BlueVine Business Banking Review: Free Interest-Bearing Checking Accounts

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

Well, we think so―and we’ll give you all the information you need to decide for yourself.

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.

Online banks aren’t for everyone, though. 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.

But if you just need a business checking account and you’re good with online banking, then we think you’ll love BlueVine’s free checking accounts.

So let’s dig deeper into the details.

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 as we said above, 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). Most online banks 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 $100,000.

Interest-bearing 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% interest rate on your account balance. For reference, Axos Bank used to have our favorite interest-bearing checking account, and it offers a maximum APY (annual percentage yield) of 0.81%. BlueVine’s interest rate is, as you can see, quite a bit higher.

It’s not just the great rate though. As we’ve been telling you, BlueVine offers an all-around great checking account. Most other interest-bearing checking accounts charge monthly maintenance fees and require high minimum account balances. BlueVine doesn’t. 

Yes, you can only earn interest on account balances up to $100,000. 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 $100,000? You’ll have a hard time finding a better rate.

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?

Enough about checking for now. What else can you get from BlueVine?

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. (Pre-coronavirus, it also had a term loan, but we don’t know if that will come back.)

Each financing option offers 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 invoice factoring has pretty low borrower requirements (think a 530 credit score and just three months in business), while the line of credit has higher criteria (a 650 credit score and two years 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.

As we noted up top, BlueVine has stopped accepting new banking service applications for a few months. So who should you bank with in the meantime?

For most businesses, we recommend Small Business Bank. It’s another online bank that doesn’t charge typical checking fees. And while it doesn’t offer interest-bearing checking accounts, it does have high-yield savings accounts that let you earn up to 1% interest. 

If you really want the interest-bearing checking (and we don’t blame you), then you can consider Axos Bank instead. Axos Bank earns up to 0.81% APY on business checking account balances―not as high as BlueVine, but nothing to sneeze at either. Just note that Axos Bank charges typical banking fees on its interest-bearing checking account, including a (waivable) monthly maintenance fee and transaction fees.

Yes, BlueVine is a legitimate and safe lender and bank for business. It’s served almost half a million business customers. And like we pointed out earlier, it has an excellent Trustpilot rating based on more than 6,000 reviews. You’re safe doing business with BlueVine.

You can reach BlueVine customer service at (888) 216-9619. Just make sure you call on a weekday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET.

Yes, some brick-and-mortar banks offer free business checking, much like BlueVine. You can see some of our favorites―like Citizens, Huntington Bank, and US Bank―on our list of the best free business checking accounts. 

BlueVine did participate in the Paycheck Protection Program, but it no longer accepts new PPP loan applications.

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.

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.