First Niagara launches new small business checking accounts

First Niagara Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FNFG) is rolling out new checking options for its small business customers.

The new BIZ200 account, designed for firms with up to $250,000 in revenue per month, will allow 200 free transactions per month and include no minimum balance requirements or monthly maintenance fee.

The BIZ500 account includes 500 free transactions per month. It requires a daily minimum balance of $5,000 to waive its monthly maintenance fee of $15. The account also has tiered cash handling fees that include the first $50,000 per statement cycle free.

“First Niagara recognizes the importance of small business and has developed business checking products to save small business owners money,” First Niagara Managing Director of Retail Channels Scott Fisher said in a news release.  “In 2012, we made a tremendous commitment to our small business capabilities. With BIZ200 and BIZ500 we hope to perpetuate the momentum we have generated.”

The Buffalo–based bank added 40 bankers throughout its footprint in the Northeast in 2012 to focus on small business.

First Niagara Bank has 430 branches, $36 billion in assets, and 6,000 employees in upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

First Niagara is number four in the Syracuse metro area deposit market with 21 branches, more than $808 million in deposits, and a deposit market share of more than 7.5 percent, according to the latest statistics from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The bank is also number four in the Utica–Rome market with nine branches, $405.9 million in deposits, and a market share of about 11 percent.

The bank is number two in the Binghamton market with 10 branches, $342.5 million in deposits, and a market share of 12.8 percent.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com