Origin Bank Business Checking Review 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Business Banking.
If your organization needs cost-effective business checking from a regional bank, Origin Bank is a great choice. It offers three types of business checking accounts:
- A basic business checking account with a nonwaivable $5 monthly fee and 250 free transactions.
- A nonprofit checking account with no monthly fee and 250 free transactions.
- An analyzed checking account that offers earnings credit based on your balances.
One of Origin Bank’s unique selling points is that it lets you issue prepaid cards to your employees. You can create employee cards for payroll, gifts, and employee-assigned business spending. Payroll cards, in particular, let you pay salaries to employees without traditional bank accounts.
Other products include savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), lending products, and business credit cards.
The bank has more than 40 branches in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. You are required to visit a branch to open an account.
Pros
- 250 free transactions for basic and nonprofit accounts
- No monthly fee for nonprofit accounts
- Prepaid employee cards for payroll, rewards, and business spending
Cons
- No branches outside Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas
- Branch visit required for account opening
- Nonwaivable monthly fee for basic accounts
Features
- Digital banking
- Treasury management
- Savings accounts, certificates of deposits (CDs), lending products, business credit cards, and prepaid employee cards available
How Origin Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
When Origin Bank Is a Good Fit
- You prefer banking with a low monthly fee: The fee for Business Builder Checking is $5. If you upgrade to Business Analysis Checking, Origin Bank will adjust your monthly fee based on your balance and earnings credit.
- You run a nonprofit organization: There is no monthly fee for Community Builder Checking, Origin Bank’s nonprofit account. You also get 250 free transactions per month.
- You have unbanked employees: Origin Bank lets you issue prepaid payroll cards, which are powered by Visa. Employees can use these cards to spend money and withdraw cash from ATMs without having to open their own bank accounts.
When To Choose an Alternative
- You require wide geographic coverage: Origin Bank’s brick-and-mortar branches are located exclusively in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. If you want nationwide access to in-person banking, consider Chase, which operates approximately 4,700 branches across all 48 mainland states. Read our review of Chase business checking to find an account that suits you.
- You want to earn interest on checking deposits: Origin Bank does not offer interest-earning checking accounts. With Bluevine, you can earn 2.0% APY on balances of $250,000 and less if you meet monthly activity requirements. Our Bluevine business checking review outlines the requirements you need to meet.
- You seek low ATM fees: If you need to withdraw money, you are limited to Origin Bank’s small network of branches and ATMs—and out-of-network ATM transactions cost $2. Meanwhile, Novo refunds all ATM fees at the end of each month, which means you can use any ATM for free. Learn more about the account by reading our review of Novo business checking.
If your small business meets one or more of these scenarios, check out our guide to the best small business checking accounts for additional recommendations.
Origin Bank Business Checking Overview
Origin Bank Business Checking Requirements
You must visit a branch to open a business checking account. Origin Bank will ask you for the following:
- Social Security number
- Valid identification, such as your driver’s license, state ID, military ID, or passport
- Date of birth
- Mailing address
The bank might ask you to provide additional information, including personal details and relevant business documentation. Read our article on how to open a business bank account for a free downloadable checklist of documents banks usually request.
Origin Bank Business Checking Features
Digital Banking
You can conduct banking activity through the Origin Bank website or mobile app (available on both iOS and Android). The following tasks are available:
- View account activity, e-statements, and check images
- Pay bills
- Transfer funds
- Authorize automated clearing house (ACH) and wire transfers
- Use mobile check deposit (app only)
- Locate ATMs and branches
The app received mixed reviews. On the App Store1, it has a rating of 4.9 stars (based on more than 9,800 reviews). Meanwhile, its Google Play2 rating is 3.6 stars (based on 1,000-plus reviews). Most complaints are related to logging in.
According to reviewers, the app does not save login credentials, thus forcing users to verify their information repeatedly for every login attempt. They also claimed that the biometric login feature was unreliable. Positive reviews highlight that the app is easy to use despite its lack of sophistication.
Treasury Management
Origin Bank offers several treasury management services.
Disbursement
- ACH origination
- Direct deposit and payroll
- Accounts payable and payment automation
- Controlled disbursement reporting
- Wire transfers
- Online bill pay
Receivables
- Remote deposit capture (RDC)
- Lockbox services
- Commercial cash vault services
- Merchant services
Liquidity Management
- Zero balance accounts
- Cash concentration
- Loan sweep
- Investment sweep
Fraud Mitigation
- ACH blocking and filtering
- ACH positive pay
- Check positive pay with payee match
Other Origin Bank Business Products
- The Business Savings account charges a $2.59 monthly fee, which you can waive by maintaining a minimum balance of $100.
- Business CDs have an opening deposit requirement of $500. The minimum term length is 30 days while the maximum is five years.
- The Business Money Market account charges a monthly fee of $12, waivable with a minimum balance of $3,000.
The business lending products Origin Bank offers include:
- Business lines of credit
- Business loans
- Letters of credit
- Mortgage warehouse lending
Origin Bank offers regular, rewards-earning, and cash back-earning business credit cards:
- The Business Credit Card is a regular credit card that does not earn points or cashback.
- The Business Rewards Card earns 1% rewards points for every dollar spent on business expenses.
- The Business Purchasing Card offers cashback on business expenses, including supplies, inventory, and travel.
Prepaid business cards help you pay and reward employees:
- Payroll card: Origin Bank’s Visa payroll card was designed as a payroll alternative for employees without traditional bank accounts. Instead of depositing payroll into employee bank accounts, you can issue each employee their own payroll card and reload the card whenever payday arrives. Employees can use the card to withdraw cash from ATMs or make purchases at establishments that accept Visa.
- Gift card: You can give your employees Origin Bank Gift Cards as an alternative to providing cash rewards. The card is not tied to any bank account and can hold up to $500. It is powered by Visa and can be used at any establishment where Visa is accepted.
- BizNOW Card: The BizNOW Card is a prepaid corporate spending card powered by MasterCard. You can issue BizNOW Cards to your employees and set spending limits per card, and their transaction history will be available in the BizNOW web app. Employees can also use the BizNOW app to request funds.
If you’re interested in learning more about payroll cards, you can check our guide to pay cards. It covers how they work, the regulations, and more.
Origin Bank Business Checking Reviews From Users
As of this writing, there are no recent Origin Bank business checking reviews on third-party platforms. The bank had an average of 3.6 stars on WalletHub3 (based on fewer than 10 reviews) and 3.5 stars on DepositAccounts4 (based on fewer than 10 reviews).
Bottom Line
Even with relatively low monthly fees, Origin Bank offers higher monthly transaction allowances than most national banks, which makes it a great option for small businesses and nonprofit organizations seeking low-cost business checking. The bank is a particularly good fit for businesses with unbanked employees. It offers employee banking alternatives in the form of prepaid cards, which business owners can use to provide payroll, rewards, and channels for business spending.
User review references:
1App Store
2Google Play
3WalletHub
4DepositAccounts
