Charles Schwab

Commercial bank · Westlake, United States

Charles Schwab is a US brokerage and bank holding company with 38.5 million active brokerage accounts and 11.9 trillion dollars in client assets at the end of 2025. Its banking arm, Charles Schwab Bank, SSB, serves retail investors and does not offer checking or savings accounts to businesses. The only entity product is the Schwab One Organization Account, a business brokerage account that needs a 100,000 dollar relationship minimum. Typed as commercial because its balance sheet is a deposit-funded savings bank rather than an investment bank, but it is not a business bank in the everyday sense. In 2026 it began spot bitcoin and ether trading for US retail clients through Paxos.

Legal name: The Charles Schwab Corporation
Regulated by: Federal Reserve (bank holding company), Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending (Charles Schwab Bank, SSB), SEC, FINRA
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 1971
Website: www.schwab.com

Scores, 0 to 10

8.0Financial strength & stability

Rated A2 (Moody's), A- with positive outlook (S&P) and A (Fitch) in 2026; Category III bank, not a G-SIB. · source

6.5Lowest fees

No monthly fee, unlimited ATM rebates and no foreign transaction fees, but business entities need a 100,000 dollar relationship minimum. · source

5.0United States

US-chartered savings bank with nationwide reach, but no business checking; entity clients get only a brokerage Organization Account with a 100,000 dollar minimum. · source

5.0On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

Schwab sells spot crypto only to retail clients at a 0.75 percent trading fee, and entity brokerage accounts reach crypto through ETPs and futures; no business limits or policy on wiring to exchanges are published. · source

5.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

Evidence is thin: Schwab publishes no source-of-funds process for crypto proceeds arriving in business brokerage accounts, and Schwab Crypto does not yet accept crypto transfers in, checked September 2026. · source

5.0Bitcoin

Retail clients can buy and hold spot bitcoin with bank custody since May 2026, and all brokerage clients, including entities, can hold spot bitcoin ETPs, futures and options; there is no bitcoin transfer or business spot account. · source

5.0Ethereum

Ether is the second coin in Schwab Crypto for retail clients with bank custody, and ether ETPs are available in brokerage accounts; there is no staking, token support or business spot account. · source

4.5Best interest on business balances

Bank sweep yields about 0.01% APY; higher yield only by buying money market funds inside the brokerage account. · source

4.5Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Schwab Crypto, rolled out from May 2026, holds bitcoin and ether in a separate account at Charles Schwab Premier Bank with Paxos as sub-custodian, but it is offered to retail clients only, with no business accounts and no deposits or withdrawals of crypto yet. · source

4.0Fast digital onboarding

Organization Account applications are paper or PDF based for incorporated entities and require a 100,000 dollar minimum; personal international accounts open online in about 15 minutes. · source

3.5Customer satisfaction

Trustpilot 1.5 out of 5 from about 699 reviews, offset by a 4.8 App Store rating reported by StockBrokers.com. · source

3.0Crypto-friendly bank

Offers retail spot bitcoin and ether trading from 2026 but has no product or stated policy for banking crypto exchanges, brokers or VASPs. · source

3.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

Schwab publishes no prohibited-industries policy for business clients. · source

2.0Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

USD-only accounts; international wires cost 25 dollars (15 online) with no published FX margin and no local rails abroad. No multi-currency accounts, cash pooling or host-to-host treasury services; cash management is limited to sweep and money market funds. · source

2.0Startups & VC-backed companies

Startups can open an Organization brokerage account only with 100,000 dollars across Schwab accounts; no venture debt or startup unit. · source

2.0Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

Schwab serves international clients through brokerage sites for Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK, with no business bank account for foreign-owned companies. · source

1.5Fintech companies that need a partner bank

No sponsor banking, BIN sponsorship or safeguarding products are offered on schwab.com; the bank serves retail investors. · source

1.5Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

No merchant acquiring or business checking; online sellers cannot run operating accounts at Schwab. No business checking, receiving accounts or accounting integrations exist; businesses get only a brokerage organization account. · source

1.5Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

Schwab's small-business page lists only Schwab Bank Checking for individuals and retirement plans; there is no business checking or business card. · source

1.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export

No letters of credit, guarantees or supply-chain finance products are offered. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

Schwab is a broker and bank with no merchant acquiring, so it offers no crypto acceptance, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

Schwab Crypto launched with bitcoin and ether only, and Schwab offers no stablecoin holding, payouts or settlement, checked September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.