Santander Bank is a good provider for Northeast-based businesses with a high volume of cash transactions per month. Maintaining a Santander business checking account is also affordable, with several easy options to waive the monthly fees.
The Santander small business checking accounts are as follows:
- The Business Checking account offers a monthly cash deposit limit of $10,000 and a transaction limit of 300.
- The Business Checking Plus account provides larger businesses with a monthly cash deposit limit of $40,000 and a transaction allowance of 750.
The bank also provides Analyzed Checking, Escrow, and Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA). It even offers merchant services, money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and several lending options.
Pros
- High transaction limits
- High cash deposit limits
- Multiple ways to waive monthly fees
Cons
- No annual percentage yield (APY)
- High ATM fee for nonnetwork
- Costly automated clearing house (ACH) and wire transfer fees
Features
- Tiered checking accounts
- Analyzed Checking option earns credits on balances
- Escrow and IOLTA
- Payroll services through ADP
- Cash deposit allowance ($10k to $40k depending on business checking product)
- Free digital banking
- Check order discounts
- Access to merchant services
- Business money market accounts and small business CDs
- Zero balance accounts and sweep accounts
- Multiple lending options
How Santander Stacks Up With Its Competitors
When Santander Is a Good Fit
- You make 300 or fewer transactions per month: Santander’s Business Checking account offers up to 300 fee-free transactions per month. After the limit, each excess transaction costs 60 cents.
- You want to bank without a monthly fee: Aside from meeting a $5,000 average daily balance to avoid Santander Business Checking’s monthly service fee, you can also waive the fee by using the Santander Business Debit Mastercard thrice in one statement cycle, receiving one or more Merchant Services payments, incurring $50 in cash management fees, or maintaining a combined balance of $10,000 across multiple Santander business deposit accounts under the same owner.
- You need to deposit up to $10,000 in cash per month: The cash deposit limit for Business Checking is $10,000. Excess transactions cost 27 cents per deposit of $100 without Santander Bank’s Express Cash Pack service and 22 cents per deposit of $100 with the Express Cash Pack service.
- You need access to a wide range of lending products: Santander Bank provides business term loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate lending, business equipment financing, and small business administration (SBA) loans.
When To Consider Santander Alternatives
- You want a bank with physical branches nationwide: Santander only has physical branches and ATMs in nine states Santander has branches in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. . If you want the ability to conduct in-person banking anywhere in the country, choose Chase, which has branches nationwide. Read our review of Chase business checking to see which account aligns with your business needs.
- You want to earn interest on checking deposits: Neither of Santander’s business checking accounts earn interest. The best small business checking account for earning interest is Bluevine, which offers 2.0% APY on qualifying balances up to $250,000 for Standard Checking and 4.25% for Premier Checking. Learn about this fintech’s benefits through our Bluevine business checking review.
- You rely on ACH and wire transfers: ACH transfers to non-Santander bank accounts cost $7. All incoming wire transfers cost $15, while outgoing transfers cost anywhere from $27 to $40. A better alternative would be Mercury, which doesn’t charge wire transfer fees. Discover more of its money-saving features through our review of Mercury business checking.
Santander Business Checking Overview
Santander Business Checking Requirements
To open a business checking account with Santander, applicants need to prepare:
As part of the Santander business checking requirements, applicants whose business information doesn’t match their legal documentation will need to provide:
- First page of another bank statement
- Utility bill
- Current lease agreement
The checklist included in our guide on how to open a business bank account can help you keep track of any other business documents banks may require.
Santander Business Checking Features
Waivable Monthly Fee
To waive your business checking account fees, you must meet at least one of the following requirements:
Business Checking
- Maintain an average daily balance of $5,000
- Have $10,000 in combined business deposit balances with the same ownership
- Receive one or more Santander Merchant Services payments in your account within the service fee period
- Incur $50 or more in cash management service fees within the service fee period
- Have three or more purchases using a Santander Business Debit Mastercard posted into your account within the service fee period
Business Checking Plus
- Maintain an average daily balance of $40,000
- Have $60,000 in combined business deposit account balances with the same ownership
- Receive one or more Santander Merchant Services payments in your account within the service fee period
- Incur $50 or more in cash management service fees within the service fee period
Specialty Accounts
Santander offers multiple specialty accounts:
- Analyzed Checking accounts: Santander’s Analyzed Checking solution is designed for businesses with multiple bank accounts, high transaction activity, and enhanced cash management needs. Businesses that choose Analyzed Checking can earn credits on qualifying balances, which they can use to pay for online wire transfers, online ACH transfers, and teller, ATM, and money center deposits.
- Escrow accounts: Santander escrow accounts offer consolidated monthly statements that help you keep track of your clients’ deposits and the interest earned on them. To streamline tax management, Santander issues the 1099 IRS Tax Forms to participating clients at year-end automatically.
- IOLTA: Lawyers and law firms can place their income inside Santander’s IOLTA to earn interest for charitable causes. Funds generated by IOLTA typically fund legal services for individuals and communities that have limited access to them, such as seniors and people with disabilities.
- Zero balance accounts: You can streamline financial management and track business spending by connecting your checking accounts to a zero balance account, which transfers funds from a master account automatically to secure the exact amount of cash needed for specific expenses, such as payroll and inventory.
- Sweep accounts Note that sweep account investments aren’t FDIC-insured and can still lose value. : Linking your business checking account to a sweep account helps you earn interest on excess income. Whenever your main account goes over your set target balance, Santander will transfer any excess balances to your sweep account automatically, which grows money through either a money market mutual fund investment account or a Repurchase Agreement Account.
Digital Banking
You can conduct digital banking transactions via the Santander website or the mobile app, which is available on iOS and Android devices and allows mobile check deposits. Through digital banking, you can:
- Check bank balances
- Set up ACH and wire transfers
- Transfer funds
- Make bill payments
- Add authorized users and customize account access levels
The mobile app received a rating of 4.6 on the App Store[1] from around 11,000 reviews and 3.2 on Google Play[2] from about 800 reviews. The app received praise for its electronic check deposit functionality. However, some users suggested that the bank can further improve their features and add a Zelle transfer service to reduce the cost of electronic payments.
Santander Check Deposit Link
Santander provides complimentary desktop scanners Only one free scanner is available per customer, and if the service terminates before reaching a full calendar year, then a $300 cancellation fee applies. (at $299 retail value) that can scan checks for electronic deposit. Santander accepts electronic check deposits until 8 p.m. ET. It can also accept multiple deposits per day.
Discounts on Check Orders
Business Checking account holders get 25% off on their first check order. Business Checking Plus users get their first check order for free as long as its value doesn’t exceed $100.
Other Santander Business Products
Santander offers merchant services powered by First Data, through which businesses can lease or purchase affordable payment terminals. The equipment it supplies comes from the Clover line of payment solutions, which can accept payments via debit card, credit card, check, gift card, and mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay).
Clover hardware solutions have built-in fraud protection that keeps money safe. Additionally, Clover gives businesses access to useful business tools, such as data insights, loyalty programs, and gift card customization. To learn more about it, read our review of Clover POS.
Through merchant services, Santander also provides mobile and online payment solutions that let businesses accept payments through Android devices, iPhones, iPads, and desktops. Business Checking Plus account holders can save $600 annually through waived $50 monthly maintenance fees if they have at least one Santander Merchant Services payment deposited into the account each month for an entire year.
Santander’s partnership with ADP lets it provide payroll processing services, such as payroll management, tax deductions, and withholding, recordkeeping, and compliance alerts. The system keeps a record of employee time, earnings, and human resources (HR) records. Alerts also help businesses stay on top of payroll tax and HR compliance laws. Our ADP Run review provides more details about the solution.
Santander account holders can request Santander’s Mastercard-powered commercial credit card, called the Santander Commercial Card. Account holders can choose between multi-purpose, travel and entertainment, purchasing cards, and virtual cards.
Aside from ACH payments and wire transfers, Santander also offers growing businesses with a nationwide lockbox network service and Positive Pay solutions. The bank accepts credit card payments, paper statements, and electronic items through a lockbox network and provides same-day reporting. Meanwhile, Positive Pay protects businesses from check fraud by identifying suspicious transactions in real time.
- Business line of credit: Businesses can access revolving lines of credit starting at $10,000. Lines of credit not exceeding $500,000 can be renewed once a year. Our guide to small business line of credit provides information on rates and requirements.
- Business term loans: Through Santander’s business term loans, businesses can borrow a minimum amount of $10,000 for up to five years. Interest rates under business term loans are fixed.
- Owner-occupied real estate mortgages: This lending product lets businesses acquire, renovate, or refinance real estate properties for business use. Businesses must borrow at least $25,000, and terms may last up to 25 years.
- Business equipment financing: Businesses that need to purchase or finance vehicles and equipment can use Santander’s business equipment financing to borrow a minimum amount of $50,000 at low fixed interest or floating rates. Terms can last from three to 10 years.
- SBA Lending: As an SBA-preferred and Express Lender, Santander has the power to offer flexible SBA loans with reduced paperwork, faster approvals, and quicker access to funds. SBA charges upfront fees for lending, which businesses can finance along with their loans through Santander. Read more about the different types, rates, and requirements of SBA loans.
Businesses can grow their savings through Santander’s interest-earning Business Money Market Savings Account. The account requires a $50 opening balance and charges a $10 monthly fee, which can be waived by either maintaining the $1,000 minimum average daily balance requirement or starting a Santander business checking account under the same name.
Santander lets businesses withdraw or transfer funds from their money market accounts a total of six times per service period. APY rates for money market accounts depend on where your business is located.
Santander offers low-risk small business CDs with guaranteed earnings for a fixed term. It requires a $500 minimum opening deposit, and early withdrawal can result in a penalty. The APY rates for CDs can vary in different locations and are subject to change at any time.
Santander Business Checking Reviews From Users
On WalletHub[3], the bank has a 2.9 rating from around 580 reviews. Reviewers gave positive comments on their loan experience and shared that the loan approval was easy and the rates were attractive.
Meanwhile, some users who left a negative Santander business checking review reported that the bank didn’t offer them overdraft protection which resulted in insufficient fund charges. Others also shared they received unprofessional treatment from some branch employees, while a few complained about account closures and denied account applications.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes. Santander Bank deposit accounts are protected by FDIC insurance up to $250,000 and include savings, checking, CDs, and money market accounts.
Yes. Santander Bank is considered one of the largest retail and commercial banks in the US. As of Dec. 31, 2022, the bank’s US assets stand at $208 billion.
Santander Bank was established in 1902 in Pennsylvania and has grown its presence in nine states.
Bottom Line
With high transaction limits and flexible options for waiving the monthly fee, the business checking accounts of Santander Bank are excellent and cost-efficient options for organizations operating in Northeastern states. It offers merchant, payroll, advanced cash management services, and various lending options.
However, it lacks free ACH and wire transfers, and if you need wider geographic coverage for ATMs and brick-and-mortar banking locations, you may have to look elsewhere.
[1]App Store
[2]Google Play
[3]WalletHub
