Plumas Bank Business Checking Review 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Business Banking.
If your West Coast business needs affordable checking products from a regional provider, Plumas Bank is a good option. The bank, which operates in California and Nevada, offers two types of small business checking accounts with low, easy-to-waive monthly fees.
Both offer unlimited deposits of Plumas Bank checks and a fee-free transaction allowance of 150 checks paid and non-Plumas Bank checks deposited. However, you cannot open an account directly through the Plumas Bank website. Instead, you must submit a contact request form to get in touch with a Plumas Bank business banking advisor.
Other products the bank provides include analyzed checking accounts, savings products, lending products, and credit cards.
Pros
- Monthly fee waived for the first month
- Unlimited deposits of Plumas Bank checks
- Highly rated mobile app
Cons
- Only 14 branch offices
- No online account opening
- No interest-earning checking
Features
- Online banking with bill pay
- Visa Debit Card
- Mobile banking
- Analyzed checking, savings products, and lending products also available
How Plumas Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Monthly Fee | Monthly Transaction Limit Before Fees | ATM Fee | Minimum Opening Deposit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Local Business Checking | $12; waived for the first month or when minimum balance is met | Unlimited deposits of Plumas Bank checks 150 fee-free combined checks paid and deposits of non-Plumas Bank checks, then 20 cents per item | None at Plumas Bank ATMs and ATMs with VISA, STAR, and PLUS symbols, $2 for nonnetwork use* | $2,000 to waive monthly fee |
 Silver Business Checking
| $0 | 125, then 50 cents per item | None at U.S. Bank and MoneyPass ATMs, no fee for nonnetwork use* | N/A |
 Startup Business Checking | $10; waivable | 200; then 35 cents per item | None at MoneyPass ATMs; $3 for nonnetwork use | $1,500 to waive monthly fee |
*Third-party operator fees may also apply.
When Plumas Bank Is a Good Fit
- You want to bank with a low monthly fee: The Plumas Bank Local Business Checking monthly fee is $12, waivable with a minimum balance requirement of $2,000. Additionally, you don’t have to pay a monthly fee for your first month of banking.
- You have a low monthly transaction volume: Local Business accounts allow 150 fee-free checks paid and non-Plumas Bank checks deposited.
- Many of your clients and partners work with Plumas Bank: There’s no limit to the number of Plumas Bank checks you can deposit to your business account.
- You need access to a wide range of lending products: Plumas Bank offers lines of credit, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, agricultural lending, commercial real estate (CRE) loans, and equipment financing.
When Plumas Bank Is Not a Good Fit
- You operate outside Plumas Bank’s jurisdiction: Plumas Bank only has 14 branch locations, which are located in Northeastern California and Northern Nevada. If you’re looking for a bank with wider geographic coverage, consider Chase, which has 4,700 branches in 48 states. Read our Chase business checking review for more details about the three Chase business checking accounts.
- You want to bank without a monthly fee or minimum balance requirements: Although Plumas Bank charges slightly lower fees than its national counterparts, it offers no fee-free business checking accounts and requires a minimum balance of $2,000 to waive fees. The Silver Business Checking account of U.S. Bank has no monthly fee and minimum balance requirements. Our review of U.S. Bank business checking can help you determine whether the account is right for you.
- You send wire transfers regularly: Outgoing wire transfers cost $30 for domestic recipients and $50 for international recipients. Under the financial technology (fintech) solution Mercury, all wire transfers are free. To learn more about the provider, read our Mercury business checking review.
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.
Plumas Bank Business Checking Overview
Plumas Bank Business Checking Requirements
To open a business bank account with Plumas Bank, you need to contact one of the provider’s business banking advisors. You’re required to prepare the following:
- Employer identification number (EIN)
- Fictitious name statement (if applicable)
- Valid identification for the organization’s president, secretary, members, and authorized signers.
Certain business types may be required to submit additional documents. Click on your entity type below to learn more.
- Operating agreement of parent limited liability company (LLC) listing specific series and any amendments
- Resolution or meeting minutes on company letterhead detailing people that have authority to do banking on behalf of each series
- Copy of 501(c)(3) if opening an interest-bearing account
- Letter or meeting minutes from organization on their own letterhead assigning authority to open accounts and listing signers on the accounts with titles
- Copy of 501(c)(3) if opening an interest-bearing account
For a downloadable checklist of documents banks typically require, refer to our guide on how to open a business bank account.
Plumas Bank Business Checking Features
Unlimited Deposits
All Plumas Bank business checking accounts offer unlimited fee-free deposits to business accounts and unlimited fee-free deposits of Plumas Bank checks.
Waivable Monthly Fee
Plumas Bank will waive your monthly service charge on your first month of banking. After that, you can waive the monthly fee by meeting your account’s minimum monthly balance requirements.
Visa Debit Card
Opening a business checking account with Plumas Bank gives you access to your own Visa Debit Card, which uses EMV chip technology to enhance fraud security.
The card can be used at ATMs with Visa, STAR, or PLUS symbols. There’s a $2 fee for out-of-network use, plus applicable third-party operator fees.
Online Banking
You can view and manage your business checking account through the Plumas Bank website. Below are a few features the website provides:
- Automated clearing house (ACH) web: Plumas Bank’s ACH web electronic payment system lets you debit and credit checking and savings accounts electronically. The bank encrypts sensitive information to keep your account protected.
- Business bill pay: This feature lets you receive and pay bills online. You can set up scheduled payments for recurring bills.
- Person-to-person transfers: Transfers to other Plumas Bank accounts, including personal checking, savings, and money market accounts, are free. Like with bill pay, you can set up scheduled transfers.
- Wire transfers: The website lets you originate wire transfers.
You can also add multiple users to your online banking account. To ensure responsible use, you can customize each user’s access level.
Mobile Banking
If you’re enrolled in Plumas Bank’s Online Banking service, you can access the provider’s mobile banking app, which is available on iOS and Android. Through the app, you can do the following:
- Check balances
- View pending transactions
- View transaction history
- Transfer funds
- Pay bills
- Deposit checks remotely
- Send and receive secure messages to Plumas Bank
- Search branch hours and locations
The app has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 on both the App Store1 (based on 400-plus reviews) and Google Play2 (based on more than 300 reviews). Users said that they found the app convenient and easy to use. However, a few said that the layout needed improvements, while others encountered glitches during past update rollouts.
Other Plumas Bank Business Products
Designed for businesses with higher transaction volumes, the Plumas Bank Business Analysis checking account provides earnings credit based on your account balance. Earnings received can be used to offset fees.
Like other Plumas Bank business checking accounts, Business Analysis offers unlimited Plumas Bank check deposits, unlimited deposits to business accounts, and free digital banking.
If you have a Plumas Bank Business Analysis account, you can ask for Remote Deposit access. Plumas Bank will then provide you with a scanner, which you can use to deposit checks to your Plumas Bank account from your home or office.
Under Plumas Bank, there are three types of business savings products:
- The regular business savings account has a monthly service fee of $5, which you can waive with a minimum balance of $300. Like most Plumas Bank business accounts, it has an opening deposit requirement of $100.
- The money market account has a monthly fee of $15, waivable with a minimum balance of $5,000. It has an opening deposit requirement of $100 and offers unlimited check deposits, including deposits of non-Plumas Bank checks.
- Certificates of deposit (CDs) have an opening deposit requirement of $500. They earn interest at fixed rates and are renewable automatically.
Several types of lending products are available, including:
- Lines of credit
- SBA 7(a) loans
- SBA 504 loans
- Agricultural lending
- CRE loans
- Equipment financing
Plumas Bank issues business credit cards through a partnership with TIB The Independent Bankers Bank, N.A. You can choose between a points-earning credit card or a standard credit card with no annual fee. Both cards offer competitive ongoing APR and a 25-day interest-free grace period on all purchases.
Plumas Bank User Reviews
Very few customers have published Plumas Bank business checking reviews within the past few years. Thus, it is difficult to draw any accurate conclusive statement about overall customer satisfaction. Its rating on WalletHub3 is 4.3 out of 5, from around 45 reviews, with no written reviews from later than 2015. On DepositAccounts4, the bank has only one review, which was published in 2014.
Bottom Line
Plumas Bank is a decent choice for California- and Nevada-based businesses with low transaction volumes. With unlimited fee-free deposits of Plumas Bank checks, the bank is particularly suitable for businesses that already work with clients or customers in Plumas Bank’s network. Although the bank only has 14 branches, it makes up for its lack of physical presence by providing reliable digital banking services.
User review references:
