Varo Money is a trendy digital bank based out of San Francisco that was founded in 2015 and offers all its products from its mobile apps on IOS and Android.

Varo Money’s two primary accounts are an online checking account that comes with a Varo Debit card, and an optional online savings account.

The checking account is about as hassle-free as they come. It comes with a highly attractive fee schedule (or lack thereof) that features:

• 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.

With the optional savings account that can be opened along with the online checking account, you’ll earn one of the top APY (annual percentage yields) on the market at 0.81% APY.

Like the checking account, Varo Money’s 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.

To learn more about Varo Money and their popular online checking and savings accounts, read our full review below.

Varo Money Online Checking Details

Getting your Varo Money online 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

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 and above average interest rates. Without an expensive branch network, staff, rent and utilities, Varo is Money 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.

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.

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.

Varo Money Online Savings Account Rate + Details

Like other online banks, Varo Money is a member of the FDIC and all consumer deposits are federally insured up to $250,000 per depositor or $500,000 on joint accounts.

Although Varo used to offer a promotional APY on top of its already exceptional standard APY of 0.81%, we don’t see this promotion currently active. This promotion featured an APY of 2.80% on balances above $10,000 if certain direct deposit requirements were met. If/when this promotion is reactivated we will update this post.

Varo Money Online Savings Account Rate

Min Balance	APY
$0	0.81%

To give this offer 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 0.70% – 1.00% APY on all balances.

Outside of the exceptional yield, Varo’s savings account has some helpful tools that allow you to automate your savings. 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.

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.