Costs & Fees

Metric	American Express Business Checking	Capital One Business Checking
Monthly maintenance	$0 — unconditional	Basic $15/mo; Enhanced $35/mo
Fee waiver	N/A — no monthly fee to waive	Basic: $2,000+ 30- or 90-day avg ledger balance (whichever greater), nonprofit classification, or up to 2 Basic accounts waived if Enhanced open. Enhanced: $25,000+ avg ledger balance.
Transaction fees	No excess-item fees; effectively unlimited electronic and paper items (operational limits may apply unpublished)	Unlimited fee-free digital transactions (mobile deposit, ACH, select bill pay). No per-item fee on checks, ACH, or debit purchases.
Overdraft/NSF	$0 NSF/stop pay/returns; overdrafting not a product — items exceeding balance generally refused	$35 NSF/OD/Uncollected Funds when transaction would bring balance below $0. Free Overdraft Protection transfer from linked Cap One Business deposit account (does not eliminate $35 if uncovered).
ATM fees	Allpoint + MoneyPass in-network $0 Amex fee; out-of-network owner surcharge (no rebate). Daily ATM cash limit $1,000.	$0 at Cap One/MoneyPass/Allpoint. Out-of-network $2 + owner surcharge (no rebate).
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.	Basic: incoming domestic $15, outgoing domestic $25, incoming intl $15, outgoing intl $40 FX / $50 USD. Enhanced: incoming domestic $0, first 5 outgoing domestic free then $25, incoming intl $15, outgoing intl $40/$50. Standard ACH $0.

Interest & Yields

Metric	American Express Business Checking	Capital One Business Checking
Checking APY	1.30% APY on first $500,000 per account (variable; no activity gate)	None — non-interest-bearing on both Basic and Enhanced
Savings APY	N/A — single checking product	Business Savings marketed up to 3.50% APY (promotional; re-check rate page — not checking yield)
FDIC coverage	Standard FDIC $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category at AENB (accounts aggregate)	Standard FDIC $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category at Capital One, N.A.

Features & Access

Metric	American Express Business Checking	Capital One Business Checking
Branch/ATM network	No branches. 70,000+ Allpoint + MoneyPass ATMs for withdrawals only (no cash deposits).	~260 branches (8 states + D.C.); 60+ Cafés; 70,000+ Cap One/MoneyPass/Allpoint ATMs
Mobile app	Business Blueprint ~4.5/5 Google Play (~1.6k reviews); Amex app ~4.8–4.9 iOS cited	Google Play ~4.5/5 (~1.7M reviews); iOS ~4.8–4.9 cited (consumer-dominated app)
Virtual cards	Not marketed for business debit product	Digital debit + employee debit mentioned; granular spend controls unclear on Basic/Enhanced
Opening deposit	$0	Not disclosed (commonly $0)
Eligibility	Corporation, LLC, partnership, unincorporated association, sole prop. 25%+ owners must be U.S./territory residents with SSN/ITIN.	Legal U.S. resident 18+; U.S. street address (no P.O. box). Typical corp, LLC, partnership, sole prop structures.

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

Capital One Business Checking

Pros

• Unlimited fee-free digital transactions on both tiers — ACH, mobile deposit, select bill pay
• 70,000+ fee-free withdrawal ATMs (Cap One/MoneyPass/Allpoint)
• Basic: Cap One/select Allpoint ATM cash deposits don't hit the $5k teller fee bucket
• Enhanced: $0 cash deposits (under $40k/mo), $0 inbound domestic wires, 5 free outbound domestic wires
• Enhanced can carry two Basic accounts at $0 monthly fee; nonprofit Basic waiver

Cons

• Checking pays 0.00% APY
• Branch footprint small (~260 branches) for a big-bank cash business
• Public fee PDF lists $35 NSF/OD — linked-account protection doesn't eliminate fee if uncovered
• No Zelle for Business, native invoicing, multi-currency, or published multi-user controls
• Enhanced not unlimited cash — conversion/closure language at $40k/month

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.

Capital One Business Checking

Capital One Business Basic ($15/mo, waived at $2,000 avg ledger) and Enhanced ($35/mo, waived at $25,000) are non-interest checking at Capital One, N.A. with unlimited fee-free digital transactions — a structural advantage over item-metered big-bank accounts. Cash splits by tier: Basic gives $5k free teller cash then $1/$1k (ATM cash at Cap One/select Allpoint exempt); Enhanced is $0 cash but designed for under $40k/month. Wires: Basic $15 in/$25 out domestic; Enhanced free inbound and first 5 outbound domestic. Thin branch network but 70,000+ ATMs. Modest software (QuickBooks feed, no invoicing/Zelle). Use Basic for low-balance digital ops; Enhanced for higher balances, wire volume, and two extra Basics.