Varo is an online FDIC-insured bank offering a checking and savings account with a ton of features, including cashback rewards, a high APY and barely any fees. But Varo doesn’t offer joint accounts or outgoing wire transfers, and to earn the highest APY on savings, you must meet deposit requirements. Here are six alternative online banks like Varo with their own unique strengths.
Varo is a top banking option, and unlike many other online accounts, Varo is directly insured by the FDIC. You’ll find many online accounts, such as Chime, have banking partners that insure and back the accounts, which can limit what products they offer,.
Overall, Varo’s account has a strong cashback rewards program and a 5% high APY on the savings account when you meet direct deposit requirements. For balances under $5,000, you can earn 5% APY, and for those over $5,000, you’ll earn 2.5% if you direct deposit at least $1,000 per month. The Visa Varo Believe card is a debit-credit card that can build credit history, but you’ll need a Varo account and must manually transfer money to the Varo Believe card to use it. Overall, Varo is a competitive product but not the best choice if you need a joint account or a bank with physical locations.
Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto.
Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt.
Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others.
Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine.
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