Bluevine Business Checking Review 2023

Since 2013, Bluevine has made a name for itself in the business financing world. And in 2020, it branched out to offer business bank accounts. But are those checking accounts any good?

Well, we think so. In fact, it’s one of our favorite checking accounts for business. With virtually no fees, a super competitive interest rate, and nationwide availability, Bluevine checking has a lot going for it. Still, it’s not right for everyone, as Bluevine has no branch locations and just one bank account option.

In this Bluevine review, we’ll explain how Bluevine’s checking account works, what we like about it, and why it might be the right bank for your small business. We’ll also point out some reasons Bluevine might not work for you and point you to some alternatives instead.

Let’s talk Bluevine business banking.

We’ll put this simply: Bluevine offers our favorite checking account for business. That’s because―despite being a new player in the business banking world―Bluevine offers tons of value.

Bluevine business checking accounts don’t charge any fees, like monthly maintenance fees or transaction fees, so it will work with any business’s budget. You can earn interest on your Bluevine account balance, making it a good way to do more with your money.

And unlike some online banks for small business, Bluevine lets you deposit cash and use checks. So you get all the essential features you’d want from a checking account―for free.

Plus, since Bluevine is an online bank, it’s available in all 50 states.

Like we said, Bluevine has just one type of business checking account. You won’t find any business savings accounts or specialized checking accounts.

Fortunately, that one checking account is quite nice.

Bluevine offers fee-free checking. That means you don’t pay a monthly maintenance fee to keep your account open and active. You don’t have to pay transaction fees on payments and transfers. And you don’t have to worry about ATM fees when using in-network ATMs. It’s all free.

Now, Bluevine doesn’t charge any fees for day-to-day use, but there are a couple fees you should know about. If you lose your Bluevine debit card, you’ll have to pay a small replacement fee. If you make an outgoing wire transfer, you’ll have a $15 wire fee.

Then there are cash deposit fees. Since Bluevine doesn’t have any branch locations, you’ll have to visit a Green Dot retail location (which you’ll find in stores like Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and more) to deposit cash into your Bluevine checking account.

When you do, you’ll pay a $4.95 deposit fee. (So cash-heavy businesses might prefer to stick to a bank with local branches.)

Even with those fees, Bluevine offers some of the cheapest business checking out there. And like we mentioned above, it gives you more perks than other free business checking accounts do.

For example, Bluevine lets you deposit cash (through Green Dot locations). Many online banks for small business simply don’t accept cash deposits. And the banks that do allow for cash deposits require you to either mail in your cash or find a specific type of ATM. Green Dot locations are much easier to find, making it simpler for you to deposit money with Bluevine.

Bluevine also lets you write checks from your accounts (and even gives you free checkbooks), while some competitors simply don’t allow for checks.

Our favorite perk, though, has to be the interest you earn.

The moment you deposit money into your Bluevine checking account, you’ll start earning interest on that balance. And you’ll keep earning interest on balances up to $250,000.

Interest-bearing checking accounts are still relatively rare in the business banking world (probably because they weren’t even legal until a few years ago). But even among the interest-bearing business accounts out there, Bluevine has the best.

Part of that is the amount of interest. Bluevine offers a 1.5% interest rate on your account balance. Kabbage offers 1.1% APY (annual percentage yield) on its free checking account. But Bluevine has a very, very competitive rate, and we think it offers a better account overall thanks to things like the free checkbooks and better customer reviews. Plus, the rate applies to up to five sub-accounts. 

Note, though, that you can only earn interest on Bluevine account balances up to $250,000. So if you plan to keep hundreds of thousands in your bank account, Bluevine might not be the best bank to maximize your earnings. But for any business owner with a balance of less than $250,000? Bluevine lets you earn a great rate with a great account.

In other words, Bluevine offers one of the best free business checking accounts and one of the best interest-bearing checking accounts. See why it’s our favorite source for business checking?

While we do like Bluevine, it’s worth seeing how it compares to your other business banking options. In the table below, we show you how Bluevine stacks up against popular traditional and online business banks.

As you can see, Bluevine offers cheaper checking than traditional banks (like Bank of America and U.S. Bank) as well as some online banks (like NorthOne). 

Plus, Bluevine earns interest on your account balance. Kabbage, another online bank, offers that perk too (as we discussed earlier). But Bluevine still stands out compared to most banks that don’t offer any interest on your checking.

So with the low costs and the big earnings, Bluevine looks pretty good compared to the competition.

You can probably tell we like Bluevine a lot. We still want to be clear, though: Bluevine isn’t right for everyone.

For example, if your business routinely handles lots of cash, you’ll probably find that a brick-and-mortar financial institution (either a bank or a credit union) offers more convenient—and potentially cheaper—cash depositing than Bluevine does.

Likewise, if you need banking beyond just a checking account (like a savings account, merchant services, a business credit card, payroll services), you’ll want to go with a feature-rich, probably brick-and-mortar, bank. Bluevine offers only checking accounts and business financing.

We’ll also tell you that Bluevine has somewhat mixed customer reviews. They’re mostly positive (it’s got a 4.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot¹ and a 2.09 out of 5 on the Better Business Bureau’s site),² but we did see some concerning stuff about account closures and freezes.

That said, Bluevine did just take some time off from accepting new customers to double-down on improving its product and customer service. So we hope to see fewer negative reviews moving forward. (We’ll keep an eye out, though.)

On the whole, though, Bluevine doesn’t have any big red flags. But it does have a few other products you might want to know about.

As we said earlier, Bluevine doesn’t offer most of the products and services you’d find at other business banks. You won’t find any merchant services or business credit cards, for example.

If you need working capital, though, Bluevine offers some great business loan choices.

Bluevine currently offers two types of business financing: invoice factoring and a line of credit. It has recently partnered with FundThrough for it's invoice financing, where all you need to sign up are certain business, government, and tax documents.

Each of these financing options offer competitive rates and loan amounts, especially for an online lender. In fact, Bluevine consistently ranks as one of our picks for the best small-business loans.

Bluevine's invoice factoring has pretty low requirements, while the line of credit has higher criteria (a 600 credit score and 6 months in business). In either case, those loan requirements are much lower than you’d find at a traditional bank.

You can learn more about Bluevine’s invoice financing and lines of credit―and whether they’ll meet your financial needs―in our Bluevine loan review.

Enter your loan needs and qualifications to get matched with a list of lenders best suited to you. Then, sort by the financing factor that you find most important. (Note: not all lenders allow personal loans for business use.)

While Bluevine business banking may not offer the most products and services out there, it has a top-notch business checking account that we’d recommend to just about any small-business owner.

With zero monthly fees (and few other fees) and a relatively high interest rate, there’s plenty to like about Bluevine’s checking. If you handle lots of cash, you might prefer a traditional bank. 

Otherwise, you’ll have a hard time finding a better business checking account.

Think a brick-and-mortar bank might serve your business better? Check out the best bank for small business in your state.

After digging deep into Bluevine’s bank account, we graded it on factors like its account fees, customer service, customer reviews, and more. We used those grades to calculate an overall score for Bluevine’s banking services and to see how it compared to other banks for business (both traditional and online ones).

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.