Novo vs Mercury vs Bluevine — Which Is the Best for Your Small Business?
Running a small business might always be difficult yet rewarding at the same time, but there certainly are some methods and tools that you can opt for that can make things better and easier. I know what it’s like to wait and work and repeat, which is why finding things that can give you a bit of relief can go a long way for your business.
In particular, when it comes to running around from one place to another for your baking and financial needs, it can be well worth it to opt for something that allows you considerable ease. When I was simply sick of working with traditional banks, I started looking into online platforms that could provide similar and better services.
It took a while to find an option that would do the trick, but when I did, you cannot imagine the huge load that this managed to take off my shoulders. I tried out several options, opened accounts with them, tried out their features and offers and spoke to their customer support teams, all to understand what would work best for my own small business.
I understand that it’s a difficult task to find something that works for you, which is why I have made this guide that can help make the decision-making process much simpler for you.
For the purpose of this particular guide and because the options I will present to you here were some of the best that I found, I am going to stick to three online banking platforms that you can consider opening an account with for your small business.
These include Novo, Mercury and Bluevine, all of which include various kinds of features and checking account offerings for your business. Personally, I think Novo is the best choice here since it emerged as the clear winner among all the options I tried out, not to mention that it has served me well all these years.
Through this guide, you can also learn about the importance of opening a small business checking account and what you should look for. I will then take you through each of the platforms in further detail while also comparing them so that you can make a fair and informed choice for yourself.
Let’s begin!
Why Should You Open a Small Business Checking Account?
Personal bank accounts are meant for your personal use, as their name suggests. It can be pretty simple and logical for you to arrive at the conclusion that these personal checking accounts can work well for your business as well, especially given that you are just starting out in your attempts.
Trust me, I understand this urge. However, you really really do not want to follow up on this urge that might be telling you that your life will become simpler if you have a single checking account for all your expenses and finances.
In fact, the opposite is bound to happen. Things will become confusing, you might run out of funds, you might not have enough for your personal needs (especially if you have a family) and you might put yourself at huge risk.
It is, therefore, much wiser for you to open a separate business checking account. If you want a bit more elaboration as to this decision, you can go through the following points.
Easier Management
You will find it much more convenient to manage all your finances. Finally, right? If you have been struggling so far to manage and keep track of everything, opening a business checking account is the one sure way to help you sort things out.
You can access your funds, make business savings, make transactions and transfers, access records, integrate technology and avoid all the hassles involved with the long processes involved in traditional banking.
Protection from Personal Liability
A huge advantage here can be the fact that your personal funds will remain protected from any kind of liability in case things with your business do not end up going right at any given moment.
Thus, even if you need to pay some charges or withdraw emergency funds or if some project fails, your personal funds will remain separate and untouched from any trouble. I know how assuring this can be, so go ahead and open that business account.
Professionalism
Simply put, people will take you much more seriously if you have a separate business checking account. This way, if you need to transfer some funds, make transactions, collaborate with other businesses and establish reliability and authority in your field, having a separate account for your small business can go a long way.
Delegation and Account Access
As a small business owner, being in charge of your bank account and all your finances can be a huge pain. Even if you have other colleagues and employees that can help you out with this, this might all be useless against a personal account.
With a business checking account, you can delegate financial tasks and responsibilities to others. This can also minimize the need to keep going through multiple hoops just for others to have access to your account. Overall, this will end up making your business proceedings much more efficient.
Taxes
Worried about taxes and expenses? Filing tax returns, claiming benefits, paying fees and charges and figuring out how your business has been doing can all become way more efficient through a business checking account.
Due to the seamless functions and features that such accounts usually offer, you can also minimize the effort involved on your part.
Lower Costs
Why am I constantly focusing on online banking platforms here? What’s wrong with traditional banks? Well, with traditional banks, you will have way more fees to pay to the bank just for keeping your account open, not to mention the charges for carrying out some of your transactions and transfers.
Many online platforms can now offer you a way out of these exorbitant costs by doing away with such fees and charges, allowing you to focus entirely on managing the funds of your business.
Online Handling
Online banking can take away the hassles and troubles involved with traditional banking. No more waiting in lines, no more wasting time running to and from the bank. With purely digital services, you can ensure that you can get your job done with just a few clicks, allowing you to save time, effort and resources.
The digital software associated with such banking platforms is also quite smooth and can allow you to automate some of your tasks and processes so that you do not need to worry about them too much.
This way, you can carry out your transactions with ease even if you happen to be traveling or staying in another city, state or country.
Personalized Support
There is way more personalized support when it comes to platforms that provide checking accounts for small businesses and start-ups. Unlike traditional banks that might have a range of interests in mind, such platforms usually focus on serving small businesses, allowing you to have your best interests taken care of.
What Should a Small Business Checking Account Include?
It’s one thing knowing that a small business checking account can be beneficial and quite another to actually go ahead and open one. How do you even begin looking for and choosing a dependable platform that will work best for your small business?
What are the things you should keep in mind and which factors should you account for in such cases? These questions might sound overwhelming, but here are some definite aspects that you must look for and keep in mind while making your decisions.
● First and foremost, if banking platforms seem to include numerous fees and charges as part of the business checking account, run. No, seriously. If there are platforms that can help you avoid such unnecessary charges, why not opt for them instead? This way, you can avoid hidden charges as well and rely on complete transparency.
● Make sure there is no minimum balance condition. This can help ensure that all the funds are solely for your business and accessible to you through a few simple clicks.
● The banking platform that you opt for should certainly have insurance support from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This is an absolute must, but if any platform claims to not have this kind of insurance in place, this might suggest something fishy.
● Look for technological integrations that can make it easier for you to handle some other processes and tasks associated with your business. These can make things more automated and seamless, including payments and records.
● See if the banking platform gives you access to debit and credit cards that you can make use of to build credit, deposit and withdraw money and make certain transactions at various kinds of ATMs.
● Interest earning opportunities can always be a plus, so take some time to figure out if the platform and account you are considering allow you to earn interest on your business funds. This can be a good way for you to grow your account.
● Everything should be completely safe and secure. Especially since you are likely to be relying on online interfaces, you will need to confirm that all possible security measures are in place to keep your funds safe.
● Control and flexibility are key to such business checking accounts. You should have full control over your funds and the freedom to make certain decisions about them. Changing settings, blocking cards and accounts and making transactions should all be in your hands without the bank interfering.
Now that the requirements and considerations are clear, make sure you gather all your documents in place so that you can go ahead and open your account.
You can now move on to some options that you might want to consider and which of these can be the best option for you.
Novo vs Mercury vs Bluevine — Which Is the Best?
In this guide, I am going to focus on Novo, Mercury and Bluevine as some concrete, efficient and reliable choices for you to consider for your small business checking account. I have tried each of these out, based on which I can truthfully and earnestly recommend Novo.
While the other two are quite excellent too, Novo has an edge to it that can make your banking extremely smooth.
Let’s take a look at each of these platforms in further detail so that you can figure out why I am saying this. I will also take you through each platform’s pros and cons so that you can make a fair and informed decision.
About Novo
Novo is a business banking and financial company that partners with Middlesex Federal Savings to offer banking services. Providing financial technology so that you can bank in a flawless and efficient manner, Novo focuses on small business banking so that the banking process can become much more accessible for you.
The business checking account that Novo offers also carries FDIC insurance, allowing you to have control over and access to your funds even if the bank happens to fail.
There are several integrations that are included as part of the Novo account. These include QuickBooks, Stripe, Shopify, Wise, Slack and Xero, allowing you to carry out and manage many of your business tasks and transactions directly without multiple steps in the process.
There is a single checking account on offer here, so you can enjoy all the features and perks with specialized support.
Pros
● There are no hidden or monthly charges that you will need to pay as part of your business checking account. No transaction fees, no ATM fees and no maintenance or service fees. What more do you need?
● Given the six integrations in place here, you can handle all your transactions at once and directly. Additionally, there are many perks and discounts that tend to come with such integrations, allowing you to save a good deal of money.
● There is no minimum balance requirement at Novo, allowing you to freely make use of all your funds at any given moment. This can be quite ideal for small businesses that might need even the smallest of funds to carry out some kind of task.
● You can send and track invoices without any kind of limitation involved. This can allow you to stay on top of your payments.
● You can access Novo Reserves through your business checking account, using which you can make essential savings and set aside some of your funds for other important tasks such as taxes, emergencies and payroll. You can make up to five such Reserves if you have different budgetary needs.
● There are ATM reimbursements involved here. No matter which ATM you use, you can access a rebate if any of them happen to charge you a transaction fee. These ATM rebates are unlimited in number, so if you are out of your usual network, this can be quite beneficial.
● You can access both virtual and physical debit cards that can allow you to carry out your transactions with ease.
Cons
● You will need to make a $50 opening deposit to be able to open your account and access all of its features and perks.
● You cannot earn interest on your business checking account with Novo, which can be a bit limiting for small businesses.
About Mercury
Mercury is another financial technology company that teams up with Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust so that you can open a business checking account for your small business or start-up. You can also access several other banking services through this platform.
Financial technology companies like Mercury can allow you to perform your business banking with peace of mind and ease, especially since all the transactions and management take place digitally.
Conveniently, Mercury offers a virtual demonstration on its website through you which you can navigate the ins and outs of opening your business checking account and what to expect from this platform.
Once you manage to open your account, you can carry out your transactions as required. Integrations like Shopify, Stripe, Zapier, Amazon, PayPal and QuickBooks are also included.
Pros
● Monthly fees are done away with when it comes to your Mercury business checking account, as are the fees for other transactions like domestic transfers and international USD transfers.
● There are no minimum balance requirements involved in this account, allowing you to maintain full control over your funds and how you use them. This is quite advantageous for small businesses.
● There are over 55,000 ATMs involved in Mercury’s network, allowing you to carry out your transactions and withdraw cash. None of these involve charges and fees, making it a hassle-free experience.
● You can access physical and virtual cards so that you can make payments and carry out your transactions in any way that you prefer, depending on what different places and people accept.
● The number and variety of integrations on offer can make the process of managing your financial operations much smoother.
● There is a business account called Mercury Treasury that you can open if you want to earn an annual percentage yield (APY) or interest of 0.814% on your business savings.
Cons
● There are no cash deposit options available with your Mercury checking account. This can be a bit difficult for small businesses that might have many cash dealings and transactions.
● For all international payments, transfers and transactions, you will need to pay a currency exchange fee of 1%. This can make things bothersome for your international dealings, not to mention that this might also impact how you can access your account internationally.
About Bluevine
Bluevine is a financial technology that partners with Coastal Community Bank to provide you with banking services and, primarily, a business checking account for your start-up or small business.
Bluevine has FDIC insurance in place to ensure that your deposits can remain secure and under your full control.
You can also earn interest on your Bluevine checking account, not to mention that you can gain access to checkbooks, unlimited transactions, account sharing with your team as well as the possibility of opening multiple sub-accounts.
Bluevine has a small business resource center that you can visit through its website if you want to learn more about how everything works on this platform. Paying bills is also an option through your business checking account.
Some integrations that Bluevine offers include QuickBooks, Xero, Expensify, Stripe and PayPal.
Pros
● You can gain access to a Bluevine Mastercard debit card that you can use to spend a certain amount of your business funds. This can be quite beneficial to use wherever Mastercard is accepted while also making ATM transactions easier.
● There are no monthly or transaction fees that you will need to pay through Bluevine. You also do not need to maintain any kind of minimum balance in your account to keep your account functioning.
● You can earn interest up to 1.5% on balances up to $100,000, making it quite ideal for small businesses who wish to grow their funds. This also removes the need of opening a separate savings account for your small business.
● You can open up to five sub-accounts through your parent checking account, allowing you to have separate account numbers and allocations for different business needs. This can make it convenient for you to divide your business funds and budgets.
● You can receive $2,500 each month in your business checking account as well as your sub-accounts, making it easier for you to receive customer payments.
Cons
● While there are many in-network ATMs available, you will not be able to access any fee rebates at the out-of-network ATMs. This might mean that you will have to bear such charges using your own business funds.
● You will need to pay a fee of $15 for your wire transfers while also incurring a 2.9% fee on your credit card transactions.
Novo vs Mercury vs Bluevine
The individual and distinctive features, pros and cons of Novo, Mercury and Bluevine are now clear. To get a clearer understanding of how the three actually compare, you can go through the following points.
This will also make it easier for you to determine which one of the three is the best choice.
Registration
When it comes to setting up your account, the process is actually quite quick with all three banking companies. As long as you have some details about yourself and your business in place, you will be able to fill up the online forms in no time, following which the verification and approval process will rapidly take place.
With Novo the process requires you to simply provide your business email and make a password so that you can move on to your application that you can complete in a couple of minutes or so.
The process is pretty much the same with both Mercury and Bluevine, although the response rate can be slightly slower as compared to Novo.
Once you have opened up your checking account, you will be able to start transferring your funds and using them to make your transactions.
Fees
The fees that you will need to pay for each platform can make a huge difference in your final choice.
When it comes to Novo, for instance, you do not need to worry about paying any monthly maintenance fees, transaction fees or even transfer fees for certain types of wires. What’s more, you can also use any kind of ATM and expect a rebate from Novo on any charges that you may have had to pay.
For Mercury as well, the fees are almost non-existent apart from the 1% currency exchange fee that you will need to incur each time, making your international transactions a bit expensive.
There are no monthly fees when it comes to Bluevine either. You can also make ATM transactions for free, although you will still need to pay fees for ATMs that fall out of Bluevine’s own network.
Minimum Balance
Maintaining a minimum balance in your business checking account can be a bit difficult for small businesses, which is why Novo does not have any such requirement for its account. Although you will need to pay a $50 opening deposit, the kinds of account features this can give you access to can make it worth it.
You do not need to maintain a minimum balance for Mercury and Bluevine either, so in this sense, all three companies can be quite advantageous for small businesses, allowing you to spend each dollar in your account if you wish to do so.
You should note, however, that Mercury and Bluevine might have certain limits on the ways in which you can use and move your funds. For instance, the Bluevine debit card only lets you spend $500 per month.
Integrations
Most financial technology companies have an edge over traditional banks in that they can provide various integrations with your business checking account that can allow you to manage your funds and operations quite methodically and directly.
For Novo, the integrations included are QuickBooks, Stripe, Shopify, Wise, Slack and Xero.
There are some additional companies and platforms that Novo partners with that can give you access to several perks and discounts. Some of these include Booking.com, Google Cloud, Gusto, Hubspot, Zendesk, Segment, Salesforce, Homebase and Snapchat.
If your small business makes use of these tools and platforms, this can be a huge advantage for you, especially considering the variety that Novo offers. Many kinds of automation and transactions can become easier with these integrations.
Mercury has integrations like Shopify, Stripe, Zapier, Amazon, PayPal and QuickBooks while Bluevine can integrate with QuickBooks, Xero, Expensify, Stripe and PayPal.
In this case, Novo is the clear winner.
Interest and Savings
Although interest-earning opportunities are not a must for business checking accounts, they can certainly help you grow your funds and build credit. Additionally, the option to have savings and reserves in your account can make it easier for you to allocate your resources.
Novo does not have any provision in place that can allow you to earn interest on your funds, although it does offer something called Reserves where you can save and allot your business funds for different purposes.
Mercury does not allow you to earn interest on your checking account either. You can, however, open a separate account called Treasury where you can earn up to 0.814% each year on your funds, although there are several conditions associated with this.
Bluevine is the only platform that can allow you to earn up to 1.5% interest up to $100,000 on your business checking account. This too, however, has some conditions associated with it.
Safety
In terms of safety and security, Novo remains quite ahead of both Mercury and Bluevine, although these have established safety measures in place too.
Fortunately, all three platforms have FDIC insurance in place that can protect your business funds and keep them in your hands even if the platform or bank itself fails or undergoes an issue.
When it comes to Novo, there are many authentication measures in place to ensure that you have full control over your funds, while also ensuring that an external party does not end up hacking into your account. Security questions, codes and passwords can help maintain this even further.
The Novo technology and team will also immediately alert you in case they find any kind of suspicious activity in your checking account.
Both Mercury and Bluevine have similar safety measures in place, but Novo is the most robust of them all based on my research and others’ experiences.
Cash Dealings
Cash can be quite an important element when it comes to small businesses, especially since many transactions tend to take place through cash. Having options to deposit and withdraw cash can be essential.
Novo has several ATMs within its network where you can withdraw cash for free while also providing rebates for those outside the network. Novo also does not charge you for cash deposits using money orders.
Mercury does not accept cash deposits in any form, although it does have several ATMs within its network that can allow you to withdraw cash. The network is not as extensive as that of Novo’s.
Bluevine, on the other hand, provides options for withdrawing cash at its ATMs, but the network is a bit small and the refunds are lacking too. While you can deposit cash at the ATMs, you will need to pay a fee of nearly $5 to do so each time, making it a bit troublesome.
Accessibility
Accessibility can refer to online as well as offline access, although since these are predominantly online platforms, there are no physical branches that either of these offer. While this might make it tough during emergencies, it can certainly imply that the online access will be even more navigable, accessible and smoother.
All three platforms rely on apps and their websites to allow customers and clients to log into their accounts and track their expenses, view their records or make transactions. Novo, in this regard, seemed to be the most seamless when I was trying out the options.
Even in terms of domestic and international accessibility, Novo takes the leading edge while Mercury and Bluevine make things more difficult due to the hefty fees and charges involved.
Another thing to note here is that Bluevine is not available and accessible in locations like North and South Dakota and the US territories.
Account Type
In terms of the type of account that you can open with Novo, Mercury and Bluevine, the primary account on offer for small businesses in the business checking account. Once you manage to open the account, you can access a bunch of features and services.
While Novo and Bluevine both have a single checking account for businesses, Mercury has separate accounts for business checking and savings, making things a bit difficult to manage since you will need to keep maintaining and handling the two at once.
Bluevine can allow you to make sub-accounts from your parent account.
Novo has the most efficient type of account here considering that you can make reserves or savings through the same account. You can also access invoices, use multiple apps and benefit from various kinds of perks.
Customer Support
An important thing to talk about here is the kind of customer support on offer.
Once again, Novo takes the lead considering that it has several resources on its website itself that can give you the support you require. This includes a resource center, FAQ section, help center and a blog.
The app is also available to download that can put you in touch with the support team, although you can also use the platform’s social media or email to get in touch. The response from the team is quite streamlined and prompt as well.
Mercury also has an accessible app and website that you can use for customer support in addition to the FAQ page and email address, as does Bluevine. However, I found that the support team was not as efficient as compared to Novo’s, making this just another aspect that ticked me in favor of Novo.
Making the Choice
So, which banking platform should you actually opt for? If you are still a bit confused between a couple of banks, let me make things easier for you by comparing each of the three banks with the others. This should help sort everything out for you once and for all while also providing you with a concise summary.
Take a look!
Novo vs Mercury
Here’s how Novo and Mercury compare to each other.
● Novo and Mercury both have virtual and physical cards that you can access to make transactions.
● Novo offers the option of making free cash deposits through money orders, but Mercury does not have any such provision in place.
● Novo is quite accessible when it comes to domestic and international transactions, including transfers and international usage. Mercury is accessible for wire transfers but charges a 1% currency exchange fee.
● Novo has a greater number of integrations and perks as compared to Mercury.
● Novo provides ATM rebates for out-of-network ATMs while Mercury does not.
Novo vs Bluevine
See how Novo and Bluevine compare below.
● Novo offers free cash deposits through money orders while Bluevine charges a $5 fee for making cash deposits at ATMs.
● There are unlimited transactions that you can carry out through Novo while Bluevine has some limits, such as using a debit card only for $500 monthly expenses and accepting only $2,500 in customer payments.
● Novo offers reimbursements for all ATMs while Bluevine does not have any rebate provision in place.
● You can earn interest with your Bluevine account but not with your Novo account.
● The Novo integrations are much more various as compared to Bluevine’s.
● Novo allows you to make Reserves while Bluevine allows you to open sub-accounts.
Mercury vs Bluevine
Here are some ways in which Mercury and Bluevine compare.
● Mercury can let you earn up 0.81% interest on a separate savings account while Bluevine can let you earn up to 1.5% in your checking account itself.
● Mercury does not accept cash deposits at all while Bluevine accepts it at ATMs at a charge.
● The checking and savings accounts are different at Mercury but you can open multiple sub-accounts with Bluevine.
● Mercury allows you access to AllPoint ATMs while Bluevine to MoneyPass ATMs.
● Bluevine serves small businesses, start-ups, freelancers and more while Mercury serves small businesses but focuses more on start-ups.
The Bottom Line
It is clear that Novo, Mercury and Bluevine all have their own unique and beneficial features that can do plenty of good for your small business. Of course, based on the comparison guide that I have taken you through, it is clear that Novo is the ultimate winner given the all-round advantages that it can offer in terms of numerous parameters.
Now that you are aware of this, take your own business requirements into account and then go ahead and open that small business checking account to make everything more efficient.
