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#business-banking

Business Banking

Choose and manage business banking relationships

Keeping Millions Fully FDIC-Insured at One Bank: How ICS and CDARS Reciprocal Deposits Work

FDIC insurance covers $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category — so an $800,000 business account leaves $550,000 uninsured. Reciprocal deposit networks like IntraFi's ICS and CDARS split a large balance into under-limit chunks across thousands of member banks while you keep one relationship and one statement. Here are the mechanics, the costs, ICS vs. CDARS, the overlap trap that quietly leaves money uninsured, and the bookkeeping that proves your coverage.

Chase Business Checking Fees Rose in 2026: What the Increase Costs You and How to Waive It

Chase raised Performance Business Checking from $30 to $40 a month and Platinum from $95 to $103 in 2026, adding $120 and $96 a year. This guide lists the waiver thresholds ($2,000, $35,000 and $100,000 combined balance), shows when parking cash to dodge the fee costs more than paying it, and walks through a five-step audit of transaction, cash-deposit and wire charges.

Lockbox Banking vs. Remote Deposit Capture: How Small Businesses Should Collect Customer Checks

A lockbox sends customer checks to a bank-run P.O. box where staff scan and deposit them the same day and return a remittance data file; remote deposit capture lets you scan checks at your own desk under the Check 21 Act. This guide compares the two for small businesses by check volume, customer geography and cost (setup, monthly and per-item lockbox fees versus a $5 to $40 per month scanner plan), and covers same-day posting to receivables, original-check retention, deposit cutoffs and positive pay.

Credit Union vs. Bank for Small Business: Fees, Loan Rates, and the 12.25% Cap

Credit union business checking averages about $4.15 a month against $12 to $15 at large banks, overdrafts run roughly $26.61 versus $31.24, and new-auto rates sit near 5.44% versus 7.41% — but federal credit unions may lend only 12.25% of assets to member businesses, so facilities above $500,000 usually still route to banks. A line-by-line comparison of fees, approval odds, membership eligibility, and a 60-day parallel-account switch that does not miss payroll.

Should Your Point-of-Sale App Be Your Bank? A Small-Business Guide to Embedded Finance

Embedded finance grew from a $148 billion market in 2025 to roughly $197 billion in 2026, putting bank accounts, cards, and lending inside software like Shopify, Square, and Toast. Here's how these products work, what the 2024 Synapse collapse revealed about FDIC-insurance gaps, and a practical framework for splitting money between embedded products and a traditional bank.