If you’re looking for an app-based bank, Varo Money offers few fees and a high interest rate on its savings account. However, you must be a permanent resident with an SSN to open a Varo Bank account.
While your account lives on a mobile app, you’ll still receive a debit card and have access to customer support using a phone or email. With your debit card, you can withdraw cash for free at AllpointВ® ATMs, which are located at popular merchants in the U online payday loans Wisconsin.S., Canda, Mexico, Australia, and the UK. The card also doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee on purchases outside the US.
Although this is an online-only account, you can deposit up to $1,000 in cash each day, up to $10,000 per month, at stores that are part of the Green Dot NetworkВ®, including Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. You may have to pay a fee of up to $5.95 for each deposit, though.
Best rewards checking: Discover Cashback Debit
While rewards credit cards are common in the U.S., only a few banks offer rewards checking accounts. The Discover Cashback Debit account is one of these. Using the debit card, you can earn 1% cash on up to $3,000 worth of purchases every month. You can also apply online with either an SSN or ITIN, although you need to be a resident alien.
Discover Bank technically has a branch in Greenwood, Del., but it’s basically an online-only account. You can deposit money into the account via direct deposit, an electronic transfer, mobile check deposit, or by mailing a check to Discover. However, you can’t deposit cash.
You can withdraw cash for free MoneyPassВ® ATMs and AllpointВ® ATMs. However, you can only make purchases or withdraw cash with the Discover debit card in the U.S., Canda, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Best for savings features: Chime
Chime not only considers itself an online banking platform but also a tech company, because they’re constantly rolling out new money-saving features. One of Chime’s most popular features is its fee-free accounts. Since Chime has no physical branches, they’re able to use the money saved on overhead to help their users save. They recently rolled out a new feature called Spot Me, that covers a user’s overdrafts up to $100 and allows it to be paid back at a later date with no additional fees or interest rates. Finally, because of Chime’s status as a second chance bank, signing up does not require a credit score check.
Chime is a fantastic bank for U.S. newcomers because of its ease of access. While the bank is only available to full-time U.S. residents, there’s definitely a lot of great features offered that make it worth it—from Auto Savings, to Get Paid Early, to SpotMe, there’s something available that anyone can benefit from.
Online checking accounts and online savings accounts may offer the lowest fees and great perks, but if you want frequent access to in-person service, you’re likely looking for a branch-based bank.
Consider which banks or credit unions (nonprofit financial institutions that offer similar types of accounts and services) have branches near where you live, work, or go to school.
Large international and national banks, such as Citi, HSBC, Chase, and Wells Fargo have locations across the country and around the world. A local community bank or credit union may also be a good fit.
Generally, large banks’ accounts may charge more fees than online or local options unless you keep a lot of money at the bank. However, if you can meet the requirements, you might find the large financial institutions offer the best checking accounts for your needs. The banks often have different tiers of accounts, and the higher tiers can give you extra perks, such as interest on your checking account, reimbursed ATM fees, and rate discounts on loans.