SoFi Bank Reviews 2024: Financial Products and High Yield Savings

Key Points

• SoFi Checking and Savings is a part of the personal finance company, SoFi Technologies.
• Products: Checking and savings accounts, home loans, auto loans, personal loans, student loans, business loans, and much more.
• ATM Network: 55000+ fee-free withdrawals worldwide
• APY: 4.60%
• Account Fees: $0
• Minimum Balance: Not required

People looking for competitive interest rates on savings and checking accounts, as well as direct deposit transfers, should consider SoFi Bank.

This online financial institution will be an ideal choice for seamless banking and investments. You get a combined SoFi checking and savings account, smart money management guides and tools, several loan options, free credit monitoring, and much more. 

Read the SoFi Bank reviews to find out all the necessary details about SoFi banking. Let’s get into it!

SoFi Bank – Overview 

SoFi was founded in 2011 as a student loan refinancing company. It has expanded its offerings since then, all while helping people lead a financially stable life. Currently, the online bank has over 6.9 million members and has funded over $73 billion in loans. You can open a high-yield savings and checking (combined) account with SoFi and apply for multiple personalized loan options. 

The company aims to help people reach financial independence by realizing their ambitions. Moreover, they offer financial products that lead to the stage where your money works for the life you want to live. 

SoFi Banking Reviews – Pros and Cons 

Here are the positives and negatives of the online bank. Please note that these are our opinions according to our personal experience, so others’ opinions may vary. 

Pros	Cons
Competitive APY on SoFi checking and savings.	You need to set up direct deposits for greater limits.
No minimum deposit is required.	You cannot choose between checking and savings accounts.
There are no account maintenance fees.	The bonus requires large balances.
Welcome bonus up to $300 for direct deposit setup.
Free ATM access.

Now that you are aware of the pros and cons, let’s move ahead and learn about SoFi checking and savings accounts in the next section.

SoFi Checking and Savings Account Basics 

The online bank offers checking and savings accounts just like other traditional banks, but the differentiating factor is that you cannot open a standalone savings or checking account. Simply put, the digital bank offers combined checking and savings accounts to its customers. This means you get double benefits and a high annual percentage yield for both types of accounts. 

Not only that, there’s no minimum balance requirement, no monthly maintenance fees, and no overdraft fees. In addition to these great things, customers who have set up $1,000 or more direct deposit every month receive no-fee overdraft protection. Isn’t it great?

Interest Rate 

You can earn 0.50% on checking and 4.60% on a Savings account if you set up a direct deposit of $5000 or more every 30 days. For accounts without direct deposits, customers earn 1.20% APY on the balance in their accounts. 

Accessibility 

You get a debit card and paper checks upon opening the SoFi savings account. Customers can access their money at more than 55,000 fee-free Allpoint ATMs worldwide. Moreover, you can invest, apply for loans, or check your statements through your computer or mobile devices anytime and anywhere. 

Direct Deposits 

The company allows customers to set up direct deposits to their SoFi savings account. It lets you access paychecks up to two days before the scheduled deposit date. You get to withdraw the money only when the full amount is deposited from your employer’s payroll service into your bank account. 

There’s no early access penalty or bank fees for carrying out the direct deposit procedure. 

Now that we have learned about savings and checking accounts, let us take a look at the other products they offer in the following section.

SoFi Bank Reviews – Financial Products 

The company has a wide range of products in its financial catalog. Let’s discuss all of them here.

• SoFi Invest: Users can trade stocks and ETFs, make cryptocurrency investments, and do much more through the SoFi high yield savings app without paying any fees.

• Student loan refinancing: It offers competitive fixed rates with no fees, starting at 5.24% for their student loan refinancing loans. Loans for undergraduate study, law school, MBA programs, parent loans, and other education are available through its private student loan program. 

• Personal loans: Applicants seeking a personal loan may apply online directly with SoFi and be eligible for a maximum amount of $100,000, $5,000, or even more. If you are looking for a higher amount, read the details and try the Grace Loan Advance platform. 

• Mortgage loans: It provides fair and bad credit mortgage loans with flexible repayment terms ranging from 10 to 30 years, low rates, and options for a low down payment. 

• Auto loan refinancing: Users can apply for free and compare auto loan refinancing rates from several leading lenders. Moreover, it even offers multiple auto loans to people with bad credit. 

• Credit cards: There is no annual fee and an unlimited 2% cash-back reward on all purchases with the SoFi high yield savings credit card. 

• Insurance products: It provides coverage for renters, cars, homeowners, and life insurance. Recently, it added cyber insurance, providing up to $10,000 in coverage to guard against identity theft and cyber extortion, among other risks. 

• Estate planning: Online estate planning is now possible for customers as a result of SoFi’s collaboration with Trust & Will. Members of SoFi high yield savings receive 15% off on some services. 

• Financial Knowledge: The platform offers a variety of tools for budgeting, investment tracking, credit monitoring, and more. 

• Business financing and solutions: It provides financing for small businesses along with resources to help them provide better employee care.

These are the things you can utilize to lead a financially sound life once you open an account with SoFi Bank. 

How to Sign Up for a SoFi Bank Account?

All the new customers who wish to open a SoFi checking account, apply for a debit card, or build an investment portfolio need to complete the sign-up procedure on the platform. 

Here are the steps for the same:

• First, launch the official site on your device’s browser. 
• Click on the Get Started button on the top right side of the homepage.

  

• On this new page, enter the following info in the given fields:
  • Legal first name
  • Legal last name
  • State
  • Email address 
  • Password 
• Tick off the “I agree that I have read, understood, and consented to SoFi’s agreement” option. 
• Tap on Next, and you’ll be redirected to another page.

  

• Here, tap on the Send email button to receive the verification code.

  

• Enter the six-digit verification code in the given field and tap on the Verify code button. 

  

• You’ll be redirected to your account dashboard.

  

Once you are in your dashboard, you can now explore different products, open an account, navigate with tools and calculators, and read blogs. 

How is SoFi Bank Different from Other Banks?

Unlike traditional banks, SoFi does not charge any maintenance fees and does not require any deposit amount for checking or savings. Moreover, there’s no burden of maintaining any minimum balance. 

The company has created the tools by prioritizing customer’s financial needs. It helps to build a debt attack plan to get debt-free, offers investment plans to put money to work, and offers savings plans to achieve retirement goals. 

Customer Experience and SoFi Banking Reviews

We asked a few of the other SoFi customers about their experience, and here’s what they had to say:

• Digital Support : The financial institution has a dedicated mobile application available on the App Store and Play Store. It comes with a financial insights dashboard, calculators, budget planners, and tools to track expenses. The app proves to be beneficial as it has everything from banking to investments under one roof. Moreover, it allows free credit score monitoring for its customers. 

• Customer Helpdesk: Even though there are a few different methods to connect to the helpdesk, their system is quite slow and requires a few attempts to finally connect to the team. 

Due to its low customer satisfaction value, it scored 688/1000 in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Direct Banking Satisfactory Study. 

You can chat with the helpdesk seven days a week. Or, call between 5 am to 7 pm PT from Monday to Thursday and 5 am to 5 pm PT from Friday to Sunday. 

Other Banks Offering Competitive APYs

SoFi is one of the best options as it does not require any minimum deposits, charges no annual fees, and gives APY of 4.60%. However, you must look at other banks and institutions as well to make the right decision.

Banks/Institutions	APY	Minimum Balance	Highlights
BlueVine Business Checking	2% on a basic account.4.25% on BlueVine Premier.	No minimum balance is required.	Zero monthly fees.37,000+ ATM locations.FDIC insurance up to $250,000.
Popular Direct	5.35%	$100	Mortgage loans with unique financial needs.All deposits are insured by FDIC.Competitive rates on CDs with different tenures.
Cred.ai Bank	2-3%	No minimum balance required	Access funds two days early.A secondary credit card number and CSV can be used on not-so-trustworthy websites. No annual fees, late charges, balance transfer fees, and cash advance fees.
Bank of America	0.46%	$100	Bank of America overdraft fee is $10.It has a network of 3900 centers and 15,000 ATMs. Customized tools to set up and reach short and long-term goals.

So these are the few other banks that will help you with smart money management. Please check the official websites for the updated interest rates, APY, and deposit balance. 

Is SoFi a Good Bank? – Our Verdict 

Yes, SoFi is a great online financial institution. Being customers ourselves, we can say that we love all their products and tools. With its high-yield account, you can earn extra money on the deposited amount. Moreover, you can utilize the combined benefits of savings and checking.  

However, if you are someone who wants a separate savings and checking account or cannot make regular direct deposit transactions, SoFi may not be the best choice for you. So if you’re thinking of opening an account, please keep our review in mind to take the right steps. 

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Frequently Asked Questions 

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