Lili summary
Pros
- No starting or maintenance fees on Standard account
- Automatically set aside money for taxes
- Get your direct deposit early
Cons
- Limited withdrawal/deposit opportunities
- Must use social security number rather than EIN
Editorial score
Fees?
No fees at all
Security
FDIC insured, SSL/AES encription and supports 2 factor and biometric authentication
Customer service
Customer service during extended business hours
Online experience
Excellent user friendly site with transparency of rates and full online banking capabilities
Mobile experience
Excellent mobile app with all mobile banking features enabled, including digital check deposits
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Advantages Over Regular Bank
Lili offers online bank accounts that are covered by FDIC through Choice Financial Group. As an online bank, Lili presents some advantages over the typical brick-and-mortar bank model:
Zero fees
Lili keeps it simple. The company believes that your money should be yours, not theirs. Their Lili Standard account is completely free. That means no fees for card replacement, bill payments, overdrafts, inactivity, or maintenance. the Lili Pro account is only $4.99/month, with no hidden fees whatsoever.
Easy tax tools
Lili’s tax tools make it easy to set aside the money you’ll need come tax season. It can be complicated as a freelancer to manage your own tax dollars, but Lili helps with automatic tax buckets that withdraw anytime you receive a paycheck. In addition, the Lili Pro account offers advance expense management, allowing you to customize your expenses buckets for your business needs.
Direct deposit comes early
You can receive your payments early – by up to 2 days – when you set up direct deposit with your frequent clients.
Stay alert
Stay in the loop of all the money coming and going from your account with real-time push notifications on your phone.
Be your own financial advisor
Lili lets you track your spending in certain categories to learn more about your spending behavior.
Free withdrawals
It’s your money, why should you pay more just to get it? You can get free withdrawals at over 38,000 locations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Additional features
Cash Deposit
Lili customers can deposit cash to their Lili accounts at 90,000 retail locations across the US.
Emergency Bucket
Set a fixed daily amount, as little as $1 a day, to automatically save towards the unexpected. The Lili Pro account offers 1% APY on the Emergency Bucket.
Referral bonus reward
When a user joins Lili using a referral code and spends a minimum of $250 with their Lili card within the first 45 days, both users will receive a $50 referral reward. You can receive a maximum of 10 referral rewards, so up to $500.
Direct deposit sweepstakes
Every Lili customers who sets up direct deposit to their Lili account to receive recurring paychecks or their unemployment benefits (another recurring deposit) will be entered into a sweepstakes and every week of February or March, one winner will randomly be selected and win $1,000. More info on sweepstakes can be found here: https://lili.co/blog/8-chances-to-win-a-1000-bonus
Cutting-Edge Banking Services
For customer support from brick and mortar banks, you have to go in to get service. An online bank like Lili means you can access the same level of customer support no matter where you are! Simply call to contact one of their representatives during business hours.
Lastly, Lili also allows you to streamline all of your accounts into one. For freelancers, that’s a big deal. Rather than have your money sit in PayPal or Zelle, you can get those funds deposited into your bank account sooner.
Traditional Banking Services
Since Lili’s focus is the young entrepreneur, members may notice fewer traditional banking services offered. For example, you cannot deposit any cash funds into your accounts. This means that any money stored in this account must be moved there electronically. If cash payments are something you typically accept, this may be an issue.
Additionally, Lili does not offer any credit cards, IRAs, or wire transfers to its members. It does however include a Visa debit card, and if you sign up for the Lili Pro account you will get a Premium Business Debit Card with cashback rewards and increased allowances for transactions.
You can enjoy free ATM withdrawals at over 38,000 locations accross the US with your Lili Visa debit card.
Interest Rates and Fees
Here’s the good news: there are no fees and no interest rates associated with the Lili Standard account. This is great news for people who want to get out of a bank that nickels and dimes them for every overdraft or week of inactivity. The bit about interest rates has some drawbacks, however. Since there are no interest rates, there’s no interest to be earned.
If you are looking to maximise your income, you might want to consider upgrading to a Lili Pro account, which offers an APY of up to 1% on Emergency savings. The Lili Pro account is only $4.99 per month, and you can cancel any time.
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Customer Service
Lili offers multiple ways to contact their customer support team. While they are only available during their business hours (9 AM. to 7 PM EST), you can get hold of them during this window in whichever method suits you.
You can:
- Call them at (855) 545-4380 to speak to someone directly
- Email support@lili.co for a written response
- Find their customer service accounts on social media for a quick response
Additionally, there’s a help center on their website that answers many of the most frequently asked questions and conundrums.
Mobile Apps
The Lili mobile app is the equivalent to your brick-and-mortar bank’s lobby in that it holds all the tools and resources you’ll need to manage your bank account. It also serves as the main dashboard for tax features, expense reports, and financial insights.
You can learn more about the Lili app and how it manages your bank account with this helpful video.
Security
Since Lili is run on a digital platform, it’s easy to understand why data privacy and security are so important to members. Lili takes these concerns seriously, and while they do collect nonpublic personal data from you, they do not share this information with anyone outside of the Lili bank team and necessary third-party service providers.
When and if Lili notices any signs of a security breach on your account, they will contact you via the app or email.
Conclusion
Lili Bank is a great option for freelancers who are struggling to manage their taxes and prefer a digital-interfaced bank to a brick-and-mortar one. With no fees to worry about on the Standard account and no location to tie you down, it makes it easy to travel and work as you please with a great bank beside you every step of the way.
In addition, its well worth upgdading to the Lili Pro account, which at only $4.99/month offers advance expense tracking, a premium Visa Business Debit Card with cashback rewards, a Savings account with up to 1% interest, and unlimited invoices.
Overall, Lili is a smart option for digitally savvy freelancers looking for a no-strings-attached banking experience.
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Chris has an MBA with a focus on advanced investments and has been writing about all things personal finance since 2015. He’s also built and ran a digital marketing agency, focusing on content marketing, copywriting, and SEO, since 2016. He writes for BestMoney and enjoys helping readers make sense of the options on the market.
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