Bluevine Small Business Loans Review

Pros

• Financing is available for startups and entrepreneurs
• Monthly repayments available for some customers
• The application is fast & easy
• Funds get disbursed quickly

Cons

• Financing isn’t available in some states
• Rates can be expensive
• Customer service is inconsistent

What Is Bluevine?

Bluevine is an online lending service offering business lines of credit and business checking accounts.

Bluevine’s fees can get a little expensive, but despite the potential for high costs, Bluevine offers useful and transparent services that are relatively easy to qualify for, convenient, and useful for merchants who struggle with cash flow problems.

Services Offered

Bluevine offers small business lines of credit. Lines of credit are similar to credit cards, giving you a set amount of credit that you can use. You can make one or multiple draws as needed, and you only pay interest on the amount borrowed.

Bluevine offers a revolving line of credit, meaning that your credit replenishes once you’ve made a payment. The lines of credit are offered on either a six-month or 12-month repayment plan.

Bluevine also offers business checking accounts.

Borrower Qualifications

To qualify for a Bluevine line of credit, your business must meet the following minimum requirements:

Bluevine lines of credit are available to U.S. corporations and LLCs, except those based in Nevada, North Dakota, or South Dakota. Your business must have not filed for bankruptcy within the last three years.

This product is available to most industries except for the following:

• Illegal gambling
• Pornography
• Political campaigns
• Firearms
• Controlled substances
• Financial institutions and lenders (includes auctions, insurance, and cryptocurrency)
• Auto dealerships
• Political campaigns

Rates & Fees

Bluevine offers two lines of credit — one with a draw term length of six months and one with a term length of 12 months. Because its more extended term length makes it riskier, most businesses will not qualify for lines of credit with 12-month draw terms.

Here are the rates and fees for both products:

Bluevine’s lines of credit currently cap at a maximum of $250,000, but the amount you can borrow will depend on the strength of your business.

Once approved, you can draw funds up to your available credit line at any time you want. Be aware that there are draw fees starting at 1.6% whenever you request funds from your credit line. There’s also a $15 fee for expedited deposits. Otherwise, the funds from each draw are deposited by ACH transfer, which can take up to three business days.

Repayments are made in 26 weekly installments if you have a 6-month term or in 12 monthly installments if you have a 12-month term. Regardless, you can repay early at any time. If you do so, you’ll only have to repay the interest that has accrued up to that point. Bluevine does not charge a prepayment penalty.

Bluevine’s lines of credit are issued by Utah-based Celtic Bank.

Application Process

The application for Bluevine’s services is simple: create an account via the website and answer basic questions about yourself and your business. You’ll also have to provide either the most recent three months of bank statements or allow read-only access to your bank account.

Once you give your phone number, expect a call from a Bluevine rep who will walk you through the process and answer any questions.

Approval is based on several factors. Your credit score is a consideration, but Bluevine also looks at various other factors, such as social media presence, business history, transaction volume, and the creditworthiness of your customers.

Once approved, you can begin drawing from your credit line immediately. Money transfers usually take one to three business days.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

Bluevine provides pretty good transparency about its lines of credit, with most questions being answered in Bluevine’s FAQ.

The customer service is similarly transparent and willing to answer questions about its products.

Customer Service & Technical Support

The consensus (which matches my own experience) is that Bluevine reps are very responsive, whichever way you choose to contact them. And if you’re not in the mood to talk to somebody, Bluevine also has an FAQ for general questions before signup as well as one for customers already using the lender’s services.

Bluevine User Reviews

Negative Reviews & Complaints

Bluevine is accredited by the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating and has had 341 complaints closed in the last three years. A large number of those are associated with PPP loans from 2020, and many of the more recent ones are about the company’s business checking product.

It’s worth noting that Bluevine is extremely proactive in responding to negative reviews and fixing complaints when possible. Customer reviews on the site are negative overall, however, with Bluevine rating 1.21 out of 5 stars based on 166 customer reviews. Unfortunately, this number has been steadily trending downward with recent updates.

Criticisms and complaints include:

• Denials: Some reviewers were frustrated to learn that they had been denied funding, even though they met all the requirements listed on Bluevine’s website. A few were further frustrated because they felt Bluevine did not give them a clear reason for why they were rejected.
• Expensive Fees: The fees may be a little higher than some customers would like.
• Rejected Draws: Some customers were frustrated to learn that requested draws from their credit line had been rejected. Bluevine monitors your revenue and debts and will not let you borrow if it looks like you cannot repay based on the information it has. Unfortunately, this can happen at inconvenient times for some businesses.
• Communication Issues: One of the harder-to-resolve complaints involved confusion over the point of contact for Bluevine products administered through their partnerships.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

Bluevine’s rep has fared better on Trustpilot, where it gets an average of 4.2 stars out of 5 with over 7,224 reviews.

In addition to a large number of customer reviews, Bluevine has been extensively covered by news sources, including TechCrunch, Forbes, HuffPost, PYMNTS.com, Crowdfund Insider, American Banker, and others.

In general, merchants like Bluevine’s services for solving cash flow problems. The funder’s lines of credit can be used any time you need extra cash, whatever the purpose may be.

Additionally, customers like the:

• Prompt customer service
• Transparent advertising
• Easy application process
• Fast time to funding

Is A Bluevine Loan Right For Your Business?

Bluevine’s growing pains appear to have carried over into 2023. The line of credit product remains largely unchanged, although it is now harder to qualify for, particularly when it comes to the amount of revenue you need to have.

How much cause for concern is there? Most of the recent complaints are centered on Bluevine’s neobanking services and PPP loan issues (along with nearly the entire online lending industry). Bluevine’s lines of credit are not the only — or the cheapest — products on the market. The more stringent borrower qualifications make it a less compelling offer than it used to be, although some businesses may find the terms of the line of credit to be acceptable.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Bluevine	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Bluevine for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Bluevine	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Bluevine for yourself.

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