TIAA Bank Business Checking Review

TIAA Bank is a great choice if you’re looking for a bank with a variety of interest-earning checking options. All its five accounts, which are listed below, come with a free Visa debit card, online and mobile banking, overdraft protection, and ATM fee reimbursements:

1. A noninterest-earning basic business checking account.
2. An interest-earning $0 monthly fee small business checking account for sole proprietors and single-owner limited liability companies (LLCs).
3. A high-yield business checking account with a $14.95 monthly fee.
4. An analyzed business checking account with an $18 monthly fee.
5. A nonprofit account.

Other products include money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and currency accounts. Although TIAA Bank has branches in Florida, it is primarily an online bank.

How TIAA Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors

	APY	Cash Deposit Fee	ATM Fee	Minimum Opening Deposit
Small Business Checking	0.50%	N/A	None at 80,000-plus ATMs nationwide; refunds available*	$1,500
	Visit TIAA Bank
Business Checking	2.0%	$4.95 per deposit via Green Dot retail locations	None at 38,000 MoneyPass ATMs†	None
	Visit Bluevine‡
Landlord Banking	4.46%	Deposit at Allpoint ATMs only	None at Allpoint ATMs†	None
	Visit Baselane‡

*TIAA Bank refunds up to $15 worth of out-of-network ATM fees per month; unlimited reimbursement with $5,000 ADB.
^†For nonnetwork use, third-party operator fees may apply.
^‡Providers are financial technology (fintech) platforms backed by and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured through a supporting bank partnership (Coastal Community Bank for Bluevine and Blue Ridge Bank for Baselane).

When TIAA Bank Is a Good Fit

• You run a nonprofit organization: TIAA Bank offers an interest-earning nonprofit checking account with a waivable monthly fee of $14.95. In our roundup of the best banks for nonprofits, we named it the best bank for earning interest.
• You want to earn interest on checking deposits: All of its business checking accounts (except for Business Checking) offer uncapped APY on checking deposits.
• You want refunds on out-of-network ATM fees: TIAA Bank refunds up to $15 worth of ATM fees each month, giving you greater freedom in choosing where to make your ATM transactions.
• You use foreign currencies regularly: Aside from business checking accounts, TIAA Bank offers currency access accounts, which let you build a safe reserve of international currency funds. Our features section below covers the available currencies under TIAA Bank.

When TIAA Bank Is Not a Good Fit

• You need access to in-person banking: TIAA Bank is primarily an online bank, and its only brick-and-mortar branches are located in Florida. The best bank for branch access is Chase, which has approximately 4,700 branches across all 48 mainland states. Determine which Chase account suits you by reading our Chase business checking review.
• You cannot meet TIAA Bank’s $1,500 opening deposit requirement: If you want a high-yield checking account with no minimum opening deposit requirement, consider Bluevine. It offers 2.0% APY on qualifying balances of $250,000 and less while having no monthly fee, no opening deposit requirements, and no minimum balance requirements. Read our review of Bluevine business checking for more information.
• You need access to small business loans: TIAA Bank does not have products for small business lending. Meanwhile, First Internet Bank offers SBA lending, term loans, lines of credit, and commercial real estate financing. Our First Internet Bank business checking review can tell you more about its financing selection.

See more options in our guide to the best small business checking accounts.

TIAA Bank Business Checking Overview

TIAA Bank Business Checking Requirements

To open a business checking account, you must first pass TIAA Bank’s pre-qualification process. TIAA Bank will use the following questions to determine your eligibility:

• Is your business registered or organized and physically operating and managed in the United States/US territories?
• Are you a business trust or a self-directed individual retirement accountant (IRA)?
• Are your business’ authorized signers or beneficial owners (any individual with upward of 25% ownership) US citizens or permanent resident aliens?
• Are your business’ authorized signers or beneficial owners (any individual with upward of 25% ownership) located in a European Union country?
• Does the business associate with any one of TIAA Bank’s restricted industries?

Your business will not qualify to open a bank account with TIAA Bank if you or at least one of your tenants receive income from any of the following industries:

• Organizations or individuals that do not conduct any business in the US
• Foreign embassies or consular offices
• Foreign correspondent banking entities
• Banks organized or chartered outside of the US
• Virtual currency operators
• Third-party payment processors
• Casino, gambling or gaming establishments
• Organizations or individuals engaged in activities deemed unlawful at any state or federal level, which would include any business engaged in the sale or distribution of marijuana

If you pass, a specialist will then contact you to assist you with the account-opening process.

TIAA Bank Business Checking Features

Fee-free ATM Usage in TIAA Bank Network

You can make fee-free transactions at over 80,000 US ATMs, including Allpoint and MoneyPass machines. TIAA Bank also reimburses you for up to $15 worth of ATM fees each month. If you maintain an ADB of $5,000, you get unlimited ATM fee refunds.

Online & Mobile Banking

TIAA Bank offers 24/7 access to all your bank accounts through its Business Online Banking platform and mobile app. Through the app, you can:

• View comprehensive reports
• Schedule one-time and recurring payments,
• Transfer funds
• Deposit checks through mobile check deposit

Reviews for TIAA Bank’s mobile app are mostly positive. It has a rating of 4.7 stars on the App Store¹ (based on 7,200-plus reviews) and 4.5 stars on Google Play² (based on more than 5,400 reviews). However, many of the reviews published within the last year are negative.

Users said that the app requires manual logins despite offering biometric authentication. It also blocks password managers, preventing you from automatically accessing the app. Otherwise, positive reviews highlight that the app is serviceable and easy to navigate.

Remote Deposit Capture

If you want the ability to deposit high volumes of checks from anywhere, you can use TIAA Bank’s remote deposit capture (RDC) computer-scanner combo, which charges a monthly fee of $35. You can also deposit checks using the TIAA Bank mobile app for free.

Overdraft Protection

You can avoid overdraft fees by linking your business checking account to a business money market account. Whenever you make a transaction bigger than your current balance, TIAA Bank will automatically pull funds from your money market account to cover the cost at no charge.

Merchant Services

TIAA Bank’s payment processing provider is the top-rated Elavon, Inc. It offers dial-up, wireless, and internet point-of-sale (POS) terminals, including electronic check services, mobile and credit card payment processing, electronic gift cards, and electronic benefits transfers.

Other Banking Products

Money Market Account

Business Money Market charges a $14.95 monthly fee, waivable with an ADB of $5,000. It has an opening deposit requirement of $1,500 and offers the following interest rates:

• 1.35% on balances from $0 to $99,999.99
• 1.85% on balances from $100,000 to $999,999.99
• 2.35% on balances of $1 million and up.

This account can be used as a source of funds for overdraft protection. Transfers from this account that are used to cover overdrafts are free and automatic.

CDs

TIAA Bank offers two types of business CDs:

1. High-yield CDs have a minimum opening deposit requirement of $1,500 and no monthly fee. They offer rates from 2.10% to 4.50% and terms from three months to five years.
2. IntraFi CDs distribute your funds across the IntraFi network to provide extended FDIC insurance, particularly for multimillion-dollar deposits. They require a minimum opening deposit of $10,000.

Currency Access Accounts

Currency Access Accounts let you safely store money in foreign currencies. Available currencies include:

• Australian dollar (AUD)
• Brazilian real (BRL)
• British pound (GBP)
• Canadian dollar (CAD)
• Chinese yuan (CNY)
• Czech koruna (CZK)
• Danish krone (DKK)
• Euro (EUR)
• Indian rupee (INR)
• Hong Kong dollar (HKD)
• Japanese yen (JPY)
• Mexican peso (MXN)
• New Zealand dollar (NZD)
• Norwegian krone (NOK)
• Polish zloty (PLN)
• Singapore dollar (SGD)
• South African rand (ZAR)
• Swedish krona (SEK)
• Swiss franc (CHF)

TIAA Bank offers a 1% customer exchange rate when you request that your account funds be denominated in a currency other than the currency you regularly use for deposits. Accounts are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000.

The minimum opening deposit is $2,500. While most currency accounts are free, JPY and CHF accounts charge monthly maintenance fees of 0.25%.

TIAA Bank Business Checking Reviews From Users

TIAA Bank business checking reviews are mixed. It has a 2 out of 5 rating on DepositAccounts³ (based on 30-plus reviews) but a 4.4 rating on WalletHub⁴ (based on more than 1,400 reviews). Users particularly liked that the bank’s business checking products offered decent interest rates. However, others found the minimum balance requirement for waiving monthly fees too steep. There were also several complaints about delays in posting external transfers online.

Outside of business checking, comments discussed issues with customer service and online banking. According to several dissatisfied reviewers, not only is the bank’s customer service team slow to respond, but they also tend to give misinformation. Additionally, a few users found the bank’s website difficult to navigate.

Bottom Line

TIAA Bank is best for businesses that want to bank online with low monthly fees and decent APY rates. The Small Business Checking account lets sole proprietors and single-owner LLCs bank with zero monthly service fees while earning 0.50% interest. However, for businesses with larger transaction volumes, a Business Checking, Business Interest Checking, or Business Analysis Checking account would be more convenient.

User review references

¹App Store
²Google Play
³DepositAccounts
⁴WalletHub