Capital One Spark Business Savings Account Review

As of November 2020, Capital One no longer offers the Spark Business Savings account.

You can learn more about Capital One’s other business savings account options here.

Often, running a business can feel like you’re only dealing with immediate expenses day in and day out. Therefore, when you finally have extra capital on hand, you’ll likely want to find a business savings account to store and earn interest on your funds.

So, if you’ve already started your search for this type of business bank account, you’ve probably come across the Capital One Spark Business suite. Within this small-business friendly line of products, Capital One offers credit cards, checking accounts, a savings account, and more.

In fact, the Capital One Spark Business Savings account is known as one of the best options on the market—with no monthly fees and a high-yield promotional APY.

Unfortunately, Capital One has not been accepting new customers for their Spark Business Savings or Spark Business Checking program for about two years now. According to their website, they’re working on improvements to these products.

This being said, however, if you’re interested in learning more about this business savings account and how it works, you can consult the information in this guide. This way, if and when the Capital One Spark Business Savings account becomes available (and we’ll update you when this happens), you’ll know if it’s the right option for your business.

On the other hand, if you’d prefer to find and open a business savings account now, you might consider some of the top alternatives we’ll discuss below.

Even though Capital One isn’t currently accepting new customers for the Spark Business Savings account, let’s explore exactly how this account works.

Generally, like the Capital One Business Checking accounts within the Spark suite, the Spark Business Savings account is designed as an affordable, flexible solution—especially for smaller and digital-friendly businesses.

Here are the details:

With the Capital One Spark Business Savings account, you won’t have to provide a minimum opening deposit.

You can open this savings account with whatever amount of money you decide.

Unlike most of your business savings options, the Spark Business Savings account won’t come with a monthly service fee.

Additionally, you won’t have to make a minimum monthly balance on this account either. This being said, however, you cannot overdraft your Spark Business Savings account, so you’ll want to pay attention to your account balance and any transfers or withdrawals you make.

Although either of the Capital One Spark Business Checking accounts would give you access to Capital One’s network of ATMs, the same is not true of this business savings account.

With this Capital One business savings account, you won’t be able to deposit cash or withdraw cash from an ATM. Instead, if you want to withdraw funds from your Spark Business Savings account, you’ll need to transfer those funds to a linked Spark Checking account, or another business bank account.

The Capital One Spark Business Savings account will come with the possibility to both send and receive wires.

This being said, however, Capital One will only allow wires on this account on a case-by-case basis, and with an associated fee.

Generally, to receive incoming wires, you’ll pay a $15 fee. To send outgoing domestic wires, on the other hand, you’ll pay a $25 fee.

It’s important to note, though, that these fees are subject to varying rates and may change based on your location.

The Spark Business savings rate you’ll receive, in other words, the interest rate you’ll receive on this account, will vary based on your account balance and the market.

Overall, when you deposit funds into this account, you’ll gradually accumulate interest—your interest will be compounded monthly and will be credited on the last day of each cycle.

With this in mind, one of the biggest benefits of the Capital One Spark Business Savings account is its promotional APY period. For the first 12 months after opening an account, this savings account would yield a higher APY (at one time it was 2.00%) before settling in at a lower APY based on your balance and the market.

Federal law actually limits the number of withdrawals that you’re allowed to make each month with a business savings account. Therefore, you can only make six withdrawals every month with the Spark Business Savings account.

This being said, if you make more than six withdrawals in a month, you’ll have to pay a $10 fee per each additional withdrawal you make. If you continuously make more than six withdrawals in a month, Capital One may close your account.

Now that we’ve covered all of the details on Spark Business Savings, let’s take a look at the benefits and downsides of this business savings account.

Of course, for the time being, the most notable downside is that you can’t actually open a Capital One Spark Business Savings account. Nevertheless, this account does have some impressive benefits that you’ll want to keep in mind for when Capital One does open up this program.

First, the Spark Business Savings account will keep your savings at a happy medium in between being both accessible and lucrative.

Although your business’s savings won’t be as liquid as if they were in a checking account, you’ll still be able to access them through withdrawals in the form of account transfers. Additionally, the funds that you store in this account will gradually accrue interest and you’ll have the benefit of a high-yield 12-month APY for earning more after you first open your account.

Moreover, the Capital One Spark Business Savings account has no monthly fee—which is pretty unusual for a business savings account (especially one from a traditional brick-and-mortar bank). Along these lines, the Spark Business Savings account also has no minimum opening deposit or average balance requirement, both of which you don’t typically see with business savings accounts.

Therefore, if you were looking to start a savings account to earn on your extra funds, but didn’t have a significant amount of money on-hand, the Capital One Spark Business Savings account would be a particularly worthwhile option. This account offers an affordable and accessible way for small business owners to start a savings account.

On the other hand, there are also downsides to this business savings account—in addition to the fact that it’s not currently available to new customers.

First, although the Spark Business Savings account has a promotional high-yield APY, you won’t continuously earn this amount of interest after the intro period expires. After the 12-months, your APY will likely fall to an average rate, which means you won’t be earning as much as possible on your business savings.

This being said, there are business savings accounts, like the NBKC Money Market Account, for example, that can offer an ongoing high-yield APY (1.75%).

Additionally, even though the Capital One Spark Business Savings account comes from a traditional bank, this account is largely online-based. You can’t withdraw or deposit cash with this account, and must make withdrawals in the form of account transfers. Therefore, if you’re looking for greater cash and physical access to your business savings account, you might find a better fit with another brick-and-mortar small business bank.

Finally, the Spark Business Savings account limits the number of withdrawals you can make to six per month. You’ll find that every business savings account imposes this limit, as they’re regulated by federal law. With this in mind then, if you think you’ll need to make more than six withdrawals per month, you’re probably better suited for a business checking account instead.

If you’re eager to work with Capital One, you might consider a Capital One Business Certificate of Deposit.

Although a certificate of deposit can be considered a business savings account, it’s different in that whereas a business savings account will allow you to withdraw a given amount without paying a fee, a certificate of deposit will last for a predetermined term length. This means that if you need to cash out your certificate of deposit early, you’ll have to pay significant early withdrawal fees.

This being said, with a Capital One Certificate of Deposit, you’ll be able to earn interest at a much higher APY than with a business savings account. Currently, the Capital One Business Certificate of Deposit earns 2.00% for a one-year fixed rate, 1.90% for an 18-month fixed rate, and 1.80% for a two-year fixed rate.

It’s also important to note, however, that this savings product will require a minimum opening account deposit of $1,000 and the minimum balance requirement will vary. You’ll need to work with a Capital One location or talk to a representative in your area for specific details on their certificate of deposits.

Nevertheless, if you have longer-term saving goals and are looking to earn the most interest on your extra funds, the Capital One Business Certificate of Deposit may be a worthwhile option for you.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a more traditional business savings account from a brick-and-mortar bank, you might check out the Chase business savings accounts.

In particular, Chase offers their Business Premier Savings which allows you to earn a higher APY with a higher balance, as well as more interest if your account is connected to a Chase business checking account.

Additionally, this account includes 30 monthly deposited items for free, up to $10,000 in cash deposits for free, access to Chase online and mobile banking, and more. Unlike the Spark Business Savings account, however, the Chase Business Premier Savings account will require a $20 monthly fee, unless you can keep an average ledger of $25,000 or more in the account.

Nevertheless, as a cash-friendly and widely accessible brick-and-mortar based business savings account, Chase Business Premier Savings is a worthy alternative to the Spark Business Savings account—especially since you can open this account right now.

Finally, for an alternative to the Spark Business Savings account that has no minimum opening deposit, no monthly fees, no average balance requirement, and can be opened quickly and easily online, you’ll want to look into the NBKC Business Money Market Account.

Like the Spark Business Savings, the NBKC Business Money Market Account is digitally-based—but, it can be opened right now and has virtually no fees. The only two fees you’ll see with this business savings account are $5 to send a domestic wire and $45 to send or receive an international wire.

Other than these two instances, you’ll be able to manage your Money Market Account for free and earn a 1.75% APY.

Ultimately, as long as you don’t need access to a physical branch or want to deposit cash on a monthly basis, the high-yield NBKC Business Money Market Account will be a great option to consider.

At the end of the day, with no monthly fees, no minimum opening deposit, and a 12-month promotional APY, it seems like the Capital One Spark Business Savings account would be an appealing option for many small business owners.

Unfortunately, as we’ve discussed throughout this review, Capital One is not currently accepting new accounts for either of their Spark Business account products.

Therefore, since it’s unclear when this account will be available again, you might turn to some of our top alternatives—Capital One Certificates of Deposit, Chase Business Savings, or NBKC Business Savings—if you’re looking to open a business savings account right now.

On the other hand, of course, if you really think the Spark Business Savings account is the best fit for your business, you can always wait for an update as to when you can open a new account, the decision is ultimately up to you.