Provident Bank Business Checking Review 2024

Provident Bank offers two small business checking accounts, Basic Business Checking and Business Interest Checking. Both accounts are great options for cash-reliant businesses since they offer cash deposit limits of $10,000 and charge low fees for excess transactions. However, these accounts only offer 100 free debit transactions.

Should your needs change, you can look into Provident Bank’s other business checking products. These include analyzed checking, interest-earning commercial checking, commercial checking with cash management services, and specialty accounts for attorneys and nonprofit organizations.

Provident Bank is a regional bank operating 13 brick-and-mortar branches in California. You are required to visit a branch to open an account.

Pros

Waivable monthly fee
Fee-free cash deposit limit of $10,000 monthly
Highly rated iOS app

Cons

13 branches exclusive to California; must visit a branch to open an account
0.01% annual percentage yield (APY) on balances of $2,000 and above on interest-drawing account
Only 100 fee-free debit transactions per month

Features

Free Business Visa Debit Card
Surcharge-free access to 55,000 Allpoint ATMs
Online banking
Mobile banking
Business overdraft line of credit
CardValet app for better card management

Visit Provident Bank

How Provident Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors

	Monthly Fee	Monthly Transaction Limit Before Fees	Monthly Cash Deposit Limit	Geographic Availability
Basic Business Checking	$15; waivable The monthly service charge is $15 with e-statements and $17 with paper statements. You can waive the fee by meeting one or more of the following requirements: 1. Maintain an average daily balance of $3,000. 2. Maintain a combined average daily balance of $10,000 across multiple Provident Bank business accounts that have the same primary tax reported for owner. 3. Make at least 25 non-ATM transactions using the Provident Bank Business Visa Debit Card.	100 debits Debits include checks and electronic debits , then 35 cents per debit	$10,000, then $1.50 for every $1,000	California only
Basic Business Checking	Visit Provident Bank
Business Checking	$12; waivable	150, then 50 cents per item	$5,000, then 30 cents per $100	28 states and Washington, D.C. PNC Bank has over 2,500 branches in Washington, D.C. and Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Business Checking	Visit PNC Bank
Silver Business Checking	$0	125, then 50 cents per item	$2,500, then 33 cents per $100	All states You can open a U.S. Bank business checking account from any state and access banking services via online banking. However, the bank currently only has brick-and-mortar branches in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Silver Business Checking	Visit U.S. Bank

When Provident Bank Is a Good Fit

You make cash deposits frequently: Provident Bank has a fee-free cash deposit limit of $10,000. It only charges $1.50 for every $1,000 deposited after the limit.
You make 100 or fewer debit transactions per month: Both Provident Bank’s Basic Business Checking and Business Interest Checking have a debit transaction limit of 100. Checks and electronic debits also count as debits.
You can maintain an average daily balance of $3,000 or higher: If you meet the Provident Bank Basic Business Checking average daily balance requirement of $3,000, you can waive the $15 or $17 monthly fee.

When To Choose a Provident Bank Alternative

You operate outside of California: Provident Bank has no branches outside California, and you must visit a branch to open an account. If you want a traditional bank with a broader geographical reach, consider Chase, which has 4,700 branches across 48 states. Check our Chase business checking review to find which of the three products is suitable for your business.
You want to earn competitive interest on checking deposits: Provident Bank’s interest-earning small business account, Business Interest Checking, only earns interest at 0.01% if you keep a balance of $2,000 and above. If you’re looking for better rates, consider the online-only provider Bluevine, which earns qualified accounts 2.0% APY on balances up to $250,000. You can find more detailed information about its features from our review of Bluevine business checking.
You often receive and send wire transfers: Under Provident Bank, you’ll spend $15 or $20 on incoming wires and $35 or $50 on outgoing wires. If you want to save, you can consider Mercury since it doesn’t charge any fees for wire transfers. Our Mercury business checking review provides more information about the product.

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.

Provident Bank Business Checking Overview

Terms
Features

	Basic Business Checking	Business Interest Checking
Required Opening Deposit	$100	$200
Monthly Fees	$15 The monthly service charge is $15 with e-statements and $17 with paper statements. You can waive the fee by meeting one or more of the following requirements: 1. Maintain an average daily balance of $3,000. 2. Maintain a combined average daily balance of $10,000 across multiple Provident Bank business accounts that have the same primary tax reported for owner. 3. Make at least 25 non-ATM transactions using the Provident Bank Business Visa Debit Card .	$20 The monthly service charge is $15 with e-statements and $17 with paper statements. You can waive the fee by meeting one or more of the following requirements: 1. Maintain an average daily balance of $3,000. 2. Maintain a combined average daily balance of $10,000 across multiple Provident Bank business accounts that have the same primary tax reported for owner. 3. Make at least 25 non-ATM transactions using the Provident Bank Business Visa Debit Card .
APY	None	0.01% on balances of $2,000 and above
Transaction Limit Before Fees	100 debits (including checks and electronic debits), then 35 cents per debit after the limit
Automated Clearing House (ACH) Fees	$30 monthly service charge, then 20 cents per item
Domestic Wire Transfer Fees	Incoming: $15 Outgoing: $35
International Wire Transfer Fees	Incoming: $20 Outgoing: $50
ATM Fees	None at Provident Bank and Allpoint ATMs
Cash Deposits	$10,000 free per month, then $1.50 for every $1,000 after the limit

	Basic Business Checking	Business Interest Checking
Debit Card	Free Business Visa Debit Card
Physical Checks	Prices vary
Business Payment Integrations	Available via merchant services
Customer Service	Available via email, fax, or phone (951) 686-6060
Other Products Available	Commercial checking, nonprofit checking, business savings, and lending products

Provident Bank Business Checking Requirements

To apply for a business checking account with Provident Bank, you need to set an appointment and visit a physical branch.

Provident Bank business checking requirements may vary depending on your business entity type. Our guide on how to open a business bank account provides a checklist of documents banks typically require upon account opening.

Provident Bank Business Checking Features

Business Visa Debit Card

All Provident Bank business checking accounts come with their own free Business Visa Debit Card, which uses chip technology. The card provides surcharge-free access to all Provident Bank and Allpoint ATMs. Provident Bank does not charge fees for nonnetwork use, though third-party operator fees may apply.

Digital Banking

Users can access Provident Bank’s services through its website and mobile app, which is available on iOS and Android. Available online banking activities include:

Viewing account balances
Transferring funds between Provident Bank accounts
Viewing transactions
Viewing check images
Viewing and making payments on commercial loans
Paying bills
Finding branch and ATM locations

The mobile app has a rating of 4.7 on the App Store^[1] (based on around 650 reviews) and 4.6 on Google Play^[2] (based on about 1,000 reviews). While most reviewers said that the app was user-friendly, a few found the mobile check deposit function inefficient and unreliable.

Merchant Remote Deposit Capture

Provident Bank’s digital banking solutions let you deposit checks remotely through a feature called Merchant Remote Deposit Capture. To use this feature, scan your checks and transmit your deposit conveniently through your office computer. It allows you to skip bank trips, reduce expenses, and improve your cash flow. This service is subject to credit approval, and additional fees may apply.

Business Overdraft Line of Credit

With overdraft lines of credit, Provident Bank helps you protect yourself from transactions against insufficient funds. This method of business overdraft protection transfers funds automatically from your linked line of credit to cover transactions when your balance is insufficient. However, to get a business overdraft line of credit, you must first get credit approval from Provident Bank.

CardValet App

Provident Bank offers its clients CardValet, a card management application where you can easily monitor your debit card transactions through your mobile device. You can set alerts, turn cards on or off for security, and limit transactions by category or dollar amounts. It also lets you check your account balances and review card transactions anytime.

Other Provident Bank Business Products

Provident Bank offers savings accounts, lending products, and multiple types of specialized business checking accounts.

There are many specialized Provident Bank business checking accounts available, including accounts for nonprofits and attorneys and commercial accounts for larger businesses.

Attorney Client Trust: An interest-earning account for California attorneys. It has no monthly fee and a minimum deposit requirement of $500.
Business Cash Management: An interest-bearing account with additional cash management resources. Like Corporate Interest, it offers tiered APY with increased interest rates on larger balances. It charges a monthly fee of $15 or $17, waivable with a minimum daily balance of $2,500. The opening deposit requirement is also $2,500.
Corporate Interest: An interest-earning checking account for businesses with larger balances. It uses a tiered APY system that increases your interest rates as you increase your balance. The account has a minimum opening deposit of $5,000 and a monthly fee of $25 or $27, waivable with a minimum daily balance of $25,000.
Community Advantage: An interest-earning specialty account for community groups and nonprofit organizations. It earns an APY of 0.05% for all balances with no monthly service fee. The minimum opening deposit is $100.
Commercial Analysis: An analyzed checking account that helps you offset the $25 monthly fee by paying 0.07% earnings credit based on your balance. The minimum deposit is $500.

The Provident Bank Business Savings account earns interest at a rate of 0.03% on balances greater than $0. It charges a monthly fee of $5 for accounts that opt for online statements and $7 for accounts that opt for paper statements. Fees can be waived with a minimum daily balance of $500. The opening deposit requirement is $100.

The lending products Provident Bank offers include commercial term loans, business lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, and Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. Learn from our guide on the types of SBA loans.

Provident Bank Business Checking Reviews From Users

Due to the limited number of reviews available, we couldn’t draw accurate conclusions about user satisfaction at Provident Bank. While it earned a rating of 3.1 on WalletHub^[3] (based on around 100 reviews), there are only two published reviews on the platform, and only one focused on Provident Bank business checking. This reviewer claimed that the bank released money for a fraudulent transaction despite the user’s request to block the charge.

Bottom Line

Provident Bank is a decent choice if you’re a cash-reliant organization looking for basic business checking services with a traditional banking provider based in California. However, its low APY rates and transaction limits won’t take your business funds too far.

You must also maintain moderate to high daily balances to waive the monthly fee. Self-employed professionals or solopreneurs will find this challenging since they can’t free up their balances to serve as working capital. Additionally, the provider isn’t a good fit for businesses looking for money market accounts, CDs, and credit cards.

User review references:
^[1]App Store
^[2]Google Play
^[3]WalletHub

Provident Bank Business Checking Review 2024

Pros