SoFi Bank Review 2024

SoFi Bank is best for those who want to earn competitive rates, prefer a mobile-first banking experience and are okay with having one combined checking and savings account. SoFi doesn’t have physical branch locations but provides a well-designed user experience both online and within its banking app. The bank is best for those looking to simplify their banking and avoid fees without sacrificing perks like interest and cash back.

If you’re looking for a bank with a variety of account options or in-person branch locations, SoFi Bank isn’t ideal for you.

Forbes Advisor rates banks based on various factors, including but not limited to:

• Fees
• APYs
• ATM networks
• Product selection

We assign separate ratings to financial institutions and their individual products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). We then assign ratings using a scale of one to five stars, with one star being the worst rating and five stars being the best rating.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, read our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Banks.

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SoFi Bank, a subsidiary of SoFi Technologies, Inc., launched its first product—an online bank account called SoFi Checking and Savings Account*—in February 2022. This is currently SoFi’s sole banking product, replacing the SoFi Money cash management account, which is no longer open to new members. In addition to banking, SoFi also offers loans, investment services, insurance and credit cards. But SoFi doesn’t offer CDs or a money market account, and you can’t open a standalone checking or savings account.

SoFi is an online financial services platform that offers a suite of personal products and services with some business financing solutions. The company has its own banking branch, SoFi Bank, that offers a hybrid checking and savings account. The SoFi Checking and Savings Account has no minimums or fees and pays interest on both checking and savings balances. Customers with qualifying direct deposit activity are eligible for the most perks with this account. This is the bank’s sole offering.

All SoFi clients receive member benefits, including access to free financial planning and rewards for different SoFi products. SoFi does not operate branches and instead requires you to open and manage accounts digitally. You can reach customer service by phone, email or chat.

SoFi Checking and Savings is a combination of two separate accounts (checking and savings) under one roof. You can’t open a standalone checking or savings account with SoFi Bank.

Here’s a more detailed look at SoFi Checking and Savings and how it works.

SoFi Checking and Savings

Interest Earnings

SoFi Checking and Savings customers can earn 0.50% APY on checking and 4.60% APY on savings if you set up direct deposit or by depositing $5,000 or more every 30 days. Customers who don’t meet this criteria earn 1.20% APY on savings balances, making SoFi competitive with the best online savings accounts and the best high-yield checking accounts.

Access to Your Money

Account holders get a debit card that’s tied to the checking account. You can access your money at more than 55,000 fee-free Allpoint ATMs worldwide. Paper checks are available at no cost.

Features

SoFi Checking and Savings offers the ability to access your direct deposit paycheck up to two days before the scheduled deposit date. How early you get access to your paycheck depends on when SoFi receives payment notification from your employer’s payroll service. Your entire direct deposit amount will be available as soon as it’s posted to your account. There is no penalty for early access to your paycheck.

You won’t find many bank fees with SoFi. There’s no minimum balance requirement or monthly maintenance fee. There are also no fees on overdrafts, and members with $1,000 or more in monthly direct deposits get no-fee overdraft protection.

Another perk, tied to SoFi’s debit card, is that you can potentially earn up to 15% cash back at select local retailers. How much cash back you can earn depends on your spending habits and location.

Along with its checking and savings account, SoFi is home to several other financial products and services, including:

• Student loan refinancing
• Private student loans
• Personal loans
• Home loans
• Auto loan refinancing
• Investing accounts
• Credit cards
• Insurance
• Estate planning
• Business solutions

SoFi Loans

SoFi® offers a number of borrowing options. Depending on your financial needs and goals, you can choose from:

• Private student loans
• Student loan refinancing
• Personal loans
• Mortgage loans
• Auto loan refinancing

In terms of benefits, SoFi offers relatively high loan limits. For example, if you need a personal loan to pay for home improvement projects or consolidate debt, you might be able to borrow up from .

You can apply for SoFi loan products online or simply check your rates to see what you might qualify for. There’s no impact to your credit score for checking rates.

SoFi is fee-friendly for borrowers. There are no origination fees, prepayment penalties or hidden fees of any kind for personal loans.

SoFi Credit Card

The SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card* is a rewards credit card designed to help SoFi members save, invest or pay down debt. When you’re approved for the card and set up direct deposit, you can earn 3% cash back per dollar spent on travel booked through SoFi Travel and unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases. Then, you can do any of the following:

• Deposit the cash back into your SoFi Checking and Savings account
• Invest the cash back through SoFi Invest
• Use the cash back to make a payment toward a SoFi loan

You could also apply rewards as a statement credit, although SoFi rewards lose 50% of their value when redeemed this way.

There’s no annual fee, and SoFi usually offers new customers an opportunity to earn a cash bonus. You don’t need a SoFi bank account to apply for this card, but you will need to open a SoFi Checking and Savings account to receive rewards deposits.

After making 12 on-time monthly payments, SoFi may reduce your interest rate. Other built-in features include cell phone protection, ID theft protection and World Elite Mastercard benefits.

With SoFi Checking and Savings, you’ll find some useful automatic savings features that SoFi calls Vaults and RoundUps.

Vaults are earmarked savings goals you can set up within your SoFi savings account. These are not separate accounts but an extension of your savings account. If you want to, for example, save for travel, household renovations or an emergency fund, you can do so through SoFi Vaults. You can have up to 20 Vaults open at any time.

You can’t spend directly from any Vault. To use funds, you need to transfer them back to savings. For individuals who struggle to save, the additional step of transferring funds could keep you from using money earmarked for other savings goals. Exceptions are that you can designate your Vaults to cover transactions when insufficient funds are in your account.

With the RoundUps feature, purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar each time you use your SoFi debit card. The rounded portion is then transferred to the Vault of your choice. If you spend $3.90 on coffee, your purchase rounds to $4, and the additional $0.10 moves to your designated Vault.

As an online-only bank, SoFi offers ways to keep tabs on your accounts wherever you are. SoFi members can access their accounts 24/7 through SoFi’s website or its highly-rated mobile app, available for iOS and Android.

SoFi’s mobile app includes many standard mobile banking app features:

• Account access
• Mobile check deposit
• Fund transfers
• Bill pay
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers
• Debit card freeze
• Budgeting
• Expense tracking
• Credit score monitoring

As mentioned earlier, SoFi partners with the Allpoint ATM network to offer customers fee-free access to more than 55,000 ATMs worldwide. SoFi doesn’t reimburse fees charged by out-of-network ATMs.

While most of your banking with SoFi can be done on your own, you have access to help when you need it or have questions. For current customers, live chat support is available online. SoFi customer service hours are Monday through Thursday, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT and Friday through Sunday, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. Live phone support is available by calling 855-456-SOFI (7634). You can also receive support via Twitter by sending a direct message to @SoFiSupport.

As mentioned, you don’t have to worry about many fees with a SoFi bank account. Here are all the ways you’ll save money with this account:

• No fees for monthly maintenance
• No fees for overdrafts
• No fees at 55,000+ ATMs
• No fees for replacement cards
• No fees for stop-payment orders
• No fees for account research
• No fees for inactive or dormant accounts
• No fees for bill pay
• No fees for returned items

If you’re hoping to avoid the steep fees other banks can charge, SoFi can help.

To open a SoFi Bank account, you can apply online or in the app. You’ll provide these personal details:

• Full name
• Address
• Email and phone number
• Social Security number
• Citizenship status
• Employment information (including occupation, income and source of funds)

Once you complete your online application and receive approval, you can fund your new account with an external transfer from another bank. SoFi allows for joint bank accounts.

Since there are no standalone bank accounts, SoFi Checking and Savings is a good choice for individuals who are in the market for both types of accounts. The bank offers a very competitive tiered interest rate structure—, one of the highest rates available on a checking account—and few fees. It also provides automated savings tools to help customers build up their savings.

Having a SoFi account opens the door to other potentially valuable benefits, like rate discounts, financial planning services, and exclusive event access.

As with most online banks, there are no physical branch locations for in-person banking. However, live chat and phone service still keep you connected to real people when you need a little extra support.

SoFi vs. Chime®

Chime® is not a bank—it’s a financial technology company that offers banking products and services. The Chime® Checking Account functions like a checking account, while the Chime® Savings Account lets you earn interest.

In terms of interest rates, SoFi offers a considerably higher APY on its combined Checking and Savings account than Chime offers on its standalone savings account—0.50% APY on checking and 4.60% APY on savings if you set up direct deposit or by depositing $5,000 or more every 30 days. Customers who don’t meet this criteria earn 1.20% APY on savings balances vs. 2.00%¹. Both SoFi and Chime are fee-friendly: SoFi doesn’t charge any overdraft fees, and Chime offers a SpotMe®² feature designed to help you avoid overdraft fees.

You can also open a credit card with Chime (Secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card), though that card is intended to help you build credit rather than earn rewards. Chime offers access to over 60,000 fee-free ATMs³. It’s also possible to deposit cash into a Chime account at more than 8,500 Walgreens locations—with SoFi, you don’t have that convenience.

Fidelity vs. SoFi

The Fidelity Cash Management Account works like a checking account in that you can use it to make purchases and pay bills. Like the SoFi Checking and Savings account, you can earn interest on balances, though the rate isn’t quite as competitive.

You won’t pay typical bank fees with a Fidelity account, and you can link it to a Fidelity brokerage account for easy transfers. Balances are FDIC-protected, and Fidelity reimburses ATM fees globally.

There are no other banking products offered at Fidelity, and you won’t find loans or credit cards here either. You can, however, open an IRA or a taxable brokerage account—something you can also do at SoFi.

Ally vs. SoFi

At first glance, there isn’t much difference between Ally Bank and SoFi Bank. Both offer checking and savings accounts with above-average interest rates and minimal fees.

Ally, however, is a full-service bank, while SoFi is not. In addition to checking and savings accounts, Ally offers money market accounts and certificate of deposit (CD) accounts. You can apply for mortgages, personal loans, auto financing and credit cards from Ally, which also offers investment and retirement accounts. SoFi solely offers its unified Checking and Savings account.

On the other hand, you won’t find student loans or student loan refinancing with Ally, and the interest rate on Ally’s checking accounts lags behind SoFi’s rate. Ally also has a smaller ATM network, but you can get up to $10 in out-of-network ATM fees reimbursed each statement period.

¹The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") for the Chime Savings Account is variable and may change at any time. The disclosed APY is effective as of September 20, 2023. No minimum balance required. Must have $0.01 in savings to earn interest.
²Chime SpotMe is an optional, no fee service that requires a single deposit of $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits to the Chime Checking Account each month. All qualifying members will be allowed to overdraw their account up to $20 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals initially, but may be later eligible for a higher limit of up to $200 or more based on member’s Chime Account history, direct deposit frequency and amount, spending activity and other risk-based factors. Your limit will be displayed to you within the Chime mobile app. You will receive notice of any changes to your limit. Your limit may change at any time, at Chime’s discretion. Although there are no overdraft fees, there may be out-of-network or third party fees associated with ATM transactions. SpotMe won’t cover non-debit card transactions, including ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, or Chime Checkbook transactions. See Terms and Conditions.
³Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.

*SoFi members with Direct Deposit or $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits during the 30-Day Evaluation Period can earn 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate. Members without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits, during the 30-Day Evaluation Period will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.