American Express Business Checking
No monthly fee + 1.30% APY on first $500k + Membership Rewards, online-only, no cash deposits
Brex Business Account
Startup / mid-market treasury + multi-user spend platform; $0 banking fees; no cash/ATM
Costs & Fees
| Metric | American Express Business Checking | Brex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | $0 — unconditional | $0 banking. Software: Essentials $0/user; Premium $12/user; Enterprise custom. |
| Fee waiver | N/A — no monthly fee to waive | N/A — banking already $0; software is plan-priced |
| Transaction fees | No excess-item fees; effectively unlimited electronic and paper items (operational limits may apply unpublished) | No published per-item or excess-item fees. Effectively unlimited electronic items at $0. |
| Overdraft/NSF | $0 NSF/stop pay/returns; overdrafting not a product — items exceeding balance generally refused | Overdrafts not permitted. Dollar fee amounts not disclosed. Negative 30+ days → closure per Column DDA. |
| ATM fees | Allpoint + MoneyPass in-network $0 Amex fee; out-of-network owner surcharge (no rebate). Daily ATM cash limit $1,000. | Not offered — no ATM network. No cash withdrawal from account or Brex cards. |
| Wire/ACH | Incoming domestic wire $0. Outgoing domestic wire $25. Standard ACH $0. Same-day ACH $10 (cutoff 2:45 PM ET). Outgoing international wires not offered. | Incoming/outgoing domestic and international wires $0 Brex-issued. ACH domestic and international $0. Intermediary/recipient fees possible. Customer reimburses intermediary costs per Column DDA. |
Interest & Yields
| Metric | American Express Business Checking | Brex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | 1.30% APY on first $500,000 per account (variable; no activity gate) | None — uninvested Checking cash earns no yield |
| Savings APY | N/A — single checking product | |
| FDIC coverage | Standard FDIC $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category at AENB (accounts aggregate) | Checking: $250,000 at Column N.A. per ownership category (all sub-accounts share cap) |
Features & Access
| Metric | American Express Business Checking | Brex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Branch/ATM network | No branches. 70,000+ Allpoint + MoneyPass ATMs for withdrawals only (no cash deposits). | None. No branches, ATMs, or cash rails. |
| Mobile app | Business Blueprint ~4.5/5 Google Play (~1.6k reviews); Amex app ~4.8–4.9 iOS cited | Google Play 4.6 (~2.16k–2.18k reviews). iOS U.S. rating should be re-checked live. |
| Virtual cards | Not marketed for business debit product | Included — charge card product with spend limits and policies (Premium: multiple customizable policies) |
| Opening deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Eligibility | Corporation, LLC, partnership, unincorporated association, sole prop. 25%+ owners must be U.S./territory residents with SSN/ITIN. | U.S.-organized C-corp, S-corp, LLC, LLP only. Not sole props, consumers, unincorporated partnerships, or foreign-registered entities. Nonprofits case-by-case. |
Pros & Cons
American Express Business Checking
Pros
- $0 monthly fee, $0 opening deposit, $0 excess-item fee unconditionally
- 1.30% APY on first $500,000 per account with no balance or activity gate
- Membership Rewards on debit spend plus Redeem-for-Deposits into checking
- 24/7 specialist support — differentiator vs most online business banks
- 70,000+ Allpoint/MoneyPass ATM withdrawals at $0 Amex fee; up to 10 accounts at $0 extra
Cons
- Cash deposits not supported at all — need another bank for cash businesses
- No outgoing international wires; USD Fedwire domestic/territories only
- APY stops at $500k/account; FDIC remains $250k with no ICS/sweep
- Thin card/user toolkit vs Relay/Bluevine-style employee and virtual cards
- Beneficial owners must be U.S./territory residents with SSN/ITIN — blocks international founders
Brex Business Account
Pros
- $0 opening, maintenance, ACH, check, and wire fees (Brex-issued)
- Three-bucket design: Column DDA + up to $6M Vault sweep + DGVXX Treasury (3.71% as of 09/01/26)
- 512 sub-checking accounts with distinct account/routing numbers
- Same-day outbound ACH at $0; 3:15 p.m. ET cutoff documented
- Tight coupling to expense, bill-pay, virtual charge cards, and API
Cons
- No cash, no ATM, no branches
- Checking and Vault earn 0%; Treasury yield is MMF/SIPC, not FDIC checking APY
- Eligibility excludes sole props and foreign entities; scale screen plus abrupt closure history
- Checking FDIC only $250k across all sub-accounts; $6M is sweep-only with caveats
- Card FX up to 3%; Premium software $12/user; wire FX markup not published
Verdict
American Express Business Checking
American Express Business Checking is a single-tier online account issued directly by American Express National Bank — not a fintech wrapper. As of September 2026: $0 monthly fee, 1.30% APY on the first $500,000 per account (up to 10 accounts), standard FDIC $250k with no sweep. Strengths are unconditional $0 fees, decent APY without activity gates, MR on debit spend, QuickBooks, Zelle, and 24/7 support. Weaknesses are no cash deposits, no outgoing international wires, APY/FDIC gap above $250k, and limited multi-user debit tooling. Best for digital firms already in the Amex ecosystem; pair with a branch bank if the business handles cash.
Brex Business Account
Brex business account is a three-bucket cash-management stack at Column N.A. (FDIC #58224, routing 121145349). Checking 0% APY with $250k FDIC shared across 512 sub-accounts. Vault sweeps to program banks for up to $6M FDIC (0% yield). Treasury in DGVXX via Brex Treasury LLC — up to 3.71% 7-day yield as of 09/01/26, not FDIC. Banking fees $0 on ACH/wires/checks. No cash/ATM/branches. Corp/LLC/LLP only; scale underwriting. Premium $12/user. Capital One acquired Brex Apr 2026. Closure risk is operational concern — keep backup bank. $1,000 card promo through Sep 30, 2026.