APY GUY: Maximize Your Savings & Earnings

checking accounts

Fidelity Cash Management Review – A Checking/Savings Combo


image credit: fidelity.com
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Fidelity Investments Inc. is a multinational investment management corporation offering a wide range of personal and professional investment products and advising options.

This financial services company was established in 1946 and is now the fifth largest asset management firm in the world controlling more than $2 trillion in assets.

Rated the #1 online broker of 2020 by both Barron’s and Investor’s Business Daily, Fidelity is also considered to be an overall sound choice for cash management accounts by review publications and customers alike.

If you’re not familiar, a cash management account is an all-in-one account that combines features of savings accounts, checking accounts and investment accounts in one place, with one institution.

Cash management accounts let you capitalize on convenience and security and this brokerage firm offers one with several notable perks. If you want a cash management account that can do more than the standard checking, savings, or investment account can, here’s what you’ll need to know about the cash management account offered through Fidelity.

What is the Fidelity Cash Management Account

Fidelity Cash Management accounts are brokerage accounts, not bank accounts. This makes managing your finances easier by allowing you to both save and invest under the same roof.

That said, you can also use this much like you would a checking account since it offers:

  1. ATM cash access,
  2. a debit card,
  3. the option for bill pay,
  4. and unlimited check writing capabilities. 

Your uninvested balance earns interest similar to an online savings account or you can choose to park your cash in other low-risk investment options like a money market account or CD.

Now let’s get under the hood and see how these accounts actually work.

Remember these are not deposit accounts nor bank accounts.

In fact, the cash you put in your Fidelity Cash Management account doesn’t actually stay with Fidelity at all (though it can be accessed through Fidelity).

Instead, Fidelity partners with other FDIC-insured banks, called Program Banks, and carries out what is known as “FDIC-Insured Deposit Sweep” or simply “Sweep” (a practice typical of cash management accounts).

Basically, Fidelity moves your money into different interest-bearing deposit accounts with other institutions so that it can leverage their FDIC insurance and maximize your coverage.

Your money will be swept into Program Banks chosen by Fidelity and you will be notified about which have been selected for you when you are presented with your Program Bank List. There are always going to be a minimum of five different banks available for Sweep, but exactly which ones are available to participate depends on demand and other factors. 

This practice of sweeping makes it possible for Fidelity Cash Management accounts to be FDIC insured up to $1.25 million. Most deposit products are only insured up to $250,000, but because your money will be distributed across multiple institutions and insured separately by the FDIC, coverage can extend well beyond this typical maximum. However, the coverage limit per bank is still $250,000, which is why you may have up to five different Program Banks. 

Fidelity will automatically sweep the first $245,000 of your cash management account balance into the first bank on your Program Bank List, reserving $5,000 for accrued interest, then the next $245,000 into your second bank, and so on. Just know that it is your responsibility to make sure that your cash is always within coverage limits at each Program Bank. If you do find that you’ve, for some reason, exceeded FDIC coverage limits or you wish to change one or more of your banks, call Fidelity at 800-931-9987 to update your Program Bank list as needed. 

Remember that you are not a customer with Program Banks but with Fidelity. If you are already a customer with a Program Bank beforehand, keep in mind that your aggregate balance will be used to assess coverage.

You will also need a Fidelity investment account in order to open a Cash Management account.

Fidelity Cash Management Account Rate + Features

The Fidelity Cash Management Account does not earn much interest currently, but has been competitive in the past.

Fidelity Cash Management Account Rates

BalanceAPY
$0 – $99,999.990.01%
$100,000 +0.01%

To put these offers in perspective, the current national average for a savings account is 0.05% APY and just 0.04% APY for interest-bearing checking accounts. However, there are still some online savings accounts paying above 0.60% APY. For example, the Axos High Yield Savings account still holds an APY of 0.61% APY!

Interest compounds daily and credits monthly.

You can use this account to invest in Fidelity CDs, mutual funds, fixed-income instruments, or MMAs as well, but the current rates won’t be too enticing.

According to Fidelity, the Fidelity Cash Management account is meant to supplement, not replace, your Fidelity brokerage account, which does not allow for spending but has many more investment options to choose from.

The Fidelity Debit Card, issued by PNC Bank, can be used at any Fidelity ATM or out-of-network ATM worldwide and all ATM charges made from your cash management account will be fully reimbursed. It can also be linked to Apple Pay.

You can use your Cash Management account to enroll in Fidelity BillPay, write as many checks as you want, deposit checks, and make transfers between this and external accounts, and more—all at no cost to you.

Unlike many cash management and money market accounts, the Fidelity Cash Management account does not have monthly maintenance or low balance fees.

How Does Fidelity Compare with Other Cash Management Accounts

There’s quite a few cash management accounts on the market to choose from and their feature sets and interest rates vary widely.

Below is our rundown of the most popular cash management accounts of 2021 benchmarked with Fidelity on top features and yield.

Institution/AccountFDIC insuranceDebit CardAPY
SoFi Money$1.5 millionYes0.25%
Wealthfront Cash Account$1 millionNo0.35%
Betterment Everyday Cash Reserve$1 million+Yes0.40%
Aspiration Spend & Save$2 millionYes1.0%
Affirm Savings$250kNo0.65%
Fidelity Cash Management$1.25 millionYes0.01%

Many of the cash management accounts that come with a debit card also feature ATM fee reimbursements worldwide. The Fidelity Cash management account offers an unlimited amount of these but every institution and account is different. You’ll have to check with the institution’s account details page for more information.

Reviews and Customer Sentiment

Overall customer satisfaction is at 4.4 out of 5 stars on the Fidelity site. Customers appreciate how comprehensive Fidelity’s product lineup and website are and the general consensus is that the online banking platform is easy-to-use and does the job.

In terms of the cash management account, the disadvantages are that the product isn’t as competitive as it could be in terms of rates and APY and Fidelity doesn’t have many branches. In addition, there have been reports of transactions into and out of cash management accounts taking longer to go through than what is typical. Some customers have also expressed frustration in getting support from Fidelity.

The Fidelity Cash Management was given a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 on NerdWallet because it has good ATM coverage, ATM reimbursements, and no monthly fees, but the account is dinged for not earning a better rate of return.

There are less than 200 Fidelity Investor Centers or branches across the country. This limited in-person branch access might not be what you want from a bank, but Fidelity makes up for this in other ways. For one, customer support can be reached 24/7 and the Fidelity app is very highly rated on the App Store—4.8 stars—and Google Play—4.5 stars. Call (800) 343-3548 to reach a representative at any time or day of the week or reach out via the site’s convenient live chat feature. 

Final Thoughts

As far as cash management accounts go, this one is solid but there are better options available elsewhere.

The best parts of this account lean towards the checking account features rather than the savings account features as current rates are grim. Therefore this account isn’t going to grow idle cash to the extent that a strong online savings account could, but it’s great for keeping large sums of money ready to deploy and invest.

PNC Bank High Yield Savings 0.50% APY + Virtual Wallet Checking Bonuses!


$50, $200 and $300 bonuses available by region through December 31, 2020!

PNC Bank is the 7th largest bank in the United States by assets with nearly $381 billion in total and the 5th largest bank in the US by branch network with 2,459 branches across 21 states and the District of Columbia.

They offer a full suite of banking services for personal, small business, corporate and institutional clients that cover everything from loans and borrowing to savings and wealth management.

For the purpose of this review we will focus on the personal High Yields Savings account and the Virtual Wallet Checking Pro with Spend account. These are PNC Bank’s online savings account and online checking account, respectively.

The Virtual Wallet Pro with Spend account, which functions as the online checking account, can also come packaged with the High Yield Savings, so that your reserve funds can grow with a solid APY. PNC Bank calls this packaged product the Virtual Wallet Pro with Spend, Reserve and Growth (a bit of a mouthful, we know).

If you open any of the Virtual Wallet accounts you can currently earn a bonus of $50, $200 or $300 depending on where you live and which account you open.

We ran several scenarios and detailed them below, but in general, the western states and cities are only eligible for the $200 bonus with the Virtual Wallet Pro with Spend account and the Midwest and Eastern states have that same $200 offer plus the option of either a $50 or $300 bonuses based on the type of account set up and the associated qualifying actions.

PNC Bank High Yield Savings Overview – 0.50% APY

PNC Bank is member FDIC and all deposits held at the institution are federally insured up to $250,000 per depositor.

PNC Bank High Yield Savings

AccountMin BalanceAPY
High Yield Savings$10.50%

To give this yield some context, the current national average for a savings account sits at just 0.07% APY and the top rates online are just touching 0.50% APY. That said, there are still a handful of specialty savings accounts like Sallie Mae’s SmartyPig or the Fitness Bank savings account that feature APYs around 0.70%.

Setting up, funding and managing your High Yield Saving account is fairly simple and straightforward.

To get started you will need the following:

  • Driver’s License or State ID
  • Social Security Number

On top of this, they will also request several pieces of information about yourself such as your full legal name, residing address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.

Funding the account can be done in three ways:

  • Wire transfer from existing external bank account
  • Check deposit via the PNC mobile app. This can only be done after you’ve enrolled in PNC online banking or mobile banking.
  • A PNC checking account

The easiest and fastest way to get going is via a wire transfer. For this you will need the routing number and account number of your existing bank and bank account.

One your account is all set up, you can manage it from a mobile phone, tablet or desktop computer using PNC online banking or one of their native apps. You can download their IOS app or Android app using the links provided.

PNC Virtual Wallet Checking Pro with Spend

The Virtual Wallet Checking Pro with Spend account is an online checking account in your virtual wallet. Like the high yield saving account, this account has no minimum deposit requirements and no fees.

It comes with a debit card and access to over 18,000 ATMs nationwide (locate them here). It also comes with ATM reimbursements of up to $20 per statement cycle. This is a generous out of network ATM reimbursement amount per statement cycle – especially given the coverage of PNC Bank and its own ATM network.

Virtual Wallet Checking Pro with Spend Features

ItemFeature
Minimum deposit$0
Minimum balance$0
Monthly service fees$0
Debit CardFree
ChecksUnlimited
ATMs18,000 in network
ATM reimbursement$20 per statement cycle
Sign Up Bonus$200 – with qualifying direct deposit(s)

$50, $200 and $300 Bonus Details

As mentioned only the Midwest and Eastern states have the option for the $50 and $300 bonus. They also have the $200 bonus option that all the Western states have with the Virtual Wallet Checking Pro with Spend account mentioned above.

We ran this scenario in six major cities across the country:

  • Seattle 98109
  • San Francisco 94016
  • Dallas 75001
  • Chicago 60007
  • New York City 10001
  • Miami 33101

In Seattle, San Francisco and Dallas we found that only the $200 bonus offer was available.

In Chicago, New York, and Miami we found that same $200 offer available plus a $50 offer and a $300 offer. Details on each offer are listed below.

$50 Bonus for Virtual Wallet

Perhaps the easiest bonus to nab for those in eligible regions is PNC Bank’s $50 bonus is by opening the virtual wallet and establishing $500 in qualifying direct deposit(s) to the Spend account.

To qualify for this offer you must open the account between 12/1/20 to 12/31/20, and a qualifying Direct Deposit(s) must be received within the first 60 days. Your checking account must remain open in order for you to receive the reward, which will be credited to the eligible account within 60-90 days after all conditions have been met and will be identified as “Cash Trans Promo Reward” on your monthly statement.

$200 Bonus Offer

For the $200 bonus that is available everywhere. You will need to set up the Virtual Wallet Checking Pro with Spend account AND set up qualifying direct deposit(s) of $2,000 or more.

To qualify for this offer you must open the account between 12/1/20 to 12/31/20, and a qualifying Direct Deposit(s) must be received within the first 60 days. Your checking account must remain open in order for you to receive the reward, which will be credited to the eligible account within 60-90 days after all conditions have been met and will be identified as “Cash Trans Promo Reward” on your monthly statement.

$300 Bonus Offer

The $300 bonus that is available in Midwestern and Eastern States can be received by opening the Virtual Wallet with Performance Select account and

  1. setting up $5,000 or more in qualifying direct deposits OR
  2. $5,000 in average monthly balance in Spend and Reserve OR
  3. $25,000 in combined average monthly balance in PNC consumer deposits or investments.

To qualify for this offer you must open the account between 12/1/20 to 12/31/20, and a qualifying Direct Deposit(s) must be received within the first 60 days.

Final Thoughts

These are extremely noteworthy accounts and generous bonuses offered by PNC Bank.

The high yield savings account comes with an APY that is only beat by a handful of institutions and the Virtual Wallet with Spend account comes with a lucrative signing bonus of $200 plus the same ability to earn 0.50% APY on reserve cash.

For Midwestern and Eastern states only, we love the ability to earn $50 and $300 bonuses for the Virtual Wallet accounts, but the $300 bonus comes with much steeper direct deposit and/or average monthly balance requirements.

Popmoney Review – How it Works and How it Compares


Popmoney is a payment service that allows people to send, request and receive money directly from their bank account. The service makes peer-to-peer transfers as simple as sending an email or text.

As a background, Peer-to-peer transfers are electronic money payments made from one person to another through an intermediary payment application.

These came on the scene in a major way with the birth of eCommerce and the need to facilitate payments between customers and sellers – most notably with online retailer eBay.

PayPal, which was later acquired by eBay in 2002, was the first mover in the space and certainly not the last. This acquisition and the growth of eCommerce in general spurred a boom in both online P2P transactions and competing applications facilitating them.

Today, there are dozens of peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps out there to choose from.

And although Popmoney is not a first-mover nor a flashy up-and-comer, they are one of the largest in terms of institutional banking partners and wide-spread usage.

Developed by CashEdge in 2010 and now owned by Fiserv, Popmoney has gone through a series of changes in the past decade.

Let’s start with CashEdge. The brand name was absorbed when they were acquired by Fiserv, but I personally still have nightmares about using their data aggregation software back in my financial advisor days. Even their primary partner, Albridge, abandoned them in the end. 

That’s not to say that Popmoney provides a bad experience because they were developed by CashEdge, but I went into this review with a bit of a bias just as a matter of full disclosure.

A History of Partnerships and Integrations

Fintech applications are built to be sold. It’s the reason that financial software companies exist. They build a product, market it for a while to grow a client base, then sell for as high a valuation as possible. That has happened several times over with Popmoney.

The first acquisition is the most obvious and it has nothing to do with P2P applications. Fiserv bought CashEdge in 2011 to compete with data aggregation rival ByAllAccounts, which has since been sold to Morningstar. This gave them Popmoney, but that was not their target.

The move did prove beneficial, though. Popmoney was connected to a number of larger banking institutions, so they melded it with their existing P2P provider, called Zashpay, which already connected to 1,400 banks. The combined entity stayed under the Popmoney brand.

If you’re wondering about the name, it stands for “Pay other people money.” That’s pretty direct and could have benefitted from the services of a clever marketing firm, but that never really developed. Fiserv has always treated P2P as secondary to their aggregation services.

On April 17, 2013, Fiserv announced the launch of a new “Instant Payments” feature in their Popmoney application, placing them in a space that had been dominated by Paypal for decades. Venmo was still in their formative years and Zelle had not been launched yet.  

The Basics – How Popmoney and Other Electronic Transfers Fundamentally Work

To understand how Popmoney works, the first step is to go over what an electronic funds transfer (EFT) is. The concept goes back to 1870, when Wells Fargo first started sending money using their telegraph lines. The Federal Reserve Bank adopted the practice in 1910. 

In 1972, the need for batch transactions led to the development of the automated clearing house (ACH), which is how most commercial bank wire transfers are done today. This is how P2P applications like Popmoney move cash. 

Unlike Paypal or Venmo, the money moved through Popmoney has to be in the sender’s bank account before the ACH can be initiated. The payment can then be made by sending to the recipient’s email address or mobile phone number. 

The application is designed for person-to-person transfers, but Popmoney also offers commercial accounts. The commercial account is advertised as a “full featured” electronic invoicing platform but it’s debatable as to whether or not they live up to that name.

Essentially, it’s a stripped-down basic service that doesn’t even provide any type of reporting or accounting. You can set recurring invoices, but you have to export them to Excel to run transaction reports.

As for the personal P2P app, I downloaded it from the App Store for my iPhone and found it to be pretty bare bones as far as features go. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since all you really want to do is send and receive money, but I was expecting more from a ten-year-old app.

Processing Time for Sending and Receiving Payments

Having run small businesses for nearly three decades, my experience has been that an ACH should take no more than forty-eight hours to show up in your bank account. Popmoney takes up to three business days.

For the quickest transfer of funds, the sender must submit a payment via his/her debit card by 5:00pm PST and the recipient must accept it by 10:00pm that same night. In this instance, funds will take just 1 business day to transfer.

If you need to transfer money instantly, you might want to try another application.

A deeper dive into customer reviews show a number of complaints on the wait time as well, and even several instances where funds seemed to have been “frozen” after transfer, getting lost in limbo for a period of time before they could be sorted out.

The app itself scores just 1.5 stars out of 5 on the IOS App Store and just 2.3 stars out of 5 on Google Play with a significant portion of the 1 star ratings citing the slow transfer time. As of the time of this writing 484 individuals have reviewed the app for IOS and 1,328 for Android.

Of course, Popmoney is not alone in this. I’ve seen similar issues with Zelle and even worse with Paypal, who regularly freezes money for “security” checks. Venmo, which is owned by Paypal, does not appear to have this problem according to publicly available, consumer reviews.

Cost breakdown

Here’s an area where Popmoney performs better.

They charge a flat 95 cents per money transfer, unlike Venmo and Paypal, both of which charge a percentage. Zelle, on the other hand, charges nothing, so they win this battle.

Your bank may charge a fee for ACH transfers, so check into that before using Popmoney. Banks and credit unions within the Popmoney network could have better rates or may not charge you extra at all. I searched through Popmoney’s website for more on this, but it’s not there. 

That said, 95 cents is not a bad price, particularly since there doesn’t seem to be a limit on how much you can send.

Popmoney Fees vs Other P2P Apps

AppFee
Cash AppFree, 1.5% or 3% of the sum*
Facebook MessengerFree
Google Pay SendFree
PayPalFree or 2.9% + $0.30 fixed**
Popmoney$0.95 per transfer
Venmo3% of sum but can be waived***
ZelleFree

*The Cashapp charges the sender a 3% fee to send a payment using a credit card and 1.5% for an instant deposit to a bank account.

**Sending funds via a PayPal balance or linked bank account is free. Sending funds via a credit card, debit card or PayPal credit will cost you 2.9% of the amount plus a fixed fee of $0.30.

***Venmo waves this fee if transfer is funded via a Venmo balance, a bank account, or a debit card.

Availability – Which Institutions Use It?

There’s a search function on the website where you can look up your bank to see if they do business with Popmoney. Zashpay already connected to 1,400 institutions before they merged with Popmoney so these institutions remain on the list. The major ones include the following:

  • Ally Bank
  • TD Bank
  • Fifth Third Bank
  • Regions Bank
  • US Bank
  • Bank of America
  • Citibank
  • PNC Bank, NA
  • SunTrust Bank
  • Wells Fargo Bank

Is it Safe?

Popmoney is legitimate, so there are security safeguards in place.

Popmoney sends a one-time verification code (usually six digits) to the mobile number or email address of the payment sender to thwart unauthorized payments and theft. The user then needs to confirm that code to verify they own that cell number or email address to continue.

Unfortunately, any time you use an email to send or receive money there’s always the possibility of fraud. That email message from a “friend” could be someone looking to steal your money so whenever you receive a request for money be sure to verify the sender’s email or phone number.

Another drawback to Popmoney is there’s no buyer protection if you use it for a purchase. That’s not really what it’s intended for, but there are scenarios where the seller may not want to take credit cards. Be careful in those situations. It could be a scam.

Don’t use Popmoney for online auctions. Whenever you’re buying something “as is” you have very little recourse to begin with. Add in the lack of buyer protection and you’re just asking for your money to be stolen. Use a regular credit card, not a debit card, instead.

What Personal Information is Shared with the Service?

You do have to share your bank tracking and routing numbers with Popmoney, but the recipient of any payments you make has no access to that information. This gives you a level of privacy that writing a check does not.

If you send money to someone who doesn’t have a bank account at a Popmoney affiliated financial institution, they will need to provide their tracking and routing numbers to retrieve the funds. Make that clear to anyone you’re planning on sending a payment to. 

Make sure that you’re using the real Popmoney website or mobile app when you enter bank account information. There are a few fraudulent sites out there that disguise themselves as being the legitimate website. Double check the URL at the top of the page to confirm.

PopMoney vs. Competitors

Zelle is the main competitor to Popmoney and lately they’ve been winning the battle. Venmo is considered more of an app for young people making smaller cash transfers, but their subscriber numbers are higher due to affiliations with Paypal and eBay.

Other competitors include Paypal, Google Pay Send, and Facebook Messenger. I’ve compared fees, network size, payment types, speed, and safety features below. 

Popmoney vs Zelle

Zelle doesn’t charge a fee to send money. That’s great, but their network (100+ banks) is significantly smaller than Popmoney (over 2500). Like Popmoney, you can send money via email or mobile number, but they also have the option of using your credit card. 

Zelle is faster. You don’t have to wait several business days for the transaction to complete. It happens in minutes for in-network users. Recipients outside the network receive their funds within 72 hours. From a security perspective, the two apps are roughly the same. 

Popmoney vs Paypal

The fees for Paypal are a little more complex. It’s free to send money using your bank account, but instant transfers are 25 cents. Credit card transfers are 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. The upside is that Paypal’s network is the largest in the world.

Regular Paypal money transfers take roughly the same amount of time that Popmoney transfers do. Instant transfers are available within thirty minutes. Security is much better, with buyer and fraud protection available for all accounts. 

Popmoney vs Venmo

Venmo is owned by Paypal, but for users it’s a very different experience. It’s easy to set up and you can transfer money with a bank account or debit card for free. Credit card transfers will cost you 3%. Instant transfers are 25 cents and money is available within 30 minutes. 

Venmo is only available for users with a US bank account. Regular transfers take one to three business days. They do not offer buyer or seller protection, so if you’re buying merchandise or bidding at an auction, use a credit card or Paypal.  

Popmoney vs Google Pay Send

Formerly known as Google Wallet, Google Pay Send charges no fees to send money and you can use it anywhere that Google Pay is accepted. You can link a debit or credit card and instant transfers happen in a matter of minutes. Bank account transfers take three days.

Google Pay Send has the best security on this list. They offer 100% fraud protection for unauthorized transactions, but if you send money voluntarily to someone who’s scamming you it may not be covered, so make sure you know who the recipient is. 

Popmoney vs Facebook Messenger

Did you know that you can send and receive money using Facebook Messenger? If you add a credit or debit card to your account, you can conceivably send money to any of the more than one billion people who use Facebook every day. There are no fees to do it. 

The drawbacks to Facebook Messenger are speed and network limitations. Payments can take up to five days to show up and Facebook has a policy that you’re only allowed to transfer money between family and friends. If you use it for business, they will shut you down. 

Final Thoughts

Depending on how you use Popmoney and what your expectations are with the application, you may come away satisfied or dissatisfied with your experience. The user interface is fairly lackluster and unimpressive for an app that has had more than a decade to evolve and the time it takes to send and receive funds is quite slow compared to other available options.

That said, the flat fee structure and widespread adoption among major financial institutions allow it to satisfy many customers’ needs.

Varo Money – Earn up to 2.80% APY!


image credit: Varomoney.com

Varo Bank is a trendy, one-hundred percent digital bank based out of San Francisco that offers its entire product suite through its mobile apps on IOS and Android.

Varo has two main accounts. An online checking account that comes with a Varo Debit card, and an online savings account.

The checking account is about as hassle-free as they come and provides many services for free that typical brick and mortar institutions generally do not. These include:

  • no monthly maintenance fees of any kind,
  • no transfer fees or debit card replacement fees and
  • no foreign transaction fees.

There is also no minimum balance requirement to keep the account open and you can activate it with a minimum deposit of just $0.01.

The online savings account features one of the top yields on the market for FDIC-insured accounts and has the ability to earn even more if you open and use the online checking account and its debit card.

With the savings account, you’ll immediately earn one of the top APY (annual percentage yields) on the market at 0.81% APY.

If you open it with a checking account, you’ll have the ability to earn up to 2.80% APY on balances under $10,000. You’ll have to meet a couple monthly requirements to earn the APY. The details are listed further below.

Like the checking account, the savings account has no fees or minimum deposit requirements and you can start earning the exceptional APY once you place your first deposit into the account.

Full details on both accounts and Varo Bank continue reading our review below.

Varo Money Online Savings Account Details + APY

Like other online banks, Varo is member FDIC and accounts are insured up to $250,000 combined.

Varo Bank’s online savings account offers tiered yields. You immediately start earning an APY of 0.81% but can earn up to 2.80% APY on balances of $10,000 and below if two specific conditions are met each month.

These are:

  1. You must receive a minimum of $1,000 in qualifying direct deposits, AND
  2. make at least 5 Varo debit card purchases between the first of the month and the last business day.

We should also note that along with the two conditions stated above, you will also be required to keep your account balance above $0.00 and below $10,000.

Varo Bank Online Savings Account Rate Tiers

Min BalanceAPYConditions Met?
$0 – $10,0002.80%Yes
$0 – $10,0000.81%No

To give the yields above some context, the current national average for a savings account sits at just 0.07% APY. That said, there are still a handful of online banks paying 0.50% – 0.60% APY on all balances, but they are growing slimmer by the day.

Outside of the exceptional yield, Varo’s savings account has some helpful tools that allow you to automate your savings (more in the features section below). Plus, package your savings and checking account together for better insights into your spending habits and how much you’re able to save each month.

Opening a Varo Checking Account

Getting your Varo Money checking account set-up is a fairly quick and straightforward process that can be done online in minutes.

To get started, navigate to the Varo checking account page and either submit your email, or click on the black “Get Started” button in the upper right. If you choose to submit your email, they will email you a link to navigate to the same sign-up page, but your email field will be filled out already.

When filling out your basic information you will want to have the following pieces of information handy:

  • email address (if you haven’t submitted it already)
  • full name
  • date of birth
  • address
  • social security number

After you complete the application process, you will be directed to download the app from the Apple or Google Play store to begin funding and managing your account(s). Remember, the entirety of this digital bank’s products and services are accessed and managed solely through their native apps.

Once you’ve downloaded the app and opened the checking account, you’ll be ready for your first deposit. If you have any questions or get stuck during this process you can email – help@varomoney.com – and you should receive a prompt response.

Varo Money Checking Account Features

Three noteworthy features of Varo’s online checking account.

The Varo Money checking account has several noteworthy features and very little drawbacks.

For starters, the nature of Varo Bank and its digital product suite allow for Varo to save on costs and pass these savings along to consumers in the form of no-fee accounts with above average interest rates. Without an expensive branch network, staff, rent and utilities, Varo is able to simplify its product offerings and make them extremely low cost.

Second, Varo Checking account consumers are provided a debit card that can be used for free at 55,000+ AllPoint ATMs around the country. These ATMs are generally found in places like Walgreens, CVS, and target.

If you have cash to deposit into the account, you can do this at any of the 90,000+ retail locations using Green Dot Reload. We should note that fees and cash deposit limitations will apply. You can see a complete breakdown of these fees by retailers in our table further below.

On top of this, you can easily transfer money freely between Varo accounts and even connect a popular payment app like Apple Pay™, Google Pay™, PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo to pay for everyday purchases.

No credit checks of any kind will be run by Varo to open their checking account. In some instances they may request identity documentation, but your credit report, history, or FICO score will not be checked.

If you set up direct deposits with Varo checking, you’ll also be provided access to your funds up to two days in advance.

If you choose to open the savings account along with the checking account, Varo has some great tools available that allow for automatic transfer from your checking to savings to allow idle cash to grow with a lucrative APY.

The two noteworthy automated savings features are:

  • Save Your Pay lets you choose and set up the automatic transfer of a certain percentage of your direct deposits to your savings account. This is similar to Wells Fargo’s Way2Save product, except in Varo’s case you get to select the percentage.
  • Save Your Change rounds up every transaction from your checking account to the nearest dollar and automatically transfers these funds to your savings.

ACH Transfers

As mentioned, Varo Money stands out from the pack with its lack of fees – especially when it comes to moving money around.

The average domestic wire charge in the US sits at a hefty $25. With Varo Money, you have the ability to move money around via ACH transfers for free.

There are two kinds of ACH transfers, both of which can be set up by Varo Money. These are:

  1. ACH debit transactions “pull” the money from your account, like for an automatic bill payment.
  2. ACH credit transactions “push” money into your account, like a direct deposit of your paycheck or tax refund.

To set up either of these kinds of ACH transfers, you will need your Varo Bank account number and the routing number of the other party’s financial institution.

The time frame in which the money is received is generally between 1 – 4 days. Here a more specific breakdown:

  • If you initiate the ACH transfer in your Varo app to or from an external bank account you own, it will take 2–4 business days.
  • If you initiate the ACH transfer from an external bank account to Varo, it will generally take 1–2 business days.

Potential Fees to Look Out For

Depending on where you use your debit card and how you add funds to your account, you may encounter fees from time to time.

If you plan on making cash deposits, you will encounter a fee each time. These fees will vary by retailer. Below is a list of fees and limitations when depositing cash into your Varo account. You can read more about the fees and limits listed below on Varo’s support page here.

Varo Cash Deposit Fees & Limits by Retailer

RetailerLimitPrice
7-Eleven$500$4.95
Albertsons$500$4.95
ACE Cash Express$1,500$4.50
CVS$500$4.95
Dollar General$500$3.95
Dollar Tree$500$4.95
Family Dollar$500$3.95
Rite Aid$500$4.95
Safeway$500$4.95
Vons$500$4.95
Walgreens$500$4.95
Walmart$1,000$3.74

The other potential fee to look out for is usage of non-Allpoint ATMs. Varo imposes a $2.50 fee per transaction and bank or ATM owner may charge an additional fee on top of that.

Final Thoughts

The powerful checking/savings combo by Varo Money is hard to beat. On the checking side the lack of any and all fees make this product stand out from its peers.

On the savings side, Varo boasts one of the top APYs of any FDIC-insured institution, and also features no minimums or monthly fees of any kind.

That said, make sure you are perfectly comfortable going 100% digital as Varo Money provides no access to in-person banking or branches.

Everything You Should Know About Zelle


Electronic funds transfers (EFTs) have been around since the 1870’s. Wells Fargo was the first to implement them and the Federal Reserve Bank started wiring money by telegraph in 1910. Credit cards came along in the 1950’s, giving Americans the ability to spend without having to carry cash. In 1959, American Express introduced the first plastic card for electronic payments.

It’s all established technology at this point. Prior to the launch of digital currencies like Bitcoin, the most recent evolution in electronic money was the 1972 creation of the automated clearing house (ACH) transfer for large batches of transactions. That came with a new regulatory body (NACHA) and opened the door for what would later become known as online banking.

That brings us to digital money transfers. They differ from EFTs or ACH because there’s no waiting period to access your money. Mobile applications can send and receive money with the click of a button.

Zelle, one of the leaders in this space, is the subject of my review today. For those not familiar, I’ve also included a company history and competitor analysis.     

What is Zelle and How Does It Work?

Zelle is a digital payments network. They are owned by a company called Early Warning Services, which is in turn owned by a conglomerate of banks that includes Bank of America, BB&T, Capital One. JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, US Bank, and Wells Fargo. This makes them different from other services that are solely owned by private or public companies. 

Zelle was officially launched in 2017, but it’s been around since 2011, when it was known as clearXchange (CXC). The original owners were Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. Their objective was to easily facilitate digital transfers for person-to-person, business-to-consumer, and government-to-consumer fund movement.

From the beginning, the company connected senders and receivers of money through member websites and bank accounts. They connected directly with the bank, eliminating the need to charge transfer fees. In 2015, they announced the establishment of a “real-time” payment system, which was somewhat of a misnomer because it still took 3-5 days for funds availability.

The modern evolution of the company known as Zelle began in 2016 when CXC was sold to Early Warning Services, another bank-owned entity. Shortly thereafter, CXC stopped doing person-to-person transfers and encouraged all their clients to join the newly established Zelle network. Eventually, all functions of the original CXC network were moved over.

Sending and Receiving Money with Zelle

Today, members of the Zelle network can send and receive money using their email address and member bank account. Money is typically available within minutes and the network itself has grown to include other banks and credit unions. They also have a mobile app available on the App Store (4.8-star rating) and Google Play (over 10 million installs).

When I first learned of this app, I thought it was simply another version of Venmo. That is not the case. Venmo is owned by Paypal, which is owned by eBay. Zelle is owned directly by banking institutions, so the transfers happen faster and are less likely to get held up by internal or aggregation issues with the payment provider. Zelle more closely resembles Popmoney in terms of functionality but still differentiates itself.

I also like the fact that money is transferred digitally from bank account to bank account, with no middleman. That (hypothetically) makes Zelle more secure than other apps. The fewer hands that a money transfer has to pass through, the lower the likelihood of an interruption or hack in the system. For that reason, more businesses use Zelle for larger transactions. 

Setting up to use Zelle is simple. You begin by downloading the mobile app from either the App Store of Google Play. You then assign permissions for notifications and location tracking, followed by entering your mobile phone number. There’s a privacy disclaimer that follows that. Check an affirmative on that and the app will then ask you where you do your banking.

This is where I ran into an interesting feature. My credit union was not listed in Zelle’s database, so I thought they wouldn’t allow me to join the network. Not the case. They simply asked me for my debit card number and then to fill out the standard name and address fields. I was then taken to a screen to choose a password and enable touch id. No extra steps necessary.

When delving deeper into the functions of this app, I was pleasantly surprised to see how simple it is. You can send money or request money. When hitting either function for the first time, the app asks you for access to your contacts, which happens instantly. I was literally set up and ready to send and receive money in under five minutes. 

I can choose to invite friends to join the network or simply wait until there’s a need and have an email sent when I initiate a funds transfer. There are no pop-up ads and from what I can see no solicitation to purchase any other services. I was concerned that I’d be headhunted by the banking partners, but I haven’t seen any of that type of behavior yet.  

Banks and Credit Unions currently using Zelle

There are nine hundred twenty-four banks and credit unions on the Zelle network. That’s too many to type out here, but you can see the complete list by visiting the Get Started page on their main website. The full list is not available on the mobile app. You can do a search and, as I mentioned above, connect using your debit card if your bank is not a member. 

If you run a small business and want to use Zelle to process payments, your bank must be in the network. You can check with your bank to confirm this or check the master list in the get started section of the website. Banks wishing to join the network can contact Zelle directly, so suggest this if you like to have the ability to use Zelle for business. 

In 2020, the Zelle network had a total volume of $133 billion, representing 519 million transactions. They do all this through their member institutions, but they also have processor partners, network partners, technology partners, and mobile device and risk partners. A list of each of these can be found on the Partners page of their website. 

These numbers are expected to rise in 2021, so expect the partner network at Zelle to grow even larger. According to the Federal Reserve, over two thirds of non-cash payments this year were done via electronic or digital transfer. Cash isn’t obsolete just yet, but it’s definitely become a less popular medium for exchange. Digital is where the future lies. 

Zelle Fees & Competitor Analysis

Surprisingly, Zelle doesn’t charge fees for sending or receiving money. However, your bank or credit union might. Before initiating a transfer of any kind, check with your bank to make sure you don’t get surprised by an extra charge. This goes for small business accounts also. Your bank may charge you for digital transfers, but Zelle will not.  

Venmo, which is Zelle’s closest competitor, doesn’t charge fees for transfers either, provided you have money in your Venmo account to cover the transfer. If you do not, and have to use a credit card, there’s a 3% charge. Transferring money into a Venmo account takes one business day, so many customers get stuck paying the fee if they need the money immediately.

Though not a fee per se, Venmo also has a social media component, which allows friends within the same network to track each other’s activities. Some customers find this to be annoying, while others embrace it. I’m only bringing it up here to make readers aware of everything they need to watch out for when signing up for these apps. There’s more on this below.

Zelle Transfer Limits by Bank

Most banks and credit unions have digital transfer limits on the amount you can send and also the number of transfers you can do per month. Zelle doesn’t list all of these out per institution on their website, but we’ve tracked down the daily and monthly limits for some of the largest banks.

InstitutionDaily LimitMonthly Limit
Ally Bank$5,000$10,000
Bank of America$2,500$20,000
BB&T$1,000$5,000
Chase Personal Checking$2,000$16,000
Chase Business Checking or Private Client$5,000$40,000
Citibank (Basic and Access Accounts)$2,000$10,000
Citi Priority, Citi Gold, Citi Private Bank$5,000$15,000
CIT Banknana
Citizens Bank$1,000$5,000
PNC Bank$1,000$5,000
TD Bank$1,000$5,000
TD Bank 3-day Transfer$2,500$10,000
U.S. Bank$2,500$10,000
USAA$1,000$10,000
Wells Fargo$2,500$20,000

If you’re banking with an institution that does not offer Zelle, you will have a limit of $500 per week on transfers. If your bank or credit union does, then you might be able to transfer larger amounts. You will need to contact your financial institution for specific spending limits.

On the receiving end, Zelle does not set any limitations to how much you can accept.

Zelle for Business

Customers and small businesses alike are increasing their usage of Zelle. In the first half of 2020, a total of $133 billion was sent through the Zelle Network on 519 million transactions as of June 30, 2020.

That said, this is still an area where I would urge caution when choosing Zelle or any other digital transfer app(s). The New York Times had a feature piece on Zelle and fraudsters exploiting weaknesses in the banks’ security back in 2018.

So while it seems to be great for personal use and even perhaps occasional business transfers, I wouldn’t rely on it as a sole means of transferring money while doing business. There are other, more reliable and secure methods of doing this. Speak to your bank or accountant about those.

In today’s fast-paced world, the desire to move money instantly is understandable, but caution should be exercised when you start dealing with larger amounts. Breaking a transaction into multiple milestones is a good idea for service projects. Asking for other options besides digital transfer may be the right route also. Perhaps an ACH would be a better option.

How Safe is Zelle?

NYT feature piece on Zelle security (or lack thereof) in 2018.

Any application can be compromised by a dedicated hacker. Zelle is not an exception to this. Is it safer than its competitors? Many would say no. The lack of two factor authentication and the simplicity of the setup process make it simple for “ghost” users to set up accounts and scam money from unsuspecting consumers. Security is in the hands of the user. 

One thing I would recommend is to activate the touch id feature when you set up your account. This makes it more difficult (though not impossible) for someone to use your Venmo account if you happen to lose your mobile phone. I’d also decline the autosave on the password function. Choose a password only you would know and enter it manually when you want to use Zelle.

Security is actually an area where Venmo has a better reputation than Zelle. Criticized over their lack of authentication protocols, Zelle has been misused on a number of occasions by unscrupulous vendors that only needed a phone number and email to set up their account. Scammed customers have no legal recourse, because the money is gone from their accounts.

Venmo is essentially a transfer station where money needs to be parked before it can be sent. That additional step may slow things down a bit, but it offers an additional level of protection for their customers. Zelle doesn’t do that. In some cases, Zelle users have had their entire bank accounts wiped out by not paying attention to their personal password or device security.

Zelle Feedback and Customer Sentiment

I browsed through a number of review sites for this app and didn’t really come back with a warm and fuzzy feeling about them. On Trustpilot, they’re showing an aggregate score of 1.2 out of five stars, with 221 documented reviews. The app store has them at 4.8, but the bad reviews tell a common story. Google Play has them at 4 stars out of a possible 5.

Having done a number of reviews, I generally try to look beyond the aggregate and find where the real issues are. There are a lot of complaints from Zelle users with Chase bank accounts, leading me to believe that Chase might be the actual problem. There are also quite a few complaints about using banks and credit unions outside the network.

What I did not see was a single complaint about the usability of the app itself. That does not surprise me. Simplicity in technology impresses me. Having worked in fintech for over a decade, I can tell you it is not an easy task to make an application simple and user friendly. The folks at Zelle did a really good job at this, so I’ll give a thumbs up in that area.

Security seems to be a big concern. Just for kicks, I did a review search on the App Store for Venmo and found no security-related complaints, though there were quite a few about it being hard to get money out of your account. Personally, I’d rather deal with held money than lost money, but that’s just me. Zelle needs to make some improvements in this area.

Here’s another number for you. Zelle has a 4.8-star rating with two hundred sixty thousand customer reviews. Venmo has a 4.9-star rating with over ten million reviews. Obviously, the latter is more popular, but Zelle actually handles more money per year. That shows a trend for bigger, likely business transactions. Personal accounts are where the problems are.

Final Thoughts

I’m not a fan of either eBay or Paypal, so my first instinct when I heard about Zelle was to find as many ways as possible to show they were better than Venmo. Unfortunately, I just never got there. This app is okay, but I can’t say with any conviction that I’d recommend them over Venmo. I wouldn’t refuse to use them either, but they are not my first choice.

While writing this review, I used the same process I always do. I started with their main website. Like the mobile app, it’s clean and easy to navigate, but I found it to be lacking in certain areas. The digital transfer limits for their partner institutions would have been nice to see, yet there was barely any reference to there actually being any.

Another red flag for me is the blog. There’s no link to it in the top navigation menu and I’m not surprised. After finding the link, way at the bottom of the page, I found nothing but promotional content on the blog. There’s nothing educational that actually adds value for their users. This, to me, shows immaturity in their marketing process.

Make sure you read the “User Service Agreement.” In section 3, titled “Prohibited Uses,” it states that, “The Service is intended for personal, not business or commercial use. You agree that you will not use the Service to send or receive payments in connection with your business or commercial enterprise.” If that’s true, why is there a “Small Business” page?

Maybe I’m splitting hairs, but little things like that tend to get my guard up. I don’t think in this case it’s an intent to mislead, but I do feel that Zelle is organizationally challenged. It feels like it was put in place to be a “members only” money highway, with network expansion only done to raise the volume of assets moving through the system each day.

All that being said, Zelle can be a useful tool when used for occasional transactions. I would feel comfortable sending a close friend or family member funds with this app, but I’d have serious misgivings about using it with strangers or for business transactions. I think it needs to mature as a technology platform before it’s ready for that.  

Aspiration Review: Up to 1.0% APY + Up To 10% Cash Back on Purchases


image credit: aspiration.com

Aspiration is not a bank but rather a financial services company that has come up with quite the aspirational product – a hybrid checking/savings account with the goal of making the world a better place.

Aspiration has taken the best features of checking and savings accounts (ie cash back on debit purchases, unlimited ATM reimbursements and a solid APY on idle cash) and combined that with a streamlined way of investing in ethical companies.

The Aspiration Spend & Save account was named one of the best cash management accounts on the market for 2020 by NerdWallet— “it lets you invest sustainably and save while you do it.”

Today, the Spend & Save account by Aspiration comes with two plans to choose from:

  • Aspiration – free – 3 to 5% cash back on conscious coalition purchases.
  • Aspiration Plus – $7/mo or $5.95/mo if you pay annually. Earn up to 1% APY on savings plus up to 10% cash back on conscious coalition purchases.

If you’re in the market for a cash management account that is as personally fulfilling as it is financially rewarding, continue reading our review of both plans below.

Aspiration Spend and Save at a Glance

The Aspiration Spend and Save account is a cash management account that is divided up into two plans – Aspiration and Aspiration Plus.

As mentioned, the regular Aspiration plan is free and has several noteworthy benefits. These include:

  • An Aspiration Debit Card issued by Coastal Community Bank, based in Washington State.
  • A guarantee your deposits won’t fund fossil fuel exploration or production
  • 55,000 free in-network ATMs using Allpoint locations (found in Walgreens, CVS and Target)
  • 3-5% cash back on Conscience Coalition purchases
  • Personal impact score to help you shop to match your values
  • Option to plant a tree with every purchase roundup
  • FDIC insurance up to $2.46 million using bank sweep programs which “sweep” your funds up into member FDIC banks to leverage their FDIC insurance
  • pay whatever monthly fee you think is fair (even if it’s zero)

The fact that the Aspiration Spend and Save account will never be used to pay for fossil fuel exploration or production is taking direct aim at America’s largest banks. The four leading banks in the U.S. — Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and Bank of America — are responsible for the most fossil fuel production by any banks in the world.

If you opt for the Aspiration Plus plan at $7/mo or $69/annually you have the ability to unlock more features and rewards. On top of all the bulleted items listed above, the Aspiration Plus plan will also include:

  • 10% cash back on Conscience Coalition purchases
  • Up to 1.00% APY on your savings up to $10,000
  • Planet Protection which purchases carbon offsets to balance out your gas consumption. Drive all you want with a clear conscience!

Both the 10% cash back on Conscience Coalition purchases and the Planet Protection program are novel benefits and unique differentiators for Aspiration.

All Aspiration Spend and Save customers will be able to see their spending impact in the form of an impact score which not only gives you spending bonuses but also shows you how the companies you’ve supported use their profits to do social and environmental good.

Conscience Coalition Partners

Aspiration has teamed up with companies “that do right.”

Aspiration has teamed up with corporations that put morals and ethics at the heart of their business.

Every Conscience Coalition partner that Aspiration has is an impact leader. These companies achieve high scores on the Aspiration Impact Measurement (AIM) tool. These companies are made up of pioneers in giving, sustainability, workplace equality, or transparency.

Remember, when purchasing form these companies your cash back will vary based on your Aspiration plan. If you’re on the regular, free plan you’ll earn between 3 and 5 percent cash back and if you’re on the Aspiration Plus plan you’ll earn 10% cash back.

Planet Protection

Drive your car without hurting the planet!

It’s no secret that driving our cars is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. With the Aspiration Planet Protection program; however, you’ll be able to drive your car as much as you want with a clean and clear conscience.

The Aspiration Planet Protection program purchases carbon offsets based on every gallon of gas you purchase with your debit card. This means that regardless of what kind of car you drive, you can rest assured that Aspiration will be neutralizing your carbon output.

This feature is only available with the Aspiration Plus plan.

Spend and Save Rate (APY) + Details

For the Aspiration Plus plan members, you have the chance to earn one of the highest APYs on the market at 1.00% on balances up to $10,000.

The biggest “catch” with earning the exceptional APY is that the plan requires you to also spend $1000 or more, monthly, with your Aspiration debit card. If this requirement is not met your balance will earn a more modest 0.25% APY.

A minimum deposit of just $10 is required to open to open the account, but you must enroll in Aspiration Plus to earn the APY.

Aspiration Plus APY

BalanceAPY
$10 – $10,0001.0%
$10,001 +0.25%

To put these yields in perspective, the current national average for a savings account and an interest checking account are just 0.06% APY and 0.04% APY, respectively.

Aspiration APY

BalanceAPY
$10 – $10,0000%
$10,000 +0%

The regular Aspiration plan does not provide any yield on your balance.

FDIC Insurance up to $2.46 Million

Aspiration deposits are insured up to $2.46 million per depositor by the FDIC. This is just shy of 10x what a typical bank provides. This is possible through the use of the FDIC Deposit Sweep Program, which “sweeps” your funds into FDIC-insured bank accounts at day’s end to protect them.

Operating as your custodian and agent, Aspiration will select these banks for you from a long list of at least 10 participating Program Banks. They will post a Priority List of these selections for your viewing. This list will tell you which banks your funds will be put into and what the priority will look like (i.e. which bank will get the first tranche, second tranche, third and so on until all your money is safely parked).

As mentioned, at the end of each business day your cash balance is “swept up,” and distributed amongst, one or more of Aspiration’s partner banks up to $246,500 per bank.

Here is a current list of Aspiration’s current Program Bank members. All are members of the FDIC:

  • Coastal Community Bank
  • EagleBank
  • Ion Bank
  • Bremer Bank, NA
  • ProgressBank
  • Bank of New Hampshire
  • Manufacturers Bank
  • C3Bank, NA
  • The Freedom Bank of Virginia
  • Bridgewater Bank
  • Nano Banc

If the $2.46m is exceeded, you will have an excess bank for this additional amount. Deposits in the Excess Bank will not be insured. Contact Aspiration at (800) 683-8529 if you are over this limit in one or more of the banks on this list or if you would like to alter your Priority List.

Though your money won’t be held at Aspiration, it can still be accessed as usual through Aspiration. A Spend and Save account is not technically a deposit account, so deposits into it need to be distributed into other deposit accounts in order to still receive insurance coverage.

Accessing Your Funds

Accessing your funds is simple and straightforward and on par with many online bank savings accounts and money market accounts. The following methods are allowed.

Depositing funds can be down via:

  1. ACH Transfer
  2. Wire transfer
  3. Mailed check
  4. Mobile-deposited check

Withdrawing funds can be down via:

  1. ACH transfer
  2. Wire transfer
  3. Request a mailed check
  4. ATM withdrawal
  5. Point-of-sale withdrawal

Account Fees

Aspiration’s “Pay What is Fair” fee is certainly an interesting approach to fees. They simply state that you choose their fee.

They’re confident in their ability to bring you best in class digital financial products and in return they hope you will be kind enough to pay them something for the value you received. But you certainly don’t have to and the ball is entirely in your court. The fee you pay can be $0 for as long as you’re with them if you so choose.

Aspiration Spend and Save Fee Schedule

TypeFee
Monthly MaintenancePay what is fair
Minimum to Open$10
ATM Withdrawal$0
OverdraftNA. The account won’t allow it.
Stop Payment$0
Insufficient Funds$0
Domestic Wires (In and Out)$0.82 each
International Wire In$2.50
International Wire Out$15
Return Item Charges$1.15 per item under $5,000
$5.33 per item over $5,000
Foreign Item Collection$30 plus the foreign bank’s fees
Canadian Item Collection$5
Expedited Debit Card$35
Account ResearchFree

You may write checks with an Aspiration Spend and Save, but you will need to order paper checks. Aspiration tries to be as environmentally friendly as possible, so you’ll have to go out of your way to get paper.

Aspiration Spend and Save Reviews + Customer Sentiment

Customer satisfaction with this financial firm is mixed and fairly average overall. This cash management product comes through for users with competitive rates, high FDIC-insurance and simplicity, but some users are frustrated with how often rewards, rates, and features change.

Customer service is said to be good and accessible and the online banking platform is generally thought to be more than sufficient—easy to use and complete.

To reach a customer support representative, call (800) 683-8529 during business hours of 6 AM – 6PM Pacific Time Monday through Friday and 8 AM – 4 PM Saturday and Sunday. You can also follow the corporation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

The mobile app for this firm is well-liked. The Aspiration app for Apple devices has a 4.8 star rating on the App Store and for Android devices has a 4.5 star rating on Google Play.

Final Thoughts

This account is a clear winner for anyone that wants to use their money to better the world.

The Spend and Save account (along with membership to Aspiration Plus) has everything a good cash management account should. They feature good rates of return, great perks, and the convenience of spending, saving, and investing all under the same umbrella.