Bluevine vs. Novo

There are several differences between Novo and Bluevine, but one of the biggest might be our plan types and APY offered. While Novo has one level of account, which can be fully unlocked with a $50 minimum deposit, Bluevine offers three levels: Standard, Plus, and Premier. The Standard plan earns 1.3% APY^BVSUP-00005 on checking balances that meet a monthly activity goal, while Plus earns 1.75% APY^BVSUP-00131 and Premier earns 3.0% APY after a monthly fee.^BVSUP-00116 Novo does not offer APY in their checking account.

Bluevine also provides additional flexibility over Novo when it comes to debit cards for team members, including the ability to set spend control limits on issued cards.

Bluevine offers up to 3.0% in its checking account^BVSUP-00184—while Novo does not offer interest in its checking account.

If your business is cash heavy—or deals with cash in any way—having a simple way to deposit that into your account will be crucial to your business's success. With Bluevine, you can easily deposit or withdraw cash from 120,000+ locations nationwide.^BVSUP-00110 While Novo's solopreneur-focused features are suitable for some businesses, the road block of cash deposits may be a non-starter for your business.

Bluevine offers over-the-phone customer support to anyone who may need or want it—including applicants, account holders, and those with loans through us or our partners. You can also reach our customer support agents and account executives via email, and those with active accounts can chat with support via their Bluevine dashboard. In addition, our Premier customers get priority customer support via our phone line.^BVSUP-00119

Novo offers frontline email support to customers, as well as a ticket system for those logged into active accounts. Novo does not offer a phone number to reach its customer support team.

Both Novo and Bluevine support a wide variety of customers, from solopreneurs to startups, and all sizes of small and growing businesses in between. However, Novo tailors more of its offering toward solopreneurs, while the typical small business owner may find Bluevine suits their needs better. For example, Bluevine allows businesses to accept payments through invoicing and in-person Tap to Pay tools, which route directly to your Bluevine Business Checking account, high interest in that checking account, lines of credit to help with cash flow, and the ability to issue up to 50 physical and virtual debit cards for team members.

Bluevine also offers solutions suitable for solopreneurs, including the ability to budget with sub-accounts, no hidden fees, and a free checking account option through our Standard plan. Your decision for a banking partner should be made based on your business's needs and your own preferences.

In the comparison of Novo vs. Bluevine, Bluevine sub-accounts act as fully fledged accounts, with the ability to accept payments, make payments, and transfer money. Each one has its own account number and the ability to use auto-transfer rules. Novo’s reserves act more as cash envelopes, where you can put aside money for the same purposes as Bluevine sub-accounts (taxes, payroll, profit, etc.), but without the ability to spend or send money directly into these accounts—everything must be transferred to the main account, first.

Required documentation may vary slightly depending on what type of entity your business is, but this information broadly falls into three categories:

• First, we'll ask for some basic information to create your sign-in: your full name, email address, mobile phone number, and a secure password.
• Second, we'll want to know about your business: trade name or DBA name, business address and phone number, EIN confirmation letter, annual revenue, entity type, and your industry.
• Third, we'll want to learn about you and anyone who owns 25% or more of the business: home address and phone number, date of birth, SSN, and ownership percentage of the business. We may also ask for the front and back of your driver's license.

For a detailed breakdown of what you'll need by entity type, click here.

We currently offer three Bluevine Business Checking plans: Standard, Plus, and Premier.

Our Standard plan comes with 1.3% APY for customers with qualifying activity,^BVSUP-00005 no monthly fees, a three-month free membership to Xero,^BVSUP-00181 and FDIC insurance up to $3 million through Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC.^BVSUP-00108

With our Plus plan, you get all the great benefits of our Standard plan, and 1.75% APY,^BVSUP-00131 20% off most Standard payment fees, six months of Xero, and more for a waivable $30/month fee.

Finally, with our Premier plan, you'll enjoy 3.0% APY on all balances,^BVSUP-00116 50% off most Standard payment fees, six months of Xero, and access to priority customer support for a waivable $95/month fee.

Yes, Bluevine accounts are FDIC insured up to $3,000,000 per depositor through Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC and our program banks. $3,000,000 in FDIC insurance is offered by multiplying the standard $250,000 FDIC coverage across multiple banks.^BVSUP-00108

While being a Bluevine Business Checking customer is not required to apply for a line of credit, if you open a business checking account, you'll be considered for all of our weekly and monthly repayment plans.