Bluevine Business Checking
Online SMB checking with tiered APY, waivable paid plans, and $3M sweep FDIC — weak on cash, strong on ACH/invoicing
Found Business Banking
$0 monthly fee + built-in taxes/bookkeeping for self-employed; APY only on paid plans or card-spend bonus
Costs & Fees
| Metric | Bluevine Business Checking | Found Business Banking |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | Standard $0; Plus $30; Premier $95 | Found Free $0. Optional Plus $35/mo or $315/yr; Pro $80/mo or $720/yr. No balance waiver required. |
| 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 — Free tier has $0 maintenance; Plus/Pro are optional subscriptions |
| Transaction fees | No per-item excess fees; unlimited transaction count subject to dollar caps (see limits) | No excess-item or per-count fees on ACH, deposited checks, or electronic items. Unlimited standard ACH in/out. |
| Overdraft/NSF | $0 overdraft; $0 NSF (returned deposited items: customer owes item amount) | No overdraft fees. Account not designed to overdraft; negative balance from merchant adjustments or ACH timing risks closure. |
| ATM fees | MoneyPass in-network $0; out-of-network $2.50 + operator surcharge (no rebate). Daily cash-out cap $2,000. | Found does not add ATM fee. Operator surcharge possible. No surcharge rebate. No branded free network. |
| 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 domestic: $0. Outgoing domestic: $15 (Free/Plus), $10 (Pro). Incoming intl USD: $0 (SWIFT LEADUS49). Outgoing intl: not disclosed/not offered. Standard ACH in/out: $0 unlimited. |
Interest & Yields
| Metric | Bluevine Business Checking | Found Business Banking |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | Standard 1.3% (first $250k, monthly activity test); Plus 1.75% (to $250k); Premier 3.0% (no cap per interest terms) | Free: 0% ongoing. Yield is monthly Balance bonus labeled APY — variable, paid 1st of following month. |
| Savings APY | N/A — single checking product with tiered APY | N/A — Pockets are sub-accounts in same checking; same yield rules apply |
| FDIC coverage | Standard $250,000 at Coastal Community Bank; sweep program up to $3,000,000 across Program Banks (pass-through, aggregation caveats apply) | FDIC pass-through via Lead Bank — $250,000 per depositor per ownership category |
Features & Access
| Metric | Bluevine Business Checking | Found Business Banking |
|---|---|---|
| Branch/ATM network | No branches. 37,000+ MoneyPass surcharge-free ATMs for withdrawals. | No branches. Any Mastercard ATM for withdrawal — Found $0, no rebate. ATM cash-out $550/day new, $1,550/day established. No ATM cash deposit. |
| Mobile app | Google Play ~4.2/5 (~2.2k reviews, Apr 2026); iOS ~4.7 cited in secondary reviews | iOS Found: Business Banking ~4.8 (~26k–34k ratings); Google Play ~4.7 (~16k–18.5k reviews) |
| Virtual cards | Included — physical + virtual debit cards with spend/ATM controls; up to 50 cards | Virtual + team cards with spend limits; lock/delete virtual cards |
| 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). | Sole prop, single/multi-member LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp, partnership. Nonprofits can use banking/invoicing (tax tools poor fit). Up to 4 additional beneficial owners plus primary. |
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
Found Business Banking
Pros
- $0 maintenance, $0 min balance, $0 overdraft fee, unlimited standard ACH (Jul 13, 2026 schedule)
- Native tax Pocket, estimates, write-offs, invoicing, and 1099 contractor tools on Free
- Pockets with dedicated account numbers; up to 5 businesses per login
- Incoming domestic + USD international wires at $0 from Found; SWIFT LEADUS49
- Optional 2.50% APY no cap on Pro; 1% card cash-back on Pro; strong app-store ratings
Cons
- Found is not a bank; pass-through FDIC $250,000 at Lead Bank only
- Cash ($2/deposit after 1 free/month) and mobile-check caps low for cash businesses
- Free APY is $0 or spend-gated bonus; Plus yield capped at $20k and can be eaten by subscription
- No surcharge-free ATM network; no ATM cash deposit
- Patterned freeze/hold complaints; outgoing FX wires, checkbooks, ICS, and W-2 payroll absent
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.
Found Business Banking
Found is an online business checking platform from Indie Technologies with deposits at Lead Bank (FDIC Cert. 8283). Three tiers share same rails: Free ($0), Plus ($35/mo), Pro ($80/mo). Jul 13, 2026 schedule: $0 maintenance, $0 overdraft, unlimited free ACH. Costs on wires ($10–$15), mailed checks ($1, free Pro), Instant/Express payouts, cash ($2 after 1 free/month), dormancy ($10/12 mo). Yield: Free 0% or 2% card-spend bonus; Plus 1.50% on first $20k; Pro 2.50% no cap + 1% card cash-back. Differentiator is built-in tax Pocket, Schedule C books, invoicing, and contractor 1099s. Cash capped $2k/week and $4k/month at retail. $250k FDIC only. Strong app UX; freeze/support complaints are operational risk.