Novo is offering a $40 sign-up bonus when you open a new account using the referral code JohnPham1 and fund the account with at least $100 within 30 days of account opening.
The top-rated Novo checking account is free and takes minutes to sign-up. Learn more about awesome perks of this bank account and get a step-by-step guide on how to receive the sign-up bonus below.
For more current bank offers, see our bank bonuses page. The most popular offers are from Chase Bank, SoFi, KeyBank, BMO and Axos Bank.
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What is Novo?
Novo is a business banking platform that offers a free business checking account which has been consistently rated as one of the top business bank accounts for small businesses.
We also awarded Novo first place when we ranked the best business checking accounts due to its low costs, unlimited fee-free transactions, and integration with popular business tools like QuickBooks and Stripe. There are no hidden fees and no minimum balance requirements.
You can easily open an account in minutes. Plus, when you open a Novo account using the referral code or referral link found below, you’ll score a $40 bonus!
Novo $40 Sign-up Bonus
Open a Novo account using referral code “JohnPham1” and get a $40 bonus when you deposit $100 or more within 30 days of account opening.
$40 Bonus Step-by-Step Guide
- Open a Novo business checking account using this link.
- Enter the Novo referral code JohnPham1 during account registration.
- Fund your account with $100 or more within 30 days of account opening.
- Maintain at least $100 for the next 30 days.
- Receive a $40 bonus after meeting the qualifications.
Can you open a business bank account?
A lot of people think they can’t open a business bank account because they don’t have a registered business. That’s simply not true. Many small businesses are run by individuals as a sole proprietorship. Do you sell on eBay, blog online, or have a side hustle? Then you have a business.
If you fit the description above and decide to open an account, you can use your first and last name as the business name. Here’s what to enter in the business checking account application:
- Select “Sole proprietorship” as your business type.
- You can use your home address as your business address.
- Get a free EIN number and enter the nine-digit number where it asks “What’s your EIN?“
- You can guess your “estimated monthly revenue“, even if it’s as low as $1 for the month.
- Select the date you started or plan to start your business.
A significant benefit of using an EIN is to avoid identity theft. Think of the EIN as being the Social Security Number (SSN) for your business. Once you have an EIN, you’ll be able to provide that number instead of your SSN, which means you won’t have to provide your personal SSN to clients/customers.
Contrary to popular belief, using a business banking account or having an EIN has no bearing whatsoever on your tax liability or filing requirements. You are no more or less likely to face audit for simply having a business banking account or EIN.
However, if you don’t want an EIN for whatever reason, Chase Bank is offering up to a $500 bonus and there’s no EIN requirement for sole proprietorships.
Novo Business Banking – Benefits & Perks
Benefits
Novo is the most competitive business account I’ve come across. Besides an Insufficient Funds Fee (NSF) and an Uncollected Funds Returned Fee, both which at $27 per occurrence, there are no other fees.
| Fee Schedule | Fee |
| Monthly Service Charge | $0 |
| Early Account Closing Fee | $0 |
| ACH Transactions | $0 |
| Incoming Domestic or Foreign Wire Transfers | $0 |
| Stop Payments | $0 |
| Debit Card Replacement | $0 |
| Physical Check Bill Payment | $0 |
| Bank Check | $0 |
| Paper Statement Fee | $0 |
Perks
Novo offers a crazy amount of perks for customers, including ones from the following merchants:
- Stripe = $20,000 in fee-free card processing ($500 value)
- Google Ads = $500 in credits when you spend $500 on Google Ads ($500 value)
- Snapchat = $150 in Snapchat Ads credits ($150 value)
- Google Cloud = $300 in Google Cloud credits ($300 value)
- Gusto = 100% discount on first 3 months of any Gusto package ($500 value)
- Intuit Quickbooks = 30% discount on first 6 months of any QuickBooks Online package ($150 value)
- HubSpot = 30% off first year subscription + 15% off following years ($1,400 value per seat)
- Segment = $25,000 in Segment Credits for first 2 years ($25,000 value)
- Zendesk = Free 6 months on any Zendesk Suite licenses ($540 value per seat)
I find Google Cloud and Stripe benefits the most helpful.
Google Cloud is great for backing up important files and taking credit card payments in-person (my friends never carry cash either) for free up to $20,000 is very nice.
The Bottom Line
This is simply an awesome bank account that I would have signed up for regardless of any available promo. The referral bonus is just icing on the cake and has an easy requirement that the majority of us can do.
Many readers have mentioned that they’re highly interested in business bank account bonuses, and more so after learning that pretty much anyone can open one. We’ll make an effort to write more content around this going forward.
I was excited to apply for the Novo checking account and bonus yesterday as a sole proprietor but the online form was requiring me to enter an EIN. I emailed to request clarification and the reply was “We just received an update from our Accounts team, as per the latest update, all Sole Proprietorship accounts now require a valid EIN (Employer Identification Number) to proceed.”
What’s the best alternative business checking account offer that doesn’t require an EIN for a sole propietorship? Chase?
Thanks!
Thanks for letting me know about this. I’ve edited the post to provide further clarification on the new EIN requirement (which, by the way, is free and doesn’t affect your taxes for simply getting one).
If you decide to use a different business checking account, then yes, Chase is a great option that doesn’t require an EIN for sole props. It’s also offering up to a $500 welcome bonus.
Love this offer! The $40 bonus came almost instantly after making the $100 deposit.
I ended up keeping and using the Novo checking account. It’s a great for business banking and like you said, I haven’t been assessed a single fee for anything I use Novo for. The perks, especially Stripe and Google Ads, are very useful. It would be nice if you can write more details on what benefits you find valuable so I (and other readers) can get even more value from the account.
I want to inform you that some Novo accounts have been upgraded to a $100 referral bonus again. I know for a fact that my Novo account was upgraded to the $100 bonus for the person being referred. If you want to be sure about receiving $100 for opening the account.. please use my referral link and enter my promo code if using the app to sign up: ShaunApple
The terms are the same.. 1) Open account using $100 referral link 2) Fund account with $100 3) Keep $100 in the account for only 30 days 4) Receive the $100 bonus.
The tracker works great and they e-mail both parties updates which is cool too. Transfers from the account are known to often count as “direct deposit” for other bank bonuses. Hope if you found this useful that it is okay to share my link here. Thanks!