Comerica Bank 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.
Comerica Bank is a decent option for businesses with low to moderate monthly transaction volumes and those that need affordable business checking accounts. There are four types of business checking accounts:
- Free account for businesses with very low transaction volumes.
- $16 small business account for businesses with moderate transaction volumes.
- $21 interest-earning account.
- $27 commercial account that receives earnings credit.
The bank, which operates exclusively in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas, has other business banking products. These include savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), lending products, and credit cards.
What We Like
- No monthly fee for basic accounts
- $5,000 fee-free cash deposit limit for mid-tier accounts
- QuickBooks integration
What's Missing
- Only operates in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas
- Extra fees for bill pay
- No unlimited fee-free transactions
Features
- Scalable checking accounts
- Comerica business debit card
- Comerica web banking
- Comerica web bill pay
- Mobile banking
How Comerica Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Monthly Fee | Monthly Transaction Limit Before Fees | Monthly Cash Deposit Limit Before Fees | Geographic Availability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic Business Checking | None | 75, then 55 cents per item | $2,500, then 15 cents per $100 | Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas |
 Fundamentals Business Checking | $16; waivable | 200, then 45 cents per item | $7,500, then 30 cents per $100 | All except for Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming |
 Silver Business Checking | None | 125, then 50 cents per item | $2,500, then 30 cents per unit | Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming |
When Comerica Bank Is a Good Fit
- You don’t want to pay a monthly fee for business checking: Its Basic Business Checking doesn’t 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 that want 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.
- You use QuickBooks or Quicken for accounting: Comerica Bank users can sync their banking data with QuickBooks and Quicken accounting software.
When Comerica Bank Is Not a Good Fit
- 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’re 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 Bank of America business checking review 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.
We were unable to locate Comerica Bank’s specific document requirements for business checking applicants. 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 a rating of 2.4 stars on the App Store and 3.4 stars on Google Play. Users cited system errors, slow loading times, and limited feature functionality as common problems.
Other Comerica Bank Business Products
Business Credit Cards
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.
Small Business Savings
- Small business savings accounts earn 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.
- Small business money market accounts earn interest at a rate of 0.03% on balances of $1 and over. 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. The smallest APY a customer can earn from fixed CDs is 0.03%, while the largest is 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.
Lending Products
- 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 $300,000, 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. Commercial real estate loans use property equity as collateral and can last up to five years.
Insurance
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 User Reviews
Comerica Bank has a rating of 4.0 out of 5 on ConsumerAffairs1 (based on 240-plus reviews) and 3.5 out of 5 on WalletHub2 (based on 1,170-plus reviews). However, very few positive reviews have been published within the last three years.
The majority of negative reviews complained that Comerica Bank’s customer service arm is slow to respond to customer concerns. A few customers also said that they found the bank’s overdraft fees too high. Multiple reviewers even accused Comerica Bank of stealing deposits, claiming that money had disappeared from their accounts without explanation.
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 rather low limits for fee-free transactions and cash deposits. Additionally, many of the bank’s existing customers don’t seem satisfied with its products. User reviews for both its banking services and mobile app skew negative and imply issues with customer service.
User review references:
1ConsumerAffairs
2WalletHub
