want an app-exclusive banking experience will likely not want to choose this bank account.
- Limited time on the market: Since the NorthOne business bank account is still a relatively new product, you may see more technical issues, bugs, and adjustments that have to be made to improve user experience.
- No branch access: You won’t have access to a physical branch or in-person support at a small business bank. Additional bank products like credit cards or small business loans are also not an option with this bank.
Top Alternatives
Before you decide if a NorthOne business banking account is right for your business, you’ll want to compare this checking account to some of the other top options on the market. Here are two to consider:
BlueVine Business Checking
If you’d prefer a NorthOne business banking alternative that’s fee-free but also earns interest, consider the BlueVine business checking account.
The BlueVine business checking account has no monthly fee, no incoming wire fees, no NSF fees, and no ACH payment fees. Additionally, this account has no minimum opening deposit or balance requirement.
Moreover, the BlueVine business checking account gives you access to:
- Unlimited transactions
- No ATM fees at MoneyPass ATMs
- Two free checkbooks
- Pay vendors and bills by ACH, wire, and check
- Online and mobile banking
- Cash deposits through over 90,000 GreenDot locations
Overall, if you’re looking for a free business checking account that earns interest, BlueVine will certainly be a top alternative to NorthOne business banking.
NBKC Business Checking
Finally, for a NorthOne business banking alternative that has no monthly fee, no minimum opening deposit requirement, and offers a monthly refund for third-party ATM fees, look into the NBKC business checking account.
With the NBKC business checking account, you’ll have no fees for:
- Transactions
- Returned items
- Overdrafts or NSFs
- Bill pay or check deposit
- Stop payments
- Incoming domestic wires
Overall, you’ll only face fees to send a domestic wire ($5) or to send or receive an international wire ($45). In addition, you’ll have access to fee-free ATMs through the MoneyPass network, including cash deposit, check deposit, and cash withdrawal.
Plus, you’ll receive up to $12 in monthly refunds for ATM fees other banks charge you when using your NBKC debit card. Your NBKC business checking account also includes unlimited transactions, mobile check deposit, online and mobile banking, and access to customer service in-person, over the phone or by email.
Unlike NorthOne, NBKC does not have a wide network of integration apps; they do, however, offer a free high-yield business savings account that you can connect directly to your business checking account.
Therefore, for a NorthOne business banking alternative that’s not only free but also offers a free business savings account option as well, NBKC is a particularly worthwhile option to keep in mind.
Bottom Line
With a focus on mobile access, simple payments, and low fees, the NorthOne business checking account is likely best suited as a bank account for self-employed professionals—such as freelancers, contractors, and startup business owners.
There are some drawbacks to keep in mind—namely, a monthly fee that can’t be waived, a minimum opening deposit, and a lack of some of the perks more established digital-first bank accounts can offer.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide whether or not the NorthOne business bank account can meet your unique needs. Luckily, if you do opt for this account and later change your mind, NorthOne has a no-commitments, cancel anytime policy.
Randa Kriss
Randa Kriss is a senior staff writer at Fundera.
At Fundera, Randa specializes in reviewing small business products, software, and services. Randa has written hundreds of reviews across a wide swath of business topics including ecommerce, merchant services, accounting, credit cards, bank accounts, loan products, and payroll and human resources solutions.