Found Business Banking
$0 monthly fee + built-in taxes/bookkeeping for self-employed; APY only on paid plans or card-spend bonus
PNC Business Checking
Branch + cash deposits + analyzed treasury for higher-volume businesses; monthly fee waivable but not unconditionally free; no APY on standard checking
Costs & Fees
| Metric | Found Business Banking | PNC Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | Found Free $0. Optional Plus $35/mo or $315/yr; Pro $80/mo or $720/yr. No balance waiver required. | BC $12; Plus $22; Analysis $25; TEP $50. First 3 statement cycles $0 on BC/Plus/TEP. |
| Fee waiver | N/A — Free tier has $0 maintenance; Plus/Pro are optional subscriptions | BC: $500 avg monthly collected balance OR $500 linked PNC business-card purchases OR $500 linked Merchant deposits. Plus: $5,000 collected OR $5,000 card OR $5,000 merchant OR $20,000 combined business checking+MMA. TEP: $30,000 combined collected across master + beneficiaries. Analysis: offset by earnings credit. |
| Transaction fees | No excess-item or per-count fees on ACH, deposited checks, or electronic items. Unlimited standard ACH in/out. | Combined items = deposits + deposited items + paid items + ACH credits/debits received. BC: 150 free then $0.50 each. Plus: 500 free then $0.50. TEP: unlimited per 2026 marketing (confirm PDF). Cash priced separately on volume. |
| Overdraft/NSF | No overdraft fees. Account not designed to overdraft; negative balance from merchant adjustments or ACH timing risks closure. | $36 per item; max 4/day. Auto-refund if overdrawn ≤$5 after all items post. |
| ATM fees | Found does not add ATM fee. Operator surcharge possible. No surcharge rebate. No branded free network. | PNC ATM $0. OON: $3 US/CA/PR/USVI; $5 other countries. Plus: first 2 non-PNC ATM transactions reimbursed/statement. TEP/Analysis: $0 PNC fee at non-PNC ATMs (surcharge may remain). |
| Wire/ACH | 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. | Incoming domestic $15 (Plus/TEP: 1 free received domestic wire/month). Outgoing domestic $95. Incoming intl $21. Outgoing intl $135 same-currency / $110 cross-currency. ACH received counts toward item bucket; no separate ACH received fee. |
Interest & Yields
| Metric | Found Business Banking | PNC Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | Free: 0% ongoing. Yield is monthly Balance bonus labeled APY — variable, paid 1st of following month. | None on BC, Plus, TEP DDA. Non-interest checking. |
| Savings APY | N/A — Pockets are sub-accounts in same checking; same yield rules apply | |
| FDIC coverage | FDIC pass-through via Lead Bank — $250,000 per depositor per ownership category | Standard FDIC $250,000 per depositor per ownership category at PNC Bank, N.A. |
Features & Access
| Metric | Found Business Banking | PNC Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Branch/ATM network | 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. | ~2,300–2,419 branches in 27 states + DC. ~58,000–60,000 PNC + partner ATMs. Night depository at many branches. HQ lobby Fishers-style hours vary by location. |
| Mobile app | iOS Found: Business Banking ~4.8 (~26k–34k ratings); Google Play ~4.7 (~16k–18.5k reviews) | iOS ~4.8–4.9 (~1.9–2.0M ratings); Google Play ~4.6 (~306k). NerdWallet weighted 4.72 (May 21, 2026). J.D. Power 2025 mobile #2 at 675/1000. |
| Virtual cards | Virtual + team cards with spend limits; lock/delete virtual cards | Easy Lock + standard Visa controls. Full virtual-card program not offered as checking feature. |
| Opening deposit | $0 | $100 |
| Eligibility | 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. | Sole prop, partnership, LLC/LLP, corporation, unincorporated association, nonprofit. Holding companies/funds/SPVs not listed — expect enhanced KYC. |
Pros & Cons
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
PNC Business Checking
Pros
- Official all-market fee PDF current (effective 5/31/2026) — rare clarity
- BC monthly fee waives at only $500 average collected — low national-bank bar
- Real cash rails (branch, night drop, Quick Deposit) with free caps to $50,000 on TEP
- TEP packages 4 extra checking accounts, aggregated limits, and $0 QuickBooks Direct Connect
- $400 / $1,000 bonuses through 9/30/2026; business phone line and ~58k ATM network
Cons
- No APY on core checking; Interest Checking rate unpublished and historically ~0.01%
- Outgoing wires $95 domestic / $110–$135 intl at list — among highest in SMB sets
- $36 OD max 4/day; only ≤$5 overdraw refunded
- Combined-item definition broader than checks written — 150 can burn fast on BC
- QuickBooks Direct Connect $15/month unless TEP; FDIC stays $250k
Verdict
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.
PNC Business Checking
PNC's SMB checking is a conventional regional-national bank stack from PNC Bank, N.A. (direct FDIC member). Four tiers: BC ($12, 150 items, $5k cash), Plus ($22, 500 items, $10k cash), Analysis ($25 analyzed + ECR), TEP ($50, unlimited items, $50k cash, 4 beneficiary accounts, ECR >$125k). Fee schedule effective 5/31/2026: outgoing domestic wires $95, OD $36, incoming wires $15. No APY on core DDAs. First 3 months fee-free; waivers by collected balance or card/merchant activity. ~2,400 branches in 27 states + DC. $400/$1,000 bonus through 9/30/2026. Strong app; weak site-level CSAT. Poor filter match for wire-heavy, APY-seeking, or out-of-footprint digital-only firms.