Banking
Best Business Banking for Contractors & Trades (2026)
A business account keeps job money separate from personal money, and some accounts add tax set-aside, interest on balances or a line of credit. We compare online fintech accounts and big-bank checking by what each is built for, with the fees and limits that matter to trades: monthly fees, cash deposits, wires and account terms.
The short answer
Start with how you get paid. If your trade takes cash, check each account's cash rules first: Mercury and Novo take no cash deposits, the other fintechs here take cash through retailers or ATMs with limits or fees, and Chase, Bank of America and U.S. Bank take cash at branches with a free amount each statement cycle. If you are paid by card, ACH or check, pick by the feature you need: tax set-aside (Found, Lili), separate accounts for Profit First (Relay), interest on balances (Bluevine checking, Relay and Lili savings, paid Found plans) or a line of credit (Bluevine). Mercury's partner-bank deposit agreement allows freezes and holds, and Lili's account agreement allows closure for any reason, so keep a backup account and a cash buffer. No vendor pays for placement.
Two things to know before you switch
1. Cash deposits: Found, Novo, Relay, Mercury, Lili and Bluevine are fintechs whose banking services come from partner banks with FDIC coverage. Mercury and Novo do not accept cash, and the others cap cash deposits or charge for them. If your trade takes a lot of cash, look at a bank with branches (Chase, Bank of America, U.S. Bank) or keep a second account. 2. Account terms: Mercury's partner-bank deposit agreement allows freezes and holds during investigations and closure at any time, and Lili's account agreement says Lili may close an account for any reason, with or without notice. Relay's partner bank, Thread Bank, agreed to an FDIC consent order in May 2024. Keep a backup account and a cash buffer rather than running your only operating account through one provider.
Banking apps aimed at solo and 1099 operators that pair checking with tax set-aside and bookkeeping tools. Check which plan includes each feature: some need a paid monthly plan.
Found
Business banking for the self-employed, with tax estimates and bookkeeping built in
$0 on the free plan
monthly
APY / yield: None on the free plan; Found Plus pays 1.50% APY on balances up to $20,000 and Found Pro pays 2.50% APY on all balances with no cap (variable rates, per Found's pricing page). Pro also adds 1% cash back on card purchases
- Focus
- self employed
- Founded
- 2019
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Solo and 1099 trades operators (handymen, solo cleaners, single-operator contractors) who want checking, tax estimates, bookkeeping and contractor 1099s in one app
Lili
Online business banking with tax set-aside and bookkeeping on paid plans, plus retail cash deposits
$0 (Core)
monthly
⚠ Reputation warning
Lili's BBB profile lists 150 complaints closed in the last three years.
APY / yield: 2.25% APY (variable) on savings balances up to $500,000; 4.00% on balances over $500,000 up to $1,000,000; no interest above $1M
- Focus
- self employed
- Founded
- 2018
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Solo and small trades businesses (sole proprietors and LLCs) that want banking with automatic tax set-aside and invoicing in one app and deposit only occasional cash
Business checking with a $0 monthly fee on the base plan, from fintechs that bank through partner banks (Novo, Relay, Mercury) and a national bank with branches (U.S. Bank). Relay is built around multiple accounts for methods like Profit First. Wire, cash-deposit and transaction fees differ, so compare them with how you get paid.
Novo
No-monthly-fee small-business checking with invoicing and built-in savings buckets
$0
monthly
APY / yield: 0% APY on checking per Novo's fee schedule; Reserves buckets are for setting money aside, not for earning interest
- Focus
- business checking
- Founded
- n/a
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Small, card-and-digital trades businesses that want no-monthly-fee checking with invoicing, savings buckets and software integrations, and that handle little cash
Relay
Multi-account business banking built around Profit First cash management
$0 Starter
monthly
APY / yield: Savings APY of 1.19% (Starter), 1.87% (Grow) or 3.21% (Scale) as of September 17, 2026, per Relay; rates are variable
- Focus
- business checking
- Founded
- 2018
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Contractors who want disciplined cash management, splitting every deposit into tax, materials, owner-pay and profit accounts (Profit First), with multi-user access and crew debit cards
Mercury
Online business banking with no monthly fee and up to $5M FDIC coverage via sweep, but no cash deposits
$0 (free plan)
monthly
⚠ Reputation warning
Mercury's BBB profile lists 151 complaints closed in the last three years, and Mercury is not BBB accredited.
APY / yield: No APY shown for business checking or savings; Mercury Treasury (money-market funds, not FDIC-insured) requires $250,000+ in Mercury balances
- Focus
- business checking
- Founded
- 2017
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: US-registered contractors and agencies paid by ACH, check, wire or card (not cash) who want online banking with no monthly fee and large FDIC coverage
U.S. Bank Business Essentials
No-monthly-fee business checking from a national bank that takes cash and bundles card acceptance
$0 (no monthly fee, no minimum balance)
monthly
APY / yield: No interest on this account
- Focus
- business checking
- Founded
- 1863
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Cost-conscious trades that deposit modest amounts of cash, take cards in the field, and want a no-monthly-fee account with branch access
Business checking from providers that also offer business credit: Bluevine pairs interest-bearing checking with lines of credit from $1,000 to $250,000, issued by Celtic Bank, and Chase and Bank of America are big banks with branches and business lending whose checking pays no interest.
Bluevine
Business checking that pays interest, plus lines of credit up to $250,000
$0 Standard
monthly
APY / yield: Standard 1.3% APY on balances up to $250,000 in months you spend $500 on the debit card or receive $2,500 in client payments; Plus 1.75% on balances up to $250,000; Premier 3.0% on all balances (per Bluevine's help center)
- Focus
- credit and lending
- Founded
- 2013
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Established trades businesses (LLCs or corporations) that want to earn interest on reserves and have a line of credit available alongside checking, and that take little cash
Chase Business Complete Banking
Big-bank business checking with branches, free ATM cash deposits and built-in card acceptance
$15/mo (waivable by $2,000 balance, $2,000 card spend or $2,000 QuickAccept deposits)
monthly
APY / yield: No interest on checking
- Focus
- credit and lending
- Founded
- 2000
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Cash-handling and card-accepting trades who want branches, free ATM cash deposits and business credit under one roof
Bank of America Business Advantage Banking
Big-bank business checking with branches and Preferred Rewards benefits that grow with your balances
$16/mo Fundamentals (no fee for the first 12 cycles, then waivable)
monthly
APY / yield: No interest on either checking account (both are non-interest-bearing)
- Focus
- credit and lending
- Founded
- n/a
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Cash- and check-handling trades who want branch service and plan to keep cards, loans and merchant services at one bank, especially with growing balances
Where to start
Solo or 1099 operator: Found (tax estimates and set-aside, bookkeeping and 1099 filing, with a free plan) or Lili (automatic tax set-aside from the $15/mo Pro plan, cash deposits at retailers). Profit First cash management: Relay (up to 20 checking accounts, 50 on Scale, with auto-transfer rules). No-monthly-fee checking with invoicing: Novo (no cash deposits). Interest on checking plus a line of credit: Bluevine (1.3% APY on Standard in months you meet the activity requirement; lines of $1,000-$250,000 for LLCs and corporations), which Valley National Bancorp agreed in September 2026 to acquire (the September 28 announcement expected the deal to close in early 2027, subject to regulatory approvals). Online-only with large FDIC coverage: Mercury (up to $5M through its sweep, no cash deposits). Regular cash deposits: a bank with branches, such as Chase (no fee for cash at Chase ATMs; $15/mo unless waived), U.S. Bank (no monthly fee; 25 cash units free per cycle) or Bank of America (Fundamentals has no monthly fee for the first 12 statement cycles).
Missing from this list?
We list 9 business-banking providers today, and we know that is not all of them. If you build one and it is not here, you can submit it for editorial review. An evaluation can end with or without a listing.
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