There are so many banks. There are so many neobanks (you know, those “banks” that aren’t banks and are fintechs offering financial products via banking-as-a-service). Consumer choice paralysis is real and with more and more companies offering financial services, it’s hard to know where you should focus your attention. It’s almost like community banking is rising again, but this time, make it fintech…
There are no overdraft fees, no ATM fees, many offer cash advances and early access to paychecks…so I put together (a non-inclusive) list of some of the top, or most hyped, neobanks in the country to help you find the best bank for you based on what is important to you:
Climate & Sustainability
Ando — Most banks use your deposits to fund fossil fuels, but not Ando. Their investments only support green initiatives. Plus, earn 1.5% cashback on all purchases. (BaaS provider: Community Federal Savings Bank)
Aspiration — Debit and credit cards for anyone across the country. Get rewarded up to 10% cashback with your purchases at socially responsible businesses. (BaaS provider: Coastal Community Bank)
Atmos Financial — Earn 0.8% on your balance, open multiple savings accounts to help you focus on specific goals, and measure the carbon impact of your deposits, powered by a portfolio of clean energy assets. 100% of your money will fund initiatives fighting the climate crisis. (BaaS provider: Evolve Bank & Trust)
Climate First Bank — An environmentally focused de novo community bank for consumers and businesses with a focus on the South Florida market, where they hope changing weather, increased floods, and hurricanes will mean climate-conscious banking will resonate with locals. Still, you don’t have to be in the area to join!
Young Adults & Children
Copper — With automated allowance deposits, direct deposit if you’re working, financial advice and so much more, Copper makes it easier for you to budget, plan and save for whatever life throws your way. (BaaS provider: Evolve Bank & Trust)
Current — This one is marketed not only towards teens, but also their parents with instant spending notifications, spending limits, and merchant blocking, all the while still giving teens financial freedom and visibility. (BaaS provider: Choice Financial Group and Metropolitan Commercial Bank)
Greenlight — My 10-year-old cousin asked me a while ago “You don’t have Greenlight? And you don’t even have a Tik Tok?” … meet the debit card for kids! Parents can set controls on where kids can spend their money and get real-time notifications when they do. Plus, they’ll earn 1% cashback, so that means you don’t need to give them an allowance, right? (Note: my cousin did not think that was funny) (BaaS provider: Community Federal Savings Bank)
Step — Get paid two days early, send and receive (allowance!) money instantly, build your credit and get help saving and budgeting. Take advantage of their Money101 program, too. (BaaS bank: Evolve Bank & Trust)
Couples and Young Families
Zeta — Communication is key to a healthy relationship. Financial communication is even better. Zeta not only offers joint accounts but a ton of great financial education and a free budgeting app. (BaaS provider: LendingClub Bank)
Students
BankMobile — Designed for students, whether they’re trying to make or spend money (or both), get rewarded for academics and smart financial decisions. (BaaS provider: Currently Customers Bank, but BMTX (it’s BaaS tech provider, is currently undergoing a strategic merger with First sound Bank)
SoFi — This company has made headlines recently by joining Varo as one of the first fintechs to go for a banking charter. Their original focus was helping people get a handle on their student loans and manage saving while paying off debt, and now they’re an all-in-on digital banking provider. Placed in the students bucket, because they still help with student loan refinancing and offer private student loans. (BaaS provider: The Bancorp)
Minority Groups
Cheese — A rewards checking account for immigrants, Asian Americans, and people who want to support Asian American communities. Get up to 10% cashback at 10K+ stores and Asian-owned businesses and restaurants. (BaaS provider: Coastal Community Bank)
Daylight — Whatever your ID says, whoever you know you are, Daylight will recognize you by your chosen name. Save without thinking by rounding up purchases. Daylight is offering $10 to LGBTQ+ charities for every sign-up. (BaaS provider: MetaBank)
Ellevest — Built for women by women. Access the first and only investing algorithm that takes into account realities for women, like career breaks, pay gaps, and longer lifespans. Not only investing, but they also offer a full suite of financial products. (BaaS provider: Coastal Community Bank)
First Boulevard — Although not yet launched, they need to be on this list. They are an upcoming company focused on African Americans. Get paychecks up to 2 days early, and build generational wealth. (BaaS provider: Central Bank of Kansas City)
Majority — Moving to a new country is hard, and getting your financial footing can be even harder. Majority helps immigrants find their footing with direct deposits, getting paid two days early, be rewarded for supporting local businesses, great calling rates on international calls, and easily and securely transferring money back home. (BaaS Provider: Sutton Bank)
Financial Inclusion & Wellness
Chime — We all know this one. It’s the largest neobank in the United States for good reason. It’s for people that might not be fully taking advantage of the financial system, and to be honest, very few of us are, as shown by their slogan that banking should be “helpful, easy and free”. (BaaS provider: The Bancorp Bank)
Dave — Dave wants all Americans to reach their financial goals no matter their socio-economic standing. Build your credit score, get paid up to two days early, use their automatic budgeting feature, and get up to $250 advances without paying a fee when you need it. (BaaS provider: Evolve Bank & Trust)
ONE — Auto-save for big life changes (intentional or unintentional) with 3% APY, borrow at 12% APR, and get help budgeting. (BaaS provider: Coastal Community Bank)
Crypto
Juno — Get paid in crypto with direct deposit. How? Set up direct deposit and some of that money will get put into either BTC, ETH, USDC, or another crypto of your choice. (BaaS provider: Evolve Bank & Trust)
Upgrade — No only do they offer 3% cashback on home, auto, and health purchases, but they also have a 1.5% crypto-back Bitcoin Rewards Card. (BaaS provider: Cross River Bank)
Wicket — Here, you can not only take advantage of their products, but also view all of your other accounts in one place. Plus, soon they’ll be offering crypto rewards through the PaybbyNFT program, established by the Crypto banking consortium. (BaaS provider: LendingClub Bank/Radius Bank)
Yotta — By joining and depositing money, every week you’ll be in a raffle to win up to $10 million. Not only that, but also offer 4% APY with 2.5x more tickets in their weekly drawings and your money can be automatically converted to USDC. (BaaS provider: Evolve Bank & Trust)
Uncategorized / Every Day Life
(comment below if you have an idea of where to put them!)
Empower — As the name says, you’ll be so financially empowered by this app, it’ll be the only debit card you’ll ever need. 10% cashback, paychecks 2 days early, and $250 cash advance. (BaaS provider: nbkc Bank)
HMBradley — Quite a rewarding bank account! Earn 3% APY on your balances, get help building your credit score, and earn “smart” cashback by taking advantage of their program that helps you adjust your spending habits to maximize your rewards. (BaaS provider: Hatch Bank…for now)
M1 — Invest, get a line of credit, debit card or credit card all in one place — they focus on helping customers build-long team wealth. (BaaS provider: Celtic Bank)
MoneyLion — It has everything — cash advances, rounding up purchases into Bitcoin, an auto-investing account, a credit builder, and debit rewards. Basically, one place for all of your financial needs. (BaaS provider: MetaBank)
Point — A debit card for everyday purchases. Get 5X points on subscriptions like Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, etc., 3x points on food delivery and rideshares, and 1% on everything else. They also offer tons of insurance — trip cancellation, accident, global travel assistance, car rental insurance, phone insurance, and so much more. Also, there are rotating offers for extra points for places like Amazon, Whole Foods, Reformation, Gopuff, you name it. (BaaS provider: Column, National Association)
Qube Money — They invented digital cash envelopes. Confused? Split your paychecks into “qubes” AKA piggy banks with a purpose. Allocate your money into these “qubes” to help you stay on track with budgeting! (BaaS provider: Choice Financial Group)
Sable — This company promises better rewards than AMEX. With that on their front page, they caught my attention as someone that love rewards. They’re just getting started, so I’ll be keeping my eye on them. (BaaS provider: Coastal Community Bank)
Save — The name is a no-brainer when it comes to what they do — save and invest without risking your money in the market. If you have a low-risk tolerance, their debit investor card invests $1 for every $1 you spend, with average returns of 2.95%. (BaaS provider: LendingClub Bank)
Varo — With a mission of making money work for everything, there’s nothing stopping you from getting ahead with their full suite of banking products. Get paid 2 days early, quality for cash advances, earn cash back, improve your credit score, and more. Fun fact: they were the first fintech to receive a banking charter, with SoFi following suit.
Lending / Credit Card Only
Avant — Personal loans from $2,000-$35,000 from 9.95% to 35.99% APR. Build your credit score with their credit card ($1,000 credit limit max). Definitely for anyone looking to step into credit building without the risk of getting card-happy and spending too much. (BaaS provider: WebBank)
Any more to add? Anything I missed? Let me know in the comments!
