You may already be familiar with Bluevine—a popular alternative lender that offers a variety of financing products for small businesses. If you’re searching for a business bank account, however, you may just now be coming to realize that Bluevine also offers their own business checking account.
This review will break down the Bluevine business checking account in terms of features, fees, customer reviews, and more—so that you can decide if it’s the right fit for your banking needs.
Pros |
-No fees
-Interest-earning account -Ability to deposit and withdraw cash -Online and mobile tools |
Cons |
-No branch access
-Cash deposit fees -Only one account user/debit card allowed |
Best For |
New or smaller business owners; business owners that don’t need branch access |
Bluevine’s business banking suite consists of a single product—their online-based business checking account. As Bluevine is not actually a bank, their banking services are provided by The Bancorp Bank, member FDIC.
That said, the Bluevine business checking account is also FDIC-insured to at least $250,000. Small business owners can apply for a Bluevine business bank account quickly and easily online with minimal documentation.
Once you’re approved for an account, you can manage your Bluevine business banking online or via their mobile app.
Now that you have a basic understanding of Bluevine’s business banking offering, let’s review the features of their checking account:
The only fees you’ll pay with this business checking account are $15 for outgoing wires, $4.95 to deposit cash at Green Dot locations, and undisclosed fees for expedited debit card replacements.
As you can see, Bluevine’s business checking account is fee-free, user friendly, and very accessible for a wide variety of business owners. That said, it’s also very similar to many other online-based business bank accounts on the market.
With that in mind, let’s break down what customers have to say about their experience with Bluevine business banking.
Having only launched in August 2020, there aren’t yet an abundance of customer reviews available for the Bluevine business checking account.
However, the existing reviews online are generally positive.
Many reviews focus on how helpful the Bluevine customer service team is, how simple and straightforward it is to set up and use the account, and how high the APY is for a business checking account.
In terms of negative reviews, you’ll find that the majority of complaints are focused on the bugginess of the Bluevine mobile app—which isn’t particularly unusual for the launch of a new product.
In addition, one particularly pertinent review mentions that the Bluevine business checking account can only accommodate a single user and one debit card—making it less than ideal for larger companies.
With these things in mind, it is worth noting that Bluevine’s customer service team responds to many of the negative complaints on review sites, as well as on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Overall, it will be interesting to see how these customer reviews change and evolve the longer the Bluevine business checking account is on the market.
Is Bluevine business banking right for your needs? Here, we’ve summarized the main advantages and disadvantages of this free business checking account to help you decide:
When it comes down to it, although Bluevine is a relatively new player in the business banking space, their checking account is flexible, accessible, and affordable.
This bank account is a great option for newer or smaller businesses, as well as any business owner that doesn’t need branch access.
Of course, the Bluevine business checking account won’t be right for every business owner. First and foremost, business owners looking for branch access will want to turn to an account from a brick-and-mortar institution.
Similarly, as a newer product on the market, there may be some account limitations that will lead larger businesses to opt for an alternative option.
At this point, whether or not you think the Bluevine business checking account may be suitable for your small business, it’s always worth looking into other options to see if there’s another bank account that may be a better fit for your needs.
Here are a few top alternatives you might consider:
For an account with very similar features, but a little more time on the market—and the backing of a brick-and-mortar bank—you might look into NBKC as a top alternative to Bluevine business banking.
Although NBKC’s business checking account is online-based, NBKC itself is a brick-and-mortar bank—and therefore, can offer some additional products and services, as well as branch access for those in the Kansas City metro area.
In addition, even though their checking account does not earn interest, they do offer a free business saving account, which can easily be opened and connected to their standard business account product.
Pros:
Cons:
Read our full review of NBKC business checking.
Finally, if you’d prefer to visit a branch location, you’ll want to choose a Bluevine business banking alternative from a brick-and-mortar bank. Although there are a variety of options you might consider, Capital One offers two particularly worthwhile business checking accounts within their Spark business suite.
Unlike most business checking accounts from brick-and-mortar banks, both of these options offer unlimited fee-free transactions—plus, many of the benefits associated with more traditional business bank accounts.
Pros:
Cons:
Read our full review of Capital One business checking.
Despite being fairly new to the market, Bluevine’s business checking account is a highly competitive option in the online banking space—with no fees, cash deposits, and the ability to earn interest.
That said, this business bank account seems to be a great option for freelancers and self-employed professionals, smaller business owners, ecommerce business owners—and in general, a variety of business owners who don’t need access to a physical branch location.
Randa Kriss is a senior staff writer at Fundera.
At Fundera, Randa specializes in reviewing small business products, software, and services. Randa has written hundreds of reviews across a wide swath of business topics including ecommerce, merchant services, accounting, credit cards, bank accounts, loan products, and payroll and human resources solutions.