Live Oak Bank Business Checking
Online U.S. bank checking with waivable monthly fees, unlimited items, Allpoint ATM cash-out, no cash deposits, no checking APY
Brex Business Account
Startup / mid-market treasury + multi-user spend platform; $0 banking fees; no cash/ATM
Costs & Fees
| Metric | Live Oak Bank Business Checking | Brex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | Essential $10/cycle if ADB <$1,000; Plus $25/cycle if ADB <$25,000; Analysis $100/mo (offset by earnings credit — rate unpublished) | $0 banking. Software: Essentials $0/user; Premium $12/user; Enterprise custom. |
| Fee waiver | Essential: cycle ADB ≥ $1,000. Plus: cycle ADB ≥ $25,000. Analysis: earnings credit offsets fees. | N/A — banking already $0; software is plan-priced |
| Transaction fees | Unlimited — no charge for checks paid/deposits, ACH, debit card on Essential/Plus (fee schedule 7.21.25) | No published per-item or excess-item fees. Effectively unlimited electronic items at $0. |
| Overdraft/NSF | Overdraft $25; NSF no charge; returned item $5. No daily cap published. | Overdrafts not permitted. Dollar fee amounts not disclosed. Negative 30+ days → closure per Column DDA. |
| ATM fees | Allpoint 55,000+: $0 from Live Oak. OON: Live Oak $0 + owner surcharge. Foreign ATM 3% of amount. No rebate program. | Not offered — no ATM network. No cash withdrawal from account or Brex cards. |
| Wire/ACH | Incoming wire $10. Outgoing domestic $19. Outgoing international $40. ACH no charge on fee schedule. ACH collections/payments/EFTPS are Plus/Analysis features only. | 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 | Live Oak Bank Business Checking | Brex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | None — non-interest-bearing on all three current tiers | None — uninvested Checking cash earns no yield |
| Savings APY | ||
| FDIC coverage | Standard FDIC $250,000 per depositor per ownership category at Live Oak Banking Company | Checking: $250,000 at Column N.A. per ownership category (all sub-accounts share cap) |
Features & Access
| Metric | Live Oak Bank Business Checking | Brex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Branch/ATM network | No retail branch network. Allpoint 55,000+ for cash withdrawal only — no ATM cash deposit. OON Live Oak fee $0. | None. No branches, ATMs, or cash rails. |
| Mobile app | iOS ~2.6/5 (~109 ratings); Android ~3.0–3.1/5 (~100–107 reviews) — Forbes Advisor Aug 2026 called mediocre | Google Play 4.6 (~2.16k–2.18k reviews). iOS U.S. rating should be re-checked live. |
| Virtual cards | Not disclosed beyond debit Card Center | Included — charge card product with spend limits and policies (Premium: multiple customizable policies) |
| Opening deposit | $100 | $0 |
| Eligibility | Sole prop, partnership, LLC, corporation, nonprofit. LP, professional corp, association on savings/CD pages. | 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
Live Oak Bank Business Checking
Pros
- Unlimited transactions and $0 item/ACH/debit fees on Essential/Plus (fee schedule 7.21.25)
- Monthly fee waivable at modest ADB — $1,000 Essential, $25,000 Plus
- Deposits at Live Oak Banking Company (true bank) with optional IntraFi ICS
- Allpoint 55,000+ cash-out with no Live Oak surcharge
- QuickBooks, bill pay, mobile deposit, multi-approver controls; long weekday phone hours (8am–11pm ET)
Cons
- Checking earns no APY
- No cash deposits and no branches
- Essential lacks online wire origination and ACH collections/payments per official matrix
- Outgoing wires $19 domestic / $40 international; Analysis fee schedule not public
- Weak mobile app ratings (~2.6 iOS); ICS liquidity not instant ($350k enrollment minimum)
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
Live Oak Bank Business Checking
Live Oak Bank offers three online-only business checking tiers at Live Oak Banking Company (Member FDIC): Essential ($10, waived at $1k ADB), Plus ($25, waived at $25k ADB), Plus Analysis ($100, ECR offset unpublished). Fee schedule 7.21.25: unlimited items, $0 ACH/debit, $10 incoming wires, $19/$40 outgoing wires, $25 OD. Essential = QuickBooks, bill pay, mobile deposit. Plus adds wire origination, ACH collections/payments, EFTPS, RDC. No cash, no APY, no branches. Allpoint cash-out only. Optional IntraFi ICS ($350k min). Weak app ratings. $200 bonus expired Apr 2026.
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.