Bluevine’s Standard checking account stands out from the competition by charging no transaction or monthly fees and offering qualified accounts a 2.0% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on balances up to $250,000. If you want to increase your APY, upgrade to:
- Bluevine Plus Has a $30 monthly fee that you can waive if you have a minimum average daily balance of $20,000 across your Bluevine Checking account and subaccounts AND a spend of $2,000 monthly using your Bluevine debit card or credit card to enjoy 3.0% on balances up to $250,000
- Bluevine Premium Has a $95 monthly fee that you can waive if you have a minimum average daily balance of $100,000 across your Bluevine Checking account and subaccounts AND a spend of $5,000 monthly using your Bluevine debit card or credit card to enjoy 4.25% on balances up to $3 million
Both higher-tier plans offer a free 30-day trial. Bluevine has an easy application process and competitive technology, which extends to its line of credit products if you need additional business financing.
Bluevine is a business financial technology (fintech) platform. It provides deposit services and FDIC insurance of up to $3 million through Coastal Community Bank and a sweep network with 17 program banks. See Bluevine’s sweep network page for more information on the banks it partners with.
Pros
- Three checking options with competitive interest
- FDIC insurance of up to $3 million
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back on business Mastercard
Cons
- No brick-and-mortar branches
- Fees for depositing cash
- No savings, money market, and certificate of deposit (CD) accounts
Features
- Free debit card, mailed within 10 business days of application approval
- Two free checkbook orders per year
- Integrates with QuickBooks, Wave, and Xero
- Connects with business payment solutions, including Wise, Venmo, Expensify, Cash App, and Square
- Up to five sub-accounts
- Shared account access
- International business payment service
- Line of credit and business credit card are available
- $30-per-month Plus account with 3.0% APY available
- $95-per-month Premier account with 4.25% APY available
- Reduced standard payment fees for premium plans
How Bluevine Stacks Up With Its Competitors
When Bluevine Is a Good Fit
- You seek to earn competitive interest: Bluevine Standard offers 2.0% APY on qualifying accounts with balances up to $250,000. If you upgrade to a Bluevine Plus or Bluevine Premier account, you’ll earn higher interest at 3.0% and 4.25%, respectively.
- You want to bank without a monthly fee: The Bluevine Standard account has no monthly fees, minimum opening deposit requirement, and transaction fees. It’s one of our leading free business checking accounts and top-recommended banks for startups.
- You need fast approval for funding: Bluevine offers a quick and simple application process for its line of credit product, where businesses can easily get the funding they need within a day. This is among the reasons it’s included in our guide to the top small business lines of credit.
- You want lower fees: Businesses with higher balances and payments can upgrade to higher-tier accounts to access discounts on wire transfers and same-day ACH.
When to Use a Bluevine Alternative
- You need access to brick-and-mortar branches: As a fintech company, Bluevine does not have physical branches. The best bank for in-person banking is Chase, which has branches in all 48 mainland states. Read our review of Chase business checking for a breakdown of its three business accounts.
- You run a cash-reliant business: While Bluevine allows cash deposits through Green Dot and Allpoint+ ATMs, there is a fee for both. For affordable cash deposits, consider Bank of America, which provides a monthly cash deposit allowance of $7,500. Our Bank of America business checking review can help you decide which account suits your business needs.
- You need access to a wide range of lending products: Currently, Bluevine only offers a line of credit. Meanwhile, the online-only First Internet Bank has commercial real estate (CRE) lending, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, and commercial loans. You can check out our review of First Internet Bank business checking for more information on the bank’s products.
If your small business meets one or more of these scenarios, check out our roundup of the best small business checking accounts for additional recommendations.
Bluevine Business Checking Requirements
Applying for Bluevine’s business checking account is relatively simple. You can visit the Bluevine website to open a business bank account.
You need to:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Be an owner of a verifiable business
- Be a United States citizen or resident with a verifiable US address
- Not be in the following industries: adult entertainment, gambling, weapons and firearms, illegal substances, and virtual currency
The application will ask for relevant business information, including your business name, address, annual revenue, industry, and EIN or Tax ID.
You’ll need to upload a valid photo ID and provide personal information, such as your name, address, Social Security number, mobile number, and date of birth. Bluevine will also ask you to provide the same information for all beneficial owners with shares of 20% or greater.
Ensure you have good lighting so that you can take a clear photo and avoid having to restart the application process.
You may also be asked to provide additional documents depending on how your business is structured. Here are the additional Bluevine business checking requirements according to business type:
- Sole proprietorship: Doing Business As (DBA), assumed, fictitious, or trade name certificate
- General or limited partnership: Signed partnership agreement; owners with 20% or more share of the business will need to provide personal information and declare the percentage of business ownership
- Corporation/LLC/LLP:
- Articles of organization, certificate of organization, or certificate of formation (for LLC)
- Articles of incorporation, certificate of incorporation, or certificate of formation (for corporation)
- Owners with a 20% or more share of the business will need to provide personal information and declare the percentage of business ownership
Upon providing information about you and your business, your application will be submitted for approval by Bluevine. While Bluevine asks to allow up to three business days for review, most approvals are made in about 24 hours. Upon approval, Bluevine will ask you to sign an account agreement. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to fund and access the account.
See our step-by-step guide on how to open a business bank account. It includes a free downloadable checklist of documents typically required to open an account.
Bluevine Business Checking Features
Bluevine’s Standard business checking account offers a high interest rate, a debit card, integration with accounting software, the ability to create sub-accounts, and more.
Savings on Fees
Bluevine helps small businesses save a lot with its lack of account fees. It doesn’t charge for incoming wire transfers, overdrafts, and standard ACH transfers. Bluevine Standard has no monthly maintenance fees, while Bluevine Plus and Bluevine Premier have waivable monthly maintenance fees.
If you upgrade to the higher-tier accounts, banking fees can be reduced by as much as 50%. For businesses that do a lot of same-day ACH, wire transfers, and check payments, this could offset the monthly fee cost even if they don’t meet the waiver requirements.
Competitive Interest
Bluevine Standard Business Checking provides a 2.0% APY on qualifying balances of up to $250,000. To qualify for this high return, you’ll need to fulfill one of two requirements:
- Make $500 or more monthly purchases using the Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard
- Receive $2,500 monthly payments into a checking account or sub-account via ACH, wire transfer, mobile check deposit, or your merchant payment processing provider. This threshold can be met with any combination of incoming payment types or sources.
Note that the transactions mentioned above must be posted to your account or sub-accounts before the month’s end to be eligible for interest earnings—and the requirements must be met each month. Interest is paid out on the 1st of the following month if you meet any of the two conditions.
Meanwhile, Bluevine Plus accounts earn 3.0% APY on balances of up to $250,000, while Bluevine Premier accounts earn 4.25% APY on balances of up to $3 million. There are no activity requirements you need to meet for both accounts to access these rates.
Debit Card
Bluevine provides each business checking account with one Mastercard business debit card, mailed to you within 10 days of the account opening. Up to four fee-free additional cards for authorized users can be issued. Your debit card can be used to make purchases wherever Mastercard is accepted and serves as your ATM card for the account.
Your debit card gives you fee-free access to over 38,000 MoneyPass ATMs nationwide. There’s an ATM surcharge of $2.50 for usage outside the MoneyPass network, plus any applicable ATM operator fees.
Cash Deposits
You can deposit cash at either Green Dot retail locations for $4.95 per deposit, or at Allpoint+ ATMs for $1 per deposit plus 0.5% of the deposit amount.
Bill Payment
Bluevine offers the ability to pay your bills online. If you’re in a cash crunch, Bluevine allows you to link your credit card to pay bills for an added fee of 2.9% per transaction. You can deliver payments via check, wire transfer, or free ACH.
In addition to one-time payments, Bluevine allows for recurring payments on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis at no cost.
Accounting Software Integrations
Bluevine connects with leaders in the accounting software space—QuickBooks, Xero, and Wave. It even has a built-in integration with QuickBooks, so whenever you make a payment or upload a bill or payee in Bluevine, QuickBooks will automatically reconcile the action, and vice versa.
Sub-accounts
Businesses needing to maintain separate accounts to track expenses will like Bluevine’s ability to create sub-accounts. Bluevine business checking allows up to five fee-free sub-accounts. Each sub-account has its own account number and routing number, which lets users write checks or order separate checkbooks for any sub-account.
However, depositing cash or ordering a debit card is not permitted. The combined balances of the sub-accounts will be considered in calculating your monthly interest, which will be applied to your primary account.
Mobile App
Bluevine business checking customers can use Bluevine’s mobile app, which allows them to make check deposits and execute transactions as needed while on the go. Note that check deposits can only be made through the app. Bluevine also allows customers to connect to third-party tools such as Square, Venmo, and Expensify.
The app received a rating of 4.7 on the App Store[1] (based on approximately 2,900 reviews) and 4.5 on Google Play[2] (based on approximately 1,500 reviews). Users praised the app for its simple but effective user interface (UI). However, a few reviewers reported encountering mobile check deposit issues.
Shared Account Access
Bluevine allows business owners to securely share access with additional users to assist with managing bill payments or filing taxes. You can permit an administrator, an authorized user, an accountant, and a contributor to access the business account.
Customer Service
Business checking account holders can contact customer service by calling the toll-free number (888) 216-9619, available from Mondays to Fridays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time. You can also send a message to [email protected] or fill out the Contact Us form.
Bluevine also has live customer support from dedicated professionals. If you need additional resources, see the Help Center and the guides on Bluevine’s website to help you navigate your online account.
Upgrading to Bluevine Premier gives you access to priority customer support, which will put you in the priority queue whenever you call the Bluevine helpline.
Extended FDIC Insurance
Through its partnership with sweep networks, Bluevine provides FDIC insurance on balances up to $3 million. Sweep networks spread your deposits across multiple program banks. Visit Bluevine’s sweep network page for a list of banks included in the partnership.
International Payments for Business
You can send international payments to 32 countries in 15 currencies. That makes it convenient for businesses with global vendors (see Bluevine’s list of countries available for international payments).
Charges are transparent. USD payments charge a flat fee of $25 per payment, while foreign currency payments are billed $25 plus 1.5% of the payment in USD conversion. If you upgrade to the higher-tier plans, you can reduce these fees by up to 50%. Payments can be received in 24 hours, depending on the recipient’s bank and country and when the payment was made.
Note that Nevada-based businesses and those in the finance, insurance, and mining sectors are exempt from sending international payments.
Other Bluevine Business Products
Bluevine also offers an excellent business line of credit that regularly ranks among our best small business lines of credit. The application process is easy to use, and Bluevine generally approves and funds within one day. To apply, you must provide basic personal information, business information, and bank statements for the last three months. Your business must also be in good standing.
Repayment terms can be monthly or weekly and extend to a year. Bluevine will approve lines of credit up to $250,000 for business owners who have been in business for more than 24 months. It also offers rates as low as 6.2%.
The minimum qualifications to access a line of credit are:
- 625+ personal FICO score
- More than 24 months in business (in good standing with the secretary of state and no bankruptcies in the past three years)
- $40,000 in monthly revenue
- Eligible US state-operated or incorporated LLC or B Corporation (B-corp); Nevada, North Dakota, and South Dakota are ineligible
- Active bank connection or statements from the last three months
The Bluevine Business Cashback Mastercard carries a $0 annual fee and provides unlimited 1.5% cash back on business purchases. In addition to accessing Mastercard perks, you get exclusive discounts on business solutions, such as QuickBooks Online, TurboTax, and Microsoft Advertising.
Bluevine extends an invitation to customers who qualify for the Mastercard credit card. Existing Bluevine account holders are notified through email if they meet the eligibility requirements. Meanwhile, new customers interested in qualifying for the card must open a business checking account and sign up for an eligibility notification during account setup.
General partnerships and sole proprietors cannot apply for a Bluevine business credit card. Those with a Bluevine line of credit are also ineligible for the credit card and vice versa.
Bluevine Business Checking Reviews from Users
Most customers who have left a Bluevine business checking review had positive things to say. Reviewers said that they appreciated the ease of account opening, excellent interest rates, and convenient features—such as fast electronic fund transfers and card control.
Many also praised the customer support team’s professionalism and in-depth knowledge of the Bluevine products. However, some clients complained about the lengthy debit and credit refunds and sudden account closures that affected their business financial transactions.
On Trustpilot[3], the provider has a rating of 4.3 (based on approximately 7,000 reviews).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
While Bluevine is not a bank, it’s a legitimate financial service. Bluevine is a fintech platform that works in partnership with, and is FDIC-insured through, Coastal Community Bank.
To be eligible for a Bluevine Line of Credit, you need a personal FICO credit score above 625.
Applying for a Bluevine Line of Credit won’t impact the credit score of an LLC or corporation since Bluevine doesn’t perform a hard credit pull at any stage. For businesses structured as sole proprietorships or general partnerships, Bluevine conducts a hard credit pull, but only when an offer is received and accepted.
Yes. Through Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, Bluevine Business Checking deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor.
Yes, all Bluevine Business Checking accounts are opened online since the provider has no branches and offers online-only services. You must provide personal and business information to apply for a Bluevine business account.
Generally, Bluevine takes up to three business days to review a business checking account application.
Bottom Line
Bluevine Standard business checking is an outstanding account with a competitive APY offering, a great selection of features, and minimal fees. Companies with higher balances that want more savings and higher APY can subscribe to the premium plans.
As long as your business isn’t cash-heavy and you don’t require in-person banking and business savings products, Bluevine is a superb option. It’s also an excellent fit for businesses that may need an unsecured line of credit for more working capital and seek the convenience of using the same provider for borrowing and banking.
User review references:
[1]App Store
[2]Google Play
[3]Trustpilot
