Varo Review 2023

To be eligible to open an account with varo money you must be at least 18 years old, be a US citizen or permanent resident, and have a valid Social Security number. You’ll also need to supply a form of personal identification, preferably a state-issued photo ID such as your driver’s license. Be aware that Varo offers individual accounts only and has no capacity to accept joint accounts.
The bank also boasted 2.7 million new accounts in 2021, but it’s unclear how many of those accounts remain active today, per Banking Dive. Varo Bank provides a range of budgeting and saving tools, including automatic savings plans, to help customers manage their finances. Varo Bank requires a valid U.S. mailing address to send your debit card and other account-related information. Finanso believes everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence.

We assign separate ratings to financial institutions and their individual products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit . We rate banks based on a scale of one to five stars, with one star as the poorest rating and five stars as the best. To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Banks. Atom Bank operates as a digital banking service provider. It allows customers to open accounts using a mobile application, allows to access financial information, and the ability to take advantage of a range of tools.
You don’t need a physical branch in order to access your money. You can withdraw money from your Varo Bank Account at more than 40,000+ Allpoint ATMs surcharge-free and you can deposit cash via more than 90,000  Green Dot retail locations. Using the app, you can deposit checks into your Bank Account. You also can transfer money between Varo accounts instantly online or connect to apps such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Cash App or Venmo. If you want to link an external account, that also is an option, using Varo’s partner, Plaid.
We believe by providing tools and education we can help people optimize their finances to regain control of their future. While our articles may include or feature select companies, vendors, and products, our approach to compiling such is equitable and unbiased. The content that we create is free and independently-sourced, devoid of any paid-for promotion. Varo offers a few helpful features to make saving and managing money easier. See your credit score right from your Varo app.⁴ That way, you can easily keep track of your progress, whenever, wherever.

If Varo were bought by another bank with more than $10 billion in assets, it would be forced to take a significantly lower cut of debit card swipe fees, which comprise over 90% of its revenue. If Varo is to weather the ongoing market downturn, some serious cost reductions–likely in the form of layoffs and lower marketing spending–will be essential to keep the bank afloat. One big selling point is that the Varo debit card can earn up to 6% cash back at certain retailers. However, it’s not an automatic rewards system. You’ll need to look through available offers in the mobile app to determine where you can earn cash back. Chime and Varo checking accounts stack up pretty evenly and share similar features.
We've compared Varo and Chime's banking products to help you distinguish which company has the best high-yield savings account and best checking account for you. One of the big innovations of the last few years is the emergence of cash management accounts. A lot of financial services technology companies have started marketing banking services with their core offerings. These fintech companies partner with major banks to hold the money, to get FDIC insurance, but they offer all the services on top of the banking layer.

Both offer online savings and checking accounts with zero monthly bank maintenance fees and no minimum opening deposit. Varo Bank’s first two offerings were its Bank Account and Savings Account. The Varo Believe secured card is a more recent addition.
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The company was founded in 2014 and is based in London, United Kingdom. The checking accounts above may have no monthly charges, but this doesn’t mean they’re entirely fee-free. In most cases, using your checking account abroad will incur high foreign transaction fees. You may also get unfavorable exchange rates on currency conversions. All of this can make spending overseas super expensive. 4 Varo Advance is a small dollar line of credit.

“If this was just any old neobank with the revenue they do have, Varo would probably be worth in the $500 million range at best,” Mohnot speculates. Varo was valued at $2.5 billion in its fundraising round last September. Editors and produce editorial content with the objective to provide accurate and unbiased information. A separate team is responsible for placing paid links and advertisements, creating a firewall between our affiliate partners and our editorial team.
All relate to the overall cost of  their services, ease of use, and general applicability for everyday money management needs. In addition, its online RoarMoney account gives you access to your paycheck up to two days early. You can use Albert Instant as de facto overdraft protection too. No matter how you employ it, there’s no credit check — not even a soft inquiry — and no hidden fees for use. When your next paycheck comes, simply repay Albert for the advance and move on.