10 Best Silicon Valley Bank Alternatives 2023

For startup businesses that might be looking for a traditional bank alternative to Silicon Valley Bank, Chase is the best option. Chase offers three business checking options with waivable monthly fees that can scale as your business grows. This is why it’s considered one of the best small business checking accounts on the market.

In addition, Chase has industry-leading lending products, including credit cards and lines of credit, along with POS and software solutions. Chase provides commercial lending solutions through J.P. Morgan, including commercial real estate loans. J.P. Morgan offers payment services, cash flow management, commercial credit cards, and merchant services.

All of Chase’s business checking products charge a monthly fee that is easily waivable if you meet balance or activity requirements. You can also get a $300 cashback bonus for opening an account and meeting specific requirements. It’s one of the best account-opening promotions on the market.

For startups that might be leery of choosing another online-only bank, you can have confidence in the future of Chase, which dates back more than 200 years. No matter what stage your startup is in, Chase has the products and services to meet your needs.

Bank of America is another great traditional bank alternative to SVB. The company offers multiple checking options and full-service business banking products and services. When comparing Bank of America to Chase, Bank of America comes out on top in several categories.

It has two different business checking accounts with monthly fees that can be easily waived; you can work with your business banking advisor to determine when you might need to switch from one account to the other. In addition, it offers up to $500 in combined cashback and credit card statement credits as part of its ongoing rewards.

In addition, you can check your Dun & Bradstreet business credit score for free within the Bank of America app. This is one of the reasons Bank of America is our choice as the best bank for small business loans and the best bank for real estate investors.

With its preferred rewards for business, you can earn bonus rewards on credit cards and get a higher interest rate on business advantage savings accounts.

There are excellent software integrations and a wide range of additional business products, including savings, CDs, lending products, and financial analysis through Merrill financial advisor. Bank of America includes all the products and services your startup will need to flourish.

For companies that have received venture capital funding in the past and are looking to move their accounts from Silicon Valley Bank, Brex might be a good choice. Billions of dollars in funds were moved from SVB to Brex on March 9, 2023.

It has the strictest requirements of any provider on this list, so be sure your business meets the criteria listed on Brex’s website before you open an account. If you cannot qualify, there are Brex alternatives that can serve your business needs, or you could choose another provider from this list.

Brex’s checking product has no opening deposit requirement, minimum balance requirement, limit on free monthly transactions, and monthly fees. The biggest perk is no wire fees, either domestic or international. If your startup wires money regularly, this could save you quite a bit each month.

The company also has a money market account, which can draw up to 4.19%. It offers a business credit card with uncapped rewards, spend management, expense tracking, bill pay, and financial modeling. Moreover, the Brex app has great integrations with various business and finance applications.

Brex has partnered with 10 banks, each insured for up to $250,000 through the FDIC. The bank states that deposits are spread among its partner banks, allowing it to insure up to $1 million in deposits for your company with the FDIC. With more than 93% of Silicon Valley Bank’s $161 billion in deposits having been uninsured, it is important to ensure your business funds are protected.

One drawback is that no ATM card is available, so if your startup needs to withdraw money from an ATM, you’ll have to choose another provider.

Mercury is a fintech banking product geared toward startups and tech companies. Its checking and savings accounts are free, with no minimum deposit or balance requirements.

One of the biggest benefits is up to $1 million in FDIC insurance through Mercury’s two partner banks, Choice Bank and Evolve Bank & Trust. The bank’s founder created Mercury with the goal of being a better SVB.

You can also get a $300 cashback bonus if you spend $2,000 on your debit or credit card within the first 90 days of account opening.

Mercury offers Treasury, which is an interest-earning account. It’s only available to customers with at least $250,000 in funds in Mercury accounts and is currently earning up to 4.67% APY.

Mercury has also added a credit card, the IO Mastercard, which offers 1.5% cash back and unlimited virtual cards.

It also has outstanding software integrations and a perks page that allows you to advertise deals for your business on the Mercury website. Most businesses incorporated in the United States are eligible for an account, except sole proprietorships and trusts.

Both physical and virtual debit cards are available with your Mercury account. You can withdraw money from one of the 55,000 Allpoint network ATMs for free. Mercury doesn’t charge for out-of-network ATM withdrawals, but you must pay third-party operator fees.

The drawbacks are the inability to deposit cash and no lending products outside the credit card and a venture capital term loan program. Otherwise, Mercury is a great choice for startups looking for a digital-only SVB alternative.

For businesses that receive payments regularly through Stripe, Square, or PayPal, Novo is a great banking option. With its Novo Boost product, you can receive payments faster from those accounts than other providers. You can get paid via card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, or Venmo.

In addition, Novo offers Express ACH, which allows you to send and receive same-day ACH payments. The ability to receive and send payments rapidly gives Novo a huge advantage over other fintech options.

If your business withdraws cash from an ATM regularly, Novo is an ideal choice for a startup since it refunds all ATM fees at the end of each month. It also offers up to 10 reserve accounts, unlimited invoicing, and excellent accounting and payment software integrations. While you cannot order checks with Novo, you can send paper checks from the app.

It doesn’t charge for cash deposits, but you must purchase a money order and deposit it through the app. You can buy money orders from US Postal Service (USPS) locations for up to $2.40 for up to $1,000 money orders.

It even provides up to 10 reserve accounts, unlimited invoicing, and great software integrations with accounting and payment software. You cannot order checks, but paper checks can be sent from the app. One drawback is that Novo lacks lending products.

Novo now allows you to apply even if you don’t have an employee identification number (EIN) or limited liability company (LLC). Overall, it is an excellent option for businesses seeking an alternative to Silicon Valley Bank.

For businesses wanting an SVB alternative with interest-bearing checking and the best line of credit product on the market, Bluevine is a great choice. You can earn 2.0% APY with its business checking on balances of $250,000 or less—as long as you either spend $500 a month with the debit card or receive $2,500 in customer payments in a month.

It charges no monthly or transaction fees and is one of our top picks for the best free business checking accounts. It also doesn’t have a minimum opening deposit or balance requirement, and its lack of fees makes it an excellent choice for a bank account for self-employed and freelance professionals.

Bluevine also provides up to five subaccounts to allow customers to separate their funds. Funds included in your six total accounts would be eligible to earn interest.

Cash deposits cost $4.95 per transaction and can only be done at a Green Dot retail location. Also, Bluevine charges $2.50 for out-of-network ATM withdrawals in addition to third-party fees. If most of your transactions are digital and not cash-based, Bluevine is an excellent choice.

For startups looking for an all-in-one product that combines a great business checking product with integrated bookkeeping, Found is an excellent choice. Found offers fee-free business checking options without transaction limits.

In addition, you can categorize expenses, capture receipts, and set custom rules with its app. Found also provides unlimited free invoicing. Found can customize those invoices with your company’s logo and colors. You can accept payment for those invoices through payment apps.

Not only does Found help you with short-term budgeting, but it can also help you prepare business taxes. Found has robust tax tracking and preparation software, allows you to complete and send your Schedule C directly from the app, and lets you pay your tax bill directly.

The provider doesn’t charge for any ATM withdrawals, although out-of-network ATM withdrawals would be subject to third-party fees. However, Found doesn’t list its ATM network on its website. Additionally, it doesn’t allow you to make cash deposits and deposit checks in the app, and only incoming domestic wires are available.

If you need to deposit a check, you can use the Ingo Money app. Checks deposited through that app can be accessed in your account immediately for a fee or in 10 days for free. The major drawback is that the check must be made out in your name—not your business name—for Ingo Money to accept it.

For freelancers and creatives looking for an alternative to Silicon Valley Bank, Oxygen is an excellent option. It is a digital-only bank that offers 5% cash back on all debit card purchases. You can also open personal and business accounts through Oxygen, one of the few fintechs that offers both.

Oxygen’s business bank account is fee-free, with no minimum balance requirements or transaction limits. Like Bluevine, you can make cash deposits through Green Dot locations for $4.95 per transaction. However, you can also use in-app mobile check capture or transfer money via ACH or Plaid from an outside account.

For startups looking to incorporate, Oxygen provides nationwide LLC creation through its app powered by CorpNet, Inc. There are fees involved, but it’s one of the few services that isn’t free. Its app is award-winning, earning the 2021 Best Overall FinTech Mobile App at the FinTech Breakthrough Awards.

You can also open a business savings account, which earns 1% APY on balances up to $20,000. However, it has no outgoing and international wire transfers, and you cannot set up multiple users in the app. It’s only open to a single sign-on (SSO) per account, which puts it behind many other fintechs in this guide.

Another fintech that offers interest-bearing checking is Grasshopper. It offers 1.5% APY on all balances with no minimum or maximum. In addition, you get 1% cash back on all debit card online and in-person purchases.

Customers must maintain a minimum average balance of $10,000 with no nonsufficient funds (NSF) items during the preceding 12 calendar months to continue to earn interest.

Grasshopper allows unlimited transfers, including free domestic and international wire transfers. There are no monthly fees and no transaction limits. However, no cash deposits are accepted.

Not only does Grasshopper integrate with QuickBooks, but it also provides Autobooks to each customer free of charge. You can also make free ATM withdrawals at the more than 45,000 MoneyPass and SUM ATMs, and its powerful mobile app is backed by modern APIs to help power your startup.

Grasshopper also provides Small Business Administration (SBA) lending, commercial real estate (CRE) lending, yacht lending, and venture capital and private equity lending. For businesses that had loans through SVB, Grasshopper might be a logical choice.

Another SVB alternative that can help you with tax preparation is Lili. The company combines great business checking with an outstanding tax optimizer built into the app.

If you upgrade to Lili Pro, you will have access to the tax optimizer to track potential write-offs and a tax bucket to set aside funds, scan receipts, complete your Schedule C within the app, and produce quarterly and annual expense reports.

Lili Basic is the company’s free checking product. The company offers Lili Pro for $9 a month, which includes 1% cash back rewards, fee-free overdrafts up to $200, a savings account with 1.5% APY, and the ability to create and send unlimited invoices.

Both accounts provide you with a debit card, the option to get paid faster with direct deposit two days early, built-in expense tracking, and no hidden fees.

You can now access your Lili account via browser login in addition to the Lili app. Lili now allows multimember LLCs, S-corps, general partnerships, and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) to sign up for an account. This is in addition to sole proprietors (with or without a DBA) and single-member LLCs, which were already eligible for an account.

The account is unavailable to B corporations (B-corps), C corporations (C-corps), and nonprofit organizations.

Unfortunately, the provider doesn’t allow you to send or receive wire transfers, and you cannot order checks or send them from the app. Like Bluevine, you can deposit cash but must do it through Green Dot retail locations for $4.95 a transaction.