Ask HN: Are There Banks Best-Suited To SaaS Startups?

1 points by betacat 11 years ago | 1 comment

We are a US group in the process of gearing up for a launch. Obviously, we need to open a bank account with some bank somewhere to handle day-to-day cashflow and expenses. What is the most startup-friendly, business-oriented bank with a good online presence? What should we look for?

iamwithnail 11 years ago |

Silicon Valley Bank, if you can get an account with them. Not sure about their online service, but the operation (which is obviously much smaller than the US one) is pretty slick, runs great events for startups and is generally supportive of startups and the particular difficulties they have. So - probably worth checking out.

In terms of what to look for - integratable bank feeds to sync with Xero/FreeAgent/accounting software of your choice (most UK banks do it now, not sure about the US), and transparency of pricing - I discovered, by trawling through the small print that the bank I was about to go with was going to charge me £0.34 for EVERY incoming transaction. Not a great option for a subscription based system dealing with ~£3 payments. It was incredibly difficult to find.