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luevine is a popular option for small business banking. The online banking platform offers a wide range of services, from business checking accounts to lending products and bill-pay features. It also doesn't impose many of the fees and conditions you typically find with traditional banks.
Bluevine does charge fees for cash deposits, an outgoing wire transfer fee, and an out-of-network ATM fee. For small businesses running on narrow margins, it’s essential to compare all of the fees and features across banking options. Below, you’ll find information about the top five alternatives to Bluevine small business banking services.
Top Bluevine alternatives for small business banking
With so many business banking services out there, it can be difficult to decide which might be best for your business. Below, you’ll find a list to help. Each of the Bluevine alternatives listed was chosen due to a mix of quality features, reasonable pricing, and customer satisfaction, and each has a unique value proposition to offer.
1. Novo
Novo is an online banking solution that means it when it says “no-fee checking.” You can check out the Novo fee structure for yourself, but here’s a preview:
- No monthly maintenance fee
- No early account closing fee
- No incoming or outgoing ACH fee
- No incoming wire transfer fee
- No stop-payment fee
- No debit card replacement fee
In fact, the only fees you’ll pay are:
- Outgoing Express ACH: 1.5% of the transaction value with a $0.50 minimum and $20 maximum fee.
- Novo Funding transfers
With Novo, you can do your banking on the go with an easy-to-use mobile app, and the platform integrates with other business software like Xero and Shopify. You’ll also get easy, free transfers, including ACH, mailed checks, and incoming wire transfers, a refund of all ATM fees, and a virtual card for secure spending.
How Novo compares to Bluevine
Novo’s fee structure is one thing that sets it apart from Bluevine and the rest of the pack. Novo doesn’t charge account maintenance fees, deposit fees, overdraft fees, invoicing fees, or any of the other traditional fees you would expect to pay when you open and use a checking account.
Bluevine, on the other hand, offers a free checking account, but there are some fees that may be surprising. You’ll pay a 2.9% transaction fee when you use the company’s bill-pay service. The company also charges $1.50 for outgoing bill-pay checks, $4.95 per cash deposit, $2.50 for out-of-network ATMs, and $30 for debit card replacements.
2. Mercury
Mercury is another online business banking option. Its claim to fame is its intuitive tools designed to help startups scale their businesses.
Mercury's features include:
- Access to multiple employee spending accounts
- Unique spending limits and restrictions for each employee spending account you set up
- Employee spend tracking and the ability to get rid of the costly employee reimbursement process
- Option to pay vendors and employees with ACH, wire transfers, checks, and foreign currency
- Can earn up to 4.86% annual yield on cash you’re not using
- Integrations with QuickBooks, Stripe, and other business platforms
How Mercury compares to Bluevine
Mercury offers a free checking account with no account maintenance fees, ACH fees, wire transfer fees, or any other typical fee you’d expect to see with a traditional banking solution. By contrast, Bluevine charges a wide range of fees, some of which may be considered excessive.
However, BlueVine does have the option to earn 2% interest on your checking account balances. With Mercury, you don’t earn interest on your checking account balance.
3. Relay
Relay is an online checking account solution that offers a complete financial management platform and free business banking services, such as free checking accounts. Some benefits of choosing Relay include:
- Manage up to 20 individual checking accounts for different areas of your business
- Auto transfers among your multiple business checking accounts
- Intuitive expense-management features
- Accounting integrations to keep your books in tip-top shape
- Access up to 50 Visa debit cards, with virtual and physical options available
- Accounting integrations for seamless bookkeeping
- Accounts payable automation
- Free international and domestic wire transfers with Relay Pro
How Relay compares to Bluevine
In terms of fees, the Relay basic account is free, and the pro service costs $30 per month, per business. The pro service gives you faster transfers, better accounting integrations, and more. However, when comparing apples to apples, you’ll get everything Bluevine offers at Relay on the free account — an account that comes with no traditional fees.
Relay’s money management tools are also more sophisticated than what you’ll find at Bluevine. So, if you’re looking for a complete money management platform rather than a simple checking account, Relay is the better choice.
4. Chase
Chase's brand is quite recognizable and is one of the more well-respected financial institutions in the United States. And as one of the largest banking companies, Chase has a wide range of business checking services. Here are the biggest perks of using Chase:
- Working with a traditional bank offers a familiar process
- Create associate and employee debit cards as you need
- Unlimited electronic deposits
- No minimum deposit
- Corporate credit card processing available for additional fees
However, there’s a downside to working with a traditional banking option too. Chase comes with all the fees you’d expect to pay with a traditional checking account. This includes monthly maintenance fees, wire transfer fees, ACH fees, bill-pay fees, and more.
How Chase compares to Bluevine
Chase is a strong alternative for business owners who want a more traditional business banking experience. However, fees at Chase are typically higher than those at Bluevine.
5. Divvy: Best for hassle-free business credit
Divvy is a business banking solution, but it’s not necessarily a checking account solution. Divvy simplifies the process of accessing business credit. To do this, Divvy offers the following features to its customers:
- Access to a wide range of expense management and business budgeting features
- Seamless integrations with leading accounting software
- Access to employee cards to eliminate the wasteful employee reimbursement process
- No annual account fees or overdraft fees
- Time tracking features to track employee hours
- Free domestic wire transfers
- Unlimited spending cards (physical and virtual)
How Divvy compares to Bluevine
Although Divvy and Bluevine offer many similar features, the Divvy platform is absolutely fee-free. That’s not the case with Bluevine. Moreover, Divvy offers expense management and business budgeting features not available on Bluevine.
How to choose the right alternative for your business
Choosing a business banking service is an important decision. After all, you’ll be trusting the service with your company’s financial stability. As you compare your options, consider the following:
- Every option is free to set its own pricing. Fees will vary. Be sure to choose a provider with a fee structure that appeals to you.
- The best solutions typically come with accounting integrations that make your life easier when it comes to keeping your books in balance.
- Look for features that you’ll actually use. It doesn’t make sense to have to dig through a convoluted platform to find the few tools you’re actually interested in. Sometimes simplicity really is best.
- It’s also important to consider growth. Think of the services you’ll need as you scale your business and choose a provider that gives you access to them.
Conclusion
There are several quality business banking solutions to choose from, each with its own fee structure and unique value proposition. It’s important to take your time to compare these options and determine which option’s mix of fees and value fits your business. If you’re ready to start using a simple, free, yet intuitive approach to business banking, consider signing up for a Novo account.
Novo Platform Inc. strives to provide accurate information but cannot guarantee that this content is correct, complete, or up-to-date. This page is for informational purposes only and is not financial or legal advice nor an endorsement of any third-party products or services. All products and services are presented without warranty. Novo Platform Inc. does not provide any financial or legal advice, and you should consult your own financial, legal, or tax advisors.
Novo is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services provided by Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A.: Member FDIC.
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