Bluevine Business Checking Review – High-Yield Interest With No Fees

I’ve featured a handful of small-business-oriented banks and financial service platforms on this site over the last couple of years, and while I could amass a large number of them in an exhausting list, I’ve opted to keep the list small. When I discovered Bluevine, I was wonderfully intrigued by their offering, wondering how they would compare to other players in the field.

Bluevine is a financial technology company (we can’t call them a bank, though they partner with one–Coastal Community Bank) that provides an intelligent, easy-to-use solution for small businesses looking for no-frills online banking products without fees. On top of that, deposits earn interest, too, something we don’t see much in the business banking space.

We featured them on our list of the best small business bank accounts, and in this review, we’ll go more in-depth and cover the ins and outs of the platform, things we like about it and what we’re not big fans of, and answer common questions.

Bluevine Overview

Founded in 2013, Bluevine requires very little in terms of fees you’ll pay or minimums to sign up. Their monthly fee is $0, and the minimum deposit to open an account is $0. Every account is backed by Coastal Community Bank (member FDIC), so your money is protected, up to $250,000, just like a more traditional offering from a physical bank you’re likely used to seeing. Traditional banks don’t likely have as good of ratings, either, with an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 on TrustPilot (81% of reviewers gave them 5 stars).

Bluevine Comparison

What we like about Bluevine

The bar for a “decent banking experience” has ended up so low in the last 10-20 years, thanks to the race to the bottom from the big names we’re all familiar with. While that implies Bluevine doesn’t have to try very hard to be halfway decent, they’re doing a pretty good job overall. Here are my notes about what I found appealing and enjoyed about Bluevine.

Day-to-day use will see zero fees. $0 minimum balance. $0 ATM fees (in the Money Pass network), free checks, free debit cards, no overdraft fees (which is enormous, in my opinion), and no NSF/insufficient funds fees (also big). The only exception to this would be if you regularly send wires. Outgoing wires see a $15 fee.

True sub-accounts. As a small business, this is something I find valuable, personally. I like to plan for tax season and quarterly tax payments, so I’ll earmark estimated taxes to be sent to the IRS each month. By having a dedicated account just to hold taxes for eventual payment, I’ll never accidentally spend that money. If I had employees, I’d feel similarly about payroll. Outside of those examples, too, having sub-accounts can even simply help with budgeting. The only limitation is that debit card swipes will draw from the main account.

Clean user interface. I’ve lost count of the banks I’ve utilized over the years. One thing that always stands out is either 1) how dated and cumbersome the online portals are or 2) how modern and cumbersome the online portals are. I feel like Bluevine gets this right. The UI makes sense, is quick to load, and the mobile app is top-notch, too, with an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars from over 1,300 ratings on the iOS App Store. Similarly, the Android version also sees a 4.4 out of 5 stars from over 900 ratings on the Google Play Store.

Integrations. While the list isn’t as exhaustive as others like Novo, Bluevine ties in with all the essential services. Quickbooks is a first-party integration; other platforms, like Wave, Freshbooks, etc., can hook up via Plaid. You can also connect Bluevine to Stripe, PayPal, and more to ensure incoming payments hit your account on time.

Checks? Whoa. I’ll be honest, I’ve never had to write a check for any of my businesses yet, but I’ve worked with many small businesses that do. If your business has ever had to pay a contractor, for example, they don’t all take cards, and if it’s a big job, they’re not likely to want to take cash, either. While two books aren’t a lot, that’s 50 checks. Writing one check a week is nearly a year without paying a dime for printed checks. By the time the following year comes around, you’ve got another two books.

High-interest checking. I tried to find other business checking offerings that accrued interest on account balances and could only find a couple. Bluevine tops the entire field. American Express is 1.30%. Grasshopper is 1.50% unless you keep $25,000 in your account at all times (they’ll bump it to 2.25% after that). For a small business, needing to hit that $25K mark just for another .25% will be hard. Bluevine’s steady 2.00% is a comfortable trade-off I think most will agree with. The only requirement Bluevine has to earn interest is to spend at least $500 per month on your Bluevine debit card or receive $2,500 per month in payments (ACH, Stripe, PayPal, check deposits). 

What We Don’t Like About Bluevine

No service is without its faults, though, and we noticed a couple of things we think you should be aware of before jumping in.

Support for cash deposits, but barely. If you’re a cash-centric business, you’ll likely have difficulty with Bluevine. While Bluevine supports cash deposits (through GreenDot retail locations), there’s a $4.95 fee, combined with limits of $500 per deposit and $2,000 per day. That means you’re looking at $19.80 to deposit $2000 (about 1%) daily. You’re out of luck if a GreenDot retail location isn’t nearby.

No customer support on the weekends. Bluevine’s customer support hours are only good Monday through Friday. This may or may not be relevant to you, but even most physical bank branches have weekend hours in person, and just about every regular bank keeps weekend customer support hours over the phone.

Details We Could Go Either Way On

In my notes, I had a couple of items that may or may not be relevant. I didn’t want to count them as outright detractors, but I didn’t want to overlook them.

No direct invoicing. If you use Quickbooks or another accounting platform and generate invoices through it, this won’t matter. Still, other fintechs offer the ability to generate an invoice directly and pay it by your customer. 

Physical checks for Bill Pay aren’t free. A little ironic given the free checkbooks I mentioned earlier, but if you use Bluevine’s bill pay service and it has to print and mail a physical check, expect to pay $1.50 for the effort. However, that may be worth it given the time, energy, and postage of mailing a physical check yourself (or having an employee do it.)

How to Open a Bluevine Business Checking Account

The process for opening an account is relatively quick. From start to finish, expect to spend anywhere from 90 seconds to 5 minutes on the entire application process. Here’s what you’ll need to complete the process quickly:

• Personal information (first and last name, address, phone number, DOB, SSN)
• Business information (Business name, entity type, address, phone number, annual revenue, EIN if applicable)
• Documentation proving business existence (ex: articles of incorporation, DBA paperwork, SS4 from IRS, partnership agreements, certificate of formation, etc.)

Bluevine Line of Credit

While most of this review is on Bluevine as a service and their business checking product, they also offer a separate line of credit product (separate approval required) that I wanted to touch on briefly. 

A line of credit is like a credit card, except there is no card. Instead, it’s closer to another account you can pull money from. Once you do, the clock starts ticking on the interest accrued. The longer it takes to pay back the money, the more interest accrued and the more expensive it’ll be to pay back the entire amount.

This is different from “working capital” or “merchant cash advance” (MCA) type products we see in the larger business world and other fintechs, even. Novo is the closest competitor in this regard, but their offering is a straight MCA with a high-interest rate, and I can never recommend those to anyone.

Bluevine’s line of credit is exactly like the one you’d get at your bank. Rates start at 6.2% (OAC), and the max credit line peaks at $250,000. It’s a revolving line of credit so that you can use it repeatedly.

Applications are processed quickly, with results coming back in as little as 24 hours. If you’re approved quickly and are willing to pay $15 for a wire, you can have the money as early as the same day.

There are two major repayment options available to businesses using Bluevine’s line of credit product:

• Weekly: pay once per week over 26 weeks. The downside is that the first payment is 7 days after you get the money, so be prepared.
• Monthly: there are more strict underwriting requirements since the funds are extended to your business for a more significant period, but you’re also afforded more flexibility.

Bluevine has relatively generous underwriting requirements for a line of credit:

• Minimum FICO score of 625 (650 for monthly payments)
• 24 months in business (36 months for monthly payments)
• $40K month/$480K annual revenue ($80K/$960K for monthly payments)
• Corporation or LLC – meaning EIN requires (no DBAs or sole prop)
• Not doing business in Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota
• Cannot be a resident of Puerto Rico or a U.S. Territory
• No bankruptcies in the last 3 years

To apply for a Bluevine line of credit, you’ll need: 

• All of the same business information you provided when you signed up for a Bluevine business checking account
• If your primary banking happens elsewhere, be able to connect Bluevine to your existing bank or provide statements for the last 3 months. If you bank with Bluevine (and have done so for at least 3 months), you can skip this, as they’ll already have that information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bluevine business checking a real bank account?

Yes. While Bluevine is not a bank, they’ve partnered with Coastal Community Bank to handle the banking half of the offering since starting a bank from scratch is incredibly time-consuming and expensive.

How much money do I need to open a Bluevine business checking account?

$1. Bluevine has no minimum opening deposit requirements for the Bluevine business checking account.

Does Bluevine use Zelle?

No. Only services that use more traditional ACH-based transfers like Cash App or PayPal are supported.

Does Bluevine have a credit card?

Not currently. Bluevine offers a revolving Line of Credit, however.

Is Bluevine FDIC insured?

Yes. With their partnership with Coastal Community Bank, ll Bluevine accounts receive up to $250,000 in deposit insurance.

Does Bluevine offer overdraft protection?

No. While Bluevine doesn’t charge overdraft fees, they do not expressly provide overdraft protection.

Does Bluevine offer a savings account?

No. However, with their sub-accounts feature and high-yield checking account offering, you may not need one.

Can I open a Bluevine business checking account online?

Yes. Bluevine offers online banking services; an application can be completed in just a few minutes. You’ll need information about yourself, your business, and documentation proving the business exists and is in good standing to apply.