Just wondering if anyone knows what bank is best for small businesses in the Charlotte, NC into the metro South Carolina area?

I'm looking for little to no fees on cashing checks and no check cashing limit, etc. I'd also like an account that I can have a business debit card and where they'll know my name when I go in.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Hi Davina. In spite of the banking giants like Bank of America and Wachovia headquartered here....I use BBandT for business and personal....and have been pleased.

Thanks for the quick answer. I like my banking to be a little more personal...that's why I was wondering. There are some huge banks here.

What do you like about BBandT?

Oh, if there were a BB&T close by me that would be my bank. Very conservative financially (what you'd expect all banks to be like....but after this week we know better ). I even heard a financial expert guy - Cramer?...hmmm can't remember - being interviewed this past week. The news commentator asked him which banks were still okay. He said the names of a couple of big banks, then added that we shouldn't forget BB&T. Said it was an exceptionally run bank...

Hope you find what you are looking for.

ah yes, that was jim cramer, and i think he said that in the video you linked in your thread regarding the economy and our businesses???

davina, we've been using piedmont federal aviation credit union for several years for our personal accounts and love them - not sure if they handle biz accounts.

thanks, foo. I watched a LOT of videos that day.....

and, if you can, getting into a credit union (love 'em!) is almost always better than a regular bank. But the credit unions I've approached have told me that it is for personal use only....no businesses.

we use wachovia for both personal and business. love love love them. my husband and i each had different banks before we were married, and out of the three, wachovia is by far the leader in customer service. we even had an identity theft issue, and they credited our account in less than 24 hours. every time i go in the bank they call me by my first name without having to look at my account. definitely recommend wachovia.

I would suggest banking with a small credit union.

Are you moving here?

I'm going to echo what has already been recommended: BBT is the BEST!!

Charlotte is known for being the banking home of many of the BIG ones like BofA, etc.... but I wouldn't put my money there EVER again (and my fiance works for them - in corporate!!) after the experience I had (horrible, horrible for small biz!)

My lady at BBT here in GA set me up with ALL of my accts -- Business Checking, Business "tax" account that I also keep my cost of sales in -- and a Personal checking and savings. There are NO minimums or unnecessary fees. I also have a safety deposit box with them for my Hard Drive back ups.

She is available to me and actually responds the SAME DAY with questions/concerns/requests. She sat down with me in person and we spent an hour or two talking about all of my needs and her explaining the accounts and processes in detail so there's nothing they're not telling me.

I've been with them for a year now and have saved SOOO much $$ (from fees) and NOT had any headaches like I've had with B of A and Wachovia and the other big banks. Plus, they really do have a good network of locations despite them being a smaller bank.

Glad to have you on the East coast now!!


PS... edited to add: We experienced holds on many of our funds when starting to use them (from out of state and/or large checks) but I believe this is natural for ANY bank when you just begin your service. After a mater of months, funds got released sooner and sooner so now there is rarely a hold on anything.

PSS... I also highly recommend ING direct. I use them for my emergency fund savings but I know others that use virtual checking for everything. I like having BOTH BBT and ING though for both the branch option and having the other $$ hidden away out of site

Suntrust has some decent business banking options.

I've had horrific customer service from BB&T. I've been fighting with them for the last 9+ months to get a statement for my credit card. CS at BBT told me it was a courtesy to send me a paper statement. I've been given a laundry list of reasons why my credit card statements aren't being delivered from the postal service to its an issue with my local branch. There are also a laundry list of other issues I've had problems with at BBT.

Since I've moved to Wachovia, I've had no issues or discontent.

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful responses!

I was hooked on BBT until Diana said she had horrible custom service with them. As far as a credit union, they are definitely wonderful for personal accounts and that's where we keep all of our family accounts. However, a cu doesn't help a small business at all and even discourage small business from banking with them.

I love the idea of having a 'tax' account Liana. I've kept everything separate in one account but I'm interested in the way you handle having two accounts for your business...

So...it's sounding like Wachovia and BBT are two that people have been happy with so far. Also Piedmont and ING...I haven't heard of either one of them. Are they very big? Do they have many branches.

Is Suntrust a credit union?

Thanks everyone....this is great info.

Jason, I moved here about 6 weeks ago...or maybe it's already been 2 months! Whoa, that went by fast!

I'm really wanting to get everything switched from Utah...financials are getting a little more complicated. I've been banking with WAMU out west and have really loved them...

You should definitely use ING for your savings. You don't have to stop using BB&T or whatever bank you decide to go with. All you have to do is set up an account in ten minutes, linking your normal checking account with them, they approve you in the next two or three days, and then after that you can move money online from your regular checking into your high interest ING savings account whenever you need to. It has 3% APY (some places will quote you a little higher at 3.5% but they charge all kinds of fees and minimums, which ING doesn't have). They've been getting a lot of attention for their customer service, intuitive interface and high interest rates.

Until September 30th, they're doing a promotional where they give you $25 for opening an account, no strings attached. I have an extra reference code for that offer -- if you decide to open an account send me a PM for it (first come, first serve basis).

I like BBT too! I have used them since 1995 and never used another bank.

Suntrust is another large bank I've been disappointed with (similar to B of A with lots of fees)

Yeah, I know a number of others who have switched to BBT too and they're much happier with it too.

That stinks Diana's had problems with the mail from them for her CC stuff. I don't have credit cards with BBT so that may be another issue?

I've banked with BBT since the late 1990s. I never had any issues while I was living in Georgia. As soon as I moved to Virginia I found a huge windfall of issues with their local branches. The constant repetition of administrative "issues" where I was getting fee'd and having to go in to the branch to talk to the business manager, followed up by the manager apologizing and saying, "well the teller shouldn't have done that" became disgusting. The credit card was an all together separate issue but just as frustrating. CC services originate from their NC corporate offices.

Personally, I got fed up and rather than continue to waste any more of my business' time, just moved on. For BBT's sake, I hope its a local Virginia and CC dept customer service issue and not corporate-wide.

D.

Thanks so much for giving more info on your experience with BBT, Diana!

So...I started this thread before Wachovia's fall...should I still consider them?

OT: I'm just down the road in Greenville, SC, let me know if you ever need anything.

You may want to look into local credit unions. Since credit unions don't really dabble in the stock market, and their lending power is based on their membership's assets, they're a bit safer bet than a lot of larger corporate banks right now. You may also want to check with your local chamber of commerce or small business association to find out if they recommend anyone in particular for their small business resources.