If your business is located in California and you’re seeking scalable business checking accounts that can meet your needs as your operation grows, F&M Bank is an excellent option. It has three business checking accounts:
- Free Business Checking offers 500 fee-free items per month, $10,000 free cash deposits and withdrawal transactions, and no monthly service fee.
- Ultimate Business Checking provides a 750 transaction allowance and $20,000 free cash processing, and it charges a monthly service fee of $10.
- Business Account Analysis Checking offers unlimited transactions at low per-item fees and an earnings credit that can offset or reduce the $18 monthly service fee.
Thank bank also provides online and mobile banking, bill pay, treasury management solutions, and a full range of business loans, including a wide array of agricultural loans.
F&M Bank is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured locally owned community bank with 29 full-service branches. It operates in the Central Valley of California, from Sacramento to Merced, with several branches in Lodi, where it’s headquartered. It has also expanded to the San Francisco Bay Area, specifically in Walnut Creek, Concord, Napa, and Oakland. Opening a business checking account with F&M Bank requires visiting a branch.
Pros
- No monthly service fee and minimum balance for basic tier
- 500 fee-free transactions for Free Business Checking
- Up to $20,000 in free cash deposits for Ultimate Business Checking
Cons
- Limited branches; only in California
- No annual percentage yield (APY)
- 50-cent fee for each mobile check deposit may be charged under a Free Business Checking and Ultimate Business Checking account
Features
- Free Visa business debit card
- Online banking and bill pay
- Mobile banking
- Business savings, business money market account (MMA), and business certificates of deposit (CDs)
- Credit cards, commercial real estate (CRE) loans, term loans, and equipment loans
- Small Business Administration (SBA) loans and agricultural loans
- Treasury management services
How F&M Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
When F&M Bank Is a Good Fit
- Your business needs a free account and has low or moderate monthly transactions: F&M Bank’s basic account, Free Business Checking, has no monthly service fees and no required minimum balance. It also provides 500 fee-free transactions and a high free cash deposit limit.
- Your business is cash-reliant: Most banks offer a low free cash deposit limit for their basic tier accounts. With Free Business Checking, you get fee-free cash deposits and withdrawals up to $10,000. You can capitalize on this if you often transact in cash.
- Your business has high balances and needs additional treasury management services: For larger businesses, F&M Bank’s Business Account Analysis Checking option provides an earnings credit to pay off or reduce your banking fees. The bank also provides a full array of treasury management services, such as fraud detection tools, payment solutions, and funds management services.
- You seek financing for your agribusiness: F&M Bank serves agricultural business owners by extending agricultural loans, agricultural real estate loans, livestock loans, farm equipment loans & leasing, operating lines of credit, and vineyard & orchard development loans.
When To Consider F&M Bank Alternatives
- Your business is based outside of F&M Bank’s service area: For businesses located outside California, you can consider Chase since it has a solid branch presence in 48 states. Read our Chase business checking review to decide which of the three accounts suits your needs.
- You seek ATM fee savings: F&M Bank charges $2 when you transact at out-of-network ATMs. You can opt for Novo, a provider that refunds all ATM fees at the end of each month. Check out our review of Novo business checking for more detailed information.
- You want to save on transaction fees: Though F&M Bank has a high transaction limit, it still charges for other items. You’re required to pay 50 cents for each mobile check deposit—and you would need to qualify for this service. A good alternative would be Capital One, where you get unlimited fee-free digital transactions. See if it’s a good fit by reading our Capital One business checking review.
If you want additional recommendations, see our list of the best small business checking accounts. To view more alternatives in California, see our top-recommended banks for small businesses in California.
F&M Bank Business Checking Overview
F&M Bank Business Checking Requirements
A part of F&M Bank business checking requirements when applying for a business checking account is to visit one of its branches.
Before opening an account, you may want to refer to our guide on how to open a business bank account. It includes a free downloadable checklist of required documents per business type.
F&M Bank Business Checking Features
F&M Bank offers three business checking products, a Visa business debit card, high fee-free transaction limits and cash deposits, and online and mobile banking access.
Three Business Checking Accounts
F&M Bank offers two regular checking accounts and one analyzed checking account.
- Free Business Checking: Ideal for businesses with low to moderate transactions, Free Business Checking provides 500 fee-free items per month. It has no monthly service fee and offers up to $10,000 in free cash deposits and withdrawal transactions. If you exceed the set limits, your account may be shifted into the two higher-tier business accounts, which charge a monthly service fee.
- Ultimate Business Checking: F&M Bank’s mid-tier business checking account, Ultimate Business Checking, provides a higher fee-free transaction limit of 750. Its monthly service fee is $10, which can be waived by maintaining a $5,000 average daily balance. It also provides a substantial fee-free $20,000 cash processing per statement cycle then charges $1.30 per $1,000 as a cash handling fee. If your account goes beyond the limits, it may be changed to Business Account Analysis Checking, which charges a higher monthly service fee.
- Business Account Analysis Checking: This is suited for businesses with greater transaction volumes and larger balances. They can save more through an earnings credit which offsets or reduces the $18 monthly service charge. Business Account Analysis Checking also offers unlimited transactions at low per-item fees.
High Free Transaction Limits
For its basic tier, Free Business Checking, F&M Bank provides 500 fee-free transactions in combined items. This goes up to 750 for its mid-tier Ultimate Business Checking account. There are also no charges per check.
High Fee-free Cash Deposits & Withdrawals
In contrast to other banks, F&M Bank issues higher fee-free cash processing transactions. It offers up to $10,000 for Free Business Checking and $20,000 for Ultimate Business Checking.
Visa Business Debit Card
With an F&M Bank business checking account, you get a Visa business debit card that’s widely accepted worldwide and online. You can monitor your expenses easily through your statement, receive transaction alerts in real-time, spend securely and conveniently, issue employee cards, and set spending limits per card of your employees, plus take advantage of Visa’s extra layer of protection for free.
At present, the standard daily limit is $510 for ATM withdrawals (inclusive of non-network ATM surcharges) and $2,500 for point-of-sale purchases.
Business Online Banking & Bill Pay
F&M Bank’s business clients can use online banking to view account balances and transaction history, place stop payments, transfer funds between accounts, pay loans, and download transactions to QuickBooks and other software.
Under bill pay, business customers can pay their one-time and recurring bills easily by scheduling advance payments and setting up payment reminders. Users have to enroll in Business Online Banking to use bill pay.
Mobile Banking
Business customers can track balances, review account history, perform fund transfers, receive alerts, and pay bills using a mobile device. They can also do mobile check deposits after signing up for Online Banking, enrolling in Easy Mobile Banking, and downloading the EZ Smartphone App (available on iOS and Android devices).
F&M Bank’s mobile banking app is well-rated on both the App Store[1] (with a score of 4.8 from about 1,400 reviews) and Google Play[2] (with a 4.3 from around 100 reviews). Satisfied users said that the app is secure, well-designed, and easy to use. A few mentioned experiencing login issues and difficulty in installing the new app updates. Much of the feedback over the past two years has been generally positive.
Treasury Management Services
- Treasury management online
- Positive pay and ACH positive pay
- ACH block and filter
- Wire transfers
- Credit sweep
- ACH payments
- Credit sweep
- Investment sweep
- Zero balance account (ZBA)
- Electronic data interchange (EDI)
Other F&M Bank Business Products
F&M Bank has two savings options:
- The Business Savings account is available to corporations, partnerships, government agencies, and other business organizations and public entities. It requires a $500 opening deposit and offers a variable interest on your entire balance. You can waive the $5 monthly service fee by maintaining a $500 daily balance in your account.
- The Regular Savings account is open to sole proprietorships and non-profit organizations. You need $100 for an opening deposit. This account earns a variable interest on your entire balance, and you can skip the $3 monthly fee by ensuring that your daily balance is $300 or more.
A Business Savings-Link account can be linked to any business checking account to cover overdraft balances with automatic transfers. The minimum opening deposit for this account is $500 and each savings-link transfer costs $5. Maintaining a $500 daily balance lets you waive the $5 monthly service fee.
Corporations, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships can open a business money market account. A $2,500 opening deposit is required. The interest rate is tiered so that, the higher your balances, the higher your interest rates go.
You can avoid the $10 monthly fee by:
- Maintaining a $2,500 daily balance.
- Maintaining a $10,000 average daily balance at the end of your statement cycle.
- Maintaining a $15,000 combined average daily balance at the end of your statement cycle with your linked savings, checking, or time deposit account.
Check out our guide to a business MMA to learn what it is and how it works. You may also want to see our comparison of MMA vs high-yield savings to see how the two stack up against each other.
As one of the best ways to earn business interest, consider opening a business CD account. Your excess funds can earn higher fixed rates than the regular savings account. The rates are higher for longer-term CDs. F&M Bank offers one-month to five-year CD terms and requires a $1,000 minimum opening deposit. Withdrawing it early may subject you to a penalty.
Read our MMA vs CDs comparison to learn which business banking product suits you best.
A Simply Rewards credit card lets you earn reward points as you spend. You can redeem the points for account credits, gift cards, travel, and more. You earn 3x points when you use the card at grocery stores, discount stores, gas stations, restaurants, and fast food and 1x points for other purchases. You can also issue employee cards for free.
- CRE loans
- Business term loans
- Equipment loans
- Commercial equipment leasing
- SBA loans
- Agricultural financing
F&M Bank Business Checking Reviews From Users
On WalletHub[3], F&M Bank has a rating of 4.1 out of 5 from around 30 reviews. Users didn’t leave an F&M Bank business checking review. There are only three available comments, where the reviewers praised the customer service they received and one complained about the unprofessionalism displayed at a specific branch. Two of the reviews were written more than three years ago.
Bottom Line
F&M Bank’s business checking accounts are great options if your business is located near one of the bank’s branches. If you have a low business volume and want to save on monthly service fees, you can open a Free Business Checking account and then upgrade to an Ultimate Business Checking account once your transaction limits go beyond the 500 fee-free items. However, if you have larger balances and a higher business volume, the Business Account Analysis Checking would be more suitable to reduce or waive your banking fees.
User review resources:
[1]App Store
[2]Google Play
[3]WalletHub