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Varo Bank Review 2023

Updated September 14, 2023
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At a glance

4.5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Caret Down

Checking

Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5

Savings

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

About Bankrate Score

Overview

Varo is best for consumers who want an online alternative to traditional banks, no fees, competitive APYs and digital tools for saving.

Highlights

  • Digital Leader
  • No Min Balance
  • No Monthly Fees
Compare offers
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.50
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 9/25/2023
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: No account fees & earn up to $250 w/ direct deposit. Terms apply.
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
5.10
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 9/25/2023
Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
5.05
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 9/25/2023
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
$5000
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: CIT Bank, a division of First Citizens, 125+ years of experience.

Overall

Varo is a digital bank that prides itself on its technology and offers checking and savings accounts with unique online features.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    Varo has no minimum deposit or balance requirements and charges no monthly fees.

  • Checkmark

    The savings account offers a competitive APY.

  • Checkmark

    Varo offers unique tools and features to help customers build their savings.

Cons

  • Cash deposits can only be made through third-party retailers, which may charge a fee.

  • Neither a money market account nor certificates of deposit are available.

Varo Bank banking products

5.0
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Invest Rate
3.00% APY
Info
Loan
$1 minimum deposit to open

Varo Bank savings overview

Varo offers an FDIC-insured high-yield savings account. The APY on savings is competitive, and it requires no minimum balance to earn. There’s also no minimum opening deposit requirement nor a monthly fee. Varo also offers a much higher APY on savings accounts that meet certain criteria, including at least $1,000 directly deposited each month and a maximum daily balance of $5,000.

Two useful tools for savings come with the account: a Save Your Pay feature and a Save Your Change feature. Save Your Pay automatically takes a percentage that you set from each directly deposited paycheck and transfers it to your savings, while Save Your Change rounds up transactions made from the checking account and transfers the spare change to savings.

A Varo checking account is required to open a Varo savings account.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    The savings account offers a competitive APY.

  • Checkmark

    There’s no minimum deposit requirement or monthly fee.

  • Checkmark

    Automated tools help customers boost their savings.

Cons

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

    Varo Bank
    APY
    APY
    Info
    National average APY
    How do we get this data?
    Info
Compare Offer
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.50
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 9/25/2023
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Info
$0
Min balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: No account fees & earn up to $250 w/ direct deposit. Terms apply.

Bank experience

Varo customers can reach a service representative by phone seven days a week. They’re available 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, weekdays, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekends. Inquiries can also be sent by email.

Varo’s app receives high ratings from users on both iOS and Android devices. The app provides all of the account access, tools and features that customers can get through the website. It also gives customers the ability to lock their cards instantly should they be lost or stolen.

About Varo Bank

Founded in 2015, Varo Bank is a digital bank that seeks to provide banking services to those who historically have had difficulty accessing them due to financial inequality. In 2020, Varo became the first fintech company to receive a full-service bank charter from the federal government.

Varo only offers a few deposit products, but they come with plenty of extras, including no monthly fees, minimum balance requirements or transfer fees, early direct deposit, a cash advance feature and top-notch digital tools.

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.