Bluevine Business Checking
Online SMB checking with tiered APY, waivable paid plans, and $3M sweep FDIC — weak on cash, strong on ACH/invoicing
Brex Business Account
Startup / mid-market treasury + multi-user spend platform; $0 banking fees; no cash/ATM
Costs & Fees
| Metric | Bluevine Business Checking | Brex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | Standard $0; Plus $30; Premier $95 | $0 banking. Software: Essentials $0/user; Premium $12/user; Enterprise custom. |
| Fee waiver | Plus waived if avg daily balance ≥ $20,000 AND ≥ $2,000 card spend (excl. ATM). Premier waived if avg daily balance ≥ $100,000 AND ≥ $5,000 card spend. Balance across main + sub-accounts. | N/A — banking already $0; software is plan-priced |
| Transaction fees | No per-item excess fees; unlimited transaction count subject to dollar caps (see limits) | No published per-item or excess-item fees. Effectively unlimited electronic items at $0. |
| Overdraft/NSF | $0 overdraft; $0 NSF (returned deposited items: customer owes item amount) | Overdrafts not permitted. Dollar fee amounts not disclosed. Negative 30+ days → closure per Column DDA. |
| ATM fees | MoneyPass in-network $0; out-of-network $2.50 + operator surcharge (no rebate). Daily cash-out cap $2,000. | Not offered — no ATM network. No cash withdrawal from account or Brex cards. |
| Wire/ACH | Incoming domestic wire $0 all plans. Outgoing domestic: $15/$12/$7.50. Incoming intl: $15/$12/$7.50. Outgoing intl USD: $25/$20/$12.50. Outgoing intl FX: $25+$1.5% / $20+$1.25% / $12.50+$1.0%. Standard ACH $0. Same-day ACH: $10/$8/$5. | Incoming/outgoing domestic and international wires $0 Brex-issued. ACH domestic and international $0. Intermediary/recipient fees possible. Customer reimburses intermediary costs per Column DDA. |
Interest & Yields
| Metric | Bluevine Business Checking | Brex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | Standard 1.3% (first $250k, monthly activity test); Plus 1.75% (to $250k); Premier 3.0% (no cap per interest terms) | None — uninvested Checking cash earns no yield |
| Savings APY | N/A — single checking product with tiered APY | |
| FDIC coverage | Standard $250,000 at Coastal Community Bank; sweep program up to $3,000,000 across Program Banks (pass-through, aggregation caveats apply) | Checking: $250,000 at Column N.A. per ownership category (all sub-accounts share cap) |
Features & Access
| Metric | Bluevine Business Checking | Brex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Branch/ATM network | No branches. 37,000+ MoneyPass surcharge-free ATMs for withdrawals. | None. No branches, ATMs, or cash rails. |
| Mobile app | Google Play ~4.2/5 (~2.2k reviews, Apr 2026); iOS ~4.7 cited in secondary reviews | Google Play 4.6 (~2.16k–2.18k reviews). iOS U.S. rating should be re-checked live. |
| Virtual cards | Included — physical + virtual debit cards with spend/ATM controls; up to 50 cards | Included — charge card product with spend limits and policies (Premium: multiple customizable policies) |
| Opening deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Eligibility | U.S. owners: sole prop, LLC, corp, partnership, nonprofit corp. International owners: U.S. LLC or corp only (25 supported countries). | U.S.-organized C-corp, S-corp, LLC, LLP only. Not sole props, consumers, unincorporated partnerships, or foreign-registered entities. Nonprofits case-by-case. |
Pros & Cons
Bluevine Business Checking
Pros
- Standard is $0 monthly with $0 overdraft/NSF and free standard ACH plus incoming domestic wires
- Premier 3.0% APY with no interest cap in March 2026 terms — rare for SMB checking
- Advertised sweep FDIC up to $3M at Program Banks (with aggregation caveats)
- Sub-accounts (5/10/50), up to 50 cards, and role-based AP with bill-pay approvals
- Built-in invoicing, Stripe Tap to Pay, and QuickBooks sync without separate banking subscription
Cons
- Plus/Premier waiver requires balance AND card spend — miss either and $30/$95 posts
- Cash deposits priced ($1+0.5% or $4.95) and capped at $7,500/30 days — poor for cash businesses
- Default $100,000/30-day combined outgoing wire+ACH ceiling unless raised
- No branches; support weekday 8am–8pm ET only
- Standard APY drops to 0% any month the activity test is missed; recurring freeze/hold complaints
Brex Business Account
Pros
- $0 opening, maintenance, ACH, check, and wire fees (Brex-issued)
- Three-bucket design: Column DDA + up to $6M Vault sweep + DGVXX Treasury (3.71% as of 09/01/26)
- 512 sub-checking accounts with distinct account/routing numbers
- Same-day outbound ACH at $0; 3:15 p.m. ET cutoff documented
- Tight coupling to expense, bill-pay, virtual charge cards, and API
Cons
- No cash, no ATM, no branches
- Checking and Vault earn 0%; Treasury yield is MMF/SIPC, not FDIC checking APY
- Eligibility excludes sole props and foreign entities; scale screen plus abrupt closure history
- Checking FDIC only $250k across all sub-accounts; $6M is sweep-only with caveats
- Card FX up to 3%; Premium software $12/user; wire FX markup not published
Verdict
Bluevine Business Checking
Bluevine Business Checking is an online interest-bearing SMB account from fintech Bluevine Inc., with deposits at Coastal Community Bank and optional sweep to Program Banks for up to $3M FDIC coverage. Three plans: Standard ($0, 1.3% APY with monthly activity test), Plus ($30 waivable, 1.75% to $250k), and Premier ($95 waivable, 3.0% uncapped APY). Strengths are yield, free Standard ACH/incoming wires, sub-accounts, 50 cards, invoicing, and QBO sync. Weaknesses are priced/capped cash deposits, $100k/30-day outgoing cap, weekday-only support, and documented freeze/hold patterns. Best compared to Chase for digital-first businesses that prioritize APY over branches.
Brex Business Account
Brex business account is a three-bucket cash-management stack at Column N.A. (FDIC #58224, routing 121145349). Checking 0% APY with $250k FDIC shared across 512 sub-accounts. Vault sweeps to program banks for up to $6M FDIC (0% yield). Treasury in DGVXX via Brex Treasury LLC — up to 3.71% 7-day yield as of 09/01/26, not FDIC. Banking fees $0 on ACH/wires/checks. No cash/ATM/branches. Corp/LLC/LLP only; scale underwriting. Premium $12/user. Capital One acquired Brex Apr 2026. Closure risk is operational concern — keep backup bank. $1,000 card promo through Sep 30, 2026.