Bluevine is an exception among neobanks, it offers interest on deposits, its rates of interest for loans are comparatively low and it accepts cash deposits:
Bluevine is a Redwood City, California-based fintech company that provides banking services for small businesses. While it is not a licensed bank, the deposits kept with it are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor through an arrangement with a licensed bank, Coastal Community Bank. Its billpay and credit card funds are held by Silicon Valley Bank and its Flex Line of Credit is offered in partnership with Celtic Bank of Utah.
Bluevine has been using security systems like data encryption, multi-factor authentication and it has technology to freeze any card that gets lost.
UNIQUE CONVENIENCES
The neobank is targeting small business owners and freelancers with services that include an interest-bearing business checking account, with no monthly fees and sub-accounts, a business line of credit with short approval times, a bill pay feature that allows a customer to pay bills via cheques, ACH bank transfer or credit card.
The company was founded in 2013 by Eyal Lifshitz and Nir Klar and today it has offices in major cities in the US and in Israel.
Bluevine’s business checking account fares well against many of its competitors, mainly because it charges no monthly fees and has no minimum balance requirements. There is no deposit to open an account, no fees for incoming or outgoing ACH bank transfers, no fees for cheque deposits and one is entitled for free unlimited transactions. It pays an interest of 2% on all balances in the account up to $250,000. A customer can qualify for this interest when he spends at least $500 with bis Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard per month (in store, online, or through digital payment platforms), or receives $2500 or more in payments from customers to the business accounts (via ACH bank transfer, wire transfer, mobile cheque deposit or a merchant payment processor).
Customers can have unlimited transactions – deposits and payments – at no extra cost. And unlike other neobanks, it has paper cheques, and gives the customer the first 200 free of charge. Likewise, it accepts cash deposits, a feature made available through more than 90,000 Green Dot locations across the US. However, cash deposits attract a comparatively high fee – $4.95 per deposit. Customer support is available 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday.
A customer can also create up to 2 sub-accounts for easy budgeting, with unlimited transactions, instant internal transfers and the same interest rate as the primary account. Customers can also integrate their account with QuickBooks Online for easy bookkeeping.
While Bluevine does not have its own ATMs, users get access to the MoneyPass network, which has over 37,000 ATMs in the US.
EASY APPROVALS
Customers can also get credit approvals up to $250,000 at fairly low interest rates. One can borrow as much as he needs, and only pay for as much as he uses. It will be a revolving credit line and will replenish as one repays.
A business entity can open a Bluevine account with FICO score over 600, 24+ months in business, a minimum of $40,000 in monthly revenue and having the entity operating or incorporated in an eligible U.S. state. There are no prepayment penalties or monthly fees.
Bluevine offers its customers an easy bill-pay facility. One can schedule automatic payments through the Bluevine dashboard, sync with QuickBooks and add payees manually or choose from a list of over 40,000 registered payees. The payments can be made directly from the Bluevine business account or by credit card, and decide whether the payee receives the money via ACH bank transfer, check, or wire transfer.
Bluevine has enlisted Wise, a fintech known for global transfers and payments, to provide international payments within 26 different countries. Customers can now access 8 currencies across 26 countries. Wise delivers around 50% of payments within 20 seconds and it is embedded in over 60 banks and businesses across the world.
GOOD NETWORK
Bluevine says it has more than 200,000 customers and has provided small business financing over $9 billion. It offers lines of credit to businesses in 47 states, excepting Nevada and the 2 Dakotas. Credit lines are available from $5000 to $250,000, with an interest rate as low as 4.8%. What is more, one can get approval in as little as 5 minutes. And consistent with Bluevine’s low fee structure, there are no prepayment fees, monthly maintenance fees, account closure fees, or fees to either open or maintain your credit line.
True to its claim, Bluevine is on a mission to enable small businesses gain a better financial future through non-traditional banking solutions, which are designed just for them.
This article has been compiled based on publicly available information on the web, particularly the bank’s own website.
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