Found Business Banking
$0 monthly fee + built-in taxes/bookkeeping for self-employed; APY only on paid plans or card-spend bonus
U.S. Bank Business Checking
Branch + cash deposits + $0 entry checking; fee-heavy wires/ACH; weak checking APY
Costs & Fees
| Metric | Found Business Banking | U.S. Bank Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | Found Free $0. Optional Plus $35/mo or $315/yr; Pro $80/mo or $720/yr. No balance waiver required. | Essentials $0 unconditional; Gold $20; Platinum $30; Premium $34; Nonprofit $0 |
| Fee waiver | N/A — Free tier has $0 maintenance; Plus/Pro are optional subscriptions | Gold: Payment Solutions OR $10k avg collected OR $20k combined business deposits OR $50k deposits+credit (interest Gold: $25k/$50k/$75k). Platinum: Payment Solutions OR $25k collected OR $75k deposits+credit. Premium: offset via earnings credit. |
| Transaction fees | No excess-item or per-count fees on ACH, deposited checks, or electronic items. Unlimited standard ACH in/out. | Essentials: unlimited digital items; 25 teller/paper free/cycle then $0.50. Gold: 350 items then $0.45. Platinum: 550 then $0.40. Nonprofit: 1,800/year then $0.50 (billed January). Cash is separate unit fee. |
| Overdraft/NSF | No overdraft fees. Account not designed to overdraft; negative balance from merchant adjustments or ACH timing risks closure. | Overdraft Paid $0 if item ≤$5; $36 if ≥$5.01. Max 3 OD paid fees/day. Redeposited item $10. |
| ATM fees | Found does not add ATM fee. Operator surcharge possible. No surcharge rebate. No branded free network. | USB/partner-logo ATM $0. Non-USB $3.00 per ATM transaction. MoneyPass surcharge refundable on request. Cash deposit at USB ATMs only. |
| 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 $14 Fedwire / $16 CTP / $7 internal. Outgoing digital domestic $30; branch $40. Incoming intl $20. Outgoing intl digital USD $45 / FX $75. ACH outgoing $1 standard / $3 same-day. Enhanced Payments ($25/mo): ACH $0.50, same-day $1.70, instant $0.75, domestic wire $16, intl USD $35. |
Interest & Yields
| Metric | Found Business Banking | U.S. Bank Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | Free: 0% ongoing. Yield is monthly Balance bonus labeled APY — variable, paid 1st of following month. | Essentials and Platinum: none (non-interest). Gold with Interest and Nonprofit: variable ~0.01% APY in aggregators; official rate ZIP-dependent. Premium: ECR not APY. |
| 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 U.S. Bank N.A. |
Features & Access
| Metric | Found Business Banking | U.S. Bank 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. | ~2,066 branches in 26+ states. ~4,458 U.S. Bank ATMs. MoneyPass network (surcharge refundable on request). Cash deposit at USB ATMs and branches; not at non-USB ATMs. |
| Mobile app | iOS Found: Business Banking ~4.8 (~26k–34k ratings); Google Play ~4.7 (~16k–18.5k reviews) | iOS 4.8 (~2.1M ratings); Google Play 4.7 (~492k–500k). Javelin 2026 Mobile Banking Scorecard #1 among large banks. |
| Virtual cards | Virtual + team cards with spend limits; lock/delete virtual cards | Not a documented default of these DDA packages |
| Opening deposit | $0 | $25 |
| 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, LLC, corp, partnership, nonprofit (dedicated SKU). Holding company/fund/SPV not published — expect manual 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
U.S. Bank Business Checking
Pros
- Essentials: unconditional $0 monthly at a top-10 bank with unlimited digital items
- Official fee PDFs public (May 11, 2026 BPI; Aug 10, 2026 BEP)
- Branch + ~4,500 USB ATMs + MoneyPass surcharge refund path
- Gold/Platinum waive via merchant or collected balances; cash units to 125/250
- Essentials bundles $0-software Elavon acceptance + free first reader; Nonprofit $0 with 1,800 items/year
Cons
- Outgoing ACH $1 and domestic wires $30–$50 on default menu
- Essentials free cash only 25 units (~$2,500); excess $0.35/$100
- Checking APY none or ~0.01%; idle cash must leave operating DDA
- Overdraft paid $36 up to 3/day; paper statements default on Essentials ($6.50)
- FDIC $250k only; no public ICS
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.
U.S. Bank Business Checking
U.S. Bank's SMB checking: Essentials ($0, unlimited digital, 25 teller/paper, 25 cash units), Gold ($20, 350 items, 125 cash), Platinum ($30, 550 items, 250 cash), Premium ($34 analyzed + ECR), Nonprofit ($0, 1,800 items/year). Deposits at U.S. Bank N.A., FDIC $250k. Fee PDFs May 11 and Aug 10, 2026. Expensive internals: ACH out $1, wires $30–$75, non-USB ATM $3, OD $36. Enhanced Payments $25/mo cuts unit prices. No core checking APY. $400/$1,200 bonus through Sep 27, 2026. Strong app; wire/ACH-heavy ops should compare against fintech DDAs.