Bluevine Business Checking review
- Fee
- From $0 per month
- APY
- Up to 4.25%
- Minimum deposit to open
- $0
Our verdict
A digital business checking account with a high APY and up to $3 million in FDIC insurance.
Bluevine makes its mark as one of the highest-yielding business bank accounts. Earn 1.5% to 4.25% APY on your balance, depending on your plan. Choose between three plan options: Bluevine Standard for $0/month, Bluevine Plus for a waivable $30/month, or Bluevine Premier for a waivable $95 monthly fee. Standard has no monthly fees, no overdraft fees, free domestic and incoming wires, 1.5% APY, free ACH transfers, automated accounts payable and more. The paid plans come with more perks including priority customer support, free checks and higher APYs. Bluevine also accepts cash deposits at Green Dot and Allpoint locations, and you’ll get up to $3 million in FDIC insurance provided by its partner banks. Bluevine also has a no-annual-fee cashback credit card, offering unlimited 1.5% cash back on business purchases. But like most fintechs with banking services, you won’t have access to physical branches, and the credit card is invitation-only.
Best for: Small businesses that want an interest-bearing checking account.
Pros
-
Earn up to 4.25% APY, depending on the plan
-
$0 for standard or waivable fee on other plans
-
High $3 million FDIC insurance
-
Unlimited transactions and accepts cash deposits
Cons
-
No physical branches
-
APY requires balance or transaction requirements
-
No in-house accounting software
Who is Bluevine best for?
Bluevine is best for businesses looking for an interest-bearing checking account. The free standard plan is one of the best business checking accounts and offers one of the highest APYs out there. Its free plan offers 1.5% APY — leagues higher than the 0.07%(1) national average rate for interest checking. However, to earn interest, you’ll need to make at least $500 in debit or credit card transactions each month, or receive $2,500 in customer payments a month.
The paid plans can offer higher interest rates, up to 4.25% APY, with no transaction or balance requirements. But you’ll pay $30 or $95 per month, unless you can waive the monthly fee.
Bluevine plans and cost
One of the major perks with Bluevine is that you don’t have to pay for it if you don’t want to, thanks to the free Standard plan.
| Plans | Monthly Fee | APY | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $0 | Up to 1.5% APY |
|
| Plus | $30(waivable) | 3% APY | Everything with Standard, and:
|
| Premier | $95(waivable) | 4.25% APY | Everything with Plus, and:
|
What we like about Bluevine
Bluevine’s main stake in the field of business checking accounts is that it’s one of the few to earn high-yielding interest. Paired with minimal bank fees and no limits on how many transactions you make, this business account packs in more perks than usual.
In addition, Bluevine has high FDIC insurance, up to $3 million which is provided by its partner bank, Coastal Community Bank and a network of program banks. Most banks only offer up to $250,000 per account holder.
With the Standard plan, you can enjoy no monthly fees, no opening deposit requirement, no overdraft fees and free ACH transfers. In addition, as long as you keep a balance of some kind, you’ll also get 200 free checks. Most online-only accounts don’t provide checkwriting at all.
High APYs
Bluevine’s Standard plan earns 1.5% APY on funds in your main account or subaccounts, up to $250,000. If you max out the account, your total earnings can amount to over $2,000 yearly.
While you must spend $500 or earn $2,500 a month to accrue interest, compared to other interest-bearing checking accounts, this isn’t strict. Most high-yield checking accounts require you to jump through several hoops, which may even include opening up other types of accounts before you start earning interest.
Other business accounts don’t pack the same punch, such as Chase’s 0.01% APY on its interest-bearing business accounts. One of Bluevine’s top competitors, Novo, doesn’t earn interest at all on checking.
You can maximize your earning potential by opting for the $95 paid Premier plan, which offers up to 4.25% APY with no balance or transaction requirements. That APY is over 60 times higher than the national average for interest-bearing checking accounts.
Unlimited transactions and cash deposits
Unlike most digital banking options, Bluevine does accept cash deposits. You can deposit cash at Green Dot with over 90,000 retail locations for a $4.95 fee per deposit. Or you can deposit cash with 1,500+ Allpoint ATMs locations for a fee of $1 plus 0.5% of your deposit. Also, you can withdraw cash for free at over 37,000 MoneyPass ATMs locations.
Bluevine doesn’t set limits on how many transactions you can make. You can also do international transactions, and payments can be received as soon as 24 hours. Send payments to 32 countries in 14 currencies with a flat $25 fee for international payments. Just know if you send the payment in a non-US currency, Bluevine charges an additional 1.5% of your payment amount.
Cashback business credit card
While only available to Bluevine Business Checking customers through invitation, the Bluevine Business Cashback Mastercard offers unlimited 1.5% cashback on business purchases and has no annual fee.
Software integrations
Bluevine lacks its own in-house account software, but it makes up for it by letting you connect with popular business services like Quickbooks so that you can see your cash flow and approve transactions directly from Bluevine’s dashboard. It connects to:
Many digital business accounts offer software integrations for payment and accounting apps so you can continue using your existing software. But if you’re looking for a business account with built-in accounting features, look at other accounts like Found or Lili.
Where Bluevine falls short
Bluevine’s biggest downfall is that it charges a 2.9% transaction fee to pay bills with your credit card, a huge con if using your card lands you rewards. Pay with a bank transfer or check to avoid any fees for paying bills.
If you frequently make international transactions that are more than $25,000 per month, Bluevine states you may be eligible for lower fees. While incoming ACH transfers and wires have no fees, Bluevine doesn’t have tools for invoices or payment processing, although these features are hit-and-miss with other digital bank accounts.
Also, while Bluevine allows cash deposits there are fees, but that’s very common for digital banks that allow cash deposits.
Compare Bluevine Business Checking with other checking accounts
How to open a Bluevine Business Checking account
It takes a few minutes to open an account directly through Bluevine‘s site by entering basic information about you and your business.
Required information
Along with personal details like your address and Social Security number, and you’ll need this information about your business when signing up.
- Business name, address and phone number
- Employer identification number
- Industry and entity type
- Annual revenue
- Percentage of ownership in the business
Customer experience
Bluevine Business Checking is highly rated by thousands of customers across its app and user sites like Trustpilot and Reddit, although many positive reviews are about its business line of credit. For the checking account, happy customers like its user-friendly app, few fees and Quickbooks integration.
However, multiple people say that Bluevine‘s mobile deposits are finicky and checks can take a few days to a week to clear. The biggest complaints come from a few Redditors who were denied refunds for fraudulent charges, which cost them thousands of dollars. Keep in mind that people tend to leave reviews when they’ve had an overly positive or negative experience with a company.
To get in touch with customer support:
- Call 888-216-9619 on weekdays, 8 am to 8 pm ET or 24/7 for lost or stolen debit cards.
- Email banking.support@bluevine.com.
How long will it take to get my card?
Once your account is approved, you instantly get a virtual debit card to use online and through ApplePay or GooglePay. Your physical debit card arrives in the mail within seven to 10 business days
How do I deposit or withdraw my money?
Bluevine Business Checking gives you several ways to access your money:
Deposits
- Direct deposit
- Check deposit via mobile app or at a Green Dot location
- Cash deposit at a Green Dot location
- Domestic wire transfer
- ACH transfer from an external bank account
- Transfer from a linked bank account
Withdrawals
- Cash back at an ATM
- Domestic wire transfer
- ACH transfer to an external bank account
- Transfer to a linked bank account
- Cash back at a retailer
Business checking account ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
We analyze business checking accounts and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include: monthly fees, the ease at which monthly fees can be waived, monthly transaction limits, overdraft fees, and wire transfers. Read the full methodology of how we rate business checking accounts.
Your reviews
Bethany Finder
Editor, Banking
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