Live Oak Bank is checking in.
 
The Wilmington-based, all-digital bank has launched its first-ever small business checking product, dubbed Tidal Small Business Checking. The reference to coastal ebbs and flows was not accidental.
 
“We are here to lift small businesses up. A rising tide lifts all boats. The name is a natural fit,” said James Capolongo, who heads up Live Oak’s deposits and payments unit. “Think also of the ups and downs of a checking account balance. We’ll be there with the business through high tides and low tides. This will be the brand name as we continue to build.”
 
Although Live Oak Bank has become one of the nation's top SBA lenders since its founding just 14 years ago and is highly focused on the needs of small businesses, it has not offered those customers a full suite of services, Capolongo said. Adding checking to its portfolio has been in the plans for some time.
 
“When we talk to customers, we realize they are busy running their businesses, and that is really complex,” he said. “Traditional banks typically ask a lot of small business owners. We have tried to make things a little easier; hence, the idea of a fully digital checking account with no fees and no minimums.”
 
That concept translates into a fully digital account opening process, an online banking portal and a “fantastic” mobile app, according to Capolongo. Account holders will get tangible tools – a debit card and a checkbook – as well as access to 55,000 in-network ATMS, online bill pay services and remote check deposit.
 
Wilmington was Tidal’s proving ground.
 
“Folks here know and trust Live Oak,” Capolongo said. “We focused on letting Wilmington know we were looking to do more. Savings accounts and CDs involve fewer transactions. When you operate checking accounts, there’s far more complexity. We wanted to make sure we were focusing our efforts around the local community.”
 
That’s been successful, with promotion that included billboard advertisements, digital marketing and special events. With the foundation of a “couple of hundred” accounts locally, Live Oak is pushing out Tidal elsewhere in the Carolinas and into Georgia. Once Tidal’s functionality expands, Live Oak will roll it out to more areas of the country with the goal of making the product available throughout the U.S.
 
“This is our first-generation checking account; there’s so much more to come,” Capolongo said. “We are focused a lot on the features and functions that will really add value, such as the customer’s ability to link the account to QuickBooks.”
 
Typically, checking accounts require a minimum balance, but Capolongo said Live Oak is committed to Tidal’s “no fees and no minimums” policy.
 
The key to making this model work, said Capolongo, is a close relationship with the customer, starting with the account opening experience. An onboarding specialist will ensure that the customer understands how the checking account works, how to use its functions and services, and when to ask for help if the business is hitting some bumps.
 
If those bumps become a pattern, Capolongo said, he and his staff will look at the account to see what it’s telling them.
 
“Part of my mission is to ensure if you are having trouble with your account, we’re going to be here for you to make sure you understand all the options available,” Capolongo continued. “We can be there for our customers [more readily] in a digital world.”