Bluevine pays a competitive interest rate on business checking balances, offering up to 3.0 percent APY on its top tier. American Express Business Checking also pays interest, yielding 1.00 percent on balances up to $500,000 with no monthly fee. Before you can open an interest-bearing account, you need to form your business entity and secure an EIN. Services like ZenBusiness handle this formation step so you have the required paperwork ready for the bank.

Earning interest on your operating cash helps offset the costs of running a business. Historically, business checking accounts did not yield any return, forcing founders to transfer idle cash into separate savings products. Today, several financial institutions offer checking accounts that pay a competitive Annual Percentage Yield directly on your daily balance.

This shift allows you to generate passive income without locking up the funds you need for payroll or vendor payments. Choosing the right interest-bearing account requires looking past the headline APY to understand the fee structures and balance requirements that support it. You also need to understand how your money is insured, particularly when using a digital fintech platform.

The prerequisites for opening a business account Before you can evaluate interest rates, you must ensure your business is legally established. The Internal Revenue Service states that one of the first things you should do when you start a business is open a business checking account. You should keep your business account separate from your personal checking account to maintain accurate tax records.

To open that account, the bank must verify that your business exists. What a bank actually asks for varies by bank. Bank of America requires the business name and address, the state of formation, your EIN or SSN, and the date the business was established. It also requires personal details, including the Social Security Number and date of birth, for anyone with at least 25 percent or more ownership.

Depending on your specific business structure, the bank may also request your Articles of Organization or trade name documentation. Bank of America does not list an operating agreement as required, so do not assume every bank will ask for one. Gathering these documents can be a bottleneck for new founders.

Using a formation service like ZenBusiness streamlines this process. ZenBusiness files your state paperwork, secures your Employer Identification Number from the IRS, and provides registered agent services. By handling the formation correctly, it ensures you have the exact documentation the bank will require.

Customers who form with ZenBusiness also receive a free accounting consultation. You can review the ZenBusiness accounting features to understand how to link your new interest-bearing account to your bookkeeping software from day one.

Understanding deposit insurance and nonbank risks When you chase higher interest rates, you often encounter nonbank financial technology companies, commonly known as fintechs. These digital platforms frequently offer better yields than traditional physical banks. However, their regulatory structure is entirely different.

The FDIC provides deposit insurance that protects your money if a bank fails. The deposit accounts of a corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association are insured for up to $250,000. This insurance limit applies per institution. All accounts held by the same entity at one insured bank are combined. This means separate accounts for different divisions or purposes do not get separate coverage.

Fintech platforms do not hold their own bank charters. The FDIC states clearly that nonbank companies themselves are never FDIC-insured. Funds you send to a nonbank company are not eligible for FDIC insurance until the company deposits them in an FDIC-insured bank and after other conditions are met.

This is a critical distinction for risk management. FDIC deposit insurance does not protect against the insolvency or bankruptcy of a nonbank company. If the fintech platform itself fails, your recovery runs through an insolvency or bankruptcy proceeding. The FDIC warns that this process may take some time.

You must weigh the higher APY offered by a fintech against the risk of temporary illiquidity if the platform experiences financial distress. When you choose a nonbank, you are trusting the software company as well as its underlying partner bank.

Why you must keep your funds separate Even if a personal checking account offers a higher interest rate, you cannot use it for your business operations. The U.S. Small Business Administration dictates that to keep personal funds and business funds completely separate you must have two different bank accounts.

Mixing your money destroys the legal boundary between you and your company. The SBA warns that failing to separate means you risk forfeiting the legal protections that entity structures offer. This separation is pivotal for protecting your own assets and credit if your business faces a lawsuit or debt collection. You must prioritize this legal protection over a marginal increase in interest yield.

The best business bank accounts that pay interest We list the following providers alphabetically. The order is not a ranking. The options below include a mix of traditional banks and digital platforms, each with different fee structures and yield requirements. These prices are current as of October 6, 2026.

American Express Business Checking American Express provides a digital-first checking account that pays interest without requiring you to navigate complex fee waivers. The account has no monthly fee and no minimum balance requirement. It earns 1.00 percent APY on balances up to $500,000. This straightforward structure makes it an excellent option for businesses that want a predictable return on their operating cash without worrying about hitting specific transaction goals each month.

Axos Bank Axos Bank offers a dedicated interest-bearing tier alongside its basic account. The Basic Business Checking account costs $0 per month, with no minimum balance and no maintenance fee, but it does not prioritize yield. The Business Interest Checking account costs $10 per month. This fee is waived with a $5,000 minimum average daily balance, and it takes a $100 opening deposit to establish.

Bank of America Bank of America represents the traditional branch-based banking model, which generally does not offer high yields on checking balances. The Business Advantage Fundamentals Banking account costs $0 or $16 per month. Fundamentals has no monthly fee for the first 12 months. After that, the fee is waived by a $5,000 combined average monthly balance, $500 in new net qualified debit card purchases, or Preferred Rewards for Business membership. The Business Advantage Relationship Banking account costs $0 or $29.95 per month.

Bluevine Bluevine is a fintech platform that aggressively targets businesses looking for high yields on checking balances. The Standard tier costs $0 per month. The Plus tier is $30 per month, and the Premier tier is $95 per month. The monthly fees on the Plus and Premier tiers are waivable. Bluevine provides an APY of 1.3 percent on the Standard tier, subject to a monthly activity goal. The Plus account yields 1.75 percent, and Premier yields 3.0 percent.

Chase Chase offers a massive national footprint for businesses that need physical banking services, but its standard checking tiers are not designed for high interest yields. Business Complete Banking costs $15 per month. Performance Business Checking is $40 per month. Platinum Business Checking is $95 per month. Each of these monthly fees is waivable based on stated balance or activity conditions.

Mercury Mercury is a fintech platform built for startups, emphasizing API access and treasury management over standard checking APY. The base account costs $0 per month. The Plus tier is $29.90 per month. The Pro tier is $299 per month. Mercury's treasury products can generate yield for larger balances, but the checking account itself serves primarily as an operational hub.

Novo Novo is a digital platform designed for freelancers and small teams, focusing on software integrations rather than interest rates. Novo charges a $0 per month fee, with no monthly fee required to maintain the account. It allows users to partition funds for specific goals, but it is not positioned as a high-yield destination for idle cash.

Relay Relay is a business banking platform that prioritizes cash flow visibility and granular team spending controls. The Starter tier costs $0 per month. The Grow tier is $30 per month, and the Scale tier is $90 per month. Relay allows founders to issue dedicated physical and virtual cards to team members, but its primary value is organizational control rather than checking account yield.

U.S. Bank U.S. Bank provides traditional banking options with structured fee waivers. Business Essentials costs $0 per month. Gold costs $20 or $0 per month. Platinum is $30 or $0 per month. Premium is $34 per month. The Gold fee is waived by a merchant account, a $10,000 average collected balance, or larger combined balances. The Platinum fee is waived by a merchant account or a $25,000 average collected balance.

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This article provides general information and is not legal, tax or accounting advice. Requirements vary and change over time.