If you’re a freelancer or up-and-coming limited liability company (LLC) owner who need an affordable business banking solution, Oxygen is an excellent choice. The provider offers a business checking account with unlimited fee-free transactions, no opening deposit requirements, no minimum balance requirements, and no monthly fees.
New businesses can also open personal accounts to access Oxygen’s incorporation assistance services. These help upcoming businesses file and submit business paperwork for LLC, S-corporation (S-corp), and C-corporation (C-corp) formation.
Oxygen is a financial technology (fintech) platform backed by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured The Bancorp Bank, N.A.
Pros
- No monthly fees or minimum balance requirements
- Up to 5% cash back on purchases from partner retailers
- Highly-rated mobile app
Cons
- No brick-and-mortar branches
- No interest-earning checking
- No lending products
Features
- LLC, S-corp, and C-corp creation assistance
- Oxygen Visa Business Debit Card
- Unlimited single-use secured virtual debit cards
- Well-rated mobile app
- Cash back rewards program
- Business savings account with 1.0% annual percentage yield (APY) on balances of $20,000 and less
How Oxygen Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Monthly Fee | ATM Fee | Debit Card Cash Back Rate | APY | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Oxygen Business Deposit Account | $0 | 1% on savings accounts | ||
Lili Pro | $15 | 3.65% on savings accounts | ||
Visit Lili
Lili is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Sunrise Banks N.A., Member FDIC.
| ||||
Innovator Business Checking | $0 | 1.51% or 2.25% on checking accounts 4.00% on savings accounts | ||
When Oxygen Is a Good Fit
- You are about to start a business: Oxygen offers business paperwork assistance for LLC, C-corp, or S-corp incorporation. However, you are required to have a personal Oxygen account to use this service.
- You want a business checking account with no monthly fees: The Oxygen business checking account has no monthly fees and minimum balance requirements. It charges no fees for ACH transfers, incoming wire transfers, direct deposits, and mobile check deposits.
- You want to earn cash back on debit card purchases: Users can earn up to 5% cash back when making debit card purchases with Oxygen’s partner retailers.
When Oxygen Is Not a Good Fit
- You rely on in-person banking services: There are no brick-and-mortar Oxygen branches. A good alternative would be Chase, which has approximately 4,700 branches across all 48 mainland states. Our review of Chase business checking can help you choose an account that suits your needs.
- You want cash back on all debit card purchases: You will only receive cash back when making purchases from Oxygen’s preselected retailers. Meanwhile, Grasshopper earns cash back on all qualified purchases—only returned purchases, unlawful purchases, and purchases of currency, cash or cash equivalents, such as gift cards, cryptocurrency, and loan payments, don’t count as qualified purchases. See if it’s a good fit by checking out our Grasshopper Bank business checking review.
- You want access to lending products: It only offers checking and savings accounts, so if you want lending options, we recommend First Internet Bank. It provides a wide range of products, such as Small Business Administration (SBA) lending, commercial lending, lines of credit, and term loans. For additional information, read our review of First Internet Bank 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.
Oxygen Business Checking Overview
Oxygen Business Checking Requirements
To apply for Oxygen’s business account, you must reside and operate your business in the US.
The following organization types are ineligible for Oxygen’s business account:
- Financial services
- Insurance businesses and services
- Marijuana-related businesses and services
- Gambling businesses and services
Note that not all types of prohibited businesses are included in this list. Oxygen will determine your eligibility upon application review.
If you qualify for account opening, you can follow the following steps to open your business bank account. Steps differ for new businesses (those wanting to form an LLC with Oxygen’s LLC creation service) and existing businesses. Click on your business type to view the requirements.
If you want to form an LLC through Oxygen, you must first apply for Oxygen’s Personal account. Download the app and create a mobile login by providing an email address and password.
Then, you can use the LLC creation feature found on the mobile app. Submit your employer identification number (EIN) and let the Oxygen team handle the rest of your formation documents. They will notify you of your application outcome within two to four weeks.
To create an Oxygen Business Deposit Account, download the app and create a mobile login by providing an email address and password. Oxygen will then ask you to scan your government ID and agree to Oxygen’s terms and conditions.
Next, provide the following information:
- Location of your business
- Your industry
- Your role in the business
The app may also ask you to prepare supporting business documents, which depend on your business entity type. Additional Oxygen business checking requirements typically include:
- Articles of incorporation
- Articles of formation
- Articles of organization
- Name registration
- Resolution of authority
- Operating agreement
- Business license
- Certificate of good standing (from a governmental entity)
- 501(c)(3) letter
- Assumed name certificate
Oxygen will notify you of your application results within five business days.
Oxygen Business Checking Features
LLC Creation
New businesses can establish LLCs, S-corps, or C-corps through Oxygen’s LLC creation feature (powered by CorpNet). You are required to create a Personal Oxygen Account to access this service.
Once done, you can apply for LLC creation. The app will ask you to provide your EIN, and upon submitting relevant information, Oxygen will then help you create and submit your formation documents. It will then send all formation documents to your email. You will also receive hard copies in the mail.
The application process usually takes two to four weeks, and service fees vary depending on where your business will be located. If your application is rejected, Oxygen will refund all formation and state filing fees paid within three to five days after review.
Mobile Tools
With Oxygen’s mobile app, you can:
- Deposit checks using the Ingo mobile check deposit feature
- Pay your bills to third parties through Bill Pay for free
- Access your bank statements with an option to download previous bank statements
- Check and activate cash back offers
- Cash out the cash back rewards
- Create temporary or reusable virtual cards
Oxygen’s mobile app is well-rated and has excellent reviews on the App Store[1] (4.8 out of 5 stars, based on 25,000-plus reviews) and Google Play[2] (4.7 out of 5, based on more than 34,000 reviews). Users liked the quick online account opening process, responsive customer support, and security of creating virtual cards. However, a few left low ratings because of increased restrictions on cash back programs, app crashes, and delayed debit card deliveries.
Oxygen Visa Business Debit Card & Virtual Card
Each Business Deposit Account comes with a free Oxygen Visa Business Debit Card, which can be used for fee-free ATM withdrawals at Allpoint locations worldwide. To help keep your card details safe for online purchases, Oxygen lets you create an unlimited number of single-use virtual cards.
Virtual cards are linked to your Oxygen account and can be used to make purchases online or over the phone. Up to 10 virtual cards can be generated at a time with a $1,000 limit for each card. You can control your spending by setting dollar limits and authorized merchants.
Up to 5% Cash Back
The Oxygen business account includes a rewards program that lets you earn cash back when purchasing from specific retailers. Oxygen displays valid retailer options on a dedicated Cash Back page in the app. You are required to meet a $10 earnings threshold before cashing out rewards. Oxygen will deposit validated rewards directly into your account.
Oxygen Invoicing
Through Oxygen Invoicing, you can create, customize, and send personalized invoices. This feature lets you accept payments via credit card, debit card, ACH, and wire transfers.
Oxygen will also use your invoicing data to generate business insights. It lets you track real-time earnings, unpaid invoices, overdue notices, and more.
Other Oxygen Business Products
If you are an active Oxygen business account holder, you can open a free business savings account, which earns an APY of 1.00% on balances of $20,000 and less.
Your business savings account comes with a budgeting feature called Oxygen Goals. It lets you separate your funds into dedicated buckets earmarked for specific savings goals.
You can also enable a feature called Roundups to grow your savings faster. Whenever you make a debit card purchase, Oxygen will round up the cost to the nearest dollar and sweep the difference into your savings account.
Oxygen Business Checking Reviews From Users
The Oxygen business checking reviews published on review platforms are pretty mixed. The provider has a rating of 2.9 stars on Trustpilot[3] (based on more than 250 reviews). Recurring comments include the following:
- Good features: Satisfied customers found Oxygen’s features useful. The platform’s cash back program received the most praise, with many customers saying that the feature helped them save money.
- Low fees: Users liked that the platform made banking affordable.
- Fast transfers: According to reviewers, Oxygen is typically able to transfer money in and out of accounts with no issues.
- Handles disputes poorly: Victims of fraudulent activity criticized Oxygen for failing to provide adequate assistance. Most never received compensation for lost money.
- Closes accounts no warning: A few users said that Oxygen closed their accounts without notice. They said Oxygen failed to provide fair explanations for the closure.
Bottom Line
The business checking account of Oxygen is a great option for up-and-coming LLCs and businesses that are just starting out. Its in-app incorporation assistance services help businesses remove the headache of the incorporation process, while low fees, cash back rewards, and interest on savings accounts increase savings potential.
[1]App Store
[2]Google Play
[3]Trustpilot