American Express Business Checking
No monthly fee + 1.30% APY on first $500k + Membership Rewards, online-only, no cash deposits
Found Business Banking
$0 monthly fee + built-in taxes/bookkeeping for self-employed; APY only on paid plans or card-spend bonus
Costs & Fees
| Metric | American Express Business Checking | Found Business Banking |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | $0 — unconditional | Found Free $0. Optional Plus $35/mo or $315/yr; Pro $80/mo or $720/yr. No balance waiver required. |
| Fee waiver | N/A — no monthly fee to waive | N/A — Free tier has $0 maintenance; Plus/Pro are optional subscriptions |
| Transaction fees | No excess-item fees; effectively unlimited electronic and paper items (operational limits may apply unpublished) | No excess-item or per-count fees on ACH, deposited checks, or electronic items. Unlimited standard ACH in/out. |
| Overdraft/NSF | $0 NSF/stop pay/returns; overdrafting not a product — items exceeding balance generally refused | No overdraft fees. Account not designed to overdraft; negative balance from merchant adjustments or ACH timing risks closure. |
| ATM fees | Allpoint + MoneyPass in-network $0 Amex fee; out-of-network owner surcharge (no rebate). Daily ATM cash limit $1,000. | Found does not add ATM fee. Operator surcharge possible. No surcharge rebate. No branded free network. |
| 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 domestic: $0. Outgoing domestic: $15 (Free/Plus), $10 (Pro). Incoming intl USD: $0 (SWIFT LEADUS49). Outgoing intl: not disclosed/not offered. Standard ACH in/out: $0 unlimited. |
Interest & Yields
| Metric | American Express Business Checking | Found Business Banking |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | 1.30% APY on first $500,000 per account (variable; no activity gate) | Free: 0% ongoing. Yield is monthly Balance bonus labeled APY — variable, paid 1st of following month. |
| Savings APY | N/A — single checking product | N/A — Pockets are sub-accounts in same checking; same yield rules apply |
| FDIC coverage | Standard FDIC $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category at AENB (accounts aggregate) | FDIC pass-through via Lead Bank — $250,000 per depositor per ownership category |
Features & Access
| Metric | American Express Business Checking | Found Business Banking |
|---|---|---|
| Branch/ATM network | No branches. 70,000+ Allpoint + MoneyPass ATMs for withdrawals only (no cash deposits). | No branches. Any Mastercard ATM for withdrawal — Found $0, no rebate. ATM cash-out $550/day new, $1,550/day established. No ATM cash deposit. |
| Mobile app | Business Blueprint ~4.5/5 Google Play (~1.6k reviews); Amex app ~4.8–4.9 iOS cited | iOS Found: Business Banking ~4.8 (~26k–34k ratings); Google Play ~4.7 (~16k–18.5k reviews) |
| Virtual cards | Not marketed for business debit product | Virtual + team cards with spend limits; lock/delete virtual cards |
| Opening deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Eligibility | Corporation, LLC, partnership, unincorporated association, sole prop. 25%+ owners must be U.S./territory residents with SSN/ITIN. | Sole prop, single/multi-member LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp, partnership. Nonprofits can use banking/invoicing (tax tools poor fit). Up to 4 additional beneficial owners plus primary. |
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
Found Business Banking
Pros
- $0 maintenance, $0 min balance, $0 overdraft fee, unlimited standard ACH (Jul 13, 2026 schedule)
- Native tax Pocket, estimates, write-offs, invoicing, and 1099 contractor tools on Free
- Pockets with dedicated account numbers; up to 5 businesses per login
- Incoming domestic + USD international wires at $0 from Found; SWIFT LEADUS49
- Optional 2.50% APY no cap on Pro; 1% card cash-back on Pro; strong app-store ratings
Cons
- Found is not a bank; pass-through FDIC $250,000 at Lead Bank only
- Cash ($2/deposit after 1 free/month) and mobile-check caps low for cash businesses
- Free APY is $0 or spend-gated bonus; Plus yield capped at $20k and can be eaten by subscription
- No surcharge-free ATM network; no ATM cash deposit
- Patterned freeze/hold complaints; outgoing FX wires, checkbooks, ICS, and W-2 payroll absent
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.
Found Business Banking
Found is an online business checking platform from Indie Technologies with deposits at Lead Bank (FDIC Cert. 8283). Three tiers share same rails: Free ($0), Plus ($35/mo), Pro ($80/mo). Jul 13, 2026 schedule: $0 maintenance, $0 overdraft, unlimited free ACH. Costs on wires ($10–$15), mailed checks ($1, free Pro), Instant/Express payouts, cash ($2 after 1 free/month), dormancy ($10/12 mo). Yield: Free 0% or 2% card-spend bonus; Plus 1.50% on first $20k; Pro 2.50% no cap + 1% card cash-back. Differentiator is built-in tax Pocket, Schedule C books, invoicing, and contractor 1099s. Cash capped $2k/week and $4k/month at retail. $250k FDIC only. Strong app UX; freeze/support complaints are operational risk.