Citibank Business Checking Review
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.
This article is part of a larger series on Business Banking.
Citibank is a premier traditional bank offering small business owners three business checking accounts: CitiBusiness® Streamlined Checking, CitiBusiness® Flexible Checking, and CitiBusiness® Interest Checking. All come with a debit card, waivable monthly fees, overdraft protection, online and mobile banking, and a $1 opening deposit. Citibank provides high fee-free monthly cash deposits of up to $5,000 for CitiBusiness® Interest Checking, $10,000 for CitiBusiness® Streamlined Checking, and $20,000 for CitiBusiness® Flexible Checking.
While Citibank locations are limited to large metropolitan areas, it’s an outstanding choice for business checking if you’re located near a branch location.
What We Like
- $1 opening deposit
- Waivable monthly fees
- High fee-free monthly cash deposit limits
What's Missing
- No online account opening
- No free business checking account
- Branches found only in Washington, D.C. and 10 states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, and Virginia
Features
- Free optional debit card
- $2,000 welcome bonus (in selected areas)
- Send money, transfer funds, and deposit checks through mobile
- CitiBusiness® Online, Citibank® Online, and Citi Mobile® apps
- Citibusiness® Checking Plus and Citibusiness® Safety Check: Overdraft and uncollected funds protection
- CitiBusiness® Preferred programs: Customized packages for more savings and higher rates
How Citibank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Annual Percentage Yield (APY) | Cash Deposit Fee | ATM Fee | Minimum Opening Deposit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Citibusiness® Streamlined Checking | N/A | Up to $10,000 per month free, then 17 cents per $100 | Free at Citibank ATMs and more than 60,000 ATMs in the United States, including MoneyPass ATMs |
$1 |
 Business Complete Banking | N/A | Up to $5,000 per month free, then $2.50 per $1,000 per statement cycle | $2.50 per transaction at any non-Chase ATM, plus operator fees | None |
 Business Advantage Fundamentals Banking | N/A | Up to $7,500 per month free, then 30 cents per $100 per statement cycle | $2.50 per transaction at non-Bank of America ATMs, plus operator fees | None |
When Citibank Is a Good Fit
- Your business has a low monthly transaction volume but requires high cash deposit amounts: Citibank’s CitiBusiness® Streamlined Checking provides up to 250 free monthly transactions and free cash deposits of up to $10,000 per month.
- You need a business checking account with a high free transaction limit and higher free cash deposits than the basic account: With the CitiBusiness® Flexible Checking, you gain up to 500 free monthly transactions and free cash deposits of up to $20,000 per month.
- You want to avoid overdraft fees: You can enjoy safety from overdraft fees with CitiBusiness® Checking Plus and CitiBusiness® Safety Check. These provide fund transfers to your overdrawn checking account from a line of credit or linked checking, savings, or money market account.
- You prefer a bank that offers rewards for opening a business checking account: Citibank offers a welcome bonus of up to $2,000 when you open a CitiBusiness® Streamlined Checking, CitiBusiness® Flexible Checking, or CitiBusiness® Analyzed Checking in selected areas (subject to certain conditions.)
When Citibank Is Not a Good Fit
- You favor in-person banking and your business is located outside the areas served by Citibank: While it has high visibility in metropolitan areas, the locations are confined to 10 states―California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, and Virginia―plus Washington, D.C. You can opt for Chase Bank, Wells Fargo, or Bank of America for nationwide branch presence.
- You prefer to open a business checking account online: Account opening is strictly done at Citibank branches. If you prefer the convenience of fully digital banks, you can consider Grasshopper Bank, Bluevine, or Axos Bank.
- You want more checking rewards and service discounts: While Citibank offers free and discounted services, these are only available via CitiBusiness® Preferred Programs, which require higher average monthly balances to waive program fees each month. A good alternative is Truist Bank, offering miles with a Delta SkyMiles Business Debit Card and 10% business credit card rewards for combined account balances ranging from $0 to $25,000. The higher your combined deposits, the more service discounts you earn with its Dynamic Business Checking reward levels.
See more providers in our roundup of the best small business checking accounts.
Citibank Business Checking Overview
Citibank Business Checking Requirements
You can visit any Citibank branch to open a business checking account. Applicants are required to bring one government-issued ID and a business formation document. You must provide information about your business, including business name, taxpayer identification number, transaction activity, and number of employees.
For all individuals associated with the business, the following information is needed:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Residential address (required only for owners of 25% or more and one controlling person. Documentation to verify this information may be required if third-party verifications aren’t successful).
- Citizenship status
- Country of residence
- Country of citizenship
- Social Security number/individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) or two forms of government-issued IDs for a nonresident alien instead of a Social Security number or ITIN
- Percentage of ownership
Associated individuals include:
- Account signers
- Authorized signers
- Owners of business (10 percent or more)
- All owners of a personal Investment company or business trust
- Controlling person or people, which is any person with significant responsibility for managing the business, such as the president, managing member, general partner, treasurer, chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), or chief operating officer (COO)
Before opening an account, see our guide on how to open a business bank account. It includes a free downloadable checklist of required documents.
Citibank Business Checking Features
Citibank’s business checking accounts offer an optional debit card, online and mobile banking, and overdraft protection.
Fee-free ATM Access
Citibank provides more than 2,300 fee-free ATMs in 600-plus Citibank branches and surcharge-free access to more than 60,000 ATMs in the US, including Citi-branded ATMs in retail stores and ATMs participating in the MoneyPass Network.
Online & Mobile Banking
Citibank® Online allows you to pay bills, view account balances, and send and receive money using Zelle®. With CitiBusiness® Online, you can control multiple user access to the system, use advanced Cash Management services and enhance your online security through token-based system access. You can download the Citi Mobile app from the App Store and Google Play.
Reviews on both iOS and Android apps are excellent—it earned 4.9 out of 5 stars on the App Store with about 3 million ratings and 4.7 out of 5 stars on Google Play with nearly 900,000 ratings. Positive feedback from users points to the app’s ease of use and seamless navigation, while a few negative reviews mentioned too many ad promotion pop-ups.
CitiBusiness® Checking Plus & CitiBusiness® Safety Check
Citibank offers two options to avoid bounced checks:
- A CitiBusiness® Checking Plus line of credit protects you from overdraft fees through automatic fund transfers (rounded up to the nearest $100) from your credit line to your checking account. Further, you can directly borrow funds from your Checking Plus® line of credit or transfer funds from Checking Plus® to any linked checking, savings, or money market account. Note that this feature is subject to credit approval.
- CitiBusiness® Safety Check provides overdraft protection by moving funds from your Citibank savings or money market account to your checking account when your account is overdrawn. Similar to Checking Plus®, transfers are rounded up to the nearest $100 to cover multiple same-day overdrafts.
To enjoy the CitiBusiness® Safety Check service, you need a checking account and either a linked savings or money market account. Note that only one savings or money market account can be used as the contributing account for Safety Check. For checking accounts that are jointly owned, all owners must authorize the Safety Check coverage.
CitiBusiness® Preferred Programs
Citibank offers customized banking packages where business owners can access Citibank’s best rates, special savings, and high-yield money market rates.
Terms and Features | CitiBusiness® Preferred Banking | CitiBusiness® Preferred Banking Plus |
|---|---|---|
Monthly Program Fees | $40 | $95 |
Average Monthly Balance to Waive Fees | $15,000 | $50,000 |
Included Checking Monthly Transactions | 500 | 750 |
Included Monthly Cash Deposits | $20,000 | $20,000 |
Wire Transfers | First 5 incoming wires free, then $15 per incoming wire First 2 online international wires free, then $27 per online international outgoing wire First 2 domestic wires free; then $15 per domestic incoming wire and $55 ($17 if online) per domestic outgoing wire | Free incoming wires First 4 online international wires free, then $27 per online international outgoing wire |
Business Insured Money Market Account | 0.10% per annum higher rate vs standard rates | 0.10% per annum higher rate vs standard rates |
Business Line of Credit or Installment Loan | 0.25% per annum discount off the standard rate | 0.25% per annum discount off the standard rate |
Business Services
- Citi Merchant Services: Next-day funding, Clover, Clover Rewards, and Clover Gift Cards
- Cash management: Remote check deposit, CitiBusiness Lockbox, automated clearing house (ACH), bill pay, and wire transfers
- Payroll and human resources (HR) services: Paychex Flex
- Trade services: Letters of credit and documentary collections
Other Business Checking Accounts
- CitiBusiness® Analyzed Business Checking: This noninterest-bearing account enables large companies to offset banking fees with earnings credit and gain access to a variety of cash management solutions.
- CitiBusiness® Escrow Account: This checking solution was created for law firms and attorneys to manage client funds by linking individual client sub-accounts with one master account.
- Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTAs)/Interest on Lawyer Accounts (IOLAs)/Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTAs)/Maryland Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT) Accounts: These regulated interest-bearing escrow accounts handle short-term client funds.
- Deposit Administrator Account: Suitable for property managers, certified public accountants (CPAs), and business managers of title and real estate companies, this account allows easy management of funds for multiple clients, subsidiaries, or divisions.
- Security Deposit Administrator Account: This account simplifies security deposits, accounting, and tax reporting with no monthly fees.
Other Banking Products
Citibank has a wide variety of banking products available, from business savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, to lending products and credit cards.
- Business Savings: For a minimum opening deposit of $1, you can open an interest-bearing CitiBusiness® Savings Account and waive the $10 monthly fee by maintaining an average of $500 per month.
- Money Market: With a CitiBusiness® Insured Money Market Account (IMMA), you can earn balance-based interest rates. Account balances below $5 million are given Preferred rates for APY, and account balances above $5 million are provided with Standard rates for APY.
- Certificates of Deposit (CDs): With a CitiBusiness® CD, you can earn fixed returns with terms ranging from seven days to 10 years.
- Lending: Citibank has a Business Installment Loan, Business Lines of Credit (Business Credit account and Relationship Ready Credit), Healthcare Practice Finance, and Commercial Mortgages to help your business financing needs.
- Credit Cards: Citibank offers a CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard Credit Card, which lets you earn unlimited mileage points and flight perks. It also has the Costco Anywhere Visa Business Credit Card by Citi, which provides cash back rewards for business owners who are Costco members.
Citibank Business Checking Pros & Cons
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Online option for less expensive domestic and international outgoing wires | Branch locations largely concentrated in metropolitan areas; fees differ across locations |
| Variety of bank products, specialized business checking accounts, and CitiBusiness® Preferred programs | Low free transaction limit for CitiBusiness® Interest Checking |
| Up to $2,000 welcome bonus for new CitiBusiness® Streamlined or CitiBusiness® Flexible Checking accounts (selected areas) | Some bank products are only available in certain locations |
Citibank is a great choice for business checking accounts with its less expensive online option for sending domestic and international wires. It also offers a wide range of banking products, specialized industry-specific business checking accounts, and CitiBusiness® Preferred programs that provide discounts on bank services. Further, the bank extends a welcome bonus of up to $2,000 if you open a CitiBusiness® Streamlined Checking or CitiBusiness® Flexible Checking account in selected areas.
However, Citibank’s branches are largely concentrated in metropolitan areas, such as California and New York—this can limit in-person banking access if you live outside these areas. Additionally, some fees may vary across different states, and some bank products are only available in certain locations, so it’s important to contact your local branch to learn about exact fees and available products. Lastly, the CitiBusiness® Interest Checking account only gives out 25 free transactions per month, which is quite low compared to other banks.
Alternatives to Citibank Business Checking
Citibank has a superb lineup of business checking accounts, but if you’re looking for high APY, nationwide branch presence, and full-service online banking, it’s best to check out other banks.
- First Internet Bank is best for those who prefer the convenience of a digital-only bank. Business owners can open a variety of business bank products online.
- Chase is ideal for businesses wanting access to a wide network of brick-and-mortar locations around the country.
- Bluevine is optimal for businesses that prioritize earning high interest on their checking accounts. It offers an APY of 2.0%, provided conditions are met.
Bottom Line
Citibank offers three outstanding business checking products—each features increasing amounts of free transactions and monthly cash deposit limits. Monthly fees are waivable and accounts require only $1 as a minimum opening deposit. Further, the bank offers CitiBusiness® Checking Plus and CitiBusiness® Safety Check, providing protection from overdraft fees. Offering top-value business checking accounts and a full range of banking products and services, Citibank is a great choice for businesses located near its branches.
