First Horizon Bank Business Checking Review 2024

First Horizon Bank is a great option for businesses looking for affordable business checking services. It has three types of business checking accounts:

1. A basic account with no monthly fee and 250 free transactions.
2. An interest-earning account with a $15 waivable monthly fee and 250 free transactions.
3. A premium account offering 500 free transactions for a waivable $15 monthly fee.

Your account will come with a free Visa Business Debit Card and access to digital banking. Budgeting and planning tools are also available to help you analyze and control your business spending. Additionally, higher deposits gain extended Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) insurance coverage through the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS).

How First Horizon Bank Stacks Up With Its Competitors

When First Horizon Bank Is a Good Fit

• You want to bank without a monthly fee: There is no fee for First Horizon Bank’s lowest tier account, BizEssentials Checking. The account provides a monthly cash deposit allowance of $5,000 and a monthly transaction allowance of 250 items.
• You need access to budgeting tools: Online banking with First Horizon Bank comes with budgeting and planning tools, which help you analyze spending, make budgets, and create savings goals.
• You want more FDIC protection: First Horizon Bank provides FDIC insurance of up to $50 million through the CDARS, which spreads your deposits across multiple FDIC-insured certificates of deposit (CDs).

When to Choose a First Horizon Bank Alternative

• You need nationwide access to in-person banking: You can only find First Horizon Bank branch locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. For wider geographic coverage, consider Chase, which has branches in all 48 mainland states. Our Chase business checking review discusses the provider’s three business checking accounts.
• You make over 500 transactions per month: First Horizon Bank’s highest-tier account, BizEssentials Plus Checking, only offers 500 free transactions monthly. If you need access to unlimited transactions, consider an online provider. Our roundup of the leading online banks for small businesses can help you find an account that suits your needs.
• You seek to earn interest on a fee-free checking account: The BizEssential Interest Checking account charges a monthly fee of $15 and requires high balances to waive the fee. Consider Bluevine Standard if you want an interest-bearing checking account that charges no monthly fee and offers a 2.0% annual percentage yield (APY) on qualifying balances up to $250,000. For more details, read our review of Bluevine business checking.

If your small business meets one or more of these scenarios, check out our guide to the best small business checking accounts for additional recommendations.

First Horizon Bank Business Checking Requirements

You can open an account online if you meet all of the following criteria:

• You are a United States citizen
• You are at least 18 years of age
• You are a signer of the account
• You are a resident of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, New York (Bronx, Brooklyn, Nassau, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Suffolk, or Westchester) or New Jersey (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Ocean, or Union)
• Your organization is a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, association, or unincorporated organization

If you do not meet these qualifications, you are required to visit a branch to open an account.

Part of the First Horizon Bank business checking requirements is that all beneficial owners who own at least 10% of the organization must provide the following information:

• Contact information
• Date of birth
• Social Security number or employer identification number (EIN)

First Horizon Bank may ask you to prepare additional documents based on your business type. Click on your entity type below to learn more.

First Horizon Bank Business Checking Features

Visa Business Debit Card

Your business checking account comes with a free Visa Business Debit Card, which you can use for purchases and bill payments online. It safeguards your purchases through services like purchase security, extended protection, auto rental insurance, travel emergency services, and more.

Digital Banking

Enrolling in digital banking lets you access banking features through the website or mobile app (available on iOS and Android). Through digital banking, you can do the following:

• View account activity
• Make internal transfers
• Initiate bill payments, payroll, and vendor ACH payments
• Manage cards
• Set up account alerts
• Use First Horizon Bank’s budgeting tools
• Order checks
• Locate ATMs and branches
• Deposit checks through mobile check deposit (mobile only)

The First Horizon Bank app scored low to average ratings. On the App Store^[1], it has a rating of 2.2 from around 2,000 reviews. On Google Play^[2], it has a rating of 3.5 from over 3,000 reviews. Satisfied users found it reliable and said that the app has convenient features. However, most reviewers complained about the app crashes despite repeated installation. Some also mentioned that the new updates made the app inaccessible.

Budgeting & Planning Tools

You can access budgeting and planning tools through the First Horizon website or mobile app. These tools automatically record and categorize your banking transactions while providing graphic reports to help you analyze business spending. You can create budgets and savings goals to keep spending under control.

24/7 Customer Support

While you can only talk to representatives from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., ET on weekdays, First Horizon Bank lets you access automated account information 24 hours a day.

Cash Flow and Payroll Solutions

First Horizon Bank provides tools to streamline cash receivables, prevent fraud, access payroll services, and meet payment obligations.

• ACH positive pay
• Check positive pay
• Merchant services
• Remote deposit capture
• Wire transfer
• Payroll direct deposit
• Payroll processing
• Tax and child support payments

Other First Horizon Bank Business Products

First Horizon Bank provides savings products, lending products, credit cards, and investing and planning services.

The Visa Small Business Credit Card provides credit lines up to $50,000 for no annual fee. You get an introductory APR of 0% for your first six months. The card provides automatic discounts on qualifying purchases through the Visa SavingsEdge program.

First Horizon Bank Business Checking Reviews From Users

Those who left a First Horizon Bank business checking review had negative feedback. On WalletHub^[3], the bank has a rating of 2.2 from around 160 reviews, while on DepositAccounts^[4], it has a rating of 1.5 from about 40 reviews.

The most common complaints are:

• Long check clearing times: Some customers reported that it took weeks for check deposits to clear at First Horizon Bank. They said that the bank lacked transparency in this area.
• Low quality of customer service: Users claimed that the bank has poorly trained customer support staff who were incompetent to deal with client issues. They reported that cards took a long time to arrive or activate despite multiple calls and emails. Further, others said that the representatives were unresponsive to simple document requests.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Yes. First Horizon Bank has approximately $81.4 billion in total assets, as stated on the call report filed in December 2023.

Yes, First Horizon Bank’s deposit accounts, which include business checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit, are covered by FDIC up to $250,000 per account owner and ownership category.

Bottom Line

We recommend First Horizon Bank to businesses with low or moderate monthly transaction volumes. Its basic checking account offers a transaction allowance of 250 without charging a monthly fee. However, its higher-tier accounts are far less accessible since the monthly fee is only waivable when meeting high balances.

User review references:

^[1]App Store
^[2]Google Play
^[3]WalletHub
^[4]DepositAccounts