PlainsCapital Bank offers four business checking products for business owners based in Texas: one basic account, one interest-drawing account, and two analyzed accounts. You can choose a Business Plus checking account if your treasury management needs are simple or select Commercial All Access if you have complex needs.
Along with the checking accounts, online and mobile banking and free ATM access at over 55,000 Allpoint ATMs are available. The bank’s other business products include a money market account (MMA), certificates of deposit (CDs), credit cards, and Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.
Pros
- Waivable monthly fees (except Commercial All Access account)
- $5,000 fee-free cash deposits for Business Basics and Business Interest accounts
- Moderate to high limit of free monthly transactions
Cons
- $100 opening deposit
- Branches limited to Texas
- Only 10 free monthly bill payments
Features
- Free business debit card
- Online and mobile banking
- Free access to over 55,000 Allpoint ATMs
- CDs and Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA)
- Treasury management solutions
- SBA, real estate, and agricultural loans
How PlainsCapital Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
When PlainsCapital Bank Is a Good Fit
- You want a bank that can scale as your business grows: Small businesses with simple banking needs get 150 deposited items, 150 noncard transactions, and unlimited debit card transactions with a Business Basics account. However, when your business grows, you can get higher free transaction limits—specifically 250 deposited items and 250 noncard transactions—with a Business Plus account.
- You need access to treasury management services: Businesses requiring robust treasury management solutions—which include wire services, fraud prevention tools, sweep options, and merchant services—can open a Business Plus or Commercial All Access account to benefit from competitive earnings credit and save on account fees.
- You seek business financing options: PlainsCapital Bank offers several lending products, such as SBA loans, real estate loans, agricultural loans, term loans, and lines of credit.
When To Choose a PlainsCapital Bank Alternative
- You want to conduct in-person banking outside Texas: While PlainsCapital Bank has plenty of brick-and-mortar branches, they’re limited to Texas. Consider Chase, which has branches in all 48 mainland states. Read our Chase business checking review to learn about the different options for your business.
- You seek to earn a high interest: PlainsCapital Bank offers an interest-bearing checking account, but it charges a $20 monthly fee. You can opt for a Bluevine standard business checking account, which charges no monthly fee and pays 2.0% APY on qualifying balances up to $250,000 on its stand. Our review of Bluevine business checking provides details about the account.
- You want to save on ATM fees: When you transact at nonnetwork ATMs, PlainsCapital Bank charges $2 on top of possible surcharges from ATM operators. You can save more with Novo, which refunds all ATM fees at the end of each month. To see if it fits the bill, check out our Novo business checking review.
PlainsCapital Bank Business Checking Overview
PlainsCapital Bank Business Checking Requirements
Opening a business checking account with PlainsCapital Bank requires visiting one of its branches. However, you can open a Business Basics account online. You need to be 18 years of age, a U.S. citizen, and a Texas resident.
Other PlainsCapital Bank business checking requirements include the following:
- Valid identification
- Social Security number or federal tax ID number (TIN)
- US business registration documentation
- Credit or debit card or US checking or savings account to fund your new account
PlainsCapital Bank Business Checking Features
Fee-free Cash Deposits Using Allpoint Networks
PlainsCapital Bank offers more savings to its customers through its Allpoint network partnership. Allpoint has over 55,000 ATMs, which are surcharge-free when you use your PlainsCapital debit card.
Online Bill Payment
PlainsCapital Bank provides up to 10 free monthly bill payments for Business Basics, Business Interest, and Business Plus accounts. If you exceed the free limit, then $1 is charged for every additional bill payment or external transfer.
Online & Mobile Banking
The PlainsCapital Bank mobile app lets you do the following:
- View balances
- Make transfers
- Pay bills
- Deposit checks with mobile check deposit
- Find physical locations
The app has a rating of 4.8 on the App Store[1] (based on around 1,500 reviews) and 4.3 on Google Play[2] (based on about 100 reviews). Users mentioned that the app is fast, easy to use, and secure. However, some recently complained that the new update required reentering credentials often. They also said that the fingerprint login access doesn’t work.
Treasury Management Solutions
PlainsCapital Bank offers a full suite of tools to manage business cash flow with lower costs and risks. It provides various options to receive payments faster, optimize cash allocation, pay local and foreign vendors, and prevent fraud through automated fraud detection and alerts.
Businesses can access these services:
- Remote deposit capture (RDC)
- Wholesale, medical, and retail lockbox services
- Cash vault services with Smart Safe
- Merchant services
- Zero balance accounts (ZBA)
- ACH sweeps
- Credit sweeps
- Cash sweep options
- Deluxe Payment Exchange (DPX)
- The One Card (corporate card)
- Letter of credit
- Positive pay and ACH fraud module
- Foreign currency wire transfers
Other PlainsCapital Bank Business Products
PlainsCapital Bank also offers MMAs, IOLTAs, CDs, credit cards, SBA loans, and lending products.
For customers seeking higher returns on idle cash, PlainsCapital Bank offers an MMA that earns tiered interest the higher your balances go. This account requires a $2,500 opening deposit and a $2,500 maintaining balance to waive the $10 monthly fee. A limit of six free withdrawals and/or transfers per statement cycle applies. Beyond that, $10 per transaction is charged.
PlainsCapital Bank features IOLTAs (available for legal firms and lawyers) with a flat interest rate and no opening deposit, minimum balance, and monthly fees. It refunds ATM fees from other banks up to $5 per withdrawal, and there’s no minimum withdrawal requirement.
An alternative to growing business savings is through PlainsCapital Bank’s CDs, which offer fixed and competitive interest rates. The opening deposit is $1,000, and terms are flexible, ranging from seven days to five years. An APY of 4.23% is provided for a six-month CD term, while an APY of 3.29% can be accessed with a three-year CD term.
PlainsCapital Bank offers four business credit cards:
- Business Cash Preferred Card: This provides up to 3% cash back on eligible business purchases and awards a $25 cash back after your first purchase.
- Business Card: For more interest savings, this card offers an extended low introductory rate.
- Smart Business Rewards Card: If you seek more rewards, this option features 2x points per $1 you spend. It also gives 20,000 bonus points when your purchases reach $500 within 90 days of account opening.
- Business Real Rewards Card: This also offers rewards to cardholders, giving 1.5 points each month for every dollar spent on eligible purchases.
PlainsCapital Bank is an SBA-preferred lender that offers two SBA loans to help you finance a business, purchase an existing one, or grow your current operations:
- SBA 7(a) loans: Loans of up to $5 million are offered to access working capital, acquire or expand a business, or finance equipment, inventory, or a startup.
- SBA 504 loans: This provides up to $12 million to fund real estate purchases or new construction. It has fixed rates and longer terms compared to conventional loans and delivers up to 90% new financing, including closing costs.
- Term loans
- Lines of credit
- Real estate loans
- Agricultural loans
PlainsCapital Bank Business Checking Reviews From Users
As of this writing, no client has left a PlainsCapital Bank business checking review on user review websites. The bank has a rating of 4.0 on Yelp[3] (based on less than 10 reviews) and 4.0 on DepositAccounts[4] (based on less than 10 reviews). However, the majority of existing reviews were published over three years ago, making them too outdated to give an accurate picture of customer satisfaction.
Bottom Line
PlainsCapital Bank is a great choice if your business is located in or near a Texas branch. It provides low to high fee-free transaction and cash deposit limits, matching the needs of small to large companies. For enterprises seeking to streamline cash flow management, this bank also offers extensive treasury management solutions that are helpful in running an efficient business operation.
User review references:
[1]App Store
[2]Google Play
[3]Yelp
[4]DepositAccounts