Business CDs: Compare Rates and Top Options

Small-business owners with cash to tuck away can put those funds to work with a business certificate of deposit or CD. These high-yield accounts lock your funds up for the designated term (anywhere from a few weeks to a few years) but typically offer interest rates far higher than traditional business savings or business checking accounts.

If you know you won’t need money for a year or longer, you can earn as high as a 5% annual percentage yield on your idle funds with a business CD. Want the option to tap into your savings as needed? Consider a high-yield business savings account or money market account instead.

We scoped out the highest-earning business CDs from dozens of online, national and regional banks to find the best business CDs. Only accounts that earned at least 4% APY were included in this list (the national average for a 12-month business CD is 1.49% APY, according to the latest data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.). Note: Rates may vary by location.

Terms for the accounts listed above range from eight to 19 months, but business CDs can run from a few weeks to up to five years. The difference in APY from one term to the next can be quite small, so consider how the rate and length align with your business goals. And note: Your rate is locked in for the duration of your term.

First Internet Bank is known for offering some of the best rates on business savings accounts and its business CD is no different. You can choose term lengths ranging from three months to five years, but you’ll get the best rate with the bank’s 12-month business CD, which earns 5.06% APY.

• Term: 12 months.

• Minimum deposit: $1,000.

• APY: 5.06% APY.

• Early withdrawal penalty: 180 days of interest.

Live Oak’s 12-month business CD earns 5% APY. Prefer a shorter term? The bank’s six-month CD currently earns 4.80% APY. Live Oak also offers a high-yield business savings account that earns 4% APY.

• Term: 12 months.

• Minimum deposit: $2,500.

• APY: 5% APY. 

• Early withdrawal penalty: 90 days of interest.

TAB Bank’s business CD terms range from six months to 60 months, but the bank’s 12-month CD delivers the best rate at 4.50% APY. However, business owners who opt for a shorter term won’t sacrifice much; TAB’s six-month CD earns 4.25% APY.

• Term: 12 months.

• Minimum deposit: $1,000. 

• APY: 4.50%.

• Early withdrawal penalty: 90 days of interest.

U.S. Bank’s business CD terms range from one to 60 months, with the longest term offering the best rate at 4.45%. However, business owners who prefer a shorter term can still earn a solid 4.15% on U.S. Bank’s seven-month business CD special. Both best U.S. Bank’s standard rate (0.05%-0.25%) by a mile.

• Term: 19 months.

• Minimum deposit: $1,000.

• APY: 4.45%.

• Early withdrawal penalty: $25 fee plus penalty, depending on when funds are withdrawn.

Regions currently offers a 13-month business CD that earns 4.25%, but there’s a catch: You must have a Regions checking account to qualify for that rate. Without one, you’ll earn the standard rate, a paltry 0.01%.

• Term: 13 months.

• Minimum deposit: $500. 

• APY: 4.25%.

• Early withdrawal penalty: All interest earned on the amount withdrawn as of the date of withdrawal or 2% of the amount withdrawn, whichever is less. 

Wells Fargo’s current business CD special delivers 4% APY on an eight-month business CD. To qualify, you need a minimum deposit of at least $5,000. Wells Fargo’s standard business CDs required a much smaller opening deposit ($2,500) but top out at 2.50% APY.

• Term: Eight months.

• Minimum deposit: $5,000. 

• Early withdrawal penalty: 90 days interest.

A business CD, or certificate of deposit, is a fixed-rate business savings account with a fixed term — typically six months to five years — which dictates when you can withdraw your funds.

Money deposited into a business CD is locked up for the term. So taking your money out early will result in a penalty: anywhere from one month’s to one year’s interest, depending on your original term. Note that you won’t lose any of your initial deposit.

Business CDs and business money market accounts are both low-risk, high-reward ways to invest longer-term savings, but there are a few key differences.

Interest rates: Business CDs typically yield a better return than money market accounts. A 12-month CD earns 1.49% APY, on average, compared with 0.54% APY for money market accounts, according to the FDIC.

Business CDs also have a fixed rate for the duration of the term, while the rate on money market accounts is variable and can change as interest rates rise or fall.

That combo of higher rates and guaranteed returns makes business CDs a good tool to save for specific goals, like expansion plans or major equipment purchases, that are at least a year out.

Access to your money: Business money market accounts typically include check-writing and debit card access, so you can withdraw money as needed. With a business CD, your funds are tied up until the term ends and you’ll get hit with an early withdrawal penalty if you pull your money out early.

Withdrawals on money market accounts are traditionally capped at six per month, per Regulation D, but those limits were relaxed during COVID-19 and some banks still don’t enforce them. The flexibility of a money market fund makes it an optimal choice to stash your emergency fund or excess operating funds.

Business CD rates can vary widely depending on the business bank, the length of the CD term and where you live. In most cases, you’ll get the best yield with a 12-month CD, a departure from years past when a longer term equaled a higher rate.

The national average APY for a certificate of deposit, according to the FDIC:

• One-month CD: 0.18%.

• Three-month CD: 0.67%.

• Six-month CD: 0.97%.

• 12-month CD: 1.49%.

• 24-month CD: 1.41%.

• 36-month CD: 1.31%.

• 48-month CD: 1.25%.

• 60-month CD: 1.35%.

Rates are current as of April 5, 2023.

This table reflects the APY for a 12-month business CD across multiple business banks. This term length often delivers the best rate, though some banks offer a higher APY on other terms, including promotional CD rates. Note: Rates may vary by location.