Varo Bank Review

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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 deposit^¹, which generally gives you access to your paycheck as soon as your employer files payroll.
• Varo Cash Advance - Borrow up to $500 with no credit check and receive the funds instantly once qualified. Repay within 30 days, offering flexiblity when life's surprises come up.
• Varo Line of Credit - Access up to $2,000 in funding, depending on eligibility.
• Varo Believe Credit Card - An easy and effective way to build credit with no fees, no interest, and no credit check. On average, users see a 40-point increase in credit score within just three months of on-time payments.
• Cashback Rewards - Earn up to 6% cashback or more at over 10,000 participating merchants.
• 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 Advance^³

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. This makes it stand out when comparing the best online 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.

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 account^⁵. Start earning 2.50% APY, and then you may qualify to earn 5.00% APY^⁶.

• 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 period^⁷, 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 more^⁸

Customer Service

Varo’s Utah-based customer service team is available 7 days a week during business hours by chat and email. Phone support is available Monday-Friday.

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 provides biometric authentication and two-factor authentication (2FA) in cases of suspected suspicious activity to ensure accounts stay secure. 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 card^⁹

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.

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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.

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

^⁶ Annual 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.

^⁷ The 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. 

^⁸ Qualifying 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.

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