If you’re a business, deciding on the bank you wish to partner with is an important decision. Particularly if you’re a small business, you could perhaps first start by investigating local, community banks. The reason for this is that community banks can not only offer attractive interest rates, but are very relationship-oriented and may be more inclined to extend loans to a small business.
Large banks versus local
A community bank is a part of the local economy and knows that it will do well when the community prospers. Thus, a local bank has a more personal relationship with its clients, and this would include the various businesses in the area.
Being local also means being more autonomous as decisions would be made on site rather than having to request permission from out of the area, even out of state. It also means that there is knowledge of the types of industries in the community and whether these should receive investment. Large banks often have mandates that certain industries should be avoided, and this doesn’t take local conditions into consideration. If you would like this kind of personalized service, along with a good understanding of your business and how it will affect the local economy, you would do well to investigate a community bank.
Opening a checking account
As community banks are concerned about assisting small businesses, you might find that you can open a free business checking account in Knoxville. What would probably occur is that you’d be asked for a minimum opening deposit and that the monthly fee would be waived provided you maintained a minimum daily balance. The amount required on a daily basis could be negotiated, but wouldn’t normally be a very large sum.
Once you have opened an account of this nature, you’d be offered different services, that could include the total items that you’d be able to have processed free of charge during a statement cycle. You could also probably negotiate free business Visa or MasterCard debit cards, as well as free telephone banking and ATM transactions. Other services you could enquire about would include the amounts of checks you could write, a credit card and more. Some banks will also have special services in place if you are a church, a non-profit organization, or a club. When money is tight and you need good service at a reduced rate, it’s really worth investigating the different offers a bank has in place. Contact us for more consultation.
