Bluevine Business Checking
Online SMB checking with tiered APY, waivable paid plans, and $3M sweep FDIC — weak on cash, strong on ACH/invoicing
Novo Business Checking
No monthly fee + invoicing/integrations; online-only; no cash deposits; 0% APY
Costs & Fees
| Metric | Bluevine Business Checking | Novo Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | Standard $0; Plus $30; Premier $95 | $0 unconditional |
| 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 — already $0 |
| Transaction fees | No per-item excess fees; unlimited transaction count subject to dollar caps (see limits) | No excess-item fees on schedule. Operational limits on ACH, RDC, mailed checks, ATM, POS (raisable in-app). |
| Overdraft/NSF | $0 overdraft; $0 NSF (returned deposited items: customer owes item amount) | $0 Insufficient Funds; $0 Uncollected Funds Returned. No overdraft protection product. |
| ATM fees | MoneyPass in-network $0; out-of-network $2.50 + operator surcharge (no rebate). Daily cash-out cap $2,000. | Novo ATM fee $0. Third-party operator surcharge rebate max $7/customer/month. No branded free network disclosed. |
| 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: up to $45 (online only, eligibility-gated). Incoming intl: $0 Novo-side. Outgoing intl: via Wise (Wise fees apply). Standard ACH in/out: $0. |
Interest & Yields
| Metric | Bluevine Business Checking | Novo Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | Standard 1.3% (first $250k, monthly activity test); Plus 1.75% (to $250k); Premier 3.0% (no cap per interest terms) | 0% — non-interest-bearing (fee schedule Annual Percentage Yield 0%) |
| Savings APY | N/A — single checking product with tiered APY | N/A — Reserves earn 0%; same deposit account |
| 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 at Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A. — $250,000 per depositor per ownership category |
Features & Access
| Metric | Bluevine Business Checking | Novo Business Checking |
|---|---|---|
| Branch/ATM network | No branches. 37,000+ MoneyPass surcharge-free ATMs for withdrawals. | No branches. Any ATM for withdrawal only — $7/month rebate cap. No ATM cash deposit. |
| Mobile app | Google Play ~4.2/5 (~2.2k reviews, Apr 2026); iOS ~4.7 cited in secondary reviews | iOS ~4.8; Android ~4.5–4.6 (secondary 2026 aggregators) |
| Virtual cards | Included — physical + virtual debit cards with spend/ATM controls; up to 50 cards | Virtual debit included. Fine-grained merchant locks not documented. |
| Opening deposit | $0 | $0 ($1,000 recommended) |
| Eligibility | U.S. owners: sole prop, LLC, corp, partnership, nonprofit corp. International owners: U.S. LLC or corp only (25 supported countries). | U.S. sole prop (incl. DBA), LLC, corp, partnership, 501(c)(3). Trusts not offered. One checking login per EIN. |
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
Novo Business Checking
Pros
- $0 monthly, $0 minimum, $0 NSF/stop-pay/statement/card replace (Feb 2026 schedule)
- Free standard ACH both ways; $0 inbound domestic and foreign wires
- Invoices + up to 20 Reserves in one account
- Stripe/Shopify/Square/QuickBooks/Xero connectors (40+ integrations)
- Virtual + physical debit; $7/month ATM rebate; fast U.S. online open including nonprofits
Cons
- No cash deposits at all
- 0% APY; Reserves earn nothing
- Advertised FDIC $250,000 only — no marketed multi-million sweep
- Outbound wires up to $45 and eligibility-gated; FX via Wise only
- Weekday support; added users get full owner access; freeze/hold complaints recur
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.
Novo Business Checking
Novo Business Checking is a single-tier online account from fintech Novo Platform Inc. with deposits at Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A. (FDIC Cert. 28368). Feb 26, 2026 fee schedule: $0 monthly, $0 NSF, $0 standard ACH, $0 inbound wires, 0% APY. Costs appear on Express ACH (1.5%), Express Check Deposit (up to 2%), outbound wires (up to $45 when enabled), and ATM surcharges above $7/month rebate. Up to 20 Reserves inside same 0% account. Strong ecommerce integrations. No cash, no branches, $250k FDIC advertised. Fits indie digital businesses; weak for cash, treasury, international founders, and teams needing permission controls.