Best Nonprofit Banking: Holdings vs. Amex for Expense & Grant Tracking

Choosing a banking partner isn’t just about comparing features—it’s about finding a solution that truly understands the unique challenges nonprofits face. You need a platform that will not just hold your funds, but help you steward every dollar, every grant, and every program with transparency and ease.

Banking for nonprofits is different. Whether you’re a grassroots group organizing food drives or a multi-program organization managing six-figure grants, the way you handle money has real consequences on your impact. The complexities of donations, restricted funds, and expense tracking can make a standard business checking account feel like the wrong fit.

This guide will walk you through a side-by-side comparison of Holdings’ all-in-one nonprofit banking platform and American Express Business Checking, two modern leaders. The focus? What matters most to nonprofits: transparent interest, easy fund separation, robust controls, audit-ready bookkeeping, and zero hidden costs.

Nonprofit Banking: What Really Matters?

Let’s set the stage. Nonprofit leaders care about a few critical banking needs:

• Maximizing every dollar with strong, reliable interest (APY) on operating cash and reserves.

• Segmenting funds by grant, program, or donor restriction—without spending hours reconciling spreadsheets.

• Safer, easier access to debit cards and virtual cards for team or volunteer expenses (yes, modern P-cards do exist!).

• Effortless compliance with integrated bookkeeping, receipts, and ready-to-export reports.

• True partnership: No monthly fees, gotchas, unnecessary limitations, or unhelpful customer service.

The right platform should make your mission easier, not add yet another spreadsheet or fee.

Quick Feature Comparison: Holdings vs. Amex Business Checking

Why Nonprofits Across the Spectrum Choose Holdings

Holdings was built with nonprofit finance at its core, not adapted from a for-profit SMB template. This means every aspect of the platform—from earning interest to allocating funds by grant—is designed for your world.

Earn More on Every Dollar

With Holdings, every single account earns a flat, reliable 2% APY on all balances, with no complex tiers and no caps. You can keep $200 or $2 million in your account and always know you’re earning more than most nonprofit checking or money market accounts elsewhere.

Segment Without Spreadsheets

Say goodbye to manual fund tracking. Holdings’ unlimited virtual accounts let you separate cash by grant, restricted/unrestricted status, program need, or any custom label you choose. No more color-coded Excel sheets, manual reconciliations, or rigid workarounds. Everything is visible, accurate, and export-ready whenever your board, auditor, or grantor requests a report.

Team Spend without the Stress

Expense management is more than a buzzword here. Holdings issues both virtual and physical debit cards, each with customizable controls. Want to set a spending limit for your outreach volunteer? Need cards for teachers in a program, or for field staff traveling to a conference? Each card can be controlled, restricted, or “turned off” instantly.

No need for reimbursements, awkward cash advances, or lost receipt hunts. Your team gets the power they need—while you keep full oversight and protection for the funds entrusted to you.

Built-in Bookkeeping and Easy Audit Trails

Holdings supports every kind of nonprofit, from one-person operations to teams with a bookkeeper or CFO. You can:

• Export clear, categorized reports for your accountant or upload them to QuickBooks or Sage Intacct with a click.

• Rely on optional done-for-you bookkeeping services if you don’t have a dedicated finance staff. We help you get and stay audit-ready.

• Capture receipts, allocate transactions by fund or purpose, and keep everything clean—no week-long “clean up” before audit season.

Zero Fees, Full Transparency

Managing someone else’s money—whether it’s donor dollars, government grants, or foundation gifts—requires trust. That’s why Holdings never charges for:

• Account maintenance

• Incoming or outgoing wires

• ATM withdrawals

• Overdrafts or minimum balance violations

What you see is what you get, every day, for everyone—no matter how much you hold.

Cash Donations? No Problem

Grassroots and community nonprofits often deal in cash, whether it’s a fundraiser’s proceeds, event donations, or food pantry change jars. Holdings makes cash deposits simple via our Allpoint ATM network, so your treasurer never has to jump through hoops, find a compatible branch, or mail in money.

Integrate or Go All-in-One

Some nonprofits love their current accounting platform (Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Xero), but need better cash controls, easy expense tracking, or receipts tied to grants. Holdings plugs right in—exporting data is seamless and built for the real-world needs of monthly reporting, board packages, and funder audits.

If you don’t have a formal accounting tool, Holdings keeps everything organized in one login.

Where Amex Business Checking Delivers (and Where It May Not)

American Express Business Checking is a digital-first, solid option for straightforward business checking—but with specific limitations for nonprofits.

Decent Interest, Lower Cap

Amex offers a respectable 1.30% APY on your first $500,000 in balances and ensures no monthly fees or minimums. For small organizations with relatively modest reserves, this is competitive. If you regularly hold larger balances, though, your excess cash will not be earning at the same rate as with Holdings.

Seamless Digital Experience

If you value a simple, mobile-focused bank, their interface and app are clear and functional. Like many fintech accounts, all customer support is online or by phone—there are no branches.

Debit Rewards, But Not Mission-Built

Amex rewards debit card purchases with Membership Rewards points. This perk is more meaningful for organizations already holding Amex charge cards or deeply invested in the Amex ecosystem—those miles and points aren’t always easily converted to purchases related to your mission, especially if travel isn’t central to your work.

ATM Access, But No Cash In

Amex gives you free access to a wide ATM network for withdrawals. However, you cannot deposit cash at any ATM or branch—something that can be a real limitation for nonprofits still fundraising in-person, running physical events, or collecting cash donations.

Limited Expense Controls

You get a single debit card. There’s no option for issuing multiple cards to volunteers, program leads, or staff. This forces many organizations back into the reimbursement maze, where small purchases get lost and tracking every dollar by grant becomes needlessly complex.

Accounting Integration—Basic, Not Built-In

Amex supports QuickBooks integration for syncing transactions, but doesn’t offer full bookkeeping or specialized nonprofit reporting. Reconciliation, receipt upload, expense tag-by-purpose, and fund-specific categorization aren’t in the core product.

Wire Fees and Coverage

Outgoing domestic wire transfers incur a $25 fee each. There’s no native support for managing wire limits or approvals. If your nonprofit frequently moves funds for grants or pay vendors by wire, this adds up. And FDIC insurance tops out at $250,000, compared with Holdings’ $3 million in coverage.

Who Should Use Holdings?

Holdings is the nonprofit platform of choice when you:

• Want every dollar of operating cash and reserve funds to earn 2%—with no tiers, caps, or complex formulas.

• Need to separate funds by grant, restriction, or program without a single spreadsheet or manual process.

• Value accurate, audit-ready expense tracking for grants, donor restrictions, or board reporting.

• Require physical or virtual cards for your team, not just for the ED or finance staff.

• Need to deposit event cash or walk-up donations fast and securely.

• Prefer bookkeeping and reports aligned for nonprofit compliance, even if you don’t have a finance team.

• Want a partner that can act as your bank, your bookkeeper, and your expense manager—or just fill the gaps between your favorite systems.

Who Might Consider Amex Business Checking?

Amex Business Checking is appropriate if your nonprofit:

• Deals only in digital or check-based donations and spends.

• Doesn’t need integrated accounting or grant/fund tracking on your actual bank platform.

• Is already invested in Amex for credit cards and wants to accumulate more rewards points.

• Is comfortable managing all nonprofit expense reporting and fund-separation outside the banking platform.

• Has only one or two staff needing debit card access.

Common Frustrations Nonprofits Face with Traditional and Digital Banks

Let’s name a few widespread headaches:

• Running 5+ restricted programs but having only one account: forced to reconcile manually.

• Staff or volunteers needing to make purchases and being told to “save your receipts for a month-end pile and wait for reimbursement.”

• Paper statements and PDFs that don’t show how dollars map to program impact—or grant-specific spending.

• Endless admin time spent getting data out of a bank and into the right rows for auditors or grantors.

• Surprises on receipts and cash-log tracking, especially in organizations juggling part-time account access.

Holdings addresses these directly by combining virtual accounts, programmable cards, integrated receipts, and exports that are ready to plug right into your compliance world.

How Holdings Simplifies Your Nonprofit’s Money in Practice

Imagine your typical month: three active grants, general operations, and a field project funded by a private donor. Cash comes in, and teams across programs make expenses.

Here’s how Holdings gets you from “mess” to “mission-aligned”:

1. Receive all donations (by ACH, check, funds transfer, Stripe, or cash deposit).

2. Instantly allocate each inflow to a specific virtual account: “Youth Grant,” “Operations,” “Donor-Restricted.”

3. Issue virtual or real debit cards to as many staff/volunteers as needed. Each card can be assigned to a specific program or fund, with its own spend limit and rules.

4. Capture receipts right at purchase—users upload via web or the app, tagged to the right grant.

5. Auto-sync or export transactions to your accounting platform whenever you want, or simply run internal reports for your board, funders, or 990 prep.

6. For more complex needs, let Holdings’ bookkeeping team handle reconciliation, classification, and audit-readiness. You’ll always know where every dollar went, in real time.

No bottlenecks, no missing receipts, no unpleasant “surprise” transactions, and no lost hours cleaning up before deadlines.

Secure, Scalable, and Built for Peace-of-Mind

Holdings wasn’t just designed for today’s nonprofit challenges, but for long-term stewardship. Your funds are FDIC insured up to $3 million. Need to scale programs, take on new grants, or handle a surge in donations? You can open, close, or adjust sub-accounts in seconds—without waiting on a branch visit or an account manager.

Everything is digital, but human help is always available when you need one-on-one, nonprofit-specific advice.

Yes, We Integrate—But You Don’t Need to Be a Techie

Holdings plays nicely with popular accounting software used by nonprofits—QuickBooks, Xero, and even Sage Intacct for the more complex organizations. Simple CSV exports are ready for any spreadsheet or auditor’s review. You’ll never be locked in or forced to abandon your existing systems to get the benefits of controlled spending and automated recording.

Getting Started with Holdings: The Support Article For Your Nonprofit

If you’re ready to make the most of every grant, donation, and general fund, it’s fast and friendly to move to Holdings.

To open your nonprofit account and set up your custom structure:

1. Gather your IRS nonprofit determination letter, EIN, and personal identification for at least one authorized signer.

2. Complete the straightforward digital application.

3. Set up each program, fund, or grant as a distinct virtual account—all under one master umbrella.

4. Fund your account by ACH, wire, check (mobile or mailed), or cash via Allpoint ATMs.

5. Assign spending cards as needed to staff and volunteers for real-time, controlled access.

6. Upload receipts and tie transactions directly to the right purpose—no chasing down paperwork later.

7. Export reports anytime, for your board, funder, or year-end compliance.

8. For help, reach out to our nonprofit support team (by chat, email, or phone).

No need for in-person visits, endless paperwork, or technical certifications.

Holdings vs. Competitors: The Nonprofit Lens

You might be wondering how Holdings stacks up against the biggest names in nonprofit banking, digital-first and traditional alike. Here’s what you won’t find elsewhere bundled together:

• Unlimited, real-time virtual accounts for tracking every penny by project, grant, or donor need.

• 2% interest on every balance, regardless of size or type.

• Companion full-service bookkeeping for when you’re under-staffed or mid-audit.

• Card controls that let you empower your team—without losing single-dollar accountability.

• FDIC insurance far beyond the $250,000 cap standard at most institutions.

Frequently Asked Questions by Nonprofit Teams

Is Holdings only for large nonprofits?
No. We’re built for the full range: shoe-string startups tracking lunch receipts, growing orgs managing multiple six-figure grants, and everything in between. Our virtual accounts can flex as you scale.

Will my bookkeeper or auditor “get it”?
Yes—everything is ready for export in the formats pros prefer. And if you don’t have a bookkeeper, our optional support services can fill the gap.

Does Holdings replace my accounting system?
Not if you don’t want it to! Use Holdings as your full stack or plug-in powerful cash and expense control right alongside your favorite ledgers.

Does Amex Business Checking work for nonprofits?
Amex offers basic business checking for U.S. businesses but has limited features supporting nonprofit financial complexity. There’s no fund-level reporting, no cash deposit support, and only one card per account.

The Bottom Line for Mission-Driven Teams

Your nonprofit deserves a banking partner that understands how profoundly financial transparency, control, and ease-of-use matter—not just to finance pros, but to everyone hustling for impact. Holdings was built from the ground up to take the stress, risk, and manual work out of nonprofit money management, whether your team is two people or two hundred.

You no longer have to choose between earning a strong yield, having total visibility, and operating simply. Holdings gives you 2% interest on every dollar, total control with virtual accounts, easy card management, and support tools that flex with you as you grow.

Amex Business Checking has some merits for digital-first, simple banking needs—but misses the mark on key nonprofit requirements, especially fund tracking, cash access, and advanced controls.

Ready to turn your bank account into a true nonprofit financial hub? Join the mission-driven organizations already powered by Holdings, and make every dollar, and every moment, count for more.