Business checking is often equated with fees. For the most part, that is true. Banks like to hit small business owners with fees from every angle.
It can be difficult to find a bank that has free business checking or, at the least, very low fees. But if you want to keep your business banking costs low, you don’t have to look very far because BlueVine Business Checking fits the bill.
BlueVine doesn’t have all of the fees that are charged by other banks. Do you have a small business and keep a small checking balance? That’s not a problem with BlueVine because there aren’t any minimums or monthly account fees. In this article, we go through everything BlueVine Business Checking has to offer.
Quick Summary
- No monthly service fees or NSF fees
- No minimum deposit or balance requirements
- Competitive interest rates for accounts over $1,000
BlueVine Details | |
|---|---|
Product Name | BlueVine |
Min Deposit | $0 |
APY | 1% APY (with $1,000 minimum balance) |
Account Types | Business checking and loans |
Promotions | None |
Who Is BlueVine?
BlueVine Capital Inc. was founded in 2013 and is based in Redwood City, CA. Its CEO is Eyal Lifshitz. Bluevine has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau® and a 5 out of 5 star rating from Trustpilot. So far, they’ve helped small businesses secure over $6.5 billion in financing. They’ve raised $692.5 million and are currently on a Series F.
“Our platform was designed specifically for business owners who are looking to take their business growth to the next level but need flexible working capital support to get there,” Lifshitz said to CrowdFundInsider. “By making working capital financing fast, easy and flexible for business owners, we’re delivering on our mission – to expand access to capital for small business owners.”
What Do They Offer?
BlueVine provides business checking with no hidden fees and no minimums to open an account. There are no fees such as monthly maintenance, NSF (not sufficient funds), or incoming wire fees that are charged by so many other business checking products. Check out our favorite business checking accounts for small businesses.
Included with your account are a debit card and bill pay. You can pay vendors as a one-off transaction or set up recurring payments. You don’t have to worry about running out of checks with BlueVine because you’ll get two checkbooks.
Check deposits can be made through the BlueVine mobile app. If you need to deposit cash, you can use a Green Dot retail location. For accounts that hold $1,000 or more, you’ll earn 1.00% APR. You’ll also have unlimited transactions.
ATMs
BlueVine has you covered with ATMs. By staying in-network, you won’t be charged any fees and will have access to over 38,000 ATMs via the MoneyPass® network.
If you decide to use an out-of-network ATM, you may be charged a fee by the ATM owner. Your Debit/ATM card is part of the Mastercard network. If your card is stolen, you can use the mobile app to lock it immediately.
Customer Service
Just because BlueVine doesn’t have branches doesn’t mean they don’t provide good customer service. You can reach them by email or phone at 888-216-9619. Their hours are Monday through Friday, 8am to 8pm (ET) and Saturday, 12pm to 4pm (ET).
Are There Any Fees?
While you’ll have to make an effort to incur fees with BlueVine, they do have three that you'll want to be aware of:
- Expedited debit card replacements: Undisclosed fee
- Cash deposit fees at Green Dot® retail locations: $4.95
- Outgoing wires: $15
How Do I Open An Account?
You can visit the BlueVine website to open an account. BlueVine boasts that their streamlined account sign-up process won't take you longer than 60 seconds.
Is My Money Safe?
Yes, funds deposited with BlueVine are FDIC-insured to at least $250,000 through The Bancorp Bank.
Is It Worth It?
Yes, BlueVine comes with all of the features you’d expect from a business checking account while refusing to charge many of the common fees that other banks do.
Avoiding fees with any kind of banking service is just smart business. But if you're looking for a bank that offers physical branches and in-person customer service, you may want to look into other low-cost business checking account options.
BlueVine Features
Account Types |
|
Minimum Deposit | $0 |
APY | 1% APY (requires a minimum balance of $1,000) |
Fees |
|
Branches | None (online-only bank) |
ATM Availability | 38,000 fee-free ATMs via the MoneyPass® network |
Customer Service Number | 1-888-216-9619 |
Customer Service Hours | Mon-Fri, 8 am to 8 pm (ET) Sat, 12 pm-4 pm (ET) |
Mobile App Availability | iOS and Android |
Bill Pay | Yes |
FDIC Certificate | 35444 |
Promotions | None |
BlueVine Review
- Fees and Charges
- Products and Services
- Customer Service
- Ease of Use
- Tools and Resources
Overall
Summary
BlueVine is an online bank offering business checking accounts that don’t charge monthly service fees and pay up to 1.00% APY on deposits.
Pros
- No monthly service fees or minimum deposits
- 1% APY for account balances of at least $1,000
- Access to over 38,000 fee-free ATMs
- Two free checkbooks
Cons
- No physical branches
- $4.95 fee for cash deposits
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.