Torrey Pines Bank Business Checking Review 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Business Banking.
We recommend Torrey Pines Bank for Southern California organizations seeking straightforward traditional banking experiences. Its product selection includes three types of general business checking accounts: a basic checking account, an interest-earning checking account, and a medium-sized checking account. Monthly maintenance fees start at $16, and fee-free monthly transaction allowances start at 200 items.
The bank also offers specialized checking accounts for high-volume businesses, nonprofits, political campaigns, attorneys, and law firms. All accounts come with free debit cards, online and mobile banking, optional overdraft protection, and fraud protection services.
How Torrey Pines Bank operates: Torrey Pines Bank is one of the many brands owned by the Western Alliance Bancorporation. It has nine full-service branches in Southern California, with many of its branches being concentrated in San Diego and one loan production office in Costa Mesa.
Pros
- 200 free transactions for basic and interest-earning accounts
- Wide range of free ATM choices
- Business Interest Checking is free for 501(c)(3) organizations
Cons
- Must visit a branch to open an account
- Only three full-service branches
- Lacks fee transparency
Features
- Free Visa debit card
- Free ATM transactions at MoneyPass machines and ATMs belonging to PLUS, STAR, and Interlink systems
- Online and mobile banking
- Optional overdraft protection
- Fraud protection
- Other accounts include analyzed checking, nonprofit checking, political campaign, and Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Accounts (IOLTA)
- Savings accounts, credit cards, and lending products
How Torrey Pines Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Monthly Fee | Minimum Balance Requirement to Waive Monthly Fee | Monthly Transaction Limit Before Fees | Geographic Availability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $16 | $2,500 | 200 | California |
 | $0 | N/A | 125 | |
 | $10 | $1,000 | 200 | California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington |
When Torrey Pines Bank Is a Good Fit
- You have a low or moderate monthly activity volume: Both the Torrey Pines Bank Business Checking and Business Interest Checking accounts provide 200 fee-free combined debits, credits, and deposited items per month.
- Your business is organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit: The Business Interest Checking account waives monthly service fees for nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations. It also offers a specialized nonprofit checking account.
- You belong to an industry Torrey Pines Bank holds expertise in: Bankers from Torrey Pines Bank are experts in the industries of commercial real estate and construction, healthcare, hotels, legal services, manufacturing and logistics, municipal and local government, nonprofits, professional services, restaurants, and timeshare resorts. If you belong to one of those industries, the bank’s experts can provide tailored financial solutions, such as business checking accounts with optimized transaction allowances, which accommodate your business needs.
When Torrey Pines Bank Is Not a Good Fit
- You need nationwide access to in-person banking services: All Torrey Pines Bank branches are located in Southern California. If nationwide access to in-person banking services is a priority, the best provider would be Chase, which has branches in all 48 mainland states. Read our Chase business checking review for a breakdown of all three accounts.
- You don’t want to pay a monthly fee: The only Torrey Pines Bank account without a monthly fee is the IOLTA. A good alternative would be U.S. Bank’s Silver Business Checking, which does not require a monthly maintenance fee. Our review of U.S. Bank business checking can provide more information on the account’s fees, features, pros, and cons.
- You want to earn interest on a free checking account: Torrey Pines Bank does not offer fee-free interest-earning checking accounts. The best account for earning interest is Bluevine’s business checking account, an online-only banking solution that pays a 2.0% annual percentage yield (APY) on qualifying balances of $250,000 and less. For a list of requirements that you need to meet to qualify for Bluevine’s APY, read our Bluevine 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.
Torrey Pines Bank Business Checking Overview
Torrey Pines Bank Business Checking Requirements
You must visit a Torrey Pines Bank branch to open a business checking account. During the application process, you will typically be asked to prepare relevant business documents and a valid government ID. Refer to our article on how to open a business bank account for a downloadable checklist of documents banks typically require.
Torrey Pines Bank Business Checking Features
Debit Card
Torrey Pines Bank will provide a free business Visa debit card when you open a business checking account. The card is valid anywhere Visa is accepted and provides fee-free access to MoneyPass ATMs and all ATMs with the PLUS, STAR, and Interlink symbols.
Online & Mobile Banking
You can bank through the Torrey Pines Bank website and the iOS or Android mobile app. Torrey Pines Bank uses WA Business Mobile, which is Western Alliance Bank’s business banking app.
Through digital banking, you can:
- View balances and transactions
- Transfer money
- Deposit checks through mobile check deposit
- Add and manage payees
- Pay bills
- Approve internal transfers, wire payments, and ACH payments
- Search for branch locations
Enrolling in enhanced services also gives you web access to domestic and foreign wire transfers and ACH transactions.
Reviews indicate that the majority of WA Business Mobile users are dissatisfied with the app, with no positive reviews posted within the last three years. It has a 2-star rating on the App Store1 (based on 20-plus reviews) and a 3-star rating on Google Play2 (based on 10+ reviews). According to user comments, the app cannot be relied on to work consistently, especially for mobile check deposits.
Overdraft Protection
This optional service lets you prevent negative balances, overdraft fees, and non-sufficient funds fees by linking your main business checking account to a revolving line of credit. Torrey Pines Bank will pull funds from available credit should a transaction ever charge your account with an amount your balance cannot cover.
Fraud Protection
- Positive pay for ACH and check payments: This optional service helps you protect yourself from fraud by giving Torrey Pines Bank a list of preapproved payments. Torrey Pines Bank will check all future payments against your list to stop fraudulent transactions.
- Check payee positive pay: Enroll in this add-on service to enhance positive pay’s fraud prevention capabilities. Check payee positive pay will ask you to confirm the payee name, check amount, and check number whenever a check is presented. Torrey Pines will not release payments for unconfirmed transactions.
- Reverse positive pay: With this feature, you can protect your funds by approving or disapproving checks manually.
- ACH debit block: This service lets you block all incoming ACH debit transactions.
Industry Expertise
Bankers from Torrey Pines Bank are experts in the following industries:
- Commercial real estate (CRE) and construction
- Healthcare
- Hotels
- Legal services
- Manufacturing and logistics
- Municipal and local government
- Nonprofits
- Professional services
- Restaurants
- Timeshare resorts
Industry experts use their experience to provide financial advice, recommend products, or customize existing services according to your needs. A banker might, for example, adjust fees and transaction limits on business checking accounts to match current market conditions or streamline the credit approval process to give you faster access to financing.
Other Torrey Pines Bank Business Products
Torrey Pines Bank provides specialized checking accounts for organizations with more specific business needs:
- The Analyzed Checking Account is designed for organizations with a high volume of activity. It uses earnings credit to offset fees and provides additional services, such as integrated treasury management and consolidated financial reports.
- The Nonprofit Account is Torrey Pines Bank’s specialized checking account for nonprofit organizations.
- The Political Campaign Account protects political campaign funds and streamlines compliance with legal requirements.
- The IOLTA helps attorneys and law firms protect their earnings while generating interest on their balances. It then remits all interest earned into your state’s Bar Foundation. It charges no monthly fee but requires a $100 opening deposit and a minimum balance of 1 cent to earn interest.
Aside from business checking, Torrey Pines Bank offers savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs:
- The Business Savings Account has a monthly fee of $10, which you can waive with a minimum balance of $1,000. It provides 25 free deposits per month and free online banking.
- The Business Money Market Account charges a $10 fee per month, waivable with a minimum balance of $2,500. It earns tiered interest based on your balance and provides $25 free deposits per month and free online banking.
- Business CDs come in terms ranging from 30 days to 60 months. They require an opening deposit of $1,000.
The Torrey Pines Bank small business lending product selection includes SBA loans, conventional term loans, and lines of credit:
- SBA 504 loans with fixed interest rates and down payments as low as 10%
- SBA 7(a) guaranteed loans up to $5 million
- SBA Express Loans up to $500,000
- Conventional loans up to $500,000
- Lines of credit up to $100,000
Torrey Pines Bank offers a Visa-powered business credit card called the Business Plus Credit Card. Your card transactions earn points you can redeem for cash back, travel, merchandise, and other rewards.
Torrey Pines Bank Business Checking Reviews from Users
On WalletHub3, the bank received only six ratings, which amounted to an average rating of 3.7 stars. There are no Torrey Pines Bank business checking reviews or comments on the bank and its products.
Bottom Line
Torrey Pines Bank is a decent choice for organizations seeking the typical traditional banking experience. Its fees and features are more or less the same as other banks in the market, with no additional bells and whistles. The bank primarily serves Southern California, so if you like its services but operate outside the main Torrey Pines Bank network area, consider looking into other Western Alliance Bancorporation brands.
User review references:
1App Store
2Google Play
3WalletHub
