The specs
BluevineSquare Capital
Product typeLOCMCA
Amount range$10K – $250K$300 – $250K
Cost (factor / APR)APR 6.2% – 27% (LOC)Single fixed fee (10 – 16% of loan amount); no APR / no compounding
Speed to fund1 – 3 business daysAs soon as next business day
Min time in business12 months12 months
Min monthly revenue$10,000$10,000+ in Square card sales typical floor
Min credit score625+No FICO pull — underwrites entirely against Square sales history
Products
- Line of credit
- Invoice factoring
- Embedded seller working capital (Square sellers only)
Verdicts by use case
- Square-native small retail / services merchant with strong card-sales history — Winner: Square Capital. Square Capital's headline pricing (single fixed fee, 10 – 16% of loan amount, no APR, no application) is the friendliest in the embedded MCA category. For Square-native A-paper merchants the embedded product is faster (eligibility check in dashboard, approval in minutes) and structurally aligned to revenue. Bluevine's LOC at 6.2 – 27% APR is cheaper on the bottom of its APR band but the qualification bar (625+ FICO, 12+ months TIB) excludes many newer Square merchants that qualify for Square Capital after 12 months of processing.
- Established merchant who wants revolving credit, not a one-shot advance — Winner: Bluevine. Bluevine is a true revolving LOC — draw, repay, redraw up to $250K without re-underwriting. Square Capital is one-shot per offer; each advance is a fresh lump sum and merchant re-qualifies only when Square's algorithm surfaces a new offer. For merchants who want standing capital capacity for seasonal inventory buys, equipment, or unexpected expenses Bluevine's LOC structure is the right shape.
- Multi-channel merchant (Square in-store + e-commerce + wholesale) — Winner: Bluevine. Square Capital only counts Square card sales — e-commerce revenue through non-Square checkouts, wholesale orders, ACH deposits are invisible to Square's underwriting. Bluevine's bank-statement underwriting captures total revenue across all channels and approves a single LOC that funds operations regardless of where revenue originates.
- Building business credit over time — Winner: Bluevine. Bluevine reports to business credit bureaus (PAYDEX, Experian Business) on every draw and repayment. Square Capital does not report to business credit bureaus — repayment history stays inside Square's underwriting model. For merchants building toward bank-grade financing later Bluevine's reporting matters.
- Processor-portability and platform-lock-in risk — Winner: Bluevine. Square Capital pauses the merchant inside Square's payment rail — switching processors converts the advance to fixed daily debits and may trigger early payoff. Bluevine LOC repays from the merchant's primary operating account regardless of which processor handles transactions. For merchants who anticipate processor changes Bluevine is materially safer.
The honest takeaway
Bluevine and Square Capital 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'm a Square-native salon at $40K/mo with a $20K Square Capital offer — should I take it or apply for Bluevine?
- Take the Square Capital offer if you need the $20K as a one-shot capital deployment (equipment, build-out, marketing pulse) and you don't plan to switch processors. $20K at 14% fixed fee = $2.8K — cheaper than most Bluevine LOC APR tiers on an equivalent lump-sum draw. Apply for Bluevine in parallel if you want standing revolving capacity beyond the $20K Square offer: a Bluevine $75K LOC sitting unused is free until you draw, gives you flexibility Square Capital doesn't, and builds business credit. Best practice for an established Square-native salon: take the Square Capital offer for immediate need, hold a Bluevine LOC for ongoing flexibility.
- If I'm under 12 months TIB on Square, can I still get Bluevine or do I need to take Square Capital?
- Under 12 months TIB you typically don't qualify for Bluevine (12+ months TIB and 625+ FICO are firm floors). Square Capital itself requires 12+ months on the Square platform with consistent processing. Newer Square merchants (3 – 11 months on Square) typically don't qualify for either Bluevine or Square Capital — the realistic cascade is Credibly (6+ months TIB, 550+ FICO, $15K+/mo deposits) for bank-statement underwriting, or Fundbox (6+ months TIB, 600+ FICO, $8K+/mo revenue) for a smaller LOC. As Square processing tenure builds toward 12 months, Square Capital offers tend to surface automatically.
- What happens if I take Square Capital and then get a Bluevine LOC approval — do I disclose?
- Yes, always disclose. Bluevine pulls business credit on application but Square Capital doesn't report there, so Bluevine won't see the active Square Capital advance automatically. Disclose proactively on the Bluevine application — most underwriters accept the dual-product setup if your combined debt-service ratio is under 18% of trailing revenue. Hidden balances discovered later can trigger account closure, immediate LOC payoff demand, and misrepresentation reporting to business credit bureaus. The dual-product setup is legitimately common for Square-native merchants; just be transparent at origination.