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Hey Money Nerds!
Today I wanted to do a first look at SoFi Money. Now, over the last few years, I’ve been pretty much doing all my banking online with Capital One 360 and love it. So when I hear of new online banks (especially ones offering sweets sign-up bonuses) I’m all ears and ready to go. This first look isn’t my full review, I will be doing that after I’ve had a few weeks/months under my belt with this account. That will be a full pros/cons post.
So while doing research for a video about churning bank accounts to make extra money, SoFi Money was one of the banks that popped up. I’ve known of SoFi because of my article on The Best Student Loan Companies. They are a big player in the refinance game. So when I found out about them getting into online banking I was excited.
The first thing to note with SoFi Money is that it’s pretty much a savings and checking account rolled into one. And as of this writing, you can only have one account overall (I really hope this changes for the future). The interest rate when I first opened the account was 2.25% which is on the higher end of most online banks*. I love earning money on my money that’s just sitting there. This interest is earned daily and paid out once a month.
*Update: As of 1/16/20 the interest rate dropped to 1.60%
For me, getting only one account would make it tough to use this as my overall bank. I prefer to have multiple checking and saving accounts as it keeps my money well organized. Now on the other hand, if you’re wanting a place to store your emergency fund or other types of sinking funds in a bank with a high-interest rate, this might just work.
When I transfer funds into the account, just like most online banks it does take some time to process. So far it’s about 2-3 business days before the money is available to use. That can hold some people off because to be real, that’s a long time to wait. With all the Free Money Transfer Apps out there that typically take 1 business day to transfer, and even Zelle that’s almost instant, 3 days is an eternity.
Check out my video on YouTube for the SoFi Set-Up Tutorial right here👇
Fees are killer when it comes to traditional banks and thankfully SoFi money has no fees when it comes to managing your account. I haven’t tested what would happen if I charged more than what I had available but based on what I’ve read in the terms, I wouldn’t be crazy fees.
You do also get a debit card to go with your online bank. It took about 5 business days for my card to arrive at my home (you put in the address during the sign-up process). Which is nice and makes using your money in the account much easier, no need to transfer to your regular bank at that point.
SoFi Money does provide an account number and routing number for you which may seem like a no-brainer but other cash management systems such as Venmo and Cash App don’t. So why is this important? For paying bills! You can pay bills, deposit checks and send money all with the app.
Speaking of the app, it’s straight forward in what it can do. Nothing special about the app right off the bat and all the important information is easy to find. They have a nice weekly spending chart to help you keep track of how much is going out of the account. If you have any other loans or invest with SoFi this will actually be the same app. Everything is in one location which depending on the person can be a good or bad thing.
Overall as a first look, I’m pretty excited for more online banks to become the norm for people. With little to no fees, high yield interest rates, and almost all the features of a regular bank. What’s not to love? I think the lack of multiple accounts will be the biggest drawback in the long run for me but I’m still excited to test out the app and see how it works for a few weeks/months. I’ll post my full review here on-site and YouTube in the coming months.
SoFi Money First Look: 3.8/5
Sign-up with SoFi money right here today with this referral link to earn a sign-up bonus. Deposit $100 within the first 14 days of opening the account. *The sign-up bonus can change at any time.
Happy Savings, Denis Trufin