By Chad Morris

2017-11-01

5 Min. To Read

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While Capital One is well known for its personal credit card commercials, the financial company also provides many bank products that small businesses can take advantage of.

First up is a business checking account called Spark Business Checking. It has no monthly fees and no transaction limits or fees for transactions. A business can make as many deposits, withdrawals, and transfers as it wishes. The very smallest of companies can use this account because there is no minimum balance required, and Capital One does not require any opening deposit.

The Spark checking account comes with a debit card that incurs no charges when used at Capital One or Allpoint cash machines. There are a total of 39,000 of these ATM's throughout the United States. In addition to the free debit card, the Spark Business Checking account comes with free bill pay and electronic invoicing.

The bill pay service can be used to pay both businesses and individuals, and automatic payment reminders can be established. The invoicing service allows account holders to send invoices to customers and receive notifications when they are viewed or paid.

Instead of imposing lengthy hold times on deposits, Capital One releases deposits in a Spark Business Checking account for withdrawal the next day. A handy mobile app can be used to manage transactions within the account, and the app has a convenient check deposit function.

Despite these beneficial features, there are some weaknesses the account has. It does not earn any interest or rewards points, for instance. While the account has no maintenance, monthly, or low-balances fees, Capital One does charge for checks. The first order of 50 checks costs $30, and subsequent orders cost $22 each. Account holders can order checks from a third-party if they wish.

Capital One also charges $2 for each ATM withdrawal at an international location. This fee is in addition to anything the owner of the cash machine may charge. The bank does not provide service on Spark biz accounts at any of its many brick-and-mortar locations. Spark business customers can find service on-line or by phone. The bank's small business customer service desk is open Monday through Saturday from 8 am until 10 pm, EST. Because Spark accounts are designed to be on-line accounts, statements are in electronic format.

A Spark Business Savings Account can be linked to the checking account as overdraft protection. There is a $35 charge, however, for each occurrence. Like the checking, the savings account has no monthly service charge and no minimum balance requirement. Unlike the checking, the savings account pays interest. The bank usually offers an above-average rate during an intro period of 12 months. Afterward, the APR goes down, but Capital One promises that it will be "one of the highest interest rates in the nation."

In addition to the deposit accounts Capital One offers small businesses, the bank has some useful payment tools that can assist businesses in acquiring funds to put into their checking and savings accounts.

Capital One offers a mobile reader that plugs into a tablet or phone. It will accept debit and credit cards that are swipeable. Capital One charges nothing for the first one and only $13 for each additional reader.

The bank also sells payment terminals. These are a little pricier than the mobile reader (they start at $99), but they accept cards with EMV chips, which the mobile reader cannot handle. A payment terminal also has NFC capability, which brings in watches and phones as payment options. Transactions cost between 2-4%, depending on whether card details are entered manually or are swiped, dipped, or tapped, and what specific processing plan a company chooses. For businesses that do less than $3,000 per month, the service is free; while transacting more than $3,000 on a monthly basis incurs a $19 monthly charge.

While Capital One is well known for its personal credit card commercials, the financial company also provides many bank products that small businesses can take advantage of.

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