How to Choose the Right Financial Institution for your Small Business

How to Choose the Right Financial Institution for your Small Business

Have you given much thought to the bank that will maintain your business accounts? The bank you select for your business can have a big impact on your daily operations. On the surface, the decision seems rather straightforward; opt for the bank that has your personal accounts. Why? This seems like a reliable choice because you are familiar with the way you operate, the tellers are helpful and friendly and it is quite close to home. These are, without a doubt, excellent qualities in a bank, but it might not work for your business.

You need to do some more digging before you choose a bank for your small business because you want to make the right choice. But, first you need to decide if you want to go with a bank or a credit union. Both will be ready to take your business, but credit unions are also worth checking out. They can sometimes offer higher interest rate deposit accounts, low interest rate small business loans and personalized and friendly service since they are usually community based. However, credit unions also have limitations as they may not be able to offer you the technology you require or even loans because they can only lend 12.25 percent of their total assets.

Back again to banks, how do you choose one? Some considerations you can make or evaluating banks are:

The size of the bank

Forming a relationship with your bank can be a major benefit, especially for small businesses and startups. When a small business needs cash quickly, the smaller community banks make this happen and they don’t just check the business’s balance sheet. In the case of a smaller bank, the value of the business’s name carries plenty of weight. However, a larger bank can provide you more flexibility in your loan terms, better interest rates and a greater offering of products. A small bank may not necessarily be a friendly one. You can compare the interest rates and then move forward.

Technology

If you are interested in taking advantage of the banking features of the 21st century like depositing checks with your smartphone, the bill pay features, quick payment options and advanced reports, make sure you see the bank’s interface. Some banks tend to embrace technology whereas others have chosen to stay true to their roots more.

Do they understand your business

Before you have selected a bank, you need to prepare a list of questions that you want to ask them. You can ask about minimum balances, fee schedule and other rules that are specific to banks. Another thing you need to look into is the business hours of the bank because you want them to fit with your schedule. When you are asking these important questions, you will automatically get a sense of how well they know and understand your business. If you don’t feel comfortable with them, you can always look elsewhere.

Customer service

Last, but not the least, the kind of service you get is of the utmost importance. You want the bank to respond to you when you need assistance or when you are in a fix. If the bank is taking too long in answering your queries or if you feel they don’t have a quick response time, it is best for you to look elsewhere. The right bank can be an invaluable partner to a small business not only when they want to borrow capital, but also do planning for the future and assuring prospective customers of the credibility and stability of the business.

 

 

 

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