As a small business owner, it's critical to separate your personal finances from business finances. Otherwise, it can be tricky to keep track of which funds belong where.
But paying for a business checking account isn't an exciting prospect. Especially when there are so many free personal checking accounts out there. But Oxygen Bank can make the move towards opening a separate business bank account more palatable.
You’ll have access to a free personal checking account and a free business account. With Oxygen, you can manage your funds for both entirely on the go. Intrigued? Here’s a closer look at Oxygen.
Quick Summary
- No monthly fees and unlimited free transactions
- Separate your personal and business finances on the go
- Form your LLC with the Oxygen app
Oxygen Bank Details | |
---|---|
Product Name | Oxygen Bank |
Min Deposit | $0 |
Monthly Fee | $0 |
Cashback | Up to 6% |
APY | Up to 2.40% |
Promotions | None |
What Is Oxygen?
Oxygen offers a completely mobile banking experience. So if you decide to open an account with them, you’ll need to use the Android or iOS app to manage it.
Oxygen was founded in 2018 by its CEO Hussein Ahmed. In February 2023, David Rafalovsky became the new CEO of Oxygen and raised 20 million in series B funding.
It's important to note that Oxygen is not itself a bank. Instead, the banking services it provides are through The Bancorp Bank. The goal of Oxygen is to create a user-friendly mobile banking experience for side hustlers turned small business owners and offer first time entrepreneurs a platform for banking and non-financial business tools.
What Does It Offer?
Oxygen is a banking experience designed to help with your hustle. Here’s a closer look at its standout features.
Fee-Free Banking Experience
No one likes to deal with banking fees. Business owners especially want to be able to spend their money effortlessly without having to deal with annoying fees standing in the way.
When you work with Oxygen, you won’t have to worry about fees. Instead, you’ll enjoy no monthly fees, no minimum deposit requirements, and no minimum balance requirements.
Oxygen accounts also come with unlimited fee-free transactions. That means you can accept ACH transfers, direct deposits, incoming domestic wire transfers and mobile check deposits for free! As a small business owner, this single feature could provide a big boost to your bottom line.
Cashback And Interest
Everyone loves to be rewarded! Oxygen makes it easy to enjoy cashback rewards through your Visa business debit card.
As of September 2023, personal accounts earn 2% cashback with the Earth card at approved retailers and $1 back on coffee. For business accounts, you'll earn 5% cash back rewards on everyday business purchases. A few of the eligible categories currently include office purchases, printing, and shipping.
In addition to earning cashback on your debit card purchases, you can also earn interest on your deposits. Currently, Oxygen personal accounts earn 2.00% APY with no balance requirements.
Related: Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
LLC Formation Services
Oxygen Bank want to help side hustlers that are looking to take their business to the next level. If you're ready to make your business official, Oxygen can help.
You’ll be able to form an LLC directly in the Oxygen app. Behind the scenes, Oxygen's formation services are actually powered by CorpNet, Inc.
Of course, you’ll have to pay any applicable state fees. But you won’t have to leave the app to officially incorporate your business. This service is available in every state!
On-The-Go Money Management
Oxygen is a mobile-only banking experience. So it's designed from the ground up for busy small business owners that want to manage their money on the go.
Through the mobile app, you can access a suite of features including check deposit, bill pay, and account statements. Plus, you’ll have the ability to tag deductible expenses and monitor your transactions.
Are There Any Fees?
Oxygen advertises a fee-free banking experience. For the most part that's true as you won’t encounter a monthly fee or be required to maintain a particular account balance.
However, you will be charged a $3 fee if you use an ATM outside of Allpoint's network. And if you use your debit card overseas, you'll pay a foreign transaction fee of $5 plus 1% of the transaction amount.
Additionally, you may be charged fees by third parties such as out-of-network ATM providers or CorpNet which provides Oxygen's LLC formation services.
How Does Oxygen Compare?
Oxygen has created an experience to help small business owners manage their finances more efficiently. But it isn’t the only banking experience out there designed with small business owners in mind.
Depending on your banking needs, another small business bank like Novo or Lili may be a better choice. Here's a quick look at how Oxygen compares:
Header | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rating | |||
APY | Up to 2.40% | N/A | Up to 2.00% |
Monthly Fees | $0 | $0 | $0 to $4.99 |
Min Deposit | $0 | $50 | $0 |
ATM Access | 55,000+ Free ATMs | Unlimited | 38,000+ Free ATMs |
Account Access | Desktop and Mobile | Desktop and Mobile | Mobile |
FDIC Insured | |||
Cell |
How Do I Contact Oxygen?
Want to get in contact with Oxygen? You can send an email to support@oxygen.us. If you prefer to call, you can reach out at 866-287-7021. Finally, you can reach out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @oxygenbanking.
Unfortunately, Oxygen Bank seems to be providing a negative experience to a substantial amount of users. Approximately 90% of users on Trustpilot have rated their experience with Oxygen Bank as Bad, leaving it with 1.7 stars out of 5.
It should be noted that less than 40 people have provided feedback on Trustpilot so far so that sampling size is small. Still, if strong customer service is a priority for you, Oxygen might not be what you're looking for at this point in its development as a company.
It should be noted that, according to our conversations with the team, new management recently took over and customer experience processes are being developed that have elevated the customer experience with an updated help platform and more staff.
How Do I Open An Account?
You can start the process of opening an account with Oxygen by visiting its website. From there, you'll find links to download the app to your mobile phone.
Once downloaded, click "Get Started." At that point, you can let Oxygen know if you want to set up a personal or business account. For either, you will have to provide an email address and password. If you want to open a business account and create an LLC, Oxygen recommends setting up a personal account first.
From there, you will be asked a series of questions to move the process of account creation forward. It should only take a few minutes to finalize your set up. However, if you’re setting up an LLC, it will likely take a bit longer.
Is It Safe And Secure?
As previously mentioned, Oxygen is not a bank. But banking services are provided by The Bancorp Bank, Member FDIC. Through this FDIC insurance, your funds will be insured for up to $250,000. With that, you should feel safe placing your money in these accounts.
Is It Worth It?
Oxygen Bank could be a good choice for side hustlers and small business owners. With LLC formation services and the option to set up both a personal and business account, Oxygen could take care of all your banking needs in one place.
It's also important to understand that it's not the only option out there. If you want to see some of your alternatives, check out our favorite business checking accounts.
Oxygen Bank Features
Account Types | Checking and Savings (personal and business) |
Minimum Deposit | $0 |
APY | 0.25% (on balances of $20,000 or below) |
Cash Back |
|
Monthly Fees | $0 |
Branches | None (online-only bank) |
Out-Of-Network ATM Fee | $3 |
Foreign Transaction Fee | $5 + 1% of the transaction amount |
ATM Availability | Fee-free ATM access at 55,000+ ATMs that are part of the Allpoint network |
Cash Deposits | Yes, at 90,000 Green Dot locations. But a fee of up to $4.95 may apply |
Customer Service Number | 866-287-7021 |
Customer Service Email | support@oxygen.us |
Web/Desktop Account Access | Yes |
Mobile App Availability | Yes, iOS and Android |
Bill Pay | Yes |
Paper Checks | No |
Direct Deposit | Yes, up to 2 days early |
FDIC Certificate | 1528 (through Bancorp Bank) |
Promotions | None |
Oxygen Bank Review
-
Interest and Cashback
-
Fees and Charges
-
Products and Services
-
Tools and Resources
-
Customer Service
-
Account Accessibility
Overall
Summary
Oxygen is a banking app that offers personal and business accounts that earn interest and cashback and have no monthly fees.
Pros
- No monthly fees or minimum deposit
- Unlimited fee-free transactions
- Cashback rewards program
- Up to 2.40% APY
Cons
- No physical branches
- Negative customer service feedback
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared toward anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, ABC, NBC, Today, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
Editor: Clint Proctor Reviewed by: Chris Muller