Live Oak Bank Review

Pros

• High APY
• Low fees
• Certificate deposit (CD) options
• Up to $10m FDIC coverage available

Cons

• No cash deposits
• High outgoing wire transfer fees
• 3% foreign transaction fee
• Limited same-day transaction processing

What Is Live Oak Bank?

Live Oak Bank is an online personal and business banking institute that offers high-yield business savings accounts, certificate deposits (CDs), and a brand-new checking account option.

If you want to earn interest on your business’s hard-earned money, Live Oak Bank is one of the best options, making an appearance on both our list of the best business bank accounts and the best high-yield bank accounts. You can earn up to 3.90% with a Live Oak Bank savings account (up to 4.60% with a CD), plus there are no monthly fees and unlimited transactions.

Live Oak Bank loans also offer your business access to the funds it needs, making this bank a good contender if you want to manage your finances and funding with a single bank.

Services Offered By Live Oak Bank

Live Oak Bank offers an impressive high-yield savings account, as well as multiple business lending options, and a brand new, much-anticipated business checking account. During our last review, Live Oak Bank’s checking account was still “coming soon” — with this new addition, we’ve raised Live Oak Bank’s score for this section from 4.3 to a full 5.0 rating.

Here are all the services you’ll find with Live Oak Bank:

• High-yield savings
• Certificate deposits (CDs)
• Business checking
• Term loans
• SBA loans
• USDA Loans

Live Oak Bank Rewards & Perks

Live Oak Bank offers up to 3.90% APY for savings accounts and up to 4.60% for Certificate Deposits (CDs) with interest compounded daily. These earnings are incredibly competitive, with some of the highest APYs in the online business banking market. The only reason the company’s section rating is less than 5 stars is that there are no cash-back earning options.

Live Oak Bank Fees

Live Oak Bank earns 3.3/5 stars for fees. This section is a bit of a mixed bag, with some of Live Oak Bank’s fees coming in low, while others are high when compared to the competition.

Live Oak Bank is transparent with its fee schedule, so you know exactly what you’re getting into before you sign up. Live Oak Bank has no monthly maintenance fees or ACH fees.

You will find a 3% foreign transaction fee, which is quite high compared to other online business banks. Wire transfers range from $0-$19. There’s also a None for in-network ATMs (3% for out-of-network ATMS) out-of-network ATM fee. While most companies don’t protect against third-party out-of-network ATM fees, Live Bank is the first that I’ve seen charge its own out-of-network ATM fee.

All-in-all, if you don’t regularly have wire transfers or foreign transactions, then Live Oak Bank’s fees will fit your business just fine. However, if you process many foreign transaction fees or outgoing wire transfers, you may want to look at other online business bank options.

When it comes to Live Oak Bank’s new business checking account, Live Oak Bank is just as transparent which we appreciate. Unfortunately, the monthly checking fees, while waivable, are higher than some other business checking accounts on the market. Here’s a quick breakdown of each of Live Oak Bank’s Checking accounts:

Live Oak Bank Eligibility Requirements

Live Oak Bank has relatively flexible eligibility requirements, earning a 4.5/5 star rating for this section. US residents with valid SSNs are eligible for Live Oak Bank so long as they fit into the following business structures:

• Corporations
• LLCs
• Sole proprietors
• Partnerships
• Limited partnerships
• Associations
• Nonprofits

There are no minimum balance requirements for a Live Oak Bank savings account. There is a $2,500 minimum balance for CDs. There is also a $350,000 minimum balance required for Live Oaks’ Insured Cash Sweep service, which gives businesses up to $10 million in FDIC insurance (all businesses with Live Oak get $250,000 in FDIC insurance coverage regardless of account balance).

Note: Dormant accounts will be closed after 24 months of inactivity. Since Live Oak Bank is a high-yield savings solution, it’d be easy to set it and forget it, but you’ll need some sort of regular activity to keep the account active.

Live Oak Bank Features

Live Oak Bank’s shining glory is its high-yield savings benefits. The recent addition of Live Oak’s business checking accounts filled a significant amount of previous feature gaps including bill pay, mobile deposits,  and employee permissions. The service is still lacking cash deposits and expense tracking (and any reward-earning avenues), which could be problematic for some businesses.

In addition to high APY, you’ll find these features:

• Unlimited ACH transfers
• Mobile check deposit
• Wire transfers
• Mobile Live Oak app
• FDIC insurance up to $250K with up to $10M options available
• Authorized signers available
• Accounting integrations

Transaction Limits

Live Oak Bank doesn’t provide any information on ACH or wire transfer limits. Live Oak Essential or Plus account holders have a limit of $10,000/day for POS purchases.

Transaction Processing Times

Transactions with Live Oak take 1-2 business days, so long as the transaction was requested before 4:00 PM ET. Checks or mobile deposits are the exception, with processing times of up to 5 business days.

Live Oak Bank Application Process

You can open a Live Oak Bank account online or through the Live Oak app. You’ll likely need standard documents for opening a bank account, though Live Oak Bank isn’t the most transparent about its application process. Live Oak also doesn’t disclose how long the application processing timeline is.

This lack of transparency contributed to our rating of 3.3/5 for this category.

Live Oak Bank Sales & Advertising Transparency

Live Oak Bank is fairly transparent for a bank. The company is very forthcoming with its fee schedule. The only information that is a bit hard to find is regarding the application process. Overall, Live Oak Bank has solid website disclosures and above-the-board sales and advertising practices, earning a 4.1/5 rating for this section.

Live Oak Bank Customer Service

Live Oak Bank has multiple support avenues that are easy to find, including a well-developed knowledge base. There is no dedicated support rep, but according to customer reviews, Live Oak has good customer service. This high level of support is why we rated Live Oak Bank 4.5/5 in this category.

Live Oak Bank Reviews

Live Oak Bank receives mostly positive user reviews, although there are some complaints about the company. Live Oak gets a 3.8/5 star third-party reviews site aggregate score, showing that there are more positives than negatives (according to customers). This overall positive feedback contributed to our score of 3.9/5 for user reviews.

Negative Live Oak Bank Reviews & Complaints

• One report of an account being closed without giving back the remaining balance
• QuickBooks integration needs work

Positive Live Oak Bank Reviews

• Great customer support
• Easy to use
• Strong security

Is Live Oak Bank Safe?

Live Oak Bank is one of the only online banks to offer up to $10 million in FDIC insurance to eligible businesses (most cap out at the standard $250K). It is upfront with its privacy policies and security information and more than meets the standard security practices for online banking services. The bank also makes an effort to educate its customers on the best personal online security practices they can take to prevent fraud.

How Does Live Oak Bank Compare To Other Banking Options?

If you’re looking for high-yield savings, live Oak Bank is one of the best options out there. However, the company gets beat by competitors like LendingClub and Lili if you need cash deposits, affordable foreign transaction fees, or traditional banking and finance management features.

The Bottom Line: Is Live Oak Bank Worth It?

When it comes to high-yield business savings, Live Oak Bank offers one of the highest rates you’ll find. If you want your hard-earned money to earn you more money, Live Oak could be a great option.

This bank is also a good choice if you want access to capital through your bank. Live Oak Bank offers SBA loans, USDA loans, and term loans. Learn more about Live Oak Bank loans in our full review.

The main thing Live Oak Bank has going for it is high APY and no monthly fee. You won’t find fintech features like invoicing or accounting like you would with LendingClub and Lili Bank. If you need cash deposits, no foreign transaction fees, and want more comprehensive business checking features, a Live Oak bank alternative might be a better fit for your business. While we are excited to see Live Oak Bank offering a business checking account option now, it’s still fairly basic when compared to other business checking options. Since this service is brand new, hopefully we’ll see the company continue to iterate on it in the upcoming months.

You could always use Live Oak Bank in addition to another online bank to get the best of both worlds. Live Oak’s business savings account is a great option for storing emergency funds, cash reserves, etc. If you’re going to be storing a large sum in savings, it might as well be earning you interest.

Business Banking Review Methodology

Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing business banking services since 2015. Our writers have tested over thirty different banking products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, employee spending cards, and more. In each review, we evaluate rates and fees, services, rewards, features, eligibility requirements, application process, sales and advertising transparency, customer service, and user reviews.

Read more about how we rate business banking products.

When comparing different banks and banking services, we consider many data points, including the ease and transparency of the account application process, account fees, sales ethics, minimum deposit requirements, and revenue, time in business, and credit score requirements. Our lists of the best banking services include only those we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points, and often share qualities such as widespread accessibility across fifty states, valuable rewards, numerous transaction options, and competitive APY.

We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure the banking services included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.