Watertown Savings Bank Business Checking Review 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Business Banking.
Watertown Savings Bank is a New York regional bank with branches in Watertown, Adams, Sackets Harbor, Clayton, Chaumont, and Alexandria Bay. With unlimited fee-free transactions, no monthly fee, and no minimum balance requirements, its Commercial Checking account is a great option for companies needing affordable checking options.
Each account comes with a free business debit card, online banking, mobile banking, and bill pay. The bank also offers savings accounts, money market accounts, lending products, and increased Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance via Insured Cash Sweep (ICS) and Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) programs.
What We Like
- No monthly fee
- No minimum balance
- Unlimited fee-free transactions
- Multiple FDIC-insured accounts through ICS and CDARS
What's Missing
- Limited ATM and branch locations
- Applicants need to visit a branch to open an account
- No interest-earning options and business credit cards
- Steep wire transfer fees
Features
- Watertown Savings Bank Visa Debit Card
- Online and mobile banking with free bill pay
- Savings accounts, commercial lending, ICS, and CDARS
- QuickBooks and Quicken integration
How Watertown Savings Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Annual Percentage Yield (APY) | Monthly Fee | ATM Fee | Minimum Opening Deposit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Commercial Checking | N/A | None | None at Watertown Savings Bank ATMs; $1 for nonnetwork usage* | $100 |
 Carefree Business Checking | N/A | No charge | None at Community Bank ATMs; $2 for nonnetwork usage* | $50 |
 KeyBank Basic Business Checking | N/A | $5, waivable | None at KeyBank and Allpoint ATMs; $3 for nonnetwork usage* | $25 |
*Third-party operator fees may apply.
When Watertown Savings Bank Is a Good Fit
- You want to bank without a monthly fee: It doesn’t charge a monthly fee for its business checking account. As a bonus, it also doesn’t have fees for savings accounts, money market accounts, and health savings accounts (HSA).
- You want unlimited fee-free transactions: Its business checking account has no limits or fees for day-to-day banking transactions.
- You want to expand your FDIC insurance: It offers ICS and CDARS programs that let businesses spread funds exceeding $250,000 into multiple FDIC-insured accounts.
When Watertown Savings Bank Is Not a Good Fit
- You want nationwide physical branches: Watertown Savings Bank operates exclusively in New York. A provider with greater geographic coverage is Chase, which has over 4,700 branches in 48 states. Read our Chase Business Checking review to learn which of its three accounts fits your needs.
- You want to earn interest on checking deposits: Watertown Savings Bank’s Commercial Checking account doesn’t earn interest. We recommend Bluevine as the best provider for high-yield APY. It earns interest at a rate of 2.00% APY on qualifying balances of $250,000 or less. For more information, check out our Bluevine Business Checking review.
- You need access to business credit cards: Watertown Savings Bank doesn’t offer business credit cards. A better option would be Capital One, which has a large selection of credit cards for small businesses. You can review our list of the best Capital One business credit cards to see the different features of each card.
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.
Watertown Savings Bank Business Checking Overview
Watertown Savings Bank Business Checking Requirements
To open a business checking account with Watertown Savings Bank, you’re required to visit one of its physical banking center locations. Prior to opening an account, you’ll be asked to provide the following:
- Physical address
- Date of birth
- Social Security number or employer identification number (EIN)
- Contact information
You may also be asked to provide additional business documents. For a checklist of documents banks typically require, refer to our guide on how to open a business bank account.
Watertown Savings Bank Business Checking Features
Watertown Savings Bank Debit Card
Your Watertown Savings Bank Commercial Checking account comes with its own free business debit or ATM card. Each transaction you make will be listed automatically on your monthly checking statement. The Watertown Savings Bank Debit Card can be connected to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay for contactless purchases.
Free Business Bill Pay
Watertown Savings Bank offers free and unlimited monthly bill payment services. If you’re enrolled in Bill Pay but don’t use this free service for 12 months, the bank charges $5 as a monthly inactivity fee.
Bill payments are sent electronically or through paper checks. Transaction limits apply. You can make a bill payment to a business of up to $50,000 per day while bill payments to individuals are allowed up to $3,000 per item and must not exceed $6,000 per day. Only United States entities are accepted as payees.
Digital Banking
Clients get free digital banking. Through it, you can see transactions, transfer funds, check statements, view check images, and track spending. Online banking also comes with free bill pay services, which lets you pay bills, make person-to-person payments and expedited payments, and gift checks.
Digital banking also comes with a budget assistance feature called Money Tracker, which uses transaction data to track spending and provide a visual picture of financial health. Account holders can use Money Tracker to guide them toward savings goals.
Mobile App
The Watertown Savings Bank app, available on iOS and Android, offers mobile check deposit, which lets account holders deposit money by uploading snapshots of physical checks to the app. A daily mobile deposit limit applies, and business clients are automatically enrolled in Plan 1, the free plan.
Plans | Cost | Daily Deposit and Item Limit | Monthly Deposit and Item Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | $0 | $2,500, 10 items | $10,000, 25 items |
2 | $25 | $4,000, 10 items | $10,000, 50 items |
3 | $37.50 | $6,000, 10 items | $15,000, 75 items |
4 | $50 | $8,000, 10 items | $20,000, 100 items |
You can request an increase in the daily or monthly deposit amount by sending a message to the digital banking center found in the app. Checks drawn from a foreign financial institution containing a foreign routing number are not accepted for mobile deposits—they must be deposited at a branch.
Reviews for the Watertown Savings Bank mobile app are excellent on the App Store (4.8 out of 5) while no reviews are available on Google Play. Users stated that the app is easy to use and navigate. But others commented that they preferred the old app since they found the updated version confusing.
Other Watertown Savings Bank Business Products
Savings Products
The bank has savings accounts and money market accounts. Both earn an APY of 0.10% on balances of $100 and above. The minimum opening deposit is $10, and there’s no monthly fee.
For savings accounts, the interest is compounded daily and paid each quarter, while for money market accounts, the interest is paid per month.
HSA
The HSA is a tax-advantaged savings account that combines with high-deductible health insurance. Considered a benefit product, HSA contributions can be used to pay for a variety of eligible medical expenses.
Balances less than $5,000 earn 0.05% interest while balances reaching $5,000-plus generate 0.10%. The interest is compounded daily and paid each month. The minimum opening deposit is $25, and no monthly fee is collected.
Lending Products
Watertown Savings Bank offers the following lending products:
- Small business loans
- Small Business Administration (SBA) loans
- Construction loans
- Commercial mortgages
- Business lines of credit
- Letters of credit
- Equipment financing
It focuses on bringing specialized services for local businesses. Collaborations with economic development agencies in the Jefferson County, New York, area help Watertown Savings Bank point its customers to relevant tax relief programs or special financing opportunities.
ICS
To help businesses expand FDIC insurance coverage on funds greater than $250,000, the bank’s ICS breaks balances down into units less than $250,000 and spreads each unit across multiple FDIC-insured financial institutions.
Although funds are spread out, ICS account holders only need to make deposits and withdrawals through Watertown Savings Bank. They’ll only receive their statements from Watertown Savings Bank.
CDARS
Businesses with over $250,000 in funds can also expand their FDIC insurance coverage by placing their investment in Watertown Savings Bank’s CDARS, which spreads funds in amounts less than $250,000 across CDs in multiple FDIC-insured banks. Although funds grow wealth in multiple CDs, CDARS account holders will only receive their monthly statements from Watertown Savings Bank.
Watertown Savings Bank Business Checking User Reviews
There are currently no Watertown Savings Bank business checking reviews on third-party sites as of this writing.
Bottom Line
The Watertown Savings Bank Commercial Checking account is a terrific business checking option for Jefferson County-based companies wanting to save on monthly service fees and transaction fees. However, because of its limited service area, it may not be a good fit for businesses operating beyond the towns of Watertown, Adams, Sackets Harbor, Clayton, Chaumont, and Alexandria Bay.
