SoFi Review: Checking and Savings
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Overall institution rating
4.5
Financial services company and brokerage SoFi gained its bank charter in 2022 and launched a combination checking and savings account. SoFi Bank’s account offers some of the best rates available, no monthly fees and a solid free overdraft coverage program for customers who qualify. Though this account is a combo account, we've covered the checking and savings portions separately since money held in the different parts of the account can earn different APYs.
Even after taking into account its customer complaints relative to asset size (see more info below), SoFi earns strong ratings.
Best for: Those who want to earn high interest and don’t mind using customer service online or by phone instead of at bank branches.
Penalty for outsize CFPB complaints: NerdWallet deducted 0.5 star from SoFi’s overall rating due to the volume of complaints on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau database relative to its asset size. For more information about this penalty, see our methodology page.
Pros
- No overdraft fees.
- No monthly fees.
- Competitive rate on savings account.
- Large, free, nationwide ATM network.
- Early direct deposit.
Cons
- No branch access.
- Fees for cash deposits.
Full review
Checking
![SoFi Checking and Savings SoFi Checking and Savings](https://www.nerdwallet.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85/cdn/banking/logos/sofi.png)
Checking
Member FDIC
5.0
/5 NerdWallet ratingat SoFi Bank, N.A.
SoFi's Checking and Savings account is a combined account, but the checking and savings balances earn different rates. Whether you set up direct deposit or not, you’ll earn 0.50% (APY is variable and subject to change) on your checking balance. With direct deposit set up, you’ll earn a higher rate on your savings balance than you would without direct deposit.
Early paycheck. In addition to a higher APY, customers who set up direct deposit also have the ability to receive their paycheck two days early. There’s no minimum direct deposit requirement to earn either perk, but there is a $1,000 monthly direct deposit requirement to qualify for overdraft coverage.
Wide access to ATMs. SoFi is part of the Allpoint ATM network, so customers can access more than 55,000 nationwide ATMs for free to withdraw cash.
Costly cash deposit services. If customers want to deposit cash, then they'll need to visit a Green Dot retail location. Green Dot charges a fee of up to $4.95 per deposit.
Savings
![SoFi Checking and Savings SoFi Checking and Savings](https://www.nerdwallet.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85/cdn/banking/logos/sofi.png)
Savings
Member FDIC
5.0
/5 NerdWallet ratingat SoFi Bank, N.A.
For customers who set up direct deposit or who deposit at least $5,000 every 30 days into their account, SoFi savings pays a competitive 4.50% APY on the savings balance. If a customer hasn’t set up direct deposit, then they will earn 1.20% on their account balance, with no balance minimums or limits.
Savings features. The savings account also comes with savings Vaults, which are subaccounts that can be designated for different savings goals. If a customer has at least one Vault, they can also set up an automatic savings program called Roundups, which allows SoFi to round up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and deposit the difference into a Vault of the customer’s choice.
Customer experience
4.5
NerdWallet ratingConvenient remote customer service options. SoFi is an online-only bank and financial services company. It offers strong remote customer service options, including extended business hours seven days a week for customer service phone calls, a robust Twitter account to handle customer questions and complaints, a virtual assistant chat feature for customers who are logged in, and a website with a large FAQ section. Its mobile app also has strong customer star ratings in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Note that customers can have either an individual account or a jointly owned account, but not both.
Federal insurance for up to $2 million. A unique feature that SoFi Bank offers is the option to have up to $2 million of your account funds federally insured. The standard insurance coverage from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is $250,000 per person, per bank, per category, but SoFi is able to offer FDIC insurance for a much bigger amount through its partnership with a network of other banks.
Learn more about FDIC insurance limits and how to insure your money when you’re banking over $250,000.
Penalty for outsize CFPB complaints: NerdWallet deducted 0.5 star from SoFi’s overall rating due to the volume of complaints on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau database relative to its asset size. For more information about this penalty, see our methodology page.
Overdraft fees
5.0
NerdWallet ratingNo overdraft fees and strong overdraft protection programs. SoFi doesn’t charge overdraft fees. If a customer has direct deposits of $1,000 or more per month, they qualify to opt in to overdraft protection coverage services.
For overdraft protection, SoFi will transfer funds from a customer’s general savings balance to cover a transaction when their checking balance is low. For overdraft coverage, SoFi will spot a customer up to $50 to cover a debit card transaction.
For customers who opt out of overdraft protection coverage, SoFi will simply decline any transactions that would result in an overdraft.
» Tend to overdraw your account? See our list of the best banks for overdrafts
Methodology
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.
Frequently asked questions
To earn 4.50% — the highest available SoFi APY for your savings balance — you need to have direct deposit (in any amount) set up. If you don’t have direct deposit, your savings balance will earn 1.20% APY. Whether you have direct deposit set up or not, your checking balance will earn 0.50% APY. Learn more about the combination checking and savings account in our SoFi review.
SoFi Bank offers SoFi Checking and Savings, which is a combination checking and savings account.
SoFi Bank, a nationally chartered bank, is the financial institution that offers SoFi Checking and Savings.
Previously, a product called SoFi Money was offered, but new SoFi Money accounts are no longer offered, and those accounts do not earn interest. An existing SoFi Money account can be converted to the interest-bearing SoFi Checking and Savings account.