Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Business Checking Review 2023
Tricia has nearly two decades of experience in commercial and federal government lending. Her expertise is highlighted throughout small business loan content on Fit Small Business.
Ricci Recto has two years of writing experience creating digital marketing content for finance clients. She specializes in business banking.
This article is part of a larger series on Business Banking.
If your business is looking for a New York-based banking provider that can accommodate your business checking needs, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust (CNB) is a great choice. The bank, which operates in the Greater Rochester Area, offers scalable business checking accounts with digital banking options and free rewards-earning debit cards. Outside of business checking, it also has business savings products, lending products, and credit cards.
What We Like
- 1% cash back on debit card purchases
- Analyzed checking available
- Access to lending products
What's Missing
- 50 cents fee per mobile deposit
- Checking accounts don’t draw interest
- Only 25 branches and 97 ATMs
Features
- Scalable business checking accounts
- Analyzed checking options
- Free Debit Mastercard Business Card
- CardCash Cashback Rewards program
- Free Online Banking for Businesses (OLBB)
- Mobile app
How Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Annual Percentage Yield (APY) | Monthly Fee | ATM Fee | Minimum Opening Deposit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Basic Checking | None | $7.50; waivable | None at Canandaigua National Bank ATMs; $2.50 for nonnetwork ATMs* | None |
 Basic Business Checking | None | $5; waivable | None at KeyBank and Allpoint ATMs nationwide; $3 per transaction at non-KeyBank ATMs* | $25 |
 Carefree Business Checking | None | $0 | None at Community Bank ATMs; $2 for nonnetwork ATMs* | $50 |
*Third-party operator fees may apply.
When Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Is a Good Fit
- You want rewards on debit card purchases: Through a partnership with CardCash, CNB provides cash back rewards to debit card holders. The CardCash debit card rewards program offers 1% cash back on all debit card purchases after exceeding the minimum monthly spend threshold of $1,000.
- You want analyzed checking options: It offers an Analyzed Checking account, which provides earnings credits that help offset monthly maintenance fees. The amount of earnings credit you’ll receive is based on your balance.
- You want a wide range of lending products: Its lending products include lines of credit, term loans, commercial mortgages, construction or renovation financing, letters of credit, and international trade financing. The bank also participates in many government-backed financing programs, including SBA and USDA.
When Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Is Not a Good Fit
- You want fee-free business checking: All its business checking accounts charge a monthly maintenance fee. Businesses that don’t want to pay monthly fees for business checking should choose digital-only banks. First Internet Bank provides access to business checking, business savings, and lending products without charging a monthly fee. Our First Internet Bank business checking review can give you more information on its banking products.
- You want a provider with a nationwide reach: CNB only serves the Greater Rochester Area and has a total of 25 brick-and-mortar bank branches. Businesses wanting access to in-person banking from anywhere in the country should choose Chase, which has 4,700 branches across 48 states. Check out our Chase business checking review to find an account that suits you.
- You want to earn interest on checking balances: None of its business checking accounts earn interest. Bluevine earns accounts an APY of 2.00% on balances worth $250,000 and below provided you meet its activity requirements. Read our Bluevine business checking review to learn more.
If your small business meets these scenarios, check out our guide to the best small business checking accounts for more recommendations.
Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Business Checking Overview
Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Business Checking Requirements
To open a business bank account with CNB, you must select a branch to visit or schedule a phone appointment through the CNB website. You’ll be asked to prepare the following information:
- Full legal name of business
- Organization type of legal structure, such as LLC, S corporation (S-corp), C corporation (C-corp), or sole proprietor
- Physical mailing address of business
- Tax ID number, such as federal employer tax ID or employer identification number (EIN)
- Personal Social Security numbers for any signers
- ID for any signers on the account
You may want to refer to our guide on how to open a business bank account for the full process. We also included a free checklist of required documents per entity type.
Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Business Checking Features
Its features include scalable business checking accounts, free online and mobile banking, free debit cards, and cash back rewards programs.
Scalable Checking Accounts
CNB offers a variety of business checking accounts, which scale according to an account’s balance and transaction volume. Its lowest tier account, Basic Checking, charges a monthly fee of $7.50 and has limited check writing.
The higher tier CNBusiness Choice Checking and CNBusiness Choice Optimum Checking accounts provide unlimited check writing at the cost of having higher monthly fees, with CNBusiness Choice Checking charging $94 and CNBusiness Choice Optimum Checking charging $126.
Analyzed Checking
CNB offers a fourth type of business checking account, Analyzed Checking. Unlike its regular checking accounts, which waive monthly fees based on designated average daily balance minimums, Analyzed Checking offsets monthly fees by providing earnings credit based on account balances. It costs $10 to maintain an Analyzed Checking account.
Digital Banking
You can access CNB banking services through the Online Banking for Businesses (OLBB) online banking center and the CNB mobile app, available on iOS and Android. Through digital banking, you can
- View deposit and loan account balances
- Review or approve transactions
- Transfer funds
- Manage bill payments
The mobile app also supports mobile check deposits, which cost 50 cents per item. It has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 on the App Store and 4.5 out of 5 on Google Play. Positive reviews noted that the app is fast, reliable, and easy to use. However, a few reviewers complained that setting up the app requires too many steps. Many also said that they found the app plain, having mentioned that although its basic features are reliable, it lacks the bells and whistles many of its modern competitors offer.
Free Debit Mastercard BusinessCard
All business checking accounts come with their own free Debit Mastercard BusinessCard. Its benefits include enhanced chip technology, easy expense tracking, discounts for Intuit QuickBooks and TurboTax, identity theft protection, and access to the Mastercard Easy Savings Program.
CardCash Cash Back Rewards Program
CNB has partnered with CardCash to provide 1% cash back on debit card purchases. To access the CardCash rewards program, cardholders must request their purchases to be run as credit. They must then exceed the minimum monthly spend threshold of $1,000, and all purchases after the limit earn 1% cash back. Businesses can view their earnings through their CardCash monthly statements.
Specialty Checking Accounts
Specialty checking accounts for non-profit organizations, government services, and municipal services are available. These accounts charge no monthly fees and provide access to CNB’s online and mobile banking services.
Cash Management Tools
CNB offers the following cash management solutions:
- ACH origination
- Positive Pay
- Online bill pay
- Remote deposit capture
- Wire transfers
Other Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Business Products
Savings Products
Canandaigua National Bank offers basic savings accounts, insured money market accounts, and tenant security deposits for landlords. Basic savings accounts cost $4 per month to maintain while insured money market accounts cost $10.
CNBusiness Choice and CNBusiness Choice Optimum account holders can also access their own fee-free savings accounts.
Lending Products
The bank has lines of credit, overdraft lines of credit, term loans, commercial mortgages, construction or renovation financing, letters of credit, and international trade financing.
It also participates in the following government-backed financing programs:
- United States Small Business Administration (SBA): Provides loans that assist with starting or growing small businesses.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Programs: Offers financing options for agricultural programs and rural business development.
- New York Business Development (NYBDC): Provides loans to New York-based small businesses to improve economic welfare in New York state.
- New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA): Finances energy solutions to improve economic and environmental development in New York state.
- New York State Job Development Authority (JDA): Provides direct loans for manufacturing businesses and other eligible businesses in New York State.
Business Credit Cards
The two business credit cards Canandaigua National Bank offers are the Business Edition Visa Card with Reward Simplicity and the Business Edition Secured Visa Card. Both come with 24/7 online access for account management, free management reports, and cash flow management.
Canandaigua National Bank & Trust User Reviews
Canandaigua National Bank & Trust has a rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars on WalletHub, based on around 40 reviews. The majority of reviews published within the past three years skewed positive. Customers liked that the bank’s customer service team was helpful and knowledgeable about local market conditions and community causes. According to reviewers, the bank offers reasonable rates for loans. The few negative reviews posted mentioned that the bank charged high overdraft fees.
Bottom Line
With checking accounts that scale according to a business’ needs, free digital banking, cash back programs, and access to a number of savings and lending products, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust is an excellent banking provider for businesses operating in the Greater Rochester Area. However, businesses wanting fee-free banking, interest-earning potential, and nationwide branch choices will have to look elsewhere.
