Senior writer | Small business banking and credit cards, Paycheck Protection Program, consumer spending, and household finances
Kelsey Sheehy is a NerdWallet authority on small business. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. Kelsey has appeared on the <a href="https://www.today.com/video/christmas-in-july-sales-to-take-advantage-of-now-64075333536">"Today"</a> show, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/tax-code-changes-leave-many-americans-with-unhappy-returns-1440385091860">NBC News</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cost-smartphones-reaching-time-high-54166111">"ABC World News Tonight"</a> and has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, CNBC and American Banker, among other publications. Email: <a href="mailto:ksheehy@nerdwallet.com">ksheehy@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Rosalie Murphy covers small business topics for NerdWallet. Previously, she led editorial strategy for a local news startup and covered business at The Desert Sun. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing an MBA.
Senior writer | Small business banking and credit cards, Paycheck Protection Program, consumer spending, and household finances
Kelsey Sheehy is a NerdWallet authority on small business. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. Kelsey has appeared on the <a href="https://www.today.com/video/christmas-in-july-sales-to-take-advantage-of-now-64075333536">"Today"</a> show, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/tax-code-changes-leave-many-americans-with-unhappy-returns-1440385091860">NBC News</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cost-smartphones-reaching-time-high-54166111">"ABC World News Tonight"</a> and has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, CNBC and American Banker, among other publications. Email: <a href="mailto:ksheehy@nerdwallet.com">ksheehy@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Rosalie Murphy covers small business topics for NerdWallet. Previously, she led editorial strategy for a local news startup and covered business at The Desert Sun. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing an MBA.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
NerdWallet's content is
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It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
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Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small-business and personal finance.
60+ business bank accounts rated with our objective, comprehensive business bank account rubrics (Methodology).
NerdWallet's business banking content — including our ratings, reviews and recommendations — is produced by a team of writers and editors who specialize in small-business finances. Their journalism has appeared in The Associated Press, Washington Post, MarketWatch, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, MSN and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict editorial guidelines to ensure fairness and accuracy in our coverage.
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You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
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objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
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Senior writer | Small business banking and credit cards, Paycheck Protection Program, consumer spending, and household finances
Kelsey Sheehy is a NerdWallet authority on small business. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. Kelsey has appeared on the <a href="https://www.today.com/video/christmas-in-july-sales-to-take-advantage-of-now-64075333536">"Today"</a> show, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/tax-code-changes-leave-many-americans-with-unhappy-returns-1440385091860">NBC News</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cost-smartphones-reaching-time-high-54166111">"ABC World News Tonight"</a> and has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, CNBC and American Banker, among other publications. Email: <a href="mailto:ksheehy@nerdwallet.com">ksheehy@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Rosalie Murphy covers small business topics for NerdWallet. Previously, she led editorial strategy for a local news startup and covered business at The Desert Sun. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing an MBA.
Senior writer | Small business banking and credit cards, Paycheck Protection Program, consumer spending, and household finances
Kelsey Sheehy is a NerdWallet authority on small business. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. Kelsey has appeared on the <a href="https://www.today.com/video/christmas-in-july-sales-to-take-advantage-of-now-64075333536">"Today"</a> show, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/tax-code-changes-leave-many-americans-with-unhappy-returns-1440385091860">NBC News</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cost-smartphones-reaching-time-high-54166111">"ABC World News Tonight"</a> and has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, CNBC and American Banker, among other publications. Email: <a href="mailto:ksheehy@nerdwallet.com">ksheehy@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Rosalie Murphy covers small business topics for NerdWallet. Previously, she led editorial strategy for a local news startup and covered business at The Desert Sun. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing an MBA.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
our
Editorial Guidelines.
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small-business and personal finance.
60+ business bank accounts rated with our objective, comprehensive business bank account rubrics (Methodology).
NerdWallet's business banking content — including our ratings, reviews and recommendations — is produced by a team of writers and editors who specialize in small-business finances. Their journalism has appeared in The Associated Press, Washington Post, MarketWatch, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, MSN and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict editorial guidelines to ensure fairness and accuracy in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
Bluevine Business Checking
Overview
The bottom line:
With no monthly fees, an impressive APY and a growing suite of online banking features, Bluevine is a solid business checking option for digital-savvy business owners who don’t make regular cash deposits.
Bank account details
Monthly fee
$0
APY
1.30%
Earn 1.30% interest on account balances up to and including $250,000. Terms apply.
With $0 min. balance for APY
Bonus
$300
Earn a $300 bonus when you open a new Bluevine Business Checking account and meet eligibility requirements. Apply with referral code NW300.
Requirements to qualify
Pros & Cons
Pros
No monthly fees or minimum opening deposit.
Unlimited fee-free transactions; no overdraft fees.
Earn 1.30% interest on account balances up to and including $250,000. Terms apply.
Access up to $3 million in FDIC insurance with Insured Cash Sweep.
No fees at MoneyPass ATMs.
Account holders are assigned to a dedicated banker or customer support representative.
Bill pay tools and invoicing with built-in payment links.
No fees and unlimited transactions are table stakes for online business checking accounts, but Bluevine ups the ante with one of the best interest rates available from a business checking account: Earn 1.30% interest on account balances up to and including $250,000. Terms apply.
Businesses with substantial cash flow and deposits can earn even more (up to 3.5%) with Bluevine's premium accounts: Bluevine Plus and Bluevine Premier. Both premium accounts have hefty monthly fees. Those can be waived, but you’ll need to jump through multiple hoops to do so.
Bluevine Plus
Bluevine Plus costs $30 per month. The fee can be waived if you do both of the following:
Maintaining an average daily balance of $20,000 or more.
Spending at least $2,000 per month with your linked debit card or your Bluevine credit card.
The Plus account pays 2.4% APY on balances up to and including $250,000. Customers also get discounts on some fees:
Same-day ACH transfers drop from $10 to $8 each.
Domestic wires drop from $15 to $12.
International wires drop from $25 to $20.
You'll also get two free checkbooks per calendar year. Free plan customers only get one over the account's lifetime, then have to pay $30 for each additional checkbook.
If you qualify to waive the monthly fee, then Plus's higher interest rate should translate to several hundred additional dollars in your account each month. If not, think about how you use your existing business bank account. If you frequently send wire transfers or write checks, the reduced fees may offset the monthly cost.
Bluevine Premier
Bluevine Premier carries a monthly fee of $95 — far more than other business bank accounts with monthly fees. But it earns a stellar 3.5% APY on balances up to and including $3 million, while also offering half-price domestic and international wires and same-day ACH transfers. Premier customers also get three free checkbooks each calendar year.
Should you upgrade? As with Plus, it's worth it if you’re confident you’ll consistently hit both requirements to waive the monthly fee:
Having an average daily balance of $100,000.
Spending at least $5,000 on your business debit card or Bluevine credit card each month.
Otherwise, you’ll need to figure out if the account’s benefits offset its fee in the long run. For example, if you often send international wires, paying $12.50 for each instead of $25 would offset the monthly fee after roughly eight transactions each month. That savings plus the additional interest could make Premier worth the extra cost to your business.
Bluevine's business checking accounts excel in some areas — namely their low fees, high APYs and digital tools like invoicing and expense management. But Bluevine doesn’t support jointly owned accounts. Cash deposits also come with limits and fees.
Note: While this review discusses Bluevine Plus and Premier, the pros, cons and corresponding star rating focus on Bluevine Standard.
Is Bluevine a bank?
Bluevine is a financial technology company, not a bank. Bluevine’s banking services are provided by Coastal Community Bank, which is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and participates in the Insured Cash Sweep program via the IntraFi network.
Thanks to that partnership, all Bluevine accounts automatically receive up to $3 million in FDIC insurance. That extra coverage may offer peace of mind to small-business owners concerned about the security of their deposits after multiple bank failures in 2023.
Will use built-in accounts payable and invoicing tools.
Don't need a joint business checking account.
Use cash occasionally.
Make frequent cash deposits? You’re probably better off with a brick-and-mortar bank. Chase’s business account is our favorite. It supports up to $5,000 per month in fee-free deposits with tellers and unlimited cash deposits at ATMs.
🤓
Nerdy Tip
If you want to earn even more interest and don't need access to features like checks or a debit card, consider a business savings account. Our top pick earns 3.80% and has no monthly fee.
Bluevine business checking at a glance
Bluevine Standard
Bluevine Plus
Bluevine Premier
Monthly fee:
$0.
$30; waived if you maintain an average daily balance of $20,000 and spend at least $2,000 on your Bluevine debit and/or credit card.
$95; waived if you maintain an average daily balance of $100,000 and spend at least $5,000 on your Bluevine debit and/or credit card.
Minimum opening deposit requirement:
$0.
$0.
$0.
APY:
Earn 1.30% interest on account balances up to and including $250,000. Terms apply.
Earn 2.40% APY on balances up to and including $250,000. Terms apply.
Earn 3.5% APY on balances up to and including $3 million. Terms apply.
Transactions:
Unlimited.
Unlimited.
Unlimited.
Other features:
Free incoming wire transfers.
Syncs with QuickBooks Online.
Discounted outgoing wires and same-day ACH payments.
Up to five free outgoing check payments per month.
All features included in Bluevine Standard.
Additional discounts on outgoing wires and same-day ACH payments.
Up to 20 free outgoing check payments per month.
All features included in Bluevine Standard.
How to open a Bluevine business checking account
You can open a Bluevine business account online or via the Bluevine app. Bluevine business checking is available to business owners in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. To be eligible, you must be at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen or a resident with a valid U.S. address (not a P.O. Box). Certain types of businesses are restricted. (Learn more here.)
What you need to open an account
You need to provide basic details about yourself and your business to open a Bluevine business account. Applicants also need to provide certain documentation, depending on their business entity type.
Personal information: First and last name, home address, mobile phone number, date of birth and Social Security number. This information is required for anyone who owns 25% or more of the company.
Business information: Business name, entity type, physical address and phone number. You also need to indicate your annual revenue, industry and EIN or tax ID.
Required documentation: This varies by business type but can include articles of incorporation, certificate of formation, Doing Business As (DBA) documentation and/or partnership agreements.
Bluevine business checking applications are typically reviewed within three business days. Once approved, you can activate your account, order your Bluevine debit card and fund your account.
📰 New in 2025: Bluevine adds invoicing and payment links
In summer 2025, Bluevine added invoicing and payment links to all customers’ accounts. You can generate invoices and send them to your customers, and they can pay you using ACH transfers, checks, or a credit or debit card (payment processing powered by Stripe).
You can also text a payment link directly to a customer, skipping the formal invoice. That might be useful for in-person sales — maybe you display a QR code that sends users to your payment link so they can pay their bill.
This comes on top of terrific bill pay features that Bluevine has quietly built out over the last few years. Most banks have some kind of bill pay tool. But Bluevine’s offers useful perks, like automatic recording of receipt details and built-in approval workflows so employees can pay bills.
These are the kinds of time-saving tools that make Bluevine a standout online business checking account.
Where Bluevine business checking stands out
No fees: Bluevine Standard has no monthly fees, nonsufficient funds fees or ACH payment fees, as well as no minimum opening deposit, monthly or daily requirements. In addition, this business bank account includes unlimited fee-free transactions and fee-free ATM access at any MoneyPass location across the U.S.
High-yield APY: Bluevine offers a solid APY on its free account: Earn 1.30% interest on account balances up to and including $250,000. Terms apply.
Unlike most interest-earning accounts, you don’t have to maintain a daily or monthly minimum balance to get that APY. You will have to meet one of the following requirements, though:
Spend $500 with your Bluevine business debit card.
Receive $2,500 in customer payments into your Bluevine business checking account via ACH transfer, wire transfer, mobile check deposit or directly from your payment processor.
Bluevine Plus, which costs $30 per month, pays 2.4% APY on balances up to and including $250,000. And Bluevine Premier, which costs $95 per month, pays 3.5% APY on balances up to and including $3 million. Both accounts offer ways to waive the monthly fee.
Accounts payable and receivable tools: You can upload copies of bills, email them to yourself or take photos and Bluevine will automatically record the details. To pay them, you can create approval workflows. That’s a little more sophisticated than a typical bank bill pay service.
When someone else needs to pay you, you can use Bluevine to send them an invoice. Your customer can pay it via card or ACH using a built-in payment link powered by Stripe. You also have the option to send payment links via text or email.
Online banking tools: Bluevine business checking includes all of the tools that you need to streamline your finances, including mobile check deposit and recurring and one-time payments. You can also sync transactions to accounting software, including QuickBooks Online, Wave and FreshBooks. In addition, you can connect to third-party tools such as PayPal, Stripe and Expensify.
Sign-up bonus: Earn a $300 bonus when you open a new Bluevine Business Checking account and meet eligibility requirements. Apply with referral code NW300.To qualify, accountholders must add funds to their account within 30 days and meet at least one of the following eligibility requirements every 30 days for the next 90 days from account funding:
Deposit at least $5,000 from eligible merchant services to your Bluevine account.
Make at least $5,000 of outbound payroll payments from your Bluevine account using eligible payroll providers.
Spend at least $2,000 with your Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard® and/or Bluevine Business Cashback Mastercard®.
Up to $3 million in FDIC insurance coverage: Bluevine business checking customers automatically receive up to $3 million in FDIC insurance coverage via Coastal Community Bank (Bluevine’s banking partner) and other banks in the IntraFi sweep network. This service spreads customer deposits across multiple banks — allowing business owners to gain FDIC insurance well beyond the standard $250,000 per depositor, per account — while still managing their funds through one financial institution.
Where Bluevine business checking falls short
Fees for cash deposits: Bluevine customers can make cash deposits at Green Dot locations for a fee of $4.95 each. At Allpoint+ ATMs, you’ll pay a fee of $1 plus 0.5% of the deposit amount.
Total cash deposits are capped at $7,500 each 30 days. That’s comparable to other online banks, but means Bluevine may not be a fit for cash-intensive businesses.
Can’t open joint accounts: While you can add authorized users to your Bluevine business checking account, you can't open a joint business account. That could be a deal-breaker for businesses with more than one owner, such as partnerships or multi-member LLCs.
Several other accounts do support joint ownership, though, including Relay business checking, which also allows you to issue up to 50 virtual debit cards. Bluevine accounts are limited to 10 business debit cards — one for the accountholder and up to nine employee debit cards.
No weekend support: Bluevine has extended customer service hours during the week (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST Monday through Friday), but there is no phone support available on the weekend. If you desire round-the-clock customer service, consider American Express® Business Checking, which offers 24/7 customer service plus the same 1.3% APY.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Bluevine does not offer Zelle for business, so account holders cannot accept payments via Zelle. Bluevine business checking customers can accept payment via ACH, wire transfer or through other peer-to-peer payment services like Venmo or Cash App. Looking for a business account that offers Zelle for business? Consider Bank of America, U.S. Bank or Chase Business Complete Banking.