The Bank of America Corporation, abbreviated as BoA or BofA, is an American multinational investment bank headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is also a financial services holding company offering various financial services. You can get savings, checking, retirement, and CD accounts, among others. The bank is also suitable for business checking accounts, and you will know how to open a bank of America small business checking account shortly.
BofA was founded in San Francisco and later acquired by NationsBank of Charlotte in 1998, taking its present form. After JPMorgan Chase, BofA is the second-largest banking institution in the United States and occupies the eighth position of the largest banks in the world. Again, it is one of the Big Four banking institutions of the United States and serves approximately 10.73% of all American banking communities.
The Bank of America’s primary financial services includes wealth management, commercial banking, and investment banking. Wealth management is a service usually sought by many rich guys to ensure that professionals take care of what they have amassed. Wealth management practices involve protecting, growing, utilizing, and disseminating wealth. On the other hand, investment banking involves helping companies and individuals to raise capital and engage them in various financial advisories.
What is a checking account?
There are several kinds of bank accounts that you can open for your financial needs. A checking account is one of the best bank accounts you can open for your daily financial requirements. But what is a checking account? A checking account refers to a type of banking entity that allows you to deposit and use money 24/7.
In short, the account allows you to use the money any time of the day. Therefore, they give you a safe avenue to save funds for your everyday usage instead of keeping the money in your house.
Depending on your wishes, you can get a business or a personal checking account. Businesses too need to have money to spend when the need arises. For your information, a checking account comes with a debit card to help you spend your balance conveniently. The card allows you to withdraw money at an ATM and over the counter. You can also use an ATM card to purchase goods and services online and in physical stores.
Additionally, a checking account comes with a checkbook, a unique document where you can write checks to others to pay them. A check is a signed document instructing a bank to pay a particular individual a certain amount of money. They offer a cash alternative. However, they are being used by digital money transfer technologies such as PayPal, Payoneer, and Cash App, among others.
One can open an account online or at a branch. Online account opening is very convenient as you need to carry out the process anywhere under your comfort. The Bank of America allows you to open an account online. You only need a $100 opening deposit. Some institutions allow you to open a free online checking account with no opening deposit at all.
What is the difference between checking and saving accounts?
Some people get confused between the checking and savings accounts, wondering how the two differ from each other. The truth is that the two types of accounts are different in the following ways.
- Checking accounts allow you to access your money anytime you need it, while savings accounts only allow you to access funds in a limited manner. You may have a few withdrawal allowances per month. Special savings accounts such as the CDs only allow you to access funds after a particular duration and fines early withdrawals.
- You can get a checkbook for a checking account. However, you cannot get one for your savings account.
- Checking accounts come with debit cards, while only a few financial companies issue debit cards for savings accounts. You can get an online bank account with an instant debit card which is usually virtual and suitable for online purchases.
- Savings accounts earn an interest rate on the saved amount, while only a few checking accounts allow you to earn interest.
How to open a Bank of America small business checking account
Like many other banks, you can apply for your account online by visiting the Bank of America website and navigating to the application tab to get started. There are also other ways you can apply for your account. BofA offers three main ways to apply for your account. They include the following.
- Online application
- Contacting 866.543.2808 for phone application
- Visiting a branch
Before opening your account, you must ensure that you have the following things.
- Limited Liability Company
- Sole Proprietor
- Corporation
- Limited Partnership
- General Partnership
- Unincorporated Association
- Professional Association
- Professional Corporation
Email address, phone number, and identification documents are also necessary when opening a checking account. The Bank of America goes ahead and talks about a Beneficial Owner. This person owns or controls the business working with Bank of America and can be one or several. The Beneficial Owner should have the following to apply for an account.
- Name and title
- Name and address of the entity
- Date of birth
- Social Security number (US Citizens)
- Passport number and nation of issuance (for foreign applicants)
- Country of citizenship
- Residential address
- Country of residence
- Percentage of ownership for every Beneficial Owner
- Certification that information is true
When opening your account, you need to navigate to the opening account option, provide the necessary information about the provided fields and submit. The bank may approve your application immediately or demand additional details to approve your account. The bank gives you 11 days to send the additional documents.
When your account application is successful, you should receive a debit card and a checkbook if you applied for them during your account application. You can send money with the checking account number instantly to accounts within your branch once it becomes active.
How do I make an initial deposit to my checking account?
If you opened your account at a physical branch, you could deposit cash in the branch. As I mentioned earlier, the minimum amount you can deposit with the Bank of America is $100. If you opened it by phone, you could visit the nearest branch to deposit money in your account.
The online account opening requires you to deposit money from any other existing BofA account. You can also transfer funds from another bank using a Visa or Mastercard debit card. A check or money order can also be suitable for a bank of America transfer to another bank.
How do I order my debit card and checkbook?
You can order the two when opening your account and receive them at your physical address. Later on, when you want to order another checkbook, you need to log into your Small Business Online Banking and choose your account. On your account page, we have a link to reorder checks. Alternatively, you can reorder checks by dialing 1. 888.BUSINESS (1.888.287.4637).
When you want to replace a lost debit card, you can call customer care or log into your online account and carry out the process. You must, of course, make sure you lock the card so that no one uses it as you replace it.
Does BofA offer second chance checking accounts?
A second chance checking account can rectify your poor banking history with your previous financial companies.
It is a stripped-down bank account with limited services compared to ordinary checking accounts. Most have no debit cards or checkbooks. It is also challenging to get a second chance checking with no opening deposit, as most banks require you to deposit a particular minimum amount before starting to use your account.
BofA has a second chance checking account known as the Safe Balance Account. It requires a low maintenance fee of $4.95, but you cannot write paper checks. You can only pay using debit, mobile, or online bill pay.
The account can help you get out of the ChexSystems and enjoy regular banking practices. ChexSystem is a body that keeps records about poor bank account usage. You can enter the ChexSystem if you do any of the following things.
- Close your account with a negative balance.
- Write bouncing checks
- Perform fraudulent transactions.
It takes some time to remove your name from the system, but it eventually does if you correctly use the second checking account.
How to send money with the Bank of America?
There are two main ways you can use BoFA to send money. You can use the bank America ACH transfer service to move money to other banks. The bank also supports wire transfers. When carrying out ACH or wire transfer, you require the routing and account numbers.
However, if transfering money to an account of the same branch as yours, you require only the account number and maybe the recipient’s name.
Bottom line
The Bank of America Corporation, shortened as BoA or BofA, is an American multinational investment bank headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It offers various financial services in the US, including checking and savings accounts.
You can open a personal or a business account. Business checking accounts require more information compared to other ordinary accounts. You can open your account online, via phone, or at a physical branch.
