Greenwood Banking Review 2024

Greenwood Spending Account

The Greenwood Spending Account is a free checking account that includes a Mastercard-branded debit card. It has no minimum balance requirement and doesn’t earn interest, making it a fairly basic checking account on its own. For an additional monthly fee, you can upgrade your Spending Account and debit card with a Premium or Elevate membership.

All Greenwood Spending Account deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor and per account through Greenwood’s partner, Coastal Community Bank.

This socially conscious banking account lets users round up spare change on debit card transactions to the nearest dollar and donate it through the Greenwood Gives Back Program. Members can choose between the NAACP and the United Negro College Fund. Greenwood transfers round-ups to its Greenwood Gives Back Savings Account before donating the balance to your chosen organization. You must opt in to round-ups to start contributing. Greenwood also donates five meals to families in need with every new Spending Account opened.

As an enhanced Mastercard debit card, this card comes with more security perks and benefits, including a longer extended warranty and a satisfaction guarantee of up to $250 per product.

Compared to the best free checking accounts, the base-level Spending Account falls short and lacks features to help consumers save and earn rewards.

Greenwood Savings Account

Like its checking account, the Greenwood Savings Account is a no-fee, no-minimum-balance account. It currently pays 4.15% APY, which is near what the best high-yield savings accounts pay.

This account pays the same rate on all positive balances and does not enforce monthly transaction limits for transfers made by phone, app or online platform. Users can deposit funds via check, electronic transfer, direct deposit, cash deposit through Green Dot and wire transfer.

Greenwood Premium Membership

For $10 a month, users can upgrade to the Greenwood Premium Card. This debit card offers several lifestyle and other perks not included with the base checking account. Some of these are:

• Flight and vacation discounts
• Hotel upgrades
• Elite membership status through car rental companies
• Price protection on eligible debit card purchases
• Golf perks, including course discounts and PGA ground passes

These perks are similar to what some travel credit cards offer, but at an annual cost of $120, Greenwood Premium may cost more than many mid-tier rewards cards.

Greenwood Elevate Membership

For $200 a month, Greenwood customers can upgrade to the Greenwood Elevate Card, the fintech’s highest tier. This premier debit card offers features focused on exclusivity and insurance, including:

• Access to invite-only events and experiences
• Access to over 1,200 Priority Pass airport lounges
• Career opportunities through the Valence platform and The Gathering Spot network
• Lost luggage insurance and trip cancellation and interruption coverage
• Travel upgrades and concierge support

Though these features are unique for a debit card, this enhanced package comes with an exorbitant price tag that will be out of reach for many or too difficult to justify. Many premium credit cards come with similar perks and cost much less on an annual basis.

Greenwood doesn’t offer additional products or services outside of its Spending and Savings accounts. The company does have a marketplace that shows personal loans from partners, but Greenwood is not a lender.

Customers interested in more full-service digital banking should consider online banks such as Ally, Discover, Capital One 360, Quontic and Axos.

With linked direct deposit, Greenwood users can receive their ACH transfers and paychecks up to two days earlier than scheduled, with funds sent as soon as employers process payments. Customers can also make free peer-to-peer transfers through the app to both Greenwood users and non-users, and debit cards can be synced with Apple Pay and Android mobile wallets.

The fintech also creates a wide variety of financial education content through Greenwood Studio, covering topics like investing and wealth management.

Greenwood is part of a fee-free network of over 100,000 ATMs, which includes Allpoint, MoneyPass, Wells Fargo and PNC ATMs. Mobile check deposit is also available. Additionally, you can deposit cash at participating Green Dot locations for a fee of up to $4.95 for each deposit, although ATM cash deposits are not permitted. Greenwood charges fees for both international and domestic out-of-network ATM withdrawals.

Greenwood’s mobile app, available for Android and iOS devices, lets users track their spending, freeze cards, deposit and transfer money, find places to deposit cash, open new accounts and more.

Greenwood does not offer 24/7 customer service or a live chat feature, but you can contact support via phone six days a week—between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday—or by email at support@gogreenwood.com.

Greenwood doesn’t charge any account setup fees or monthly maintenance fees for its Spending or Savings accounts, but it does charge membership fees for its Premium and Elevate services as described above. Accounts also come with the following fees:

• Inactivity fee: $4.95 after 90 days of account inactivity (excluding Premium and Elevate customers)
• Domestic out-of-network ATM withdrawal fee: $2.50
• International out-of-network ATM withdrawal fee: $5
• Balance inquiry fee: $2
• Foreign transaction fee: 3%
• Replacement card fee: $5 for Spending card and $25 for Premium and Elevate cards

Note that while Greenwood doesn’t charge fees when you receive wire transfers, your bank may charge wire transfer fees to send a wire to your Greenwood account.