Bridge Bank Business Checking Review 2023
This article is part of a larger series onBusiness Banking.
Bridge Bank’s business checking products are suitable for Bay Area businesses needing no-frills traditional banking services. It offers the following types of small business checking accounts:
- A basic checking account with 200 fee-free transactions and a $16 monthly fee
- An interest-earning checking account with 200 fee-free transactions and a $20 monthly fee
- A $50-per-month checking account offering 500 fee-free transactions
It also offers specialized checking accounts for high-volume businesses, nonprofits, political campaigns, attorneys, and law firms. All accounts come with free debit cards, online and mobile banking, optional overdraft protection, and fraud protection services.
How Bridge Bank operates:Bridge Bank is one of the many brands owned by Western Alliance Bancorporation. It has three full-service branches in Oakland and San Jose in California, limited service branches in Chicago, Denver, and New York City, and loan production offices in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Costa Mesa, California; Pleasanton, California; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; and Washington D.C.
Pros
- 200 free transactions for basic and interest-earning accounts
- Wide range of free ATM choices
- Business Interest Checking is free for 501(c)(3) organizations
Cons
- Must visit a branch to open an account
- Only three full-service branches
- No free accounts
Features
- Free Visa debit card
- Free ATM transactions at MoneyPass machines and ATMs belonging to PLUS, STAR, and Interlink systems
- Online and mobile banking
- Optional overdraft protection
- Fraud protection
- Other accounts include analyzed checking, nonprofit checking, political campaign, and Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Accounts (IOLTA)
- Savings accounts, credit cards, and lending products
How Bridge Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors
Monthly Fee |
Minimum Balance Requirement to Waive Monthly Fee |
Monthly Transaction Limit Before Fees |
Geographic Availability |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Business Checking |
$16 |
$2,500 |
200 |
California, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, and Washington, D.C.* |
Silver Business Checking |
$0 |
N/A |
125 |
|
Business Basics |
$10 |
$1,000 |
200 |
California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington |
When Bridge Bank Is a Good Fit
- You have a low-to-moderate transaction volume:Both Business Checking and Business Interest Checking provide 200 fee-free transactions per month. Transactions refer to debits, credits, and deposited items.
- You want fee-free access to a wide network of ATMs:Because Bridge Bank is a member of Western Alliance Bancorporation, its debit cards give fee-free access to MoneyPass ATMs and ATMs with PLUS, STAR, and Interlink symbols.
- You run a nonprofit organization:The Bridge Bank Business Interest Checking account waives monthly service fees for 501(c)(3) organizations.
When Bridge Bank Is Not a Good Fit
- You need nationwide access to in-person banking services:桥银行只经营三个提供全面服务的银行branches, which are located in San Jose and Oakland. It also has limited service branches in Chicago, Denver, and New York City. If you want the ability to access in-person services anywhere in the country, choose Chase, which has branches in all 48 contiguous states in the United States. Ourreview of Chase business checkingsummarizes the terms, features, and costs of each account.
- You want to bank without a monthly fee:Bridge Bank charges monthly service fees for all of its nonspecialized business checking accounts. If you want a general business checking account that charges no monthly fee, U.S. Bank’s Silver Business Checking is a good option. Read ourU.S. Bank business checking reviewfor more information.
- You want to earn competitive interest on free checking accounts:If your business isn’t a 501(c)(3) organization, you are required to pay a $20 monthly service fee for Business Interest Checking. The financial technology (fintech) solution Bluevine earns 2.0% annual percentage yield (APY) on qualifying balances of $250,000 or less. Refer to ourreview of Bluevine business checkingto learn more about how to qualify for Bluevine’s APY.
If your small business meets one or more of these scenarios, check out our guide to thebest small business checking accountsfor additional recommendations.
Bridge Bank Business Checking Overview
Bridge Bank Business Checking Requirements
To open a Bridge Bank account, you must visit a branch. You will typically be asked to provide a government ID and relevant business documents during the application process. Our guide onhow to open a business bank accountprovides a free downloadable checklist of documents that banks typically request.
Bridge Bank Business Checking Features
Debit Card
All Bridge Bank accounts come with a free Visa debit card. You can use your debit card for transactions anywhere Visa is accepted. It provides fee-free access to MoneyPass ATMs and all ATMs with PLUS, STAR, or Interlink symbols.
Online and Mobile Banking
You can access banking services through the Bridge Bank website or the Western Alliance Bancorporation mobile app. The app, called WA Business Mobile, is the mobile app used across all Western Alliance Bancorporation brands. It is available for both iOS and Android.
Through digital banking, you can:
- View balances and transactions
- Transfer money
- Deposit checks through mobile check deposit
- Add and manage payees
- Pay bills
- Approve internal transfers, wire payments, and automated clearing house (ACH) payments
- Search branch locations
Enrolling in enhanced services also gives you web access to domestic and foreign wire transfers and ACH transactions.
Reviews for WA Business Mobile are primarily negative. The app has a rating of 2 stars on the App Store1(based on around 20 reviews) and 3 stars on Google Play2(based on about 10 reviews). No positive reviews were posted within the last three years. Dissatisfied users said that the app is unreliable and its mobile check deposit function does not work consistently.
Overdraft Protection
如果你参加透支保护,桥银行will link your checking account to a revolving line of credit as a hedge against overdraft fees. Whenever you make a transaction larger than your current account balance, Bridge Bank will transfer funds from the line of credit to cover the amount.
Fraud Protection
- Positive pay for ACH and check payments:This feature prevents fraudulent transactions by checking all presented payments against a preapproved list of check and ACH payments.
- Check payee positive pay:For an extra layer of protection, this add-on service asks you to confirm the payee name, check amount, and check number whenever a check is presented. Bridge Bank will not release funds into your payee’s account until you confirm.
- Reverse positive pay:This feature allows you to approve or disapprove checks manually.
- ACH debit block:Block all ACH debit transactions through online banking.
Other Bridge Bank Business Products
Bridge Bank provides specialized checking accounts for high-volume businesses, nonprofit organizations, political campaigners, and attorneys or law firms.
- Analyzed checking accountsprovide earnings credit based on your balance, which you can use to offset monthly maintenance and transaction fees. This account also provides integrated treasury management, consolidated financial reports, online and mobile banking, and optional overdraft protection.
- Nonprofit accountsare accounts designed for nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations.
- Political campaign accountsare designed to help individuals or organizations in political campaigns protect their campaign funds and comply with legal requirements.
- IOLTAsdonate interest earned on your balances to your state’s bar association. The account has an opening deposit requirement of $100, but no monthly fee. A minimum balance requirement of $0.01 is required to earn interest.
Available savings products include savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs:
- Business savings accountsprovide 25 free deposits per month and free online banking. It charges a monthly fee of $10, waivable with a minimum balance requirement of $1,000.
- Business money market accountsalso include free online banking and 25 free deposits per month. It offers tiered interest rates based on your balance. The $10 monthly fee is waived for nonprofits and accounts that can maintain a minimum daily balance of $2,500. The account has a $1,000 opening deposit requirement.
- Business CDshave a $1,000 opening deposit requirement. Terms range from 30 days to 60 months.
Through Bridge Bank, you can get access to the following loans:
- SBA 504 loanswith down payments as low as 10%
- SBA 7(a) guaranteed loansup to $5 million
- SBA Express Loansup to $500,000
- Conventional loansup to $500,000
- Lines of creditup to $100,000
The only business credit card Bridge Bank provides is the Business Plus Credit Card, which is powered by Visa. The card charges no annual or over-limit fees and earns points that can be redeemed for cash back, travel, or merchandise.
Bridge Bank Business Checking Reviews From Users
Very few users have left Bridge Bank business checking reviews. On WalletHub3, the bank received only four ratings, which amounted to an average rating of 1.0. Only one user posted a written review, which focused solely on the bank’s lending products.
Bottom Line
Bridge Bank offers satisfactory business checking products. Neither its features nor its fees give its accounts any competitive edge against similar products in the market. Additionally, the bank has a limited branch presence, so if you’re operating outside the Bridge Bank service area but want an account with a similar fee structure, consider looking into other Western Alliance Bancorporation brands.Visit the Western Alliance Bancorporation websitefor the list of the company’s brands and locations.
User review references:
1App Store
2Google Play
3WalletHub