Navy Federal Credit Union Business Checking Review 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Business Banking.
If you or one of your family members have served the armed forces or worked for the United States Department of Defense (DoD), consider opening a business checking account with Navy Federal Credit Union. It provides access to a number of unique business banking services, including three tiers of free interest-bearing checking accounts, unlimited fee-free electronic transactions, and lower wire transfer costs. Outside of business checking, Navy FCU offers business banking products, such as money market accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs).
The credit union has brick-and-mortar branches in all states except Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
What We Like
- Numerous branch locations nationwide
- Unlimited free electronic transactions
- Free interest-bearing checking accounts
Drawbacks
- Membership limited to current and retired service personnel
- Low annual percentage yield (APY) on basic 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
How Navy Federal Credit Union Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Monthly Fee | APY | Monthly Transaction Limit Before Fees | Minimum Opening Deposit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Business Checking | $0 | 0.01% | 30 non-electronic transactions, then 25 cents per item* | $250 for sole proprietorships; $255 for other legal entities |
 Business Checking | $0 | 2.0% on balances of $250,000 and less (conditions apply) | Unlimited | $0 |
 Silver Business Checking | $0 | N/A | 125, then 50 cents per item | $100 |
*Nonelectronic transactions refer to checks processed, in-branch transfers, deposits, and withdrawals.
†Navy Federal Credit Union is member-National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insured.
‡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.
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 across all states except Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, 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, Djibouti, Greece, Guam, Italy, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Spain.
- You want to bank without a monthly fee: The Business Checking account charges no monthly service fee and has no 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 mid-tier accounts, and 100 items for high-tier accounts.
When Navy Federal Credit Union Is Not a Good Fit
- 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 bank would be U.S. Bank. It 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 APY these accounts offer tend to be lower compared to its peers. Bluevine offers an APY of 2.0% on qualifying balances worth $250,000 and less. Refer to our Bluevine business checking review for the list of activity requirements you need to meet to qualify for 2.0% 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. 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
Business membership is only available to existing Navy FCU members 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)
*Refers to limited partnerships (LPs), limited liability partnerships (LLPs), and professional limited liability partnerships (PLLPs)
- 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)
†Applies to S corporations (S-corps) and C corporations (C-corps)
- 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)
You can refer to our article on how to open a business checking account for a downloadable checklist of required documents by business type.
Navy Federal Credit Union Business Checking Features
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.
Earning Interest
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.
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
- 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
- Read articles on financial literacy
The mobile app also has a feature that lets you deposit checks remotely. For more information, visit the following pages:
- Navy Federal Credit Union on App Store
- Navy Federal Credit Union on Google Play
- Navy Federal Credit Union on Amazon Appstore
The app has a rating of 4.9 stars on the App Store (based on 500,000-plus reviews), 4.3 stars on Google Play (based on more than 80,000 reviews), and 4.6 stars on the Amazon Appstore. According to positive reviews, the app is easy to navigate, and most of its features work reliably.
However, several users complained that the app no longer sends push notifications for transactions. Additionally, a few said they had trouble getting the mobile check deposit feature to accept their checks.
Other Navy Federal Credit Union Business Products
Navy Federal offers business certificates and money market accounts.
- 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 GO BIZ Rewards Credit Card lets businesses increase their purchasing power at no annual fee. It currently has APRs ranging from 13.90% to 18%. Like the GO BIZ Debit Card, the credit card comes with 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:
- Commercial real estate (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 User Reviews
Navy Federal Credit Union business checking reviews are mixed. The credit union has an average user rating of 4.1 out of 5 on WalletHub1 (based on 3,100-plus reviews), 3 on DepositAccounts2 (based on nearly 200 reviews), and 4.6 on Trustpilot3.
Despite the high overall rating, reviews related to checking products, fees, and processes tended to skew negative. Many users complained that the bank takes too long to process transactions: ACH transactions took upwards of two business days, while check processing took at least five. Users also disliked that Navy FCU charges high NSF fees.
Positive reviews tended to discuss customer service, online banking, and mobile banking rather than business checking. According to past customers, the credit union provides friendly, polite, and helpful customer service—although waiting times for their phone helpline tend to be long. Customers also liked that you can apply for accounts online and found the credit unions’ digital banking platforms user-friendly and convenient.
Bottom Line
If convenience, affordability, and flexibility are business banking priorities, Navy Federal Credit Union is a provider worth considering. It offers three affordable business checking account options, 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 armed forces, their family members, and DoD civilians.
User review references:
