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26 banks that offer direct deposit up to two days early
Bank accounts | Early direct deposit speed | Learn more |
---|---|---|
Editor’s Pick:SoFi® Checking and Savings | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Chime Checking Account | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Found business account | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Wealthfront Cash | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Varo Bank Account | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Chase Secure Checking account | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Discover® Bank checking, savings and money market accounts | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Lili business banking | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
One Cash | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
PayPal Debit Card | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Wisely prepaid card | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Cash App Card | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Axos Bank Essential Checking account | Up to 2 days early | Go to site |
Fifth Third Momentum Checking | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
Ally Spending Account | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
Capital One’s checking accounts | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
Huntington Bank checking accounts | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
LendingClub checking accounts | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
PenFed Credit Union | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
Regions Bank checking, savings, money market accounts and prepaid Now Card | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
Revolut personal account | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
Wells Fargo checking and savings accounts | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
Venmo debit card | Up to 2 days early | Read Review |
Citizens Bank checking, savings and money market accounts | Up to 2 days early | |
Charlie Banking | Up to 3 to 5 days early for Social Security | |
GO2bank | Up to 2 days early, or up to 4 days early for government benefits |
How early direct deposit works
Normally, banks will hold on to your paycheck to process it before releasing the funds to you. But banks that include early direct deposit will deposit your money into your account before they’ve finished processing the funds from the sender, with no extra fees or effort on your part.
In short, early direct deposit allows you to get paid early because the bank provides the funds as soon as the payor gives the deposit information instead of waiting for the transfer to clear.
Typically, you don’t need to enroll in early direct deposit, either. If the bank offers it and you’ve set up direct deposit, it’s almost always an automatic perk without an extra enrollment step.
How long does direct deposit take?
Direct deposit can take one to three days to clear. In nearly all cases, direct deposits don’t go through on weekends or holidays. Instead, the deposit will either be delivered the business day before the weekend or holiday or the following business day.
Do all banks offer early direct deposit?
Surprisingly, many large traditional banks such as Bank of America, PNC Bank and U.S. Bank still don’t offer early direct deposit. Local credit unions tend to lack this perk as well. If a brick-and-mortar bank offers early direct deposit, it may only be available for select accounts. For example, Chase Bank offers early direct deposit only on its Secure Checking account.
You are more likely to find early direct deposit with online banks such as Axos, SoFi and Varo or fintechs like Chime and Current.
Are there any banks that pay three days early?
If you want your pay sooner than two days early, you’re probably out of luck. Nearly all accounts with early direct deposit can only send payroll up to two days early, with a few exceptions like Charlie Banking, which can send Social Security payments three to five days early.
Benefits of early direct deposits
There aren’t really cons to setting up early direct deposit. Here are the main benefits:
- Early access. When your paycheck lands in your account early, you can access the funds immediately.
- No fees. Early paycheck arrival doesn’t come with any fees, as it’s a complimentary service for setting up direct deposit.
- More than paychecks. In addition to getting paychecks early, tax refunds and stimulus payments might also arrive ahead of time.
- Save a little more. The sooner you can access your money, the quicker you can move some into a savings account to earn interest.
- No APR. Unlike payday loans and pay advance apps, early direct deposits don’t involve loans of any sort, so there’s never any interest.
3 alternatives to bank accounts offering early direct deposits
If you like the idea of getting paid early but don’t want to switch banks, there are other ways to get early access to your paycheck:
- Prepaid debit cards. Most prepaid cards, like the Netspend All-Access Account and the Flare Account, offer early direct deposits.
- Cash management accounts. Cash management accounts, or CMAs, offer a combination of banking and investing services, and some, such as the Wealthfront Cash Account, support early direct deposits.
- Payday advance apps. Cash advance apps such as Brigit, Dave and EarnIn can help you get your hands on some cash before your payday. But this isn’t a preferred alternative, as they have monthly fees and strict limitations regarding how much money you can access.
Bottom line
Early direct deposits are growing in popularity, and for good reason. This benefit has almost no drawbacks, as it can help you save or spend money on essentials sooner. But if none of these options support your needs, explore other bank accounts.
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