About Business Bank Accounts

We previously covered personal credit cards, and we also covered business credit cards. Likewise, bank accounts are divided into personal accounts and business accounts. In practical terms, business checking is pretty similar to a personal account: you can write checks, use it to pay credit card bills, make transfers, and so on. For people who run a company, the biggest reason to open a business checking account is to separate business activity and cash flow from personal finances, which makes tax filing and similar tasks much easier.

But for those of us who care about account-opening bonuses, business checking often offers very generous bonuses, and it usually does not have the annoying Direct Deposit requirement. You only need to deposit money or complete a certain number of card swipes. If you are eligible to apply for business checking, that will greatly expand your pool of account-opening bonus opportunities. In addition, business checking can perform ACH transfers (similar to payroll sent to employees), which are often treated as Direct Deposit (DD), and are also a great way to complete DD for a personal account.

Business savings accounts are similar, so I will not cover them separately here.

Risk Disclaimer

If you have formed a company, such as a Corporation, LLC, or Partnership, you can use the company’s TIN (Tax identification number) or EIN (Employer Identification Number) to apply for a business bank account. If you are just doing business as an individual, such as selling things on Amazon or eBay, doing small jobs for others, or collecting rent from a property, you can apply for a business bank account under the name of a Sole Proprietor (equivalent to a sole proprietorship) using your own SSN (Social Security Number). If you have not started any business activity yet and only have an initial idea, in theory you can also apply under a Sole Proprietor name.

Many people may worry whether applying for a business bank account as a nonimmigrant visa holder (such as F1, B1, or J visa holders) will affect a future green card. My personal suggestion is that if you are concerned about this, you should avoid it and focus on personal bank accounts instead. In my personal understanding, if you are actually engaging in business activity, that would violate the requirements of a nonimmigrant visa. If you only have a business idea in the abstract (which is already enough to apply for a business bank account) and do not have related business activity or income, immigration authorities will not do anything to you.

The above is purely my personal analysis based on the rules; you should still consult a qualified attorney

Application Requirements

If you already have a company (such as an LLC), you can directly use the company’s EIN to apply for a business bank account.

Of course, if you only want the account-opening bonus for a business checking account, you can also apply directly with your SSN. The principle is the same as applying for a business credit card: apply as a sole proprietor.

A sole proprietorship is the simplest form of business ownership, where an individual owns and operates a business without forming a separate legal entity. It is essentially the default business structure if you start a business under your own name without registering it as another type of business.

Of course, you can also first use your SSN to apply for an EIN from the IRS, and then use that EIN to apply for a business account, which looks more logical. The IRS provides this option, and it clearly says you can use an SSN to apply for an EIN in order to open a bank account. Some banks are quite strict; if you have used your SSN too many times, they may stop approving you. In that case, you can try using an EIN instead.

When applying, choose that you are a sole proprietor.

For the purpose, choose banking purposes. We really are applying for a bank account!

Then just fill in your personal information, and select sole proprietor below as well. One reminder here: both the Social Security Number (SSN) and Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) can be used to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN). According to member reports from our 知识星球, applications using an SSN or ITIN can now get a PDF version of the Employer Identification Number (EIN) document within minutes.

Application Process

Chase Business Checking Account

Below we will walk through the application process based on Chase business accounts. The whole process is actually similar to applying for a credit card, especially a business credit card.

  • At the start of the application, you can see the materials Chase requires for a business bank account application. If you already have a Chase account, you can log in and skip filling in some personal information.
  • Then you can start filling it out. First, enter your business type. As mentioned above, just enter sole proprietor.
  • Then fill in your own information. My personal suggestion is to fill it out according to the actual situation and not make anything up. Resident alien is usually in the tax sense; as long as you meet the substantial presence test, that is fine.
  • Then comes the personal information section. Here you need to enter your SSN; if you do not have one, entering an ITIN may also work.
  • Then fill in your address and ID for verification.
  • Finally, just submit it.

US Bank Business Account

Chase is relatively simple. Different banks have different requirements. For example, a US Bank business account will ask more questions about business details, and it also offers some other benefits.

  • You can also request a card reader during the application
  • It will also ask about your business-related income and card spending amount
  • It will ask about annual income
  • They ask for more detailed use-case details.

They ask what type of business you have.

In short, they ask much more detailed questions than Chase. If you do not have any actual business activity, just fill it out according to your real situation. If it asks about an industry, enter the one you have in mind.

Advantages of Business Accounts

As mentioned above, it lets you separate personal spending from business spending, which makes tracking and tax filing easier. Transfer limits and restrictions are generally a bit higher than for personal accounts.

However, for people focused on bank account bonuses, business bank accounts have a hidden advantage: they can provide a real direct deposit. Bank account bonuses usually require direct deposit, and many people struggle to meet that requirement. But if you have a business account, transferring from the business account to a personal account via ACH is essentially like payroll, so it counts as direct deposit. If you can, it is still a good idea to keep one business account just for meeting this requirement.

Also, some business bank accounts allow credit card funding when you open the account. For example, a US Bank checking account allows up to $3,000 in credit card funding into the bank account, and most banks count it as normal card spending. It is a nice way to help meet the card's minimum spend requirement at the same time.

Which Business Checking Accounts Are Worth Recommending

We have also covered quite a few business checking account bonuses. Take a look, and apply if there is one you need.