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Varo Bank Review

Zero monthly fees for checking & savings

Reviews 2,496

Visit Site

Varo Bank

Average

Reviews 2,496

Visit Site

Bestmoney Staff

Dec. 14, 2022

3 min read

Varo Bank Summary

Varo Bank, N.A. is a hybrid online/mobile bank. Its Varo Bank Account comes with the promise of no monthly account maintenance fees and its Varo Savings Account has attractive annual percentage yields (APYs). Varo Bank offers significant advantages over online and brick-and-mortar banks: namely, no minimum balance to open an account; and the option of having your paycheck deposited up to two days early.

Pros

Full-feature mobile app
No monthly account maintenance fees
Competitive savings rates

Cons

Limited account options
No loans or unsecured credit cards

Varo Bank at a glance

8.8

Editorial score

Fees?

No fees at all

10.0

Security

FDIC insured and SSL/AES encrypted account

8.0

Customer service

Early morning, evening and weekend service with multiple communication options and a dedicated fraud team

8.0

Online experience

User friendly site with full online banking capabilities

8.0

Mobile experience

Excellent mobile app with all mobile banking features enabled, including digital check deposits

10.0

Varo Bank Visit Varo Bank

Advantages Over Traditional Banks

Varo is different from a regular bank. It offers online bank accounts and savings accounts, stripped down to the very basics to give you countless benefits without the downsides.

Here are the main reasons to choose Varo Bank over a regular bank:

It takes only minutes to set up a bank account
Open and manage your bank account using the Varo Bank mobile app
No bank account maintenance fees whatsoever. That’s no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirements, and no transfer fees
Extremely high savings annual percentage yields (APY) helping you save

Cutting-Edge Banking Services

Varo has stripped banking down to the features people need most, without bogging its users down with high fees and balance requirements.

Here are Varo’s top banking features and services:

Collect your paycheck up to two days early with direct deposit¹, which generally gives you access to your paycheck as soon as your employer files payroll.
Push notifications sent to your phone whenever there’s a deposit or withdrawal from your Varo bank account or when your debit card is used for a purchase or cash withdrawal
Lets you connect your other financial accounts to Varo to manage all your money in one place
Allows you to deposit cash at 90,000+ retail locations around the US using Green Dot Reload @ the Register (Retail service fee applies)²
Save Your Pay takes a percentage of deposits you make into your checking account and automatically transfers it to your savings account
Save Your Change automatically rounds up every transaction to the nearest dollar and transfers the amount to your savings account
Get up to $100 with the tap of a button with Varo Advance³
Easily transfer money with Zelle®

Traditional Banking Services

Varo Bank doesn’t ignore traditional banking services. Varo offers the convenience of mobile banking with many of the same basic features offered by traditional banks.

Traditional banking services include:

Varo Visa® Debit Card. This is a regular debit card linked to your checking account. It is not a prepaid card.
Fee-free withdrawals at 55,000+ Allpoint® ATMs worldwide.⁴
Option of sending deposits and transfers from your bank account.
Zelle® is now available in the Varo mobile app.

Interest Rates and Fees

Varo offers two types of accounts: a no-fee online Bank account and high-yield savings account. To access Varo’s services, you must set up a Varo Bank Account. The Savings Account is optional. As mentioned earlier, Varo doesn’t charge any monthly account maintenance fees. That means: no monthly fees, no transfer fees, no foreign transaction fees, no ATM fees (as long as you use Allpoint® ATMs) and no minimum balance requirements.

Earn one of the highest Annual Percentage Yields (APY) in the country with a Varo savings account⁵. Start earning 3.00% APY, and then you may qualify to earn 5.00% APY⁶^.

There is no minimum balance to open a savings account
You'll start earning APY and if you do a few extra things during each qualifying period⁷, you'll earn 5.00%
- Have $0.00 or more in your Varo Bank and Savings accounts at the end of each qualifying period
- Get one or more direct deposit(s) totaling $1,000 or more⁸

Customer Service

Varo’s Utah-based customer service team is available 7 days a week during business hours, by chat, phone, and email.

Mobile Apps

Varo isn’t just another one of those banks that offers a mobile app; its mobile app actually has more features than its online platform. Downloading the Varo app on the App Store or Google Play can give you full access to all of the banking services and products described in this review.

Security

Varo takes your security seriously. All money in your Varo account(s) is FDIC insured up to $250,000 through Varo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Furthermore, Varo promises never to sell your data and to keep you safe with powerful encryption and access control. Your spending is also protected, thanks to the Visa® Zero Liability, which guarantees you won’t be held responsible for any unauthorized charges on your debit card⁹.

Conclusion

Varo Bank represents the next stage in online banking. It does a few things that all online banks should really be doing by now, namely: it charges no fees for most of its services and rewards users with high-interest rates for meeting a few basic conditions each month. In short, if you’re looking for an online/mobile bank account that does the basics well – and doesn’t charge you an arm and a leg for it – then it’s worth checking out Varo Bank.

Varo Bank Visit Varo Bank

Disclosure

Bank Account Services provided by Varo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Visa® Debit Card is issued by Varo Bank, N.A. pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

¹ Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the payer’s submission of deposits. We generally post such deposits on the day they are received which may be up to 2 days earlier than the payer’s scheduled payment date.

² There is no fee assessed by Varo Bank for cash deposits. However, a retail service fee of up to $5.95 applies.

³ To qualify, you’ll need to have at least $1,000 in direct deposits to your Varo Bank Account or Varo Savings Account combined within the last 31 days. Your Varo Bank Account must be open and active, and the daily balance at close of business must be equal to or greater than $0.00. You are limited to taking out one Advance per calendar day, even if you repay in full on the same calendar day.

⁴ There is no fee to withdraw money from any Allpoint® ATM. There is a $2.50 ATM cash withdrawal fee assessed by Varo Bank for all non-Allpoint® ATM transactions (out of network transactions). The ATM operator may charge an additional fee.

⁵Based on national average as of October 1, 2022 as found on www.fdic.gov/resources/bankers/national-rates.

⁶Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) are accurate as of December 1, 2022. Rates may change at any time without prior notice, before or after the account is opened.

⁷The requirements must be met within the Qualifying Period which begins on the first calendar day of the month and ends at close of business (4:25 pm MST/ 3:25 pm MDT) on the last business day of the month.

⁸Qualifying direct deposits are electronic deposits of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security or unemployment) from your employer or government agency. Tax refunds and government stimulus payments, Person-to-Person payments (such as Venmo), and funds deposited using a Varo routing number, are not considered a direct deposit.

⁹You must notify your financial institution immediately of any unauthorized use. For specific restrictions, limitations and other details, please contact Varo Bank

Written by

Bestmoney Staff

Our editorial staff consists of writers who are knowledgeable about financial services. We specialize in simplifying the process of choosing the right provider for your needs.

Trustpilot reviews

See what some customers are saying about Varo Bank

Average

•

Reviews 2,496

Excellent

73%

Great

Average

Poor

Bad

18%

romodan

2 months ago

respect

I’m honestly

tamee holzhauser

8 days ago

Completely disgusted with Varo Believe…

Completely disgusted with Varo Believe card. Hotel authoruzation released by hotel immediately yet Varo still took the 31 days Plus 1 business day to return my funds (I get it says it could but know 3 of us that had same experience). Have also been fighting to get money back since June. Did withdrawal at ATM but machine canceled the transaction and didn't dispense cash. Filed dispute immediately. First said would be resolved by Aug 14, then Sept 14, now still in process. Yet it doesn't even say merchant contacted. No one can tell me what has been done, where it us in process and cannot get anyone to answer email or talk to anyone. Chat is useless. I will be filling a complaint with BBB and anyone else if not resolved by end of day (today is day 90 they say). No regular back would do this. They give a provisional credit but then hold these funds until resolved. All seems like a way to hold a customer's money until last day they have to return it. Am sure the ATM bank credited to Varo immediately.

justin

8 days ago

Customer support is absolute garbage...

Customer support is absolute garbage... They ONLY have a chat option, and it has VERY limited hours. If you need to contact them in the evening or on a weekend you're simply out of luck. And when you CAN contact them, be prepared to wait in a chat queue for several hours. When you finally DO get someone, expect to get canned responses and no real help. Terrible terrible service and they couldn't care less.

n/a

9 days ago

It’s untrustworthy get a real bank

ray volcy

11 days ago

denied my mobile check deposit

denied my mobile check deposit. I contacted them and tried several times to submit following the app guidelines. was never given any reason why the check wasn't accepted. eventually they blocked my option to submit the check. luckily my other bank accepted without any hesitation. I'm going to post bad reviews for this bank and be annoying since they are so crappy 🤣

upset customer

13 days ago

I would give zero stars if possible

I would give zero stars if possible. I have banked with Varo for several years with no problems until this year. Varo continuously suspends my account. I can't access my money at all when this happens and they state 4 days for investigation. The have reinstated my account several times for it to be suspended again over and over. You can only reach someone via email as calling is no help. My bills get paid late and I can't access my money I need to survive when the account is suspended. It's been a vicious cycle of account suspension. They can't seem to keep my account active long enough for me to withdraw my funds out. I really hope Varo pays the price for how they cause their customers to suffer. Do not use this bank.

betsy mcpherson

18 days ago

Varo is dishonest and unreachable

They are keeping my money and I cannot get it out. I cannot transfer my money into a linked account and I cannot get in touch with anyone at the company. I am ready to file a police report.

lily

20 days ago

It was good when I started with Varo

It was good when I started with Varo. Then they downgraded their support. Am now looking for another bank. Their support is only available via phone app chat. I have waited hours at a time. It normally takes a WEEK to get a question answered. Just about impossible to get thru. Their old phone support was quite good, but they no longer use it. My last two checks deposited were rejected. Their faqs say if check rejected you can find an explanation on app. I found picture of check on app but no explanation why. Have been trying to reach them about that. Can't get thru.

benito ngoyi

23 days ago

Varo bank closed my account for no…

Varo bank closed my account for no reason given I have bills and stuff to do my deposit still go to account No check refund yet Varo is scamming bank

dawn turgeon

23 days ago

No customer service for customers

Getting through to anyone in customer service for VARO via chat or phone is impossible and when you finally get through they are rude and give you the wrong information. For example I needed to set up a direct deposit, I understand that VARO IS A MOBILE bank however the institution I needed to fill out a direct deposit for for could not without me providing a bank name and at the the address of VARO HEADQUARTERS everyone on chat portion was condescending say what do you mean I don't understand, by the time I spoke to a customer service representative on the phone I was understandably livid I was refused when I asked to speak to a supervisor the customer service representative was dismissive condescending and out right rude , I love the convenience of VARO ,BUT GOOD LUCK IF YOU HAVE AN ISSUE BECAUSE THEY DONT CARE ENOUGH TO GIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE

kristina

25 days ago

They suck

They suck, even when you have a valid paycheck they will deny your deposit, even after you have signed your paycheck and written for deposit only with your account number even though your previous paychecks were deposited with no issue, it’s literally the most awful bank ever

kathleen mcbrair

a month ago

Predatory Bank

Varo needs to improve by not making false representations. I transferred $500 to my Varo account to pay my rent share. I did that because the card tied to my checking account was being replaced and might not arrive in time for rent. Right on the screen, it said 1-2 business days for the ACH transfer. Nope. It will be at least 5 business days, if the money ever shows up. Of course, my bank card arrived, and I could have made a timely rent payment, except the $500 was gone from my main account right after the transfer request. So I will have to pay the landlord a $50 late fee, assuming I get my $500 at all. In the meantime, Varo uses my money for its own profit. Banks think consumers are too stupid to realize that fund holding is a profit game solely for their benefit. If and when the $500 finally arrives, I will immediately transfer out the remaining funds and close this predatory account.

h lopez

a month ago

Will not release my funds from a hotel stay deposit

On August 18 I stayed at the Hyatt and a $50 deposit was authorized on my Varo credit card. I checked out August 19 and the Hyatt at that point release my $50 pending deposit. As of 9/1-2023 varo is still holding my $50 deposit. I have contacted customer service numerous times I have spoken to the hyatt accounting department who has indicated that the funds were released when I checked out. Varo still shows the deposit as pending. We are in September now and they are still holding a $50 authorization from mid August. I mean is that even legal . In addition to this, I’ve spoken with their customer service through their chat and on the phone and all they do is throw me back to the cue to hold or disconnect. I have screenshots of all the conversations it’s become so ridiculous that I stop screenshot and everything and I could post them but I’m afraid it would get very bad reviews for them. They have no customer service agents willing to help the customer service agents, answer the lines and tell they can hold for 31 days. Another agent requested the invoice from the Hyatt hotel, which I provided showing that there were no additional charges and I still do not have my deposit back.

sarah bowers

a month ago

Cust Serv gives zero fx

I've used my Varo debit card to pay my credit card bill for several months with no problem. Suddenly last month, whenever I'd try to make a payment, it would come back as "returned for insufficient funds." (The funds are definitely sufficient.) So after this happened twice in a row I messaged customer service. I was told that there were no holds or blocks or anything keeping my card from being used normally, but the rep would refresh it and I could try again. Fair enough. I tried again a few days later, but to same result. I contacted customer service again but was told the same exact thing: they'd refresh the card and I could try again. They had no interest in digging any further, helping me troubleshoot, or even letting me talk to a supervisor to escalate the issue. They were rude and ended the chat. Years ago, as a customer service agent in a call center, I would've been fired immediately for basically telling a customer that there was no problem and they should go f themselves. Wow.

wendy winters

a month ago

I liked them until yesterday I had an…

I liked them until yesterday I had an echeck deposited they rejected it saying it was altered and on a another note ccasion I deposited a state check and they rejected that also f… them I opened another bank account that has a physical branch you can’t rely on Varo mobile deposits go to another bank

clarence spencer

a month ago

No customer service department at all

No customer service department at all, it impossible to talk to anyone.They make mistake and you cannot talk to anyone about charges. Avoid it ,is not a reputable Bank at lease it doesn’t perform like one.

jaw jack jackson

a month ago

Company is a total joke

If i could rate this company negative i would because honestly it don’t deserve one star…these guys locked me out of my account and locked my money up with it. My electricity is due for disconnection today and i have no way to pay it or my credit cards nor do I have a way to contact them since i have to log into the app to get ahold of someone now. This bank is absolutely terrible and I suggest no one bank with them ever or you will be next

matt prows

a month ago

Varo=Thiefs

Terrible company. I thought they had mistakenly showed what should have been a credit as a debit but when I called to have them correct it they completely ignored what I was saying and wouldn't acknowledge or discuss it. I now believe they are THEIFS. They took my money that I was depositing into my account and instead of adding to my balance they removed the same amount from my account. So they show on my account that I deposited -$53 into my account. It shows on the account It was deposited from that they took the $53 out of that account. Then instead of adding it to my other account they deducted my deposit amount. So a $53 deposit actually removed $106 from my accounts. When it should have been a simple transfer. Appears like THEIFS and they have done nothing to fix it. Varo bank=Thiefs!!!

wild heron

21 days ago

I use to love Varo

I use to love Varo. until I got the believe card to build my credit, it was nice then recently I check my account and it shows negative 2,000 and more. this happen a lot. and you can't contact anyone by phone you can only contact them by chat, you will be 4th in the Que then go to 10th then to 6 then to 12, this is what happen. no answers, poor customer service, they just copy and paste answers from somewhere. think its time to change bank's

linda johnson

a month ago

DON'T BANK WITH VARO!! YOU'LL REGRET IT!! January 2022

I've been with Varo since January 2022. I have attempted to transfer money from my savings to my checking, however, when u transfer it goes into pending and not for 5 minutes, more like hours later when the transfer goes through. I have gone several times to the grocery store with a full cart of groceries went to transfer and it goes pending so my transaction gets declined!! Tell me why would money go into pending and not make funds available? Shouldn't that just transfer with no issues? This has happened more times than I can count. If you are smart DON'T BANK WITH VARO. WHEN YOU NEED YOUR MONEY IT IS NOT AVAILABLE WHEN YOU NEED IT!

national babe

a month ago

Never can access my funds because the…

Never can access my funds because the app is always down

cust service is ever

a month ago

SCAMMER disguised as an online bank

SCAMMER disguised as an online bank. I have requested my funds to be returned multiple times, but each one immediately cancelled by Varo Bank auto online system. No reason or comment why from Varo Bank. Their Customer Service, Chat and File a Dispute options are all broken links that lead to "missing page" notices. I am furious. I need my money!

just ‘neque tv

2 months ago

rude chat reps

I tried to b speak to a varo rep 3 days in a row and the que was always to full then when i finally got someone the third day he was very short with me and rude. I was chatting to update some things and start using my account again but now I don’t even want to of this is how they treat their customers.

tk brisco

2 months ago

Varo used to be good

Varo used to be good. Lately they switched to chat only CS. Have been w/o debit card for 60 days. Every time contacting chat support they want to cancel card never received and issue new 1. Then cancelled card shows up 1.5 months later. Took 250$ advance, paid it back early only to qualify for 50$? Bank has gone downhill when it comes to talking to a person. Called, talked to disputes department about my debit card...he hung up on me. Emailed support 4 times, no response. More waiting time with no answers or debit card. 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

justin l

2 months ago

They were a great bank for 3 years i…

They were a great bank for 3 years i had them but when they randomly close your account and hold your money its b.s. After they close your account you have NO WAY to contact them besides email. That is very unhelpful. Im going with a local bank the hell with these online banks. IF i could give zero stars i would.

alijhandra lewis

2 months ago

This bank is the stupidest bank I’ve…

This bank is the stupidest bank I’ve ever dealt with. I couldn’t receive my money transfers via Zelle but they claim to have Zelle. If you’ve used Zelle before, you’re supposed to be enrolled in Zelle but they messed up that account and I can’t receive my money transfers. DO NOT GET ACCOUNT AT THIS BANK!

jesus chinea

2 months ago

935 dollars deposit and the cash…

935 dollars deposit and the cash advance got lowered from 75 to 50 stay away from this bank. Not good for business the more you get the less they let you borrow.

ryan lainey

2 months ago

Use a real bank!

This online bank is awful! It's ok if you don't ever need customer service but if you have unauthorized transactions or need to speak to a real person for any reason you're out of luck. Don't even waste you're time. There will be no resolution! Use a real bank.

bruce gibson

2 months ago

Apparently Nonexistent "Customer Service"

The only way to contact Varo customer service is to chat on line. However, that process is virtually impossible to use. I gave up waiting to be connected to one of their chat reps after more than 45 minutes. Why would anyone bank there? And once you open an account you can't even close it without using their (unresponsive) on-line chat.

vanity

2 months ago

Thi v a ro bank is horrible nows is my honest opinion about varo is…

This is my honest opinion about varo is that what it used to be anymore I'm giving you my honest opinion don't bank with them if you lose your card you have to talk to a stupid app are the only person you can get a hold to is the disputes department it is ridiculous I really suggest that you take your money and go somewhere else I'm looking for a better Bank they do this so they don't have to talk to customers

terri teel

2 months ago

Believe you will have problems if you bank with varo

Varo is the worst company I’ve ever dealt with. The employee are clueless and are puppets for a company that has a fraud dept which is the equivalent of the wizard at the end of oz! Smoke & mirrors. They are thieves and get enjoyment from toying with people and their money it’s very sad. Lastly if you get their new believe card just believe you will have problems with this company, 100%. A bank that’s hilarious!

consumer

2 months ago

Run they don’t follow regulations

So as a financial service representative, for almost 20 years, I decided to use Varo now in the beginning they were great they had a call center, and it seemed like they generally knew what they were doing. Recently they got rid of their call-center so now the only way to get any kind of support is through chat. I have discovered that since then varo has no idea what they’re doing. And a personal note in my account with Varo I deposited a check I have $100 I reached out and was told seven days now my account was in good standing no overdraft nothing that would actually trigger any reason for there to be a hold, I had to remind the agent of regulation Z and regulations C. I don’t believe that Varoz employees are fully trained and understand banking laws. It’s no wonder why Varo is hemorrhaging money. Supposedly their customer service is all based off pre-scripted options that are call-center agent send out customer service. There is none which now makes dealing with Varo frustrating and, stressful as an experience financial service, representative, I would not. She’s a Varo Bank as a financial institution. It seems like they don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t follow regulations at all, and they see you as a number, not an individual by far the worst financial institution I have come across and believe me when I say this, when’s my check clears after being on hold for seven days for $100 coming from a business and not a personal check I will be leaving varo. And I will be making sure that anyone I know or come across knows to run the opposite direction. I do believe they need to get better people who know what they’re doing in those offices because I see Varo losing a lot of customers especially with how rude their agents are through chat because all three times I tried contacting them when the agent got frustrated, they immediately and a chat on me, same as hanging up a phone on a customer midsentence. And I believe the reason why they hold everything so long is because they don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t know what to look for hence why they are hemorrhaging money. That’s playing for online banks I would say varo is not an institution that you’d wanna put your money.

amy king

2 months ago

They closed my account gave me no…

They closed my account gave me no reason been with them for years have my direct deposit go in over 4000.00 a month. Now my payroll check is in never never land. No costumer service only respond to email which is a generic response. Was told they don't give specifics on why they closed account. Trash bank poor customer service, get your money out fast. Go with CHIME 100 percent better.

thibault deneve

2 months ago

Varo cannot deliver their service as advertised

Varo can't get their system to work. They nev deliver the advertised interest rate unless you start harassing them. They tell me my direct deposit are not being recognized... I work for a state agency. They sent an email with an offer to earn a bonus, but now are trying to back out of it as I met the requirements stated in the email. Shady company overall. They also have serious issues with early deposits though I didn't suffer that like others did. Their costumer service is often down during their "open" hours. Do not open an account with them.

justin

2 months ago

great product with horrible service

contacting support via chat is infuriating. The chat reps do not know the answers, give conflicting answers, give canned responses, and disconnect the chats for no reason. Highly disgusting service from a company with an otherwise great product. Do better.

katia gonzalez

2 months ago

Así mismo es la peor tarjeta me tienen…

Así mismo es la peor tarjeta me tienen retenido 500 dólares y no me e podido comunicar con ellos es horrible

carl hoover

2 months ago

Not only do they take forever to get a…

Not only do they take forever to get a replacement card to you. When you use the Zelle to send money so you can get cash they lock that feature up as well. I can not deposit checks anymore. What a screwed up bank. And they give me a phone number it disconnected me said use chat to then get a foreigner instead of an American. And the chat can never resolve an issue. So now my funds are locked even more so I have no access to my money. Who the hell do these people think they are?

carl hoover

3 months ago

If I could give a zero I would

If I could give a zero I would. Why does it take 2-3 weeks for a replacement card? And when you try to find out you do not get to speak to a person. They direct you to a stupid chat that seems to be from another country and nothing gets answered satisfactory. Americans need jobs not sending jobs overseas. This is so crazy I used to love this varo but now it’s ran so Mickey Mouse it’s freakin goofy

coo coo

3 months ago

Varo has been great

Varo has been great! It's a"REAL," Bank that offers a "REAL," Checking/Savings Account, unlike what other consumers believe. Do your research! It offers online banking at it's finest, in my opinion! Give it a try. I believe the fact that you can load money into it most just believe that it's a pre-paid card. It is not. That is just one of the features that is available. 😊

michael naughton

3 months ago

Run Run Run from Varo. They legit steal money

I have been with Varo bank for a couple years. It was a good bank. But the lack of customer service. And the just dumb mistakes it’s not worth it. Latest example. I had a dispute on a cc transaction. They did not give me a credit. They found that the charges were considered legit. They were not. But the worst part is they took $89 out of my account. They never gave me a credit in the first part. They literally stole money from me. Now I have to wait 2 days for them to review it? With it being Thursday night I won’t hear back till Monday. What a stupid mistake Who is managing this company Run run run from Varo.

alan

3 months ago

The inexorable slide to rescue acquisition or bankruptcy

Varo used to be great, but due to extreme cost cutting, now it's a pretty horrible bank. So sad to witness the continual slide, especially these last few months. Late direct deposits, almost no way to contact a human by phone, lately no way to even contact anyone by chat. Today I tried to transfer all money out to my new account via ACH from within the Varo Android app which just kept failing multiple times until I finally gave up and initiated an ACH pull from the new account instead. I did this in preparation to close my account and move on... nobody has time to deal with this nonsense, nor should they have to. It's sad, but it looks like the end of a once great bank is soon upon us, and justly so if this is the best they can operate anymore.

pat barns

3 months ago

Bad experience with direct deposit

Varo can't seem to put in direct deposits in on time. They were good at it but now they are very bad

adam taylor (firstborne)

3 months ago

Worst banking experience I have ever had.

I have been a Varo Bank customer for a long time, since the beginning in fact; even before they were able to get their charter. I so badly want to love Varo, as they used to be absolutely amazing. However, as of late, they have left me little choice but to spend as much time as I can exposing them for their failure to provide even the most mediocre of services. Their mobile check deposit? 7 days, which means you will, no matter what day you deposit your check on through the app, be waiting for longer than 7 days, as they don't count non-business days. I waited 10 days to see my check finally get into my account, which of course, meant I was unable to pay some bills on time, which further meant I had fees I had to pay. Not really Varo's fault, as I knew it would take 7 days (though the extra three days has me scratching my head,) however, the failure to be able to offer a mobile deposit service within a reasonable time is absolutely astonishing, and pathetic. Another issue is that I am constantly having bills, such as my insurance, tell me that Varo failed to release the money to them. This not only results in harsh fees, it means I, and my whole family were driving around basically uninsured during that time, all because Varo refused to pay the money to my insurance company. The problem seems to arise when you do anything that involves your Varo account number. I don't seem to have many issues with Varo's debit card, but you attempt to pay a bill using your bank account number, or try to transfer cash to cashapp using Varo; GOOD LUCK. I will be finding a new online banking solution within the next month. I can't with Varo anymore. They have failed to provide the simplest services that even the smallest local banks, and mobile cash handling apps offer. If you want to wait days, and days, and days to see your mobile check deposit arrive in your checking account, or struggle to understand why your bills didn't get paid, then Varo is the online bank for you. Otherwise, use literally any other option available to you.

sultan haleem khane

3 months ago

The downfall of Varo has been shocking…

The downfall of Varo has been shocking to watch. I am one of their OG customers from the beginning back way before they even got their bank charter. One of the best fintech situations out there at one point but now they’re just awful. Phone support is almost non existent and if you do get ahold of someone they talk over you rather than with you. It’s always something with this bank just weeks ago across the country nobody had access to their accounts or apps Varo was down entirely and they did nothing to address much of the situation. They push you to email support but good luck getting a response in any type of fashionable time it won’t happen. I’m not sure what happened to this bank but clearly it changed hands and as a result it won’t be long before it goes under. The previous folks that were in charge were much better including customer support.absolutely not worth it anymore in any way don’t put your money here cuz if for any reason you can’t get into the account or the app goes down like it did good luck and may the force be with you.

mandy

3 months ago

The worst bank

The worst bank! I gave them several chances to develop and become better for their customers they service. It’s terrible customer service. First bad experience my card number was stolen and used! The money taken from my account took 6 weeks to be put back! They stated the type of dispute didn’t qualify for a quick reimbursement! Second bad experience a retailer charged me twice! PayPal corrected the issue the exact same day! The second charge was in pending status for two weeks! When I called Varo they told me this was the time frame per visa that they couldn’t manually reverse the pending charge! The final bad experience my account was locked due to a security threat! I called the customer service number with the belief I could verify who I was and maybe provide my driver license or ss card through email, to my surprise I was told I could only email their support team and it would take up to four days for a correspondence. In the mean time my entire account was frozen! I had zero access to MY funds! And no one would give me any particular information regarding why this even occurred! I wouldn’t tie up a penny with this bank! We live in 2023 and have some of the best technology and this is all the better they can offer customers who they are dealing with their finances! No Thank You! Beware!!!!!

melanie rose

3 months ago

Absolutely Trash of a Bank

Policies make no sense, customer service is a joke, their system is always down, and I’ve been without access to my funds in my account for over a month due to them never sending me my cards and their transfer system down.

dawn

3 months ago

I have been with Varo for a few years…

I have been with Varo for a few years and they were good but now to be honest it’s trash. You can’t speak to anyone with customer service any more and I’m trying to chat with someone as we speak and they’re full offline and it’s 9:45 in the morning. I believe they’re too bland for my credit score because they don’t transfer the money in time for my credit card that I have with them. As soon as I can find another good company to go with I’m leaving Varo.👎🏽👎🏽

clint raley

3 months ago

Varo Bank experience and other's have the same issue.

I have been with Varo Bank before they became a bank, it was called Varo Money, while Varo Money customer service was talking to humans and also at the beginning of Varo Bank you would talk to humans. I never had to call to much to customer service that much, but once every so often. I for the most part had no issues with the Varo Money and Varo Bank. I loved having the choice to transfer option to send money to your other bank account the plait, used to connect accounts to Varo. I use Wells Fargo Bank, Regions Bank, Capital one Bank to pay certain bills such and Utilities, Online school tuition, and so on. I guess about April I had I tried to transfer some money to Wells Fargo Bank account through the plait network and when it tried to process the transfer, it would say failed. I could transfer money to Varo Bank, but not out for some reason. I as I had mentioned above only called this bank once ever so often. This is where I started getting upset, with Varo Bank. I hate the online chat. I would ask question and explain what happens, they would just say other avenues for transferring money which was horrible. I was trying to see if I could get them to get a human person from the Varo Bank to call me. I had several online chats, said the same thing over and over, cussed, asked if they were a third party and they said no. I think they are a third party answering service for Varo Bank. I hate it so much I want to close my account. I do not understand why they implemented the chat online so horrible. I thought there had to be other people that are thinking the same thing as me about the online chat, just as I thought after looking for the reviews I found where people had it worse than me with the online chat crap. They just horrible to deal. The online service is not a good resource. I cannot believe this, I tried everything to get my transferring fixed. There was nothing I did, long story about me loosing my phone, and using my back up phone. I hate it. I am sure people closed there accounts.

toxicbeauty by sunshine

3 months ago

Terrible customer service

Terrible customer service. You can not speak to a real representative. When you do they are from over seas and trust me they stick to the script. I have had a problem with my zelle for months. They constantly say it's the person sending the money's fault but it's always varo. So if you want good customer service and care go elsewhere

internet shopper

3 months ago

I'm really torn of this bank

I'm really torn of this bank. Alot of other companies do not consider Varo a bank. They tell me it's only a prepaid card account and will not accept it. The only other thing that gripes my but is that you can't speak to customer service on the phone anymore only thru their messaging system. When it comes to what Lil money I do have and it's missing I want to talk to a person not hv to type out a story to get them to understand I'm mad. And want something done immediately. I hate typing out messages it takes a really long time for them to respond back. So be cautious if your wanting to speak to someone about an issue ur having and hopefully it's not urgent.

linda

3 months ago

This bank is the most unprofessional…

This bank is the most unprofessional bank I have ever come across .They offer no phone customer service, and text support is horrible and rude. There is no trust building, or authenticity with this bank. I do not recommend this bank, and I can’t believe they will ever become profitable, based on the way they do business. They treat their customers terribly - as anyone can see reading all these negative reviews. I don’t recommend anyone using this business.

tia mikel

3 months ago

Varo is the worst bank ever.

Varo is the worst bank ever.. I filled a dispute with them on 05/26/23. Was told to wait 10 business days on the 9th business day they closed my case not in my favor I asked for proof of what was used to close my case. They sent me a letter stating “documents used to close case are” and in the letter it still says “we are working on your case” because they amount was 3000$ and it was fraud on my account they closed my case right before the 10th business day so they would not have to reverse the transaction as they already cancelled my card for the fraud claim. Because they closed my account in error BY THEIR OWN COMPANY I was told I have to appeal the decision when it should of NEVER been closed in the first place because the proof they sent me clearly states we are still working on it so how can my case be closed. Now I’m told to wait an additional 10 business days to even see if the appeal would be approved BUT THEY HAVE NEVER CONTACTED THE MERCHANT ABOUT ANYTHING JUST CANCELED MY CARD.. I have even sent proof backing my claims and they ignore it and tell me it’s closed but they are still working on it which makes 0 sense

s.danielle lawson cain

3 months ago

Not worth using anymore

Everything was great up until the last month. My direct deposits were consistent but in the last month they are posting later and later but my employer has over 10,000 employees and sends deposits the same time every pay period. I’m going to switch because I don’t trust them anymore! My deposit should of hit last night , bills are due and they don’t even offer live customer service!

justin yanni

4 months ago

Unbelievable

Well out of the blue they shut down my wife's account when it still had a balance, and has not done anything to get her money back but give her generic response about security. it's been well over a month and now won't answer her emails at all. They have nobody you can actually speak with besides an online chat that won't even try to help with the problem.

chris yi

4 months ago

Shady; Closed my account for inactivity?

Yesterday (on 6/11/23), I got 2 notifications saying that a transaction was declined on my Varo debit card... even though I had the card with me & was the only user. It wasn't even in my smartphone wallet. So I naturally got scared that I was hacked or that Varo got hacked. I locked my Varo debit card after the first notification, & contacted Varo's chat support in their app after the 2nd notification. I told them what happened and they said that they would have to "temporarily suspend" my account & debit card so that they can look into the incident. I replied "Ok," but realized too late that this was a weird thing for them to do & that this is what they wanted me to do all along. You want to know why I specified the date? Because EXACTLY a year & 3 months ago I opened this Varo account (3/11/22). I realized that I probably hadn't been hacked. It was just Varo making it look like there was suspicious activity so that I would contact their support & basically give them a reason to close my account. Which is what they did the very next day in a very short email (w/o detailing why they did this) at the very end of the workday. Even though their chat support said it would take at least 2 days for them to email me an "update" on the situation. While they were "investigating" what happened, I looked online at reviews & Reddit searches to see if my fears about Varo screwing me were misplaced. Unfortunately, I read quite a few reviews & posts that ended up w/ their accounts being closed for no reason as well. The only reason I could think of for Varo doing this was that I was inactive w/ my account. I had primarily used it to get rewards from Swagbucks (a survey website), & hadn't used it for a long while. Maybe this is Varo's M.O. when you aren't an active customer, who knows? In any case, I still had like $6 on my debit card... which is basically in the trash now. It's a small enough amount where I'm not steaming mad, but I still felt compelled to give this rating & experience on here. Even though I never, ever give bad reviews for products & services. I had to tell this story because this is obviously a shady & scummy thing for a "bank" to do, and they've probably stolen a lot more than $6 from people who used Varo as their main financial institution. You can search for the reviews & stories if you don't believe me. I could try to contact Varo again to get my money back, but I looked on the website & saw that "non-customers" (people who can no longer use their app & don't have an account) had to email them. And wouldn't you know it, there was only 1 department on that webpage that didn't have an email address to contact them at & only had a fax number - Asset Verification requests. So, that's what you have to deal with when you do "business" with Varo!

crystal

4 months ago

Do not use varo credit builder card…

Do not use varo credit builder card believe soon it post as a debt took 26 pts off first month I finally got credit back up and varo reported on credit report first report drop my score down bad

kristi hallman

4 months ago

Closed my account for no reason

I banked with Varo for about 3 years and never had an issue. This morning I woke up and went to the store and my card was declined. I tried logging in to the app and got a message that my account was closed. I called customer service and they said I have to email support, who in turn responded that they will respond within 2 days. I finally got an email saying they reviewed my account and decided to close it. reviewed what? The fact that i deposited and withdrew money and paid bills and treated it like a BANK account?? wth ever. Now I have to wait up to 14 days for my money. ALL of my money was in that pos bank.

kurtis

3 months ago

DO NOT PUT YOUR MONEY HERE

I have had my account for about a week now and so far the experience has been really good. Varo now has a virtual card for you to use while waiting on the physical card in the mail. I have used the chat support in the app and had a great experience. Edit: After about 2 or 3 weeks of account opening i tried contacting support through the chat in the app. The chat feature wasn’t working and just kept loading. You cannot call Varo with a specific question. Literally cannot contact support at all!! How this is a thing with an all online bank is mind blowing.

3 months ago

They Suck...Avoid

I received a bank card from varo this morning and wondered, how could that be? Then i remembered i wrote about this varo bank before and the kids that ran this trashy bank. All they like to do is open accounts for people and turn around and say they close them a couple hours later. It seems they have nothing else to do. I see that varo is possibly going under the past few years. Probably not because of childish customer service who get excited about denying people bank service. I HIGHLY recommended to stay away from this so called 'bank'. Worse bank i ever seen in my life. This place is full of people high on themselves. The website is outdated customer service is spam. Stay away.

bridget collins

4 months ago

Varo Bank - avoid for large savings purposes

If you're looking for savings less than 10K, Varo is an acceptable bank. However, if you're looking for savings more than 10K, DO NOT USE VARO. I had a Varo account for several years saving for a wedding and house down payment. Here are just a few of my issues: - You cannot have a joint account holder. - You cannot write cashier's checks or regular checks. - Your own monthly Varo-to-outside bank transfer limits are incredibly difficult to find - they are not disclosed on the app or website, and Varo is allowed to change your monthly transfer limits whenever they want. After hours of chatting in the app, I finally found that my limits were 10K a month, 7.5K a week, and 5K a day. Varo's customer service answer was to initiate an ACH transfer from the outside bank, however most large national banks (Chase, BOA) have stopped this practice due to security concerns. Therefore, there is realistically no way to transfer more than your Varo limits, which Varo can change at will. - Typical monthly transfer limits are 10K a month, which is absurdly low compared to all national banks and insufficient for things like a down payment. - Customer service is nearly non-existent. They offer phone services for extremely limited purposes and their chat is only available during Mountain Time. Overall, customer service is incredibly poor. - I personally routinely had issues connecting an external account to transfer money and never had these issues resolved. The accounts I could link would randomly unlink and some accounts would never link. - I also routinely had issues with their website not sending a text to verify my account, preventing me from accessing the website at all. The bottom line: it is nearly impossible to access your own money in Varo for large purchases like a down payment. I spent weeks on the Varo chat app and speaking with other large national banks to figure out how we could access the money we spent many years saving. It took me 20 consecutive days of withdrawing maximum amounts from an ATM and many many weeks of stress. I highly recommend avoiding Varo bank for large savings purposes.

ad r

4 months ago

I have had Varo for about 4 years

I have had Varo for about 4 years. I have always used their advance since it started. I worked my way up to $200 I paid on time. This month for no reason they jerked me all the way down to $100. They can’t give a reason other than it fluctuates sometimes. I’ve go all my friends and family to join but I’m going somewhere else unless they do me right. No way should your top customers be done like this!

toxicbeauty by sunshine

4 months ago

Can't reach support that is helpful

Can't reach support that is helpful. Thus person kept me on hold for 12 minutes not communicating I had to type hello every two minutes no response for 6 minutes. The said wait while I fix the problem. I feel asleep. They came back 6 minutes later saying issue was fixed. Nope. A few times I did an instant transfer and had to leave the store because the transfer did not go through for hours I once even a day. I feel like I can do better. The 2 stars are because they helped me with my credit bc of varo believe buy I still think I can do better when it comes to customer care and services.

maxine aland

4 months ago

VARO SUCKS

THEY CANT IMPROVE IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY MONTH I GET LOCKED OUT OF MY ACCOUNT AS THEY PUT IT TEMPORARY SUSPENDED, THIS IS BEGINNING TO BE A HABIT. IM FED UP WITH VARO, NOW I CANT PAY MY RENT AND WILL PROABLY GET EVECTED COS VARO IS HOLDING MY MONEY AND I CANT PAY MY RENT, SO I'M SWITCHING BANKS VARO SUCKS !!!!

sam alemu

4 months ago

I've really enjoyed using Varo

I've really enjoyed using Varo! Not only do they offer free checking and savings accounts, but they also have just about the highest APY you can get right now. Varo also has great incentives such as mobile check cashing, Varo Advance and they have the highest paying referral program I've seen. I have not yet signed up for Varo Believe Credit Card, but it sounds like an amazing and easy way to build credit! I highly recommend Varo to anyone seeking online banking. It's easy to apply and there's no credit check.AAA+++. LOVE 💖 THIS BANK.!!!!

nina nwaobilo

4 months ago

Money taken out of my Varo Bank from Albert Bank

The amount of $268 was taken from my Checking Account by Albert bank that was suppose to be refunding back my money for closing my Bank account with them. Varo Bank lied and said that the Bank took $201.00, which was not true. They did that because they were covering up for Albert Bank because they both have membership with a Non-Profit Organization called Steady. I filed complaints to three different agencies about them. Varo Bank went and temporarily closed for three weekends during the investigation to discourage customers from using the Varo Bank app from logging to make deposits, checking account balances, withdrawing money, and paying bills. They did this to use the opportunity to reconstruct Checking Accounts to remove evidences of four payments that was taken by Albert bank and made it look like nothing really happen. They are picky on customers signing their checks for Mobile Check deposits. They want customers to write on their checks "For Mobile deposit at Varo Bank". I used my Varo Bank Debit card to tried to pay an Annual bill, Varo Bank blocked my card from processing the payment. I called the company and I was told that they couldn't get the money because my Bank block it. I had to call and was put on hold for over an hour in order for them to remove the block in order for company to receive the payment for my Annual bill. I receive a check from my Insurance company to replace my Laptop charger and Varo Bank held the check from 3 to 7 days. I just click one Star so that I can be able to type up my experience. As far as rating is concern, Varo Bank doesn't deserve any star at all.

jason wiler

5 months ago

Varo bank are criminals they suspended…

Varo bank are criminals they suspended my account with no warning and for no good reason told me they think someone else was using my account I told the customer service lady my wife uses my account to. My wife had sent money from her accounts to mine to have money in one account forba down payment on a house in which I rolled it over to my savings and Varo temporarily suspended my account for up to 4 days awaiting email it’s been 6 days. I’ve never dealt with this from any bank I’ve read reviews of them taking peoples money. All they had to say was there were no notes had to wait on their fraud department such a load of crap. Give me back my access to my money when I told you I was aware of my wife using it they should have immediately unsuspended it. I warn you not to use them I also was getting my checks direct deposited into that account and they said it won’t affect money coming into account how convenient you can take more of my money. Reporting them for sure and will hire a lawyer if necessary

helen jacobbauski

5 months ago

Absolutely unethical and fraudulent

Been with them years . Had a recent hotel reservation cancelled by hotel because Expedia hadnt updated their new pet policyholders. Ok no problem hotel presented me a copy of their cancelation and having never even received Expedia payment as it was just matter of hours , they had 0 $ to return. Expedia say they returned the funds to Varo 10 days later and provided a transaction code to show they did. Varo says they are "liars that's a fake code they screwed up and dont want to admit it" i file dispute. Told 10 days ., then 20 days then 30 days , then 60 days , then told they have up to 90 days then today looked at status and now it says i may or may not hear from them by July9 2023 ! And they may or may not have a resolution! Thats 120 days from dispute date!! Well over their 90 days which they state they hàve to resolve it. AND I HAVE GIVEN THEM EVERYTHING TO WALK THEM BLIND THROUGH THEIR SCREW UP..AND THEY STILL BLAMING EXPEDIA. I DONT CARE BUT TO PUNISH THEIR CUSTOMER AND WITHHOLD SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT AS 53$ SEEMS VERY PETTY AND DEFINITELY SHADY . AND GOOD LUCK TRYING TO GET ANYONE WHO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND AND CAN COMMUNICATE WITHOUT A SCRIPT BECAUSE YOU WONT. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE HORRIBLE. THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEM SELVES AND THEIR UNETHICAL AND ILLEGAL ACTIONS

jasmin west

5 months ago

I'm a single mother of two kids and we…

I'm a single mother of two kids and we are HOMELESS now cause Someone wanted to steal my money from me. Someone needs to credited me my money that was stolen from me. You do have information about my dispute, y'all just don't want to give me back my money that was stolen from me. Someone STOLE MY INFORMATION from me and y'all just don't want to see it. I want my money back and I want it now. Someone stole 5445.80 from me and I want it. We are HOMELESS now but y'all don't care cause no one stole from y'all. Varo bank suppose to protect their customers but varo bank don't get a damn about what happens to me and my kids of being HOMELESS. VARO BANK won't credited me for their wrong doing. Varo bank have hackers and scammers working for them, and now varo bank don't want to credited me money back. I really want my money back 5445.80 single mother of two kids are HOMELESS now cause of people that so call work for varo. I don't know how varo bank works that not my fault it's varo. Varo needs to check their employees background real good. Varo don't know who working with them. We are HOMELESS cause if this. I want my money. Varo bank is not honest with their customers. Varo bank is a scam. I want my money I worked hard for.

5 months ago

this bank is a scam

this bank is a scam. got $1600 in fraudulent charges on my saving account and they won't dispute them. They refuse even to look into the charges and there is no way to speak to a real person. do not put your money there!

sinclair

5 months ago

On Reddick were complaints

On Reddick were complaints. I should of looked here first before applying for an online application. The Varo Banking advertisement looks so easy with perks to apply. It actually was a waste of time. I have other top bank accounts and they denied me without an explanation. The Fair Credit also says bank must give reason(s) for their denial. My experience was horrible. What are they doing with my information?

kevinone

5 months ago

Friendly customers!

robert buskirk

5 months ago

I had a transaction at Walmart on…

I had a transaction at Walmart on 4/28/23 that would not go through for some reason. The register would not allow me to purchase a baby monitor. So the cashier removed the item from my cart and I made the purchase. To purchase the baby monitor I went to customer service and they done a separate transaction. Everything was fine! I checked my bank account and they are holding the purchase price for the transaction that was cancelled. Varo is holding my money ten days until they will release I'm cancelling my account after three years!

dave bercovicz

5 months ago

Horrible bank

Horrible bank - I tried for two days to transfer money to an external account and it kept failing. You can’t get anyone on the phone, only chat. They gave me a total run around. I asked to close my account and they said it would be 14 days to issue a check and another 5-7 days for me to receive it!!

5 months ago

Do not use Varo Bank

kenneth “ashlee” barajas

5 months ago

After looking at all the negative…

After looking at all the negative reviews Varo refuses to respond and they haven't responded back in a year and I have to say that supports what we are saying about Varo refuses to be held accountable for their unethical practices and I have to say in good faith that some one has to start a class action suit and start making Varo accountable and not allow this to continue to happen because we are all everyday people who work hard and in good faith we obtain business with the understanding of the services they are promised. No one is above the rules and law and this company needs to be investigated and audit and if there's anything wrong all employees should be accountable as well for assisting Varo in these practices. I will not stop until I get some resolution and Varo is held accountable. We have rights and they are not being addressed.

michelle jones

5 months ago

SHADY policies

Varo changed their terms to avoid paying the interest rates in our agreement (gifting me early availability of deposits, then counting 2 days of the month towards the high interest rate PRECISELY BECAUSE those deposits came at the end of the month and not the beginning). Their customer service line has zero way to talk to a person. After leaving Varo for these shady practices, there is no way for me to get my tax documents, nor to contact customer service to ask for them. Varo is shady, shady, shady. Stay away!

grace aponte

5 months ago

I do not recommend Varo

I have had varo a few years. I am closing my account. They always have issues on communication. They also do not resolve any of my concerns. They provide with a vage answer and provided no solutions. Their chat is constantly down. The reason why I no longer want to deal with them is that i was told i could not deposit checks, yet did not tell me why. Also, did not provide me with a solution. Instead, the rep ended the chat with letting me know. Do not deal with varo unless you want headaches.

denise davis

5 months ago

I have banked with this shiesty…

I have banked with this shisty operation over the last 2 years. I have over $3000 in direct deposits each month. One of those deposits is my Social Security check. I randomly received an email message stating that my account is suspended for 4 days until an investigation is made. GOD FORBID! I need my money and am expecting a deposit today. I contacted the bank via telephone to no avail and am waiting their response. I kid you not. I will be removing all direct deposits to this bank immediately. For further validity of this post, I always do honest banking. I am waiting to know their reasoning for this gross inconvenience. In all my 50 years of banking, this has NEVER EVER happened before. Do I need to forewarn you?? Do Not Trust Your Money With This Toy Banking System. Get a Real bank account!!

kenneth “ashlee” barajas

5 months ago

I have tried to contact anyone from…

I have tried to contact anyone from this company to resolve a problem with their business ethics. They closed my account and 3 months later I was told by Varo that they reopened the account to receive a direct deposit from the IRS and never informed me of this. This transaction cost me to paythe IRS and they ignore the problem. What bank closes a bank account for fraudulent activities and reopens it to accept the deposit. I am not going to stop with this situation and I want my money and a formal apology and explanation of the unethical practices.

ruth ann

5 months ago

The Straw That Broke Varo's Back With Me

This company has pulled the last straw with me this time! I have been with them since the beginning of Varo. Even through that awful changeover where I couldn't login to my account for about a month after that and customer servvice does suck just like some other reviews describe. Well, recently my elderly mother wanted a new debit card. Why did I ever recommend her to Varo? Simply because they are having a good referral program giving the sender and receiver $30 each. So I referred my mother and she accepted. They opened her account and said her card was on the way. After that, all H... broke loose and they closed her account with no explanation before she got her card or her perks. Then, to top it off they closed down my account they say for 4 days to do a security investigation! Are you really serious people? This is a debit card company which can come a dime a dozen. Have they ever heard of a family computer? In which most families do have because not everyone has their own personal computer in the household. If this is what people experience when they sign up, I must say that this is the most faulty system ever that they use and not a top notch one as they claim. Do not waste your time with Varo.

kenneth “ashlee” barajas

5 months ago

Kenneth Barajas Customer

This bank is the most unethical bank that needs to be held accountable for their business ethics or lack of. This bank closed my account and 3 months later reopen the account to accept a deposit and never informed me of this transaction. In addition to this unethical practice they allowed 2 other people link themselves to my individual account and conduct fraudulent activities and transaction and held me accountable for these fraudulent transaction and held me responsible for them and took the money out of my account and stated that there was no fraudulent transaction and denied my request for reimbursement but closed my account for fraudulent activities. I went at my expense to another state to file a complaint and at the same time they closed my account with no access to any funds and left me penniless with no regards to what I was facing in a strange place. No regards to my safety or well-being. This company will go to any lengths not to be held accountable for their unethical practices and their actions demonstrate that they are not unethical and their dishonesty is very questionable to criminal practices because they will ignore all their policies and the customer guarantee from them if they become a customer. As corporations like this are going to any lengths that are so unethical and dishonest no one that was a victim of the practices of Varo should not give up and make them accountable and the employees who are supporting these unethical practices should be held in as well and to the employees who know what is going on should be ashamed of themselves and I have one question is a job that has caused you to be dishonest and unethical worth your integrity and your morals. It is ashamed I'm sure that is something to be proud of. THIS BANK IS TOXIC AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. This has been going on way too long.

stacey bjorgo

5 months ago

Worst customer service ever

Worst customer service ever. The representative shouted at me the entire call, rude tone and sounds like he could care less about my dispute about a charge I didn’t authorize. The purchase was still pending so he couldn’t help until it cleared but told me my card is still going to cancel after the call ends. He didn’t request a new card to be sent in the mail, I had to call and speak with another department for that. I am trying to look into new banks as of now.

abhishek sharma

5 months ago

I can't transfer my money to anywhere…

I can't transfer my money to anywhere else not to authorized bank account not through Zelle. I had to withdraw money from ATM . Imagine drawing money from vari ATM and deposit it in another ATM . The reason they give were following and all false 1. You don't have qualified deposit 2. You exceed your transaction limit 3. Install app on do it there I just left $10 iny account .

tracy

5 months ago

DO NOT BANK HERE

I just received a new debit card. I have been with them 3 years one email saying your account is closed. No explanation. I have searched and tried to contact. Nothing! I was in good standing 2 days prior. I am SO ANGRY. In my research i found several other people have had the same happen. HORRIBLE especially since I had just been singing their praises !

gentry cameron

6 months ago

Varo-Customer Service Dead-end

No one at Varo truly cares, they certainly don't have your back. I put my trust in them, put my direct deposit through them, promoted them, and defended them in conversations. Things were great the first year until after being a long term customer and in my time of need the help I got in return after being a loyal long time client was a rude awaking. Their support heavily consist of getting shunned with thoughtless and canned responses. I had 4 fraudulent charges on my account. The dispute process has been SO painful. I fully expect my active dispute will be closed in the merchants/fraudsters favor. Then I'll likely try follow up with varo for an explanation of why, and I fully expect I will only receive canned responses over and over, with no contextual value or real reasoning as to why. Varo doesn't help protect it's members like any Good institution would, a normal bank I could go to a branch and get some actual help. Varo is totally fine controlling your money and playing dictator while you sit and wait and wait and wait. Any fraudsters looking for an easy money should know that Varo's members are a prime target. They can steal from Varo's member's accounts and no one, especially Varo, will do anything about it. Good news for members through because Varo has a disputes team. However they must follow "strict guidelines" AKA provide no credits or real help. You can expect them to drag their members through a tireless journey of no support and endless wonder/hope. Seems to me that Varo is way more interested in giving fraudsters and bad merchant their "reasonable" time to reply to a dispute (90 days seems reasonable for a simple reply), then actually helping their members keep what's rightfully theirs. I guess to varo it's all the same, they get paid no matter who is spending the money, however to their members it deeply matters. So while someone is out there fraudulently charging my card, I get the cool benefits of being a "valued varo member" by getting bullied by varo and any merchant that wants to take 4 months to reply to a dispute, but hey I get my paycheck 2 days early...so it's all worth it. To sum it up, based on how's my dispute, and more importantly customer support has gone so far, I fully expect the process to drag out many more months just to ultimately never see those funds again, as my dispute will likely get denied because varo has zero competence. I used to vouch for Varo to family and friends, but that was before I actually needed anything from them. They are great if you never have any issues, but the second you need your banking partner to help you, game over. After this ridiculous dispute process, I will NEVER go out of my way to say a single positive thing for Varo. I feel betrayed by the "bank for everyone family" that was suppose to protect me, instead they ran the other way when I needed them most. I feel totally used by varo, and I have never had a banking experience like this, super disheartening.

jack jackson

6 months ago

Cancer and aids

Varo is a mess and on the verge of bankruptcy. Whatever your reasons for using this bank, it is not a viable business model and will collapse one day and your money will disappear. Varo bank would routinely short my balance for reasons unknown to me. My running total balance of my account would routinely show less than my available balance. I would have to spend hours on hold to speak to someone to have my available balance corrected. They have a very low number of transactions you are allowed to make in a day and if you go over that number, they cut off your access to your money. I couldn’t feed my kid once and when I called them about it the supervisor told me it was my fault and wouldn’t help me. Luckily they fired all the customer service staff, I take pleasure from knowing those jerks are now on hard times. I also hope they all get cancer and aids.

michelle

6 months ago

Worst bank ever - FDIC should intervene.

Had a fraudulent payment go through and I was only able to get this reversed and my dispute processed after many months after reaching out to an executive on LinkedIn. Varo said that they would block this payee after the incident and they did not as a similar charge went through once more. After almost 6 additional months of no resolution, I am giving up on getting the money back and closing my account. Varo is the worst bank I have ever used. If any law firm is interested in starting a class action lawsuit, please start one because I am sure there would be many Varo Bank users interested.

ms bossy

6 months ago

Do not choose this bank they are…

Do not choose this bank they are horrible at customer service. U don’t get direct deposit 2 days early. Just lieing company.

don buford

6 months ago

Closed my account with no communication…Terrible

Closed my account with no communication (other than they closed my account) when I tried to access online while overseas to send money to the family. Terrible customer service and not the bank or service for anyone who cares about communication or access to their money or access customer service or transparency in banking disclosures.

brian piornack

7 months ago

Plain and Simple.. By far the worst customer service you will ever experience.

Varro, has by far the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life. I can only pray that this company burns in hell. They offer false advertisement with everything they supposedly offer with no resolutions . The only number I found was blanked out. How I'm the world does this company stay afloat is absolutely mind boggling. I would rather die than to have to use this company again.

mark f

7 months ago

The worst!

The worst!! I cant send $60 from my varo account to another authorized bank account. notice says transfer failed, try again later. Varo Has NO Telephone support!! Their chat support requires opening an additional account through google play to contact them. Aviod Varo like the plague.

debra myers

7 months ago

IF I COULD GIVE THEM A 0 I WOULD

IF I COULD GIVE THEM A 0 I WOULD. THEY CLOSED MY ACCOUNT FOR A W9 FORM THAT I SUBMITTED IN 01/23/23 THE DUE DATE WAS 02/25/2023. NOW I DONT HAVE ACCESS TO MY MONEY THEY WONT REOPEN MY ACCOUNT SO I CAN TRANSFER MY MONEY. I JUST GOT PAID ON MONDAY AND MY TAX REFUND IS ON THIS ACCOUNT. I AM BROKE AND I HAVE BILLS RENT DUE, I WAS IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING FRIDAY BUT HAVE NO ACCESS TO MY FUNDS TO PAY MOVE OUT FEES, THIS HAS PUT ME IN A BIND I AM A SINGLE MOM OF 3 KIDS 8,7, AND 5 YEARS OLD. IVE BEEN CRYING FOR 2 DAYS CAUSE I DONT HAVE MONEY LIKE THIS TO PAY LATE FEES. I JUST WANT THEM TO OPEN MY ACCOUNT SO I CAN TRANSFER MY MONEY AND THEY CAN CLOSE IT OUT. PLEASE DO NOT BANK WITH ONLINE BANKS FIND U A LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL BANK WHERE U HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR FUNDS. DO NOT BANK WITH VARO AFTER 2 YEARS OF BANKING WITH THEM THEY CLOSE MY ACCOUNT FOR IDENTITY VERIFICATION THAT THEY SUPPOSE TO VERIFY IN THE BEGINNING BEFORE APPROVING ACCOUNTS. VERY BOGUS AND SCAM THING OF A BANK. PLEASE SHARE WITH EVERYONE.

sean dudley

7 months ago

THIS is as bad as it gets

Customer service, when you get to interact with them, is extremely rude and completely worthless consisting solely of copy and paste phrases direct from the FAQ page and nothing more. They lock up accounts and refuse refunds to the account issued by the merchant without any reason, then retaliate like petty children when you complain. THIS IS THE ABSOLUTE EPITOME OF HOW HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE CAN POSSIBLY BE. AVOID VARO BANK AT ALL COSTS!!!!! YOUR MONEY IS BETTER OFF UNDER YOUR MATTRESS! *EDIT* To update, Varo customer service has reached out to me in regards to this review, only to further the harassment and attempt to cram their opinion as to this dispute down my throat, and insist that they were right the entire time and the matter is closed, not even allowing an arbitration, contrary to their own terms and conditions….

robert shelton

7 months ago

Terrible experiences that never seem to go away

These people are by far the worst. Since transitioning from the money card they once were to this supposed banking system their customer service has went straight through the floor. To put it lightly it's the subfloor to a septic tank system. I've had nothing but problems out of them especially in the realm of transfers. If I were trying to do a transfer from their system to another system I could almost understand but when you're dealing with internal transfers within the confines of their own system my experience has been absolutely ridiculous. On numerous occasions I have been placed in financial crisis because of these transfer issues not to mention the fact that other members of my family have been placed in the same crisis when I'm trying to do a transfer to them and we share the same platform. I would never in my entire 48 years of life think of recommending these people to anyone. At one time I was a very satisfied customer until all of this nonsense became part of their reality in switching to their modern banking system. Apart from this experience I've given them a multitude of ideas that would benefit them greatly and create a whole other platform for their existence. I'm actually glad they didn't take my advice because then business owners would be dealing with the same thing I am. Nothing but bad things to say about these people. The only one good thing I can say is about dealing sometimes with individuals who work in their customer support which surprises me because I can only imagine how stressful their day is trying to explain away the issues that this bank has.

ruth

7 months ago

Great card, lacking customer service

The card is great, however the customer service is lacking big time. Every time I try the chat I'm like 153rd or 173rd in line. UGG! And NO way to call customer service, just this stupid live chat crap!

g dunn

7 months ago

This is the worst baking system on…

This is the worst baking system on earth. It won’t let you pull out or transfer any money to another account. It keeps declining the transaction it won’t let you link any bank and only let you make deposit into your Varo account of $300 or less it’s the worst bank on earth I don’t know what your purpose is or what the heck you can be used for because you suck in your bank. There’s nothing that banks should be doing you’re the worst bank on earth.

char jay

7 months ago

Initially, I liked Varo until...

I liked banking with Varo mainly borrowing and paying back- until I expected a refund from Amazon and a bank transfer that never posted. I contacted both sources and they directed back to Varo. I tried to contact customer service via-online. The representative responded as a computer that only comprehended specific prompts. Decided the funds under $100 was a lesson learned and resulted in cancelling direct deposit and ceased banking.

william w

7 months ago

DONT DO IT. FIND A BANK YOU CAN TALK FACE TO FACE!

I’m currently being blacklisted by a government agency and varo bank overall is ok but it is easily hackable and I can never change my phone. So I have money in the bank and can’t use it because of two step verification. Same with visible wireless. It’s an online phone company that is easily hackable and I can’t get my phone number changed that is associated with my varo banking account. NEVER DO ANYTHING ONLINE THAT DOESN'T HAVE A REAL PERSON TO TALK TOO!!! It’s always best to walk up and talk to a real person. My name is NeveS.

charles t

7 months ago

Good Bank

I've been working with Varo Bank for a few months now. It has exceeded my expectations in so many ways! The app is well designed, user friendly and provides all the necessary functions. Really good bank.

justin rule

7 months ago

I would not recommend Varo Bank to anyone.

I recently opened an account with Varo Bank, and I have to say that my experience so far has been terrible. The customer service is non-existent, and their website is difficult to navigate. Furthermore, the features that I was promised have yet to be implemented.

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