In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) suffered a devastating bank failure that sent shockwaves through the entire banking industry. However, SVB has not gone away. Purchased out of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) receivership by First Citizens Bank, it continues to offer the same products and services that made it a trusted bank for startups and tech companies for years.
Despite the stigma of the failure tied to SVB’s brand, First Citizens Bank continues operating SVB under the same name. If you are a tech company or startup, the new SVB may be a good choice for your business.
What We Like
- Global digital banking solutions
- Integration with QuickBooks and other accounting software
- Flexible lending options for venture-funded businesses
Drawbacks
- Continues to carry the name of a previously failed bank
- Monthly fees after first three years are very high at $50
- Branches limited to 15 states
Features
- Online and mobile banking
- Integration with a variety of business apps (QuickBooks, Xero, Expensify, and others)
- Bill pay via online and mobile banking
- Fraud prevention services
- Flexible lending options
- Business credit cards
How Silicon Valley Bank Business Checking Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Monthly Fee | Annual Percentage Yield (APY) | Cash Deposit Fee | Physical Branch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | None | Up to 5.10% on linked money market accounts | $2 per paper item | |
 | None | Up to 5.40% on linked treasury accounts | Not supported | Online only |
 | None | 1.5% on qualifying balances of $250,000 and less | $4.95 per transaction via Green Dot retail locations | Online only |
When SVB Business Checking Is a Good Fit
- You want discounts on business software: SVB offers discounts on some of the most widely used business tools, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Zoom, and Slack.
- You want to earn rewards on credit card purchases: With an SVB business checking account, you can qualify for an SVB Innovators Card. The charge card is made for startups that can pay balances in full every month, lets you earn 2x unlimited points, and has no annual fee. SVB also offers as many free employee cards as you need.
- You want to earn competitive interest on savings: The SVB Edge account comes with a free startup money market account, which earns interest at a rate of up to 5.10% APY.
When To Choose an SVB Business Checking Alternative
- You want to bank without a monthly fee: While SVB charges no monthly fees on your first three years of using SVB Edge or your first year of using SVB ScaleUp, it charges a steep $50 monthly fee after that period. If you are looking for free business checking for your tech company or startup, check out our review of Mercury business checking.
- You want a bank with a strong branch presence: SVB only has branches in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. A better alternative would be Chase, which has 4,700 branches across 48 states. See our Chase Business Checking review for details.
- You want to earn interest on checking deposits: SVB business checking accounts do not earn interest. Bluevine, on its standard checking account, offers 1.5% APY on balances of $250,000 and less if you meet monthly activity requirements. Read our review of Bluevine Business Checking for more information.
Silicon Valley Bank Business Checking Overview
Silicon Valley Bank Business Checking Requirements
To open a business checking account, you will need to submit the Silicon Valley Bank business checking requirements listed in this section. You can apply through the bank’s website or by visiting a branch location. You will need to provide the following information:
- Full name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Tax identification number (TIN)
A driver’s license or other identifying documents will be required for beneficial owners, authorized signers, contracting officers—individuals authorized to transact on your behalf, such as making withdrawals, writing checks, transferring funds, stopping payments, and obtaining ancillary services—and other designated signers on the account.
You also need to provide legal business documents depending on your business entity type. Examples of required documents include:
- Certification of trust
- Court orders
- Partnership agreements
- Certificates of limited partnership
- Filed articles of incorporation
- Filed fictitious business name statements
SVB Business Checking Features
SVB offers two small business checking accounts with no monthly fees for a set period, online and mobile banking, startup resources, and an SVB Innovators Card.
SVB Mastercard Business Debit Card
On account opening, you can choose to apply for a free SVB Mastercard Business Debit Card. The card is protected from fraud under Mastercard’s Zero Liability Protection policy.
Digital Banking
You can conduct banking transactions online through the SVB website or mobile app. The app lets you do the following:
- Manage accounts
- Manage cards
- Deposit checks
- Schedule and approve payments
- Transfer funds
However, the app has mostly received negative reviews, earning a rating of 3.1 on the App Store[1] (based on around 400 reviews) and 2.4 on Google Play[2] (based on approximately 100 reviews). Users found the app slow and unreliable. Several dissatisfied reviewers said the app crashed when they used the mobile check deposit function. Others said that the app’s user experience (UX) was not optimized for all phones.
Business Services
- Fraud prevention: Startups can rely on SVB to lower the risk of fraud through Positive Pay, where cleared checks are compared with issued checks. It also uses ACH Blocks and Filters to keep unauthorized ACH debits and credits from posting to an account. Additionally, SVB secures online transactions with the IBM Security Trusteer Rapport software, adding more protection from financial malware, and offers online controls through dual administration and alerts.
- Remote capture: You can deposit your check easily using your mobile device or scanning several checks through a desktop scanner. SVB also provides a remote lockbox facility for a high volume of checks and remittance documents.
- Bill Pay Plus: You can automate bill payments by setting payment schedules. It also allows you to sync with leading accounting apps, such as QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, and Intacct, for greater efficiency.
- SVB Direct Connect: Direct Connect lets you sync current and past account data to the bank’s Open Financial Exchange service automatically for better cash management. It allows you to add popular financial management apps, such as QuickBooks, Quicken, Xero, Expensify, and others.
- SVB Transact Gateway: To improve productivity, this feature allows you to automate payment initiation, processing, account reporting, and reconciliation by linking your company’s accounting software and back-office systems with your company’s online banking payments and data.
- Discounts: Silicon Valley Bank provides discounts on accounting and human resources (HR) software, infrastructure products, and other business services. Among them are Gusto, Google Cloud, AWS, Zendesk, Bioverge, and CipherBio.
Other Silicon Valley Bank Business Products
Silicon Valley Bank also supports startups and venture-funded firms by providing business market accounts, business credit cards, and lending options.
Businesses with high transaction volumes should choose SVB’s Analyzed Checking account, which offers a full suite of cash management services. Though the account charges a monthly fee of $32, it lets you waive fees through earnings credit, which is based on your balance.
SVB Edge also provides a money market account with an APY of 5.10% on balances of $4,000,000 or less. Balances exceeding $4,000,000 earn interest at a rate of 1%. Interest is accrued daily and credited monthly.
SVB offers two types of credit cards:
- The SVB Innovators Card provides high credit limits that scale with your business needs. It earns 2x rewards points on purchases with no caps for points earned. You can also issue cards to employees. You can learn more about it through our SVB Innovators Card review.
- The SVB Multi Card Mastercard is designed for larger businesses. It also offers scalable credit limits and expense management controls for employee cards.
The SVB Virtual Card Program lets you instantly create single- or multi-use virtual cards for employee use. You can customize transaction and authorization controls to limit when, where, and how cards will be used.
SVB offers venture debt, growth capital, working capital, and mezzanine loans.
Businesses intending to expand internationally can use SVB’s global business banking solutions, which include opening multi-currency accounts, foreign exchange risk services, and global trade finance.
Silicon Valley Bank Business Checking Reviews From Users
Most user-written Silicon Valley Bank business checking reviews published prior to its acquisition by First Citizens Bank have been deleted. Fewer than 30 users reviewed the bank on WalletHub[3], resulting in an overall rating of 2.6, with no written reviews. Meanwhile, the bank has a rating of 2.8 on Trustpilot[4] (from fewer than 10 reviews). Only one user published a review after the SVB bank failure. They commented that it was difficult to withdraw funds after the bank run.
Bottom Line
Since its acquisition by First Citizens Bank, Silicon Valley Bank has been able to offer the same products and services that made it popular among tech startups and other venture-backed startups. Not enough user reviews have been published to testify to the quality of its service. However, as long as First Citizens Bank continues to be a solid bank, the new SVB could be a good choice for startups once again.
User review references:
[1]App Store
[2]Google Play
[3]WalletHub
[4]Trustpilot
