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Join the Revolution: Fee-Free Bank Accounts and Feature/ Benefit Comparison

No Fees + Better Interest Rates = 😍

By Brittney WalkerPublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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Banking is a huge part of modern day economics. Banks have a large role and as such, sometimes too much power. I got my first bank account at around age 12 because I was making some money buying and reselling items on Craigslist and thus needed an account for safe-keeping. I thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of having my money so easily accessible in the online world, yet many things about the whole system bothered me. I distinctly remember one situation where I'd run out of money but they still processed an online order AND charged me an overdraft fee. I didn't understand why they couldn't just not let the transaction go through. Even as a kid, I knew that practice was wrong. Today, I understand more about banking and the economy, and still adamantly believe that bank fees are yet another way to make everyday life harder for those surviving on low incomes, and as such should be stopped.

Luckily, fee-free banks have recently started popping up left and right. These banks do not have physical storefront locations, are mostly run online, and offer most if not all of the features you'd enjoy with a 'regular' bank. With the influx of FDIC insured no-fee mobile banks within the past few years, many friends I've spoken to about this found it quite overwhelming, trying to decide. In hopes to lessen the confusion and assist more people make the change to no fee banks, I have compiled a list of fee-free online banks along with their features so that you can make a more educated decision sans headaches.

The Banks:

Chime, the most well-known 'millennial bank,' is accessible from both their website and mobile app.

They run on a network of 38,000+ free ATMs through Moneypass and Visa Plus, and do not charge fees when you use an out-of-network ATM (though they cannot guarantee that the owners of the ATM won't).

Chime allows employees who set up their direct deposit with Chime to receive their paycheck up to two days earlier than they would normally.

Savings APY: .01 percent

Fee-free ATMs: 38,000+ through Moneypass and Visa Plus

Features:

  • Get your paycheck up to two days early
  • Deposit checks directly from your smartphone (after you receive one direct deposit)
  • Automate your savings
  • Link external accounts
  • Cash deposit @ Green Dot locations
  • Send paper checks free
  • FDIC insured
  • NO FEES

Varo is one of Chime's close contenders, and is, as such, quite similar.

Varo is only accessible from their mobile app, though there's no saying they won't add desktop support in the future. With an ATM network of 55,000+ fee free ATMs with Allpoint, there's likely to be at least one easily accessible to you.

Savings APY: 2.12 percent

Fee-free ATMs: 55,000+ through Allpoint

Features:

  • Get your paycheck up to two days early
  • Deposit checks directly from your smartphone
  • Cash deposit @ Green Dot locations
  • Automate your savings
  • Link external accounts
  • Send paper checks free
  • FDIC insured
  • NO FEES

Simple is yet another fee-less bank, and sticks more to the tune of Chime in that it is accessible from both their website and mobile app.

When you bank with Simple, you will receive fee-free access to their Allpoint network of 40,000+ ATMs.

Savings APY: 2.02 percent

Fee-free ATMs: 40,000 with Allpoint

Features:

  • NO 'get paid early' feature
  • NO cash deposit feature except for when an ATM supports it
  • Deposit checks directly from your smartphone
  • Automate your savings
  • Link external accounts
  • Send paper checks free
  • FDIC insured
  • NO FEES

Qapital started out as an app that automates and stores savings for different purposes, but has now expanded to include checking.

For example, if I were saving up to go to the beach and also wanted a new phone, I could have two separate mini-accounts for each goal where I'd set up 'rules' for my automated savings and store the savings.

Savings APY: .01 percent

No ATM network yet

Features:

  • NO 'get paid early' feature
  • NO cash deposit feature except for when an ATM supports it
  • NO 'send paper checks'
  • NO check deposit
  • Automate your savings
  • Link external accounts
  • FDIC insured
  • MOSTLY NO FEES (you can upgrade your account for a monthly fee for added benefits)

Aspiration is an online-only bank that encourages users to "Do Good," by making it easy (and at times, free!) to donate to charities and causes.

Aspiration is a pay-what-you-want bank regarding fees. You can pay as much or as little as you'd like, and 10 cents of each dollar paid to Aspiration is donated to "charities helping spread economic opportunity to Americans working hard for a better life."

Savings APY: two percent (with the caveat that you must deposit at least a dollar per month or have $10,000 in your savings account at least once per month to achieve this rate. Otherwise, rate is zero percent)

"Every ATM on Earth is free or we'll reimburse your fee."

Features:

  • NO 'get paid early' feature
  • NO cash deposit feature except for when an ATM supports it
  • NO 'send paper checks'
  • YES in-app check deposit
  • NO automated savings
  • Link external accounts
  • FDIC insured
  • NO FEES (unless you choose to pay)

SoFi is an online bank website/app that can manage all your finances—from investments to loans to banking!

SoFi offers a wide range of financial services, including loans, investing, refinancing, checking, savings, etc.

Savings APY: 2.25 percent (on ALL of your money, incl. checking)

Free ATM use

Features:

  • NO 'get paid early' feature
  • NO cash deposit feature except for when an ATM supports it
  • NO 'send paper checks'
  • YES in-app check deposit
  • NO automated savings
  • Link external accounts
  • FDIC insured
  • NO FEES
personal finance
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About the Creator

Brittney Walker

theplantmentality.com

A twenty-something dog mom, blogger, plant lady, mental health/human rights activist, & tech nerd whinges her way through life, college, and career

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