The specs
BluevineComerica Business Loan
Product typeLOCMulti-product
Amount range$10K – $250K$5K – $100K (Comerica Express Loan); $25K – $1M (term + LOC); $250K – $5M (SBA 7(a))
Cost (factor / APR)APR 6.2% – 27% (LOC)APR 8% – 14% (term + LOC, relationship-priced); SBA Prime + 2.25 – 2.75%
Speed to fund1 – 3 business days48 – 96 hours (Express ≤ $100K, existing customers); 7 – 14 business days (term + LOC); 30 – 90 days (SBA)
Min time in business12 months24 months
Min monthly revenue$10,000$20,000+/mo typical for unsecured products
Min credit score625+680+
Products
- Line of credit
- Invoice factoring
- Comerica Express Loan
- Business term loans
- Business LOC
- SBA 7(a)
- Equipment financing
- Commercial real estate
- Treasury management
Verdicts by use case
- Established TX/MI/CA Comerica depositor with 24+ months TIB and 680+ FICO needing ≤ $100K — Winner: Comerica Business Loan. As of 2026-06-28 Comerica Express Loan at 9 – 12% APR closes in 48 – 96 hours for existing depositors — uniquely competitive with Bluevine on speed and meaningfully cheaper. Bluevine LOC funds in 1 – 3 business days at 6.2 – 27% APR (realistic middle quotes 14 – 18%). For Comerica depositors in the core footprint with preserved relationship history the Express channel is structurally cheaper at comparable speed.
- Newer business between 12 and 24 months TIB — Winner: Bluevine. Comerica's 24+ months TIB floor is firm. Bluevine's 12+ months TIB floor is reachable for businesses in the 12 – 24 month window. For merchants in that band Bluevine is the only structural option in this pair, providing standing LOC capacity until the merchant can qualify for Comerica pricing at month 24.
- Revolving credit with consistent standing capacity above $100K — Winner: Bluevine. Bluevine LOC is a true revolving line — draw, repay, redraw without re-underwriting, up to $250K with consistent committed capacity at the approved limit. Comerica Express Loan caps at $100K and is a fixed-amortization term loan, not a revolving line. Comerica's standard Business LOC scales to $1M but operates with periodic review. For genuinely flexible revolving capacity above $100K Bluevine's product shape is structurally cleaner.
- Out-of-footprint merchant (e.g. NY, GA, PA) needing fast small-ticket credit — Winner: Bluevine. Comerica's Express Loan channel is functionally unavailable to out-of-footprint merchants, and standard underwriting on a 7 – 14 day timeline at quotes near the upper end of the relationship-priced range erodes the cost advantage. Bluevine is footprint-agnostic — fully digital approval and 1 – 3 business day funding regardless of state. For merchants outside TX/MI/CA/AZ/FL Bluevine is materially faster and similarly priced once Comerica's out-of-footprint pricing is factored in.
- SBA 7(a) deal in $250K – $1M range — Winner: Comerica Business Loan. Comerica originates SBA 7(a) loans up to $5M at Prime + 2.25 – 2.75% as a top-25 SBA lender. By far the cheapest cost of capital available in this pair for SMB borrowers willing to absorb the 30 – 90 day timeline. Bluevine caps at $250K LOC and doesn't offer SBA paths or long-amortization term loans. For SBA-eligible deals in Comerica's footprint Comerica is structurally the only option in this pair.
The honest takeaway
Bluevine and Comerica Business Loan solve overlapping but distinct problems. The right choice depends on three things you already know about your business: how fast you need the money, how long you've been operating, and whether the capital need is one-time or recurring.
Frequently asked questions
- I bank with Comerica in Houston and have a Bluevine LOC — what's the optimal capital stack?
- Run both products in parallel and match each capital need to the structurally cheapest source. Practical setup if you qualify for both: Comerica Express Loan or standard Business Term Loan for predictable larger one-shot capital needs at 9 – 12% APR (relationship-priced via your Houston Comerica branch RM), Bluevine LOC retained for high-frequency revolving draws at 12 – 18% APR. The combined setup gives you: (1) cheapest fixed-amortization capital from Comerica when you can wait 4 – 7 days and amortize over 24 – 36 months, (2) instant revolving access through Bluevine for working-capital gaps, (3) SBA 7(a) path through Comerica for any expansion need over $250K. Walk into your Houston Comerica branch in person and surface your Comerica deposit tenure explicitly when applying — RM-level relationship pricing at Comerica branches in core-footprint metros (Houston, Dallas, Detroit, San Jose, Phoenix) is materially better than cold quotes.
- Can a Michigan merchant use Comerica's relationship-pricing if they're brand new to the bank?
- Cold applicants in Comerica's core Michigan footprint can still access relationship-priced pricing, but at the upper end of the 8 – 14% APR range vs the 8 – 11% range available to multi-year depositors. The practical path to better pricing: (1) open a Comerica Business Banking checking account 60 – 90 days before applying for credit and run real deposit activity through it (genuine operating deposits, not parked balances), (2) introduce yourself to the branch RM during the deposit-relationship period so the application is warm not cold, (3) apply for the Express Loan first if the need is sub-$100K — successful Express Loan performance builds the Comerica relationship record for larger future asks. Cold Michigan applicants are still typically cheaper at Comerica than any non-bank alternative, but the differential vs warm-relationship applicants is meaningful and worth the 60 – 90 day setup.
- What's the realistic Bluevine-to-Comerica trajectory for in-footprint merchants?
- Most merchants who qualify for Bluevine today can qualify for Comerica in 12 – 24 months by: (1) hitting the 24+ months TIB threshold (just operational time), (2) maintaining Bluevine LOC with on-time payments to build PAYDEX and commercial FICO (Bluevine reports both), (3) opening a Comerica Business Banking deposit relationship in the meantime and running real operating deposits through it, (4) keeping personal FICO at 700+ for margin above the 680 floor, and (5) ensuring business tax returns show consistent revenue growth. The TX/MI/CA/AZ/FL footprint advantage: Comerica RMs in core branches retain meaningful relationship-pricing discretion, so the trajectory from a Bluevine-only stack to a Comerica primary + Bluevine secondary stack at month 24 cuts blended cost-of-capital by 400 – 800 bps for most qualifying merchants. Surface your Comerica deposit tenure explicitly in the loan application — it's the largest controllable input to relationship-priced quotes.