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SoFi Bank Review 2024

Updated January 2, 2024
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At a glance

4.5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
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Checking

Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5

Savings

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

About Bankrate Score

Overview

Sofi Bank is ideal for consumers who are looking to get a competitive yield on a checking and savings account, interested in getting early direct deposit and looking to avoid overdraft fees.

Highlights

  • No Min Deposit
  • Free Checking
  • High APY
Compare offers
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Checking Account
0.50
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/28/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.35
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/28/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
$1
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.50
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/28/2024
Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer:

Overall

SoFi Bank offers a competitive yield for checking and savings customers who have a qualifying direct deposit with SoFi. But customers will need to open both a checking and savings account to bank with SoFi and will have to use direct deposit to earn the top APY.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    SoFi offers competitive yields on both its checking and savings accounts.

  • Checkmark

    SoFi Bank offers early direct deposit.

  • Checkmark

    At the time of our review, SoFi Bank had a bank account bonus for opening its checking and savings account.

  • Checkmark

    The bank doesn’t have overdraft fees.

  • Checkmark

    Those who live close to SoFi Stadium — or attend games at SoFi Stadium — might benefit from this account through 25 percent cash back and VIP access at the stadium.

Cons

  • To earn the bank’s top APY, you’ll need a direct deposit.

  • You’re required to get both a checking and a savings account; you can’t just open one or the other.

  • The bank’s top bank account bonus requires direct deposits of $5,000 or more during the 25-day evaluation period.

SoFi banking products

5.0
/5
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
See methodology Compare savings rates
SCORE BREAKDOWN
APY offering:
4.60%
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Minimum balance to earn interest:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Access to funds:
Great
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
FEATURES
Invest Rate
4.60% APY
Info
Loan
$0 minimum deposit to open

SoFi savings overview

The SoFi savings account offers a competitive yield, but it’s only for customers with direct deposit at the bank. Customers without a direct deposit at SoFi will still earn a yield much higher than the national average, but SoFi’s direct deposit yield is much more competitive with top online banks. At the time of this review, there’s a cash bonus for opening a new account and setting up direct deposit.

You can’t withdraw from the savings account at an ATM. But because you have to get both a checking and savings account, you can transfer money from savings to checking and then withdraw from the checking account at an ATM.

The account comes free of fees, including monthly fees, overdraft fees or minimum balance fees. Moreover, the account comes with overdraft coverage, which will cover you up to $50 if you overdraw your account. Otherwise, your transaction will be declined. This coverage is only available to customers with monthly direct deposits of $1,000 or more.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    The SoFi savings account allows you to earn a competitive yield, as long as you have a direct deposit with SoFi.

  • Checkmark

    SoFi doesn’t require a minimum opening deposit or charge any fees.

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    Customers can set up savings Vaults to set aside money for specific goals.

Cons

  • You can’t just get a savings account at SoFi. You need to get both a checking and savings account at this bank.

  • Without qualifying direct deposits, the savings yield is much lower.

  • See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.

    SoFi
    APY
    APY
    Info
    National average APY
    How do we get this data?
    Info
Compare Offer
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.35
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/28/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
Info
$1
Min balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer:

Bank fees

Fee Charged?
Overdraft fee None
Non-sufficient funds fee None
Monthly maintenance fee None
Out-of-network ATM fee None*
Excessive transaction fee None
*Third parties may charge you a fee if you use an out-of-network ATM.

Customer experience

Customer support

Support hours. You can chat with SoFi’s customer service seven days a week. The hours are Monday-Thursday 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT and Friday-Sunday 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. 

Low customer satisfaction. SoFi scored below average in overall satisfaction among online-only banks for both its checking and savings accounts, according to J.D. Power’s 2023 Direct Banking Satisfaction Study

Digital experience

Highly rated mobile app. SoFi’s mobile app is highly rated on the Apple App and Google Play stores. Collectively, more than 200,000 users have reviewed the app. SoFi’s app also comes with a financial insights dashboard, which offers helpful digital resources such as a budget planner, spending insights and free credit score monitoring. Moreover, you can easily find all the details of your financial products in one place, from banking and investments to personal loans. 

Cluttered interface. While the app is highly rated, the user interface can be bogged down with information and marketing materials.Because the app includes access to all of SoFi’s financial products, there’s quite a bit of marketing that comes along with it,” said a Bankrate staff member with a SoFi account. “Pop ups during in app sessions and push notifications for credit cards and personal loans are frequent and can be annoying.”

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Bankrate staff insights

“Aside from the notifications and common marketing, the SoFi app has been extremely easy to use, and the bank seems to take a very “technology forward” approach to an industry that’s sometimes lacking in that area,” said a Bankrate staff member with an account. “The lack of physical locations does mean that large expenses that require cash or cashiers checks require a bit more planning, but I think that’s a fair trade off for a competitive rate and positive app experience.”

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The above images were last updated on Dec. 11, 2023.

About SoFi Bank

SoFi has been around in one form or another since 1986. In August 2011, Social Finance, Inc., began. The institution has undergone many changes over time, including what financial products and services it provides. 

In the past, SoFi has been primarily known for providing personal loans and refinancing services for student and auto loans. It became a chartered bank in early 2022. Shortly after that, it started offering its checking and savings account.

How does SoFi Bank compare to other banks?

SoFi Bank vs. Ally Bank

As online-only banks, both SoFi and Ally Bank offer all the digital bells-and-whistles of modern banking, including little-to-no fees and high yields on savings accounts. Both banks are part of the Allpoint ATM network. 

However, Ally is a full-fledged bank offering multiple deposit products, including separate savings and checking accounts, in addition to a wide array of CDs and a money market account. If you’re looking to bring your banking under one roof, Ally may be the better choice for you, especially since SoFi only offers one account package that includes a checking and savings account. 

That noted, if you can set up direct deposit and you’re looking for the highest yield between the two, SoFi is the better option as it provides a high APY on its savings account — and that comes with an interest-bearing checking account, too.

SoFi Bank FAQs

Review methodology

With so many financial institutions to choose from, it can be hard to know who to trust. Bankrate’s ever-growing list of bank and credit union reviews is updated regularly. Our editorial team analyzes and reviews each institution across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs). Banks are rated by important factors such as offered interest rates, fees, minimum balance requirements, access to funds and more.

We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.