Comerica Bank Business Checking Review 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Business Banking.
Comerica Bank’s business checking solutions can accommodate low to moderate monthly transactions at a low cost. The bank offers four types of business checking accounts:
- A free account for businesses with very low transaction volumes
- A $16 small business account for businesses with moderate transaction volumes.
- A $21 interest-earning account.
- A $27 commercial account that receives earnings credit.
The bank also offers savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), lending products, and credit cards.
Comerica Bank has approximately 400 brick-and-mortar branches, which are located in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas. You are required to call or visit a branch to open an account.
Pros
- No monthly fee for Basic Business Checking
- $5,000 fee-free cash deposit limit for mid-tier accounts
- QuickBooks and Quicken integration
Cons
- Only operates in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas
- Extra $6.95 fee for online bill pay
- Poor user reviews for banking services and mobile app
Features
- Scalable Checking Accounts
- Comerica Business Debit Card
- Comerica Web Banking
- Comerica Web Bill Pay
- Mobile Banking
- Savings accounts, money market accounts, lending products
How Comerica Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
When Comerica Bank Is a Good Fit
- You don’t want to pay a monthly fee for business checking: Its Basic Business Checking does not charge a monthly fee nor require a minimum monthly balance.
- You have a low monthly transaction volume: Basic Business Checking comes with 75 fee-free transactions each month. Businesses wanting to raise their limit should upgrade to either Small Business Checking or Small Business Interest Checking, as each offers 300 fee-free transactions monthly.
- You have a low monthly cash deposit volume: Basic Business Checking offers up to $2,500 worth of fee-free cash deposits per month. For Small Business Checking and Small Business Interest Checking, the fee-free cash deposit limit is $5,000 each month.
When To Choose an Alternative
- You want nationwide access to physical branch banking: Comerica Bank only operates in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas. A provider with a better geographical range is Chase, which has 4,700 branches across 48 states. Read our Chase business checking review for a rundown of its three business checking accounts.
- You are looking for free bill pay: Comerica Bank charges a $6.95 monthly fee for online bill pay services. Meanwhile, Bank of America offers online bill pay services for free. Our review of Bank of America business checking provides details on its business checking accounts.
- You want to earn interest on a fee-free checking account: There is a $21 monthly service fee for Comerica Bank’s only interest-earning account, Small Business Interest Checking. Bluevine has no monthly fee and earns 2.00% APY on balances up to $250,000. However, you must meet its monthly activity requirements to qualify. Read our Bluevine business checking review to learn more.
If your small business meets one or more of these scenarios, see our roundup of the best small business checking accounts for additional recommendations.
Comerica Bank Business Checking Overview
Comerica Bank Business Checking Requirements
To open a business checking account, you must speak to a Comerica Bank financial advisor by calling (888) 852-4541 or visiting a physical banking center.
The list of Comerica Bank business checking requirements is currently not posted on the bank’s website. However, you can refer to our guide on how to open a business banking account for a downloadable checklist of documents banks typically require.
Comerica Bank Business Checking Features
Comerica Business Debit Card
Comerica Bank offers business debit cards through Mastercard. Cards come with built-in fraud detection, Zero Liability protection, identity theft resolution services, and digital instant issuance for lost or stolen cards. They can also be added to Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay for mobile checkouts.
Cardholders may participate in Mastercard Easy Savings, which offers rebates on gas, dining, hotels, car rentals, and other business services. It also provides discounts for Office Depot and SHI.
Comerica Web Banking
The free Comerica Web Banking service lets users check account balances and transfer funds, and they can even schedule recurring and future-dated fund transfers between Comerica accounts. With QuickBooks and Quicken integrations, users can export banking data to their accounting software.
Comerica Web Bill Pay
For an extra fee of $6.95 per month, Comerica Web Banking users can manage their bills and payments online. Comerica Web Bill Pay is free for the first 12 months of use.
Mobile Banking
Comerica Bank’s Small Business Mobile Banking is available on iOS and Android. The app lets users check account balances, transfer funds between Comerica accounts, pay bills, send money through Zelle, and locate Comerica banks and ATMs. It also offers Click&Capture Deposit®, a feature that lets users deposit funds by uploading images of their physical checks.
The app has 1.9 stars on the App Store[1] (based on 300-plus reviews) and 3.5 stars on Google Play[2] (based on more than 3,900 reviews). While a few users said the app was easy to use, there were many complaints about system errors, slow loading times, and limited mobile check deposit functionality.
Other Comerica Bank Business Products
Comerica Bank offers business credit cards via Mastercard:
- Mastercard Business Cash Card
- Mastercard Business Real Rewards Card
- Mastercard Business Platinum Card
- Smart Business Rewards MasterCard
All Comerica Business Credit Cards come with expense management tools, EMV smart chip technology, and support for mobile and contactless payments. Comerica Bank charges no fees for additional employee cards.
- The Small Business Savings account earns interest at a rate of 0.01% on balances of $1 and above. It charges a monthly maintenance fee of $5, which can be waived with a minimum balance of $500. The minimum opening deposit requirement is $50.
- The Small Business Money Market account earns 0.50% APY on balances from $1 to $499,999 and 1.00% APY on balances of $500,000 and over. If you meet certain requirements, you can also get a promotional APY rate of 4.50%. It charges a monthly maintenance fee of $18, which can be waived with a minimum balance of $10,000. The minimum opening deposit requirement is $50.
- Fixed-rate CDs let accounts earn interest at locked-in rates. Terms range from seven days to 10 years. Promotional APY rates range from 4.75% to 5.25% while regular rates range from 0.03% to 0.20%. The minimum opening balance requirement is $1,000.
- Flexible rate CDs offer competitive interest rates while allowing early withdrawals and unlimited additional deposits. Balances between $1 and $2,499 earn interest at a rate of 0.05%, while balances of $2,500 and over earn interest at a rate of 0.10%. The minimum opening balance requirement is $1,000.
- Lines of credit: Comerica Bank offers secured and unsecured lines of credit. Secured lines of credit offer borrowers up to $500,000 and require either real estate or business assets as collateral. Unsecured lines of credit offer borrowers up to $100,000 revolving credit with no collateral requirement.
- Term loans: Comerica Bank term loans let customers borrow up to $750,000 at competitive fixed or variable interest rates. Loans can be either unsecured or secured with flexible collateral options.
- SBA loans: As a National SBA Preferred Lender, Comerica Bank offers SBA loans up to $350,000, with no guarantee fees due at closing.
- CRE loans: Comerica Bank provides financing options for businesses wanting to purchase, build, refinance, or renovate owner-occupied commercial property and buildings. CRE loans use property equity as collateral and can last up to five years.
Comerica Bank offers customized insurance solutions, including:
- Commercial property insurance
- Business automobile insurance
- Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance
- General liability insurance
- Directors and officers (D&O) insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance
Comerica Bank Business Checking Reviews From Users
Comerica Bank business checking reviews are mixed. The bank has a rating of 2.9 out of 5 on ConsumerAffairs[3] (based on around 220 reviews) and 3.5 out of 5 on WalletHub[4] (based on more than 1,100 reviews). Very few positive reviews have been published within the last three years.
Recurring complaints include:
- Poor customer service: Users said that Comerica Bank was typically slow to respond to customer inquiries and that representatives were often ill-prepared to address issues.
- High fees: A few customers found the bank’s overdraft fees, out-of-network ATM fees, and balance inquiry fees too high.
- Poor fraud resolution: Reviewers were dissatisfied with how long the fraud investigation process took. Victims of fraud said that Comerica Bank did little to provide assistance.
Bottom Line
Although Comerica Bank offers affordable business checking, it might not give you the most value for money. Its basic account, though free, has relatively low limits for fee-free transactions and cash deposits. Additionally, many of the bank’s existing customers seem unsatisfied with its products. User reviews for its banking services and mobile app both skew negative, implying issues with the quality of service.
User review references:
1App Store
2Google Play
3ConsumerAffairs
4WalletHub
