If you or one of your family members have served the United States Armed Forces or worked for the US Department of Defense (DoD), consider opening a business checking account with Navy Federal Credit Union (Navy FCU). It provides several unique business banking services, including three tiers of free interest-bearing checking accounts, unlimited fee-free electronic transactions, and lower wire transfer costs.
Its three business checking tiers are
- Business Checking offers a 0.01% annual percentage yield (APY), 30 nonelectronic transactions Nonelectronic transactions refer to checks processed and in-branch transfers, deposits, and withdrawals. Up to 12 checks for branch deposit can count as one transaction. , and no monthly service fee.
- Business Plus Checking provides a 0.01% APY, 50 nonelectronic transactions, and a monthly service fee of $8.
- Business Premium Checking comes with tiered APY, 100 nonelectronic transactions, and a waivable monthly service fee of $20.
Beyond business checking, Navy FCU also offers other interest-bearing business banking products, such as money market accounts and business certificates.
Pros
- Numerous branch locations nationwide
- Unlimited free electronic transactions
- No monthly fee for basic account, Business Checking
- Free incoming domestic and international wires
Cons
- Membership limited to current and retired service personnel
- Low APY on basic and mid-tier accounts
- Minimum balance of $250 for sole proprietorships and $255 for all other legal entities
Features
- Free debit card with contactless technology
- Three tiers of business checking accounts
- Checking account balances bear interest
- Tiered APY rates for Business Premium Checking
- Free starter checks
- Unlimited free electronic transactions
- Savings, money market accounts, business certificates, and credit cards
- Commercial real estate (CRE) loans, term loans, and lines of credit
How Navy Federal Credit Union Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Monthly Fee | Minimum Opening Deposit | APY | Monthly Transaction Limit Before Fees | Geographic Availability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Standard Checking | $0 | $250 for sole proprietorships; $255 for other legal entities | 0.01% | 30 nonelectronic transactions, then 25 cents per item | |
Visit Navy Federal Credit Union
Navy Federal Credit Union is member-National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insured.
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 Standard Checking | $0 | $0 | 1.5% on qualifying balances up to $250,000 | Unlimited | All states (online-only) |
Visit Bluevine
Bluevine is a financial technology (fintech) platform backed by and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured through a supporting bank partnership with Coastal Community Bank.
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 Silver Business Checking | $0 | $100 | N/A | 125, then 50 per item | All states
U.S. Bank is available in all states via online banking. It has branches in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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When Navy Federal Credit Union Is a Good Fit
- You want a provider with a wide geographic range: Navy Federal Credit Union operates 350 brick-and-mortar branches in Washington, D.C., and 30 states Navy Federal Credit Union has no physical branches in Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. . It also has international branches in Bahrain, Cuba, Greece, Guam, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain.
- You want to bank without a monthly fee: The Business Checking account has no monthly service fee and minimum balance requirements. Additionally, the Business Premium Checking account (the highest tier) lets you waive its $20 monthly fee with an average daily balance of $5,000 or greater.
- You have a low-to-moderate nonelectronic transaction volume: Navy Federal Credit Union offers a fee-free nonelectronic transaction allowance of 30 items for basic accounts, 50 items for midtier accounts, and 100 items for high-tier accounts.
When To Consider Navy Federal Credit Union Alternatives
- Neither you nor any of your relatives have served in the US Armed Forces or worked for the DoD: To qualify for Navy FCU membership, account holders must be active, retired, or veteran members of any branch of the US Armed Forces, have worked for the DoD, or have close family or household members that have belonged to either of these institutions. A more accessible option would be U.S. Bank, which offers a fee-free business checking account with an opening deposit requirement of $100 and no minimum balance requirements. Read our U.S. Bank business checking review for additional information.
- You want to earn competitive interest rates: Although Navy FCU offers free interest-bearing business checking accounts, the interest offered is lower compared to its competitors. Bluevine provides 1.5% APY on qualifying balances up to $250,000 for Standard Checking and 4.25% for Premier Checking. Refer to our review of Bluevine business checking for the list of activity requirements to qualify for 1.5% APY.
- You want an account with no opening deposit requirement: All three of Navy FCU’s business checking products require account holders to make an initial deposit worth at least $250 for sole proprietors and $255 for other legal entities. Meanwhile, Chase lets you open a checking account without an opening deposit requirement. Our Chase business checking review can help you choose an account that suits your business needs.
If your business meets one or more of these scenarios, see our guide to the best small business checking accounts for additional recommendations.
Navy Federal Credit Union Business Checking Overview
Navy Federal Credit Union Business Checking Requirements
There are two types of memberships at Navy Federal Credit Union: regular membership and business membership.
To be eligible for regular membership, you must be one of the following:
- An active service member, retired service member, or veteran
- An immediate family member of a military service personnel; parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, spouses, and household members all qualify
- A DoD employee, which includes DoD civilian employees, contractors and US government employees working in DoD stations, and DoD civilian retirees and annuitants
Part of the Navy Federal Credit Union business checking requirements is to be an existing Navy FCU member with personal accounts in good standing. To apply for business membership, you are required to submit relevant business documentation.
Click on your business entity type for the list of documents you are required to submit.
- Federal tax identification number (TIN) letter
- Valid business license/business permit, fictitious name certificate, or certificate of assumed name
- Federal TIN letter
- Beneficial owner form
- Valid business license/business permit, fictitious name certificate, or certificate of assumed name
- Good standing certificate, filed stamped within 60 days before date of application
- Federal TIN letter
- Beneficial owner form
- Fictitious name certificate or certificate of assumed name (if applicable)
- Good standing certificate, filed stamped within 60 days before date of application
- Federal TIN letter
- Beneficial owner form
- Fictitious name certificate or certificate of assumed name (if applicable)
- Good standing certificate, filed stamped within 60 days before date of application
- Federal TIN letter
- Beneficial owner form
- Fictitious name certificate or certificate of assumed name (if applicable)
Navy Federal Credit Union Business Checking Features
Three Business Checking Options
- Business Checking suits new businesses with low transactions and has no monthly service fee. It provides an APY of 0.01%, 30 nonelectronic transactions, and charges a 25-cent fee past the limit.
- Business Plus Checking is best for growing businesses and charges a monthly service fee of $8. It offers an APY of 0.01%, 50 nonelectronic transactions, and collects a 25-cent fee in excess of the limit.
- Business Premium Checking is ideal for large businesses with high transaction volume. It provides 100 nonelectronic transactions and has a monthly service fee of $20, which is waived when you maintain a $5,000 average daily balance.
Unlimited Fee-free Electronic Transactions
Though non-electronic transactions have different limits depending on your account type, you can make as many electronic transactions as you want without having to pay a fee.
Interest-drawing Accounts
Both Business Checking and Business Plus Checking offer 0.01% APY.
Meanwhile, Business Premium Checking earns tiered APY at the following rates:
- Balances from $0 to $9,999: 0.35%
- Balances from $10,000 to $24,999: 0.40%
- Balances of $25,000 and over: 0.45%
You must have a balance of $1,500 or greater to earn interest with Business Premium Checking.
GO BIZ Debit Card
All accounts will automatically receive the Navy Federal GO BIZ debit card, a free debit card that uses contactless, tap-to-pay technology. It has a Zero Liability policy that assures consumer protection from fraud.
Under the policy, Navy Federal promises to investigate fraud claims and issue provisional credit to help consumers get their money back. The GO BIZ debit card also comes with Visa® Travel Accident Insurance.
Navy Federal GO BIZ debit card supports the digital payment systems Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
Digital Banking
You can bank online through Navy Federal Credit Union’s website or mobile app. Through digital banking, you can do the following:
- View account balances
- Access paperless statements
- Transfer funds
- Manage cards
- Pay bills, loans, and cards
- Apply for cards and loans
- Locate branches and ATMs
- View rates for loans and savings products
- Set up account activity alerts
- Report lost cards or suspicious transactions
- Freeze or unfreeze your card
- Read articles on financial literacy
The mobile app has a feature that lets you deposit checks remotely. On the App Store[1], it has 4.9 stars from about 648,000 reviews while on Google Play[2], it has 4.3 stars from more than 90,000 reviews. Meanwhile, on the Amazon Appstore[3], it has 4.6 stars from around 2,500 reviews.
Users appreciated the app for its intuitive interface, easy biometric login feature, and reliability. However, others reported receiving timed-out errors, which prevented them from accessing the app.
Other Navy Federal Credit Union Business Products
Navy Federal offers money market accounts and business certificates.
- Money Market Savings Account earns daily dividends for accounts that maintain balances of $2,500 or greater.
- Jumbo Money Market Savings Account offers competitive rates and has a minimum balance requirement of $100,000.
- Business certificates have a minimum purchase requirement of $100 and offer terms from three months to seven years.
The Navy Federal Credit Union business credit card, called the GO BIZ Rewards Credit Card, lets businesses increase their purchasing power at no annual fee. It currently has APRs ranging from 14.40% to 18% The rate is valid as of 9/1/2023 and subject to change at any time. . Like the GO BIZ Debit Card, the credit card has a zero-liability policy that protects account holders from fraud. It is available in both Visa and Mastercard forms.
What sets the GO BIZ Credit Card apart from its debit card counterpart is its rewards program. Every $1 spent using it earns 1 reward point, which account holders can use to redeem rewards, like gift cards, cash back, and airline tickets. Our Navy Federal GO BIZ Rewards Credit Card review provides additional information.
Navy Federal Credit Union offers the following lending products:
- CRE lending with a five-year term and 20-year amortization. Fixed- and variable-rate options are available.
- Term loans starting at $10,000.
- Business vehicle loans with no fees or prepayment penalties.
- Commercial vehicle loans starting at $40,000.
- Secured lines of credit starting at $35,000.
- Checking lines of credit to protect your account from NSF fees. These lines have an APR of 17.90%, an annual fee of $50, and limit options of $500, $1,000, or $5,000.
Navy Federal Credit Union Business Checking Reviews From Users
Navy Federal Credit Union business checking reviews are mixed. The credit union has an average user rating of 4.1 on WalletHub[4] based on about 3,200 reviews, 3.0 on DepositAccounts[5] from around 200 reviews, and 4.5 on Trustpilot[6] from around 25,000 reviews.
Users stated that Navy FCU provided outstanding customer service and its team was professional and friendly. They also praised the low interest rates under its loan and credit card products.
However, dissatisfied reviewers mentioned that calling the customer service helpline required a long wait. Some also said that replies to disputes took three to four weeks. Most of the low ratings came from loan applicants who found the application process slow and the additional document requests repetitive.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Navy Federal Credit Union would need your personal and business information, which includes a government-issued ID, federal TIN letter, and a valid business license/business permit.
Bottom Line
If convenience, affordability, and flexibility are business banking priorities, opening a business account with Navy Federal is worth considering. It offers three affordable business checking accounts plus an extensive selection of business lending and savings products. Additionally, its wide range of physical branch locations makes in-person banking easy and accessible. However, membership is limited to active and retired members of the US Armed Forces, their family members, and DoD civilians.
[1]App Store
[2]Google Play
[3]Amazon Appstore
[4]WalletHub
[5]DepositAccounts
[6]Trustpilot
