Bluevine Business Checking Review 2024: Pros, Cons & Fees

Is the Bluevine Business Checking account right for me?

Bluevine Business Checking is geared toward small-business owners interested in feature-packed banking without stacked fees. This checking account includes features like no monthly fees, no minimum opening deposit requirement and no balance requirement make it easy to focus on day-to-day operations rather than worrying about those little extra expenses. As a bonus, there’s the option to upgrade to a Premium Plan account, which includes the possibility of earning interest on your balance to the tune of 2.00% APY.

Another perk is Bluevine’s technological network, which includes a mobile app and a handy online banking platform. If you have a lot on your plate, frequently get paid in cash and want a business checking account that’s flexible and straightforward, Bluevine could be the financial partner you’ve been waiting for.

To help you decide if a Bluevine Business Checking account is the best checking account for you, here are some pros and cons that give you a better understanding of what you may be getting into.

Bluevine Business Checking pros and cons

Bluevine Business Checking benefits

Bluevine Business Checking offers a wide range of competitive features that can help account holders safeguard their cash and build up their personal finances at the same time.

These are some of the Bluevine Business Checking benefits:

• No monthly fee: Skip pesky monthly maintenance fees and access your money on demand, for free. (Bluevine Primer has a waivable $95 monthly fee.)
• No minimum opening deposit requirement: With no minimum opening deposit in play, you can open an account for free.
• Unlimited transactions: Some banks put a cap on how many transactions you can make each month, but Bluevine offers unlimited access.
• Create up to five sub-accounts within your main account: Create subaccounts, each with its own account number, to help budget and compartmentalize your spending.
• Mobile check deposit: Upload your checks using Bluevine’s mobile app and make deposits without traveling to an ATM.
• Online bill pay: Your Bluevine Business Checking account includes online bill pay, with payments coming straight out of your checking account, through a separate credit card or even via an external account. Some payments may incur a fee, such as $10 for same-day ACH and a credit card processing fee of 2.9%.
• International payments to 32 countries/currencies: Take care of business, even when you need to complete transactions beyond the borders of the United States.
• FDIC insured: Bluevine accounts are FDIC-insured through Bluevine’s association with Coastal Community Bank. While the standard FDIC insurance caps protection at $250,000, Bluevine and CCB offer up to $3,000,000 in FDIC insurance by spreading funds across multiple subaccounts and network banks.

How to earn interest with a Bluevine Business Checking account

Bluevine offers both a standard plan and a premiere plan, giving you options as to how you’ll structure your personal banking and set yourself up for financial success.

Let’s take a look at how to earn interest with each of these accounts.

Earn interest with the Bluevine Standard Plan

With Bluevine’s Standard Plan, you can earn up to 2.00% APY, but that only applies to balances up to $250,000. There are caveats, too. 

To earn that preferred interest rate, you must either:

• Spend at least $500 per month on your Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard.
• Take in customer payments of at least $2,500 per month via ACH, wire transfer or mobile check deposit or directly from the merchant payment processing provider, directly into your Bluevine Business Checking account

Earn interest with the Bluevine Premier Plan

The potential for ROI cranks up with the Bluevine Premier Plan. Instead of the 2.00% APY, the interest rate more than doubles to 4.25% APY. There’s also a much higher balance cap of $3 million.

The possibility that you could earn thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in interest is tempting, but you will have to pay a $95 monthly fee for the privilege. Luckily, you only need to have a daily balance of roughly $27,500 to earn enough interest to offset the monthly fee. 

You can also get the fee waived if you:

• Have a minimum average daily balance of $100,000.
• Spend at least $5,000 each month using your Bluevine debit card.

Bluevine Business Checking fees

One of Bluevine’s biggest claims to fame is that it eliminates so many of the fees and minimums commonly administered by other banks.

You can look forward to:

• No monthly service fees: Bluevine doesn’t charge customers any monthly service fees, unless you choose to upgrade to a Bluevine Premier account (and even then, the fee may be waived). This saves you $5 to $25 per month compared to other banks.
• No minimum deposit requirement: Often, you’ll be asked to make a minimum deposit to open a new bank account. This could be anywhere from $25 to $100 or more, but Bluevine waves that minimum deposit requirement altogether.
• No minimum balance requirement: Some banks will ask you to maintain a minimum account balance of $100 to $2,500 to waive your monthly maintenance fees. Not so with Bluevine.
• No non-sufficient fund fees: Non-sufficient fund fees happen when your account doesn’t have enough funds to complete an incoming transaction. With other banks, you could be hit with up to $35 in fees per NSF incident, but Bluevine waives all overdraft fees and simply declines unserviceable transactions.
• No ATM fees at more than 37,000 MoneyPass ATMs nationwide: Use in-network MoneyPass ATMs for withdrawals while you’re out and about and you’ll save in the neighborhood of $3-$5 in fees per transaction.
• No fees for unlimited monthly transactions: With Bluevine, you can conduct as many transactions per month as you wish, all for free.

Still, there are a few fees you can’t skip even after signing up with Bluevine. The bank does charge $2.50 for each withdrawal made using a non-MoneyPass ATM. You’ll also pony up $1.50 to process bill paychecks, $15 to send wire transfers and $10 to expedite ACH payments.

How Bluevine Business Checking account compares

The main difference between Bluevine’s business checking options and similar accounts from other banks is the fee structure. Bluevine simply charges less for the same features. The option for interest-added checking is a big deal, too.

Let’s take a look at how Bluevine compares to some other business checking accounts.

Bluevine Business Checking vs. Novo Business Checking

Novo is making a name for itself by offering business accounts with no monthly fees, unlimited refunds for ATM charges and tons of useful integrations with tools like Stripe and Xero. But unlike Bluevine, Novo won’t allow you to deposit cash or send wires. You can’t set recurring payments with bill pay either, and the inability to contact customer service via phone can be unsettling and inconvenient.

Some of those downsides won’t bother potential customers who just want an easy-to-use account without too many bells and whistles. But for others, Bluevine has more perks, and even with added fees, the ability to deposit cash and send wire transfers comes in handy.

Bluevine Business Checking vs. American Express Business Checking

Make a wish list of what you want in a business account, and American Express Business Checking is going to tick a lot of those boxes. No monthly fees, unlimited fee-free transactions and no overdraft fees — sounds a lot like Bluevine. But American Express also offers 1.30% APY on balances up to $500,000, and you don’t have to pay a monthly fee to get there. Add in a Membership Rewards scheme that could result in points turned into cash, and there’s extra incentive to check out this account.

But American Express Business Checking comes up short in a big way when it comes to cash deposits. You can’t make them with this online checking account, and that can be difficult to navigate if you’re a business that regularly deals with cash transactions.

How to open a Bluevine Business Checking account

You can switch to Bluevine banking by opening a business account with Bluevine online. You’ll need some essential documents, including your Social Security number or EIN, your personal ID and business validation documents. Once you’re approved, you’ll receive your debit card in the mail, and you’re ready to make transactions at will.

How to access funds with a Bluevine Business Checking account

Here’s how you can make deposits and withdrawals once your Bluevine account is up and running.

Deposit options

You can deposit money into your Bluevine account using these methods:

Withdrawal options

Bluevine Business Checking account holders get a business debit card that can be used at some 37,000 MoneyPass ATMs, no fees applied.

Other business products and services offered by Bluevine

Bluevine does not offer savings accounts, but they do advertise a business line of credit with funds of up to $250,000. You can apply online, and funds are available within 24 hours if you’re approved.

There’s also a Bluevine Business Cashback Mastercard®. Account holders earn unlimited 1.5% on transactions and don’t pay any annual fee.