6 Best Credit Unions for Small Businesses in 2023

Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union is our choice as the best credit union for small businesses thanks to a wide range of business services and three interest-bearing account options. It has a rewards program for debit card purchases, allowing you to redeem points for gift cards, travel, and more. It also has interest-bearing options for checking, savings, and certificates of deposit (CDs). While the checking and savings rates are low, they have CD rates that go up to 4% APY.

In addition, Affinity Plus offers a business credit card, lines of credit, equipment loans, vehicle loans, and merchant services. It even partnered with Loomis to provide cash and coin delivery. For small business owners looking for a well-rounded credit union for their business needs, Affinity Plus is an excellent choice.

First, business owners need a personal membership with Affinity Plus (on their own or jointly). If your business is a sole proprietorship or limited liability company (LLC), the owner must be the one who opens the membership. To be a personal member, you must meet one of the two following criteria:

1. Meet the geographic, school, or employment requirements listed here.
2. Make a one-time $25 dues payment to the Affinity Plus Foundation, supporting those making a positive impact in Minnesota communities.

Once you have a personal membership, you’ll need to gather the documents for your business type, then submit an interest letter through the company’s website.

While it has the most restrictive membership requirements on this list, Navy Federal Credit Union is an outstanding choice for a small business with owners who qualify. It’s limited to service members, their families, and US Department of Defense (DoD)  personnel.

For businesses, it requires a $250 deposit for sole proprietorships and $255 for other legal entities, along with a list of required documents to open an account. All owners must be Navy FCU members in good standing.

With more than 11 million members, branches in 30 states, and more than $160 billion in assets, Navy FCU is the largest credit union in the US. For those who qualify, it offers great rates and excellent business services. As long as you can meet the minimums required to waive fees, Navy Federal is one of the best credit unions for your small business.

To become a member of Navy FCU, you must meet one of the following requirements:

1. Be an active duty or retired service member or a veteran of one of the branches of the armed forces.
2. Be a family member of someone who qualifies as active duty, retired, or veteran of one of the branches of the armed forces.
3. Be a member of the DoD Civilian personnel.

Self-Help Federal Credit Union (SHFCU) is a good choice for businesses that might need loan products in addition to business checking. While there are some limits on loan sizes, SHFCU has various loan offerings, including SBA 504 loans. It also provides charter school loans, child care loans, faith-based loans, food system loans, small business and nonprofit loans, multifamily housing loans, and other commercial real estate loans.

It has no minimum opening deposit or monthly balance requirements. Both checking and savings accounts are interest-bearing, and the monthly fee can be waived with an average daily balance of $25,000 across all accounts. There are transaction limits, and you’ll incur fees if you exceed them, but SHFCU offers free incoming wires and doesn’t charge any nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees.

You can join SHFCU in one of two ways:

1. Join for free if you live, work, worship, or attend school in an eligible county, or have a family or employer affiliation. It serves communities and employer groups in California, Illinois, and Wisconsin. You can call (877) 369-2828 to verify.
2. Pay a one-time fee of $5 to join its Center for Community Self-Help.

Membership forms can be downloaded from the company’s website and mailed in or dropped off at a branch.

Credit Union 1 is a solid choice thanks to several deposit account options, including a multitiered checking account product that can scale as your business grows. With three business checking accounts to choose from, it has an account that should meet your business needs.

While the lowest-tier account, Business Express Checking, doesn’t draw interest, it does have some of the same benefits as the higher-tier accounts. You can draw interest on balances in the middle- and top-tier accounts, but the rates are pretty low compared to its competitors on this list.

However, those two accounts offer high limits of free transactions and cash deposits each month. Once you reach the highest tier, Business Express Premium Plus Checking, Credit Union 1 doesn’t charge for out-of-network ATM withdrawals. You need an average daily balance of $25,000 for that account to avoid the $50 monthly fee.

In addition, Credit Union 1 offers commercial real estate loans and a business credit card. It also has Cannabis Banking, although you may want to reach out to the credit union to see if you qualify depending on where your business is located.

Credit Union 1 membership can be obtained in one of two ways:

1. Be eligible within its field of membership (listed within the online application or by contacting a Member Solution Specialist).
2. Donate $5 to the Credit Union 1 Educational Development Association, which benefits the continuing education of selected groups.

For businesses looking to secure insurance with the same company as their business checking, First Tech Federal Credit Union is an outstanding choice. It offers the following types of business insurance:

• Directors & officers (D&O) liability policy
• Inland marine policy
• Business umbrella policy
• Professional liability policy
• Workers’ compensation policy
• Commercial vehicle policy
• Employment practices liability policy
• Crime insurance policy
• Business owners policy (BOP)
• Builders risk policy

In addition to its excellent insurance products, it has great checking and savings options, many of which are interest-bearing. What’s more, monthly fees are waivable across its accounts easily.

First Tech also has commercial real estate loans for multifamily, office and industrial buildings, self-storage, mobile home parks, flagged hotels, and healthcare. It also offers interest earnings on its dividend checking, Business Instant Access, a savings product earning up to 0.55% APY, and two other savings accounts that earn 0.05% APY. It even has business certificates of deposit (CDs) earning up to 2.75% APY.

To qualify for membership with First Tech Federal Credit Union, you need to meet one of the following criteria:

1. You have a family member or household member who is already a First Tech member.
2. You or a family member work for an innovative company on the company’s partner list or for the State of Oregon.
3. You work or live in Lane County, Oregon.
4. You belong to the Computer History Museum or the Financial Fitness Association, which can be joined at a branch or via an online application.

If you don’t meet any of those criteria, First Tech encourages you to contact its reps at (855) 855-8805 for more information.

Bethpage Federal Credit Union would be higher on our list if it wasn’t so geographically limited. You must reside in one of 12 states to join. If you’re located in one of those states, Bethpage FCU is a great choice with outstanding product offerings.

It has vehicle loans, commercial real estate loans, lines of credit, and term loans. It offers good interest rates on its business checking, savings, and money market accounts.

No minimum deposit is required, and you need 1 cent to continue to draw interest on your account. There are no monthly fees and no transaction limits.

To become a member of Bethpage FCU, you just need to open a $5 savings account, which can be done through its website. Although, you must reside in one of the following 12 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, or Washington.