One Finance review

How do I open a One Finance account?

Open a One Finance digital bank account online in eight steps:

1. Go to the provider’s site and follow the steps to apply.
2. From the One Finance website, select Get started.
3. Enter your email address and create a password, then select Get started.
4. Enter your first name, last name and mobile phone number, then select Continue.
5. Enter the verification code sent to your mobile phone.
6. Enter your home address and click Continue.
7. Enter your date of birth and Social Security number and click Continue.
8. Follow the prompts to finish setting up your account by linking to an external bank account.

You’ll get your One Finance debit card in the mail seven to 14 business days after you create your account, but you’ll also receive a virtual card you can add to a digital wallet right away.

What are the benefits of One Finance account?

One Finance isn’t technically a bank, but it is FDIC-insured for up to $250,000 through its partner, Coastal Community Bank. Here are my favorite features about this account:

• No fees or minimums. One Finance foregoes most fees traditional banks charge, such as monthly fees, account fees, overdraft fees, foreign transaction fees, ATM fees and more.
• Organize your money with pockets. One Finance lets you create unlimited subaccounts or pockets for expenses such as rent, groceries and vacation funds. You can share your subaccount with friends and family, so they can contribute or access the funds., but they’ll have to have their own One account.
• High APY. If your employer deposits your paycheck directly into your One Finance account, you can automatically move up to 10% of each paycheck into your Auto-Save pocket, which earns 3% APY, You can also choose to round up every debit card purchase to the nearest dollar and have the difference deposited into your Auto-Save pocket, which earns 3% APY.
• Line of credit. If your account balance dips below $0, One Finance will give you a line of credit to cover the difference. But the fine print states that you must pay your balance back on the 1st of the following month or you’ll pay 12% APR.
• Automated budgeting. In February 2021, One Finance introduced scheduled transfers, which you can use to automate budgeting by transferring funds from your Spend pocket or a linked bank account to a specific pocket on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis. If you pay specific bills from certain pockets, this can help you automate your finances.

How does my One Finance account earn interest?

With One Finance, Spend pockets don’t earn any interest, but Save and Auto-Save pockets do. However, the amount of interest you earn depends on whether or not you get paid by direct deposit. Here’s a breakdown of how much interest you’d earn on money put in your Spend, Save and Auto-Save Pockets depending on whether you set up direct deposits:

Type of pocket	APY earned with no direct deposit	APY earned with direct deposit
Spend Pocket	0% APY	0% APY
Save Pocket	1% APY on balances up to $5,000 and 0% APY on balances over this limit.	1% APY on balances up to $25,000 and 0% APY on balances over this limit.
Auto-Save Pocket	0% APY	Auto-saved paychecks: 3% APY on transfers when you automatically move up to 10% of each paycheck into the pocked as long as it’s $1,000 a month or less. Round-up card purchases: 3% APY on all card round-ups

How do additional Spend pockets work with One Finance?

Aside from the Spend, Save and Auto-Save pockets that come with your One Finance account, you can create up to 99 additional Spend pockets for various purposes. These pockets don’t earn any interest but are intended for budgeting and sharing money you plan on spending in the short term. Here’s how you can take advantage of your additional pockets:

1. Create separate Spend pockets for bills and budgeting. Each Spend pocket you create has a unique account number you can provide to utility companies, home lenders, credit card issuers, etc. Doing so ensures these companies can only debit funds from specific pockets, which can help you budget and maintain more control over your finances.
2. Convert them into virtual debit cards. For each Spend pocket, you can also create separate virtual debit cards through digital wallets like Apple or Google Pay.
3. Share your pockets. You can share your spend pockets other with up to 250 One Finance account holders. I can’t think of a scenario in which I’d ever need to share funds with that many people, though my partner and I do share pockets for some of our ongoing expenses. For instance, she and I share a car payment pocket that we automatically fund with money from our individual One Finance accounts on the last day of each month.
4. Set up automatic payments. You never have to think about paying a bill once you set up automatic payments linked to a particular pocket.

What should I look out for?

One Finance has quite a few benefits, but these drawbacks are worth noting:

• No joint accounts. One Finance doesn’t support joint accounts, but you can share access to specific pockets with other One Finance customers.
• Limitations on Save pocket. If you don’t receive regular direct deposits, you’ll only earn 1% APY on balances up to $5,000 in your Save pocket. But if you receive direct deposits, you’ll earn 1% APY on balances up to $25,000. Funds that exceed your limit won’t earn any interest.
• Can’t move money into Auto-Save. You can’t transfer funds into the 3% APY Auto-Save pocket. The only way to fund this pocket is through round-ups and direct deposits.
• No built-in bill pay. One Finance doesn’t offer a true bill pay functionality, but each subaccount has its own routing and account number, so you can pay certain bills directly from those accounts. Plus, you can create virtual debit cards linked to individual subaccounts, giving you more control over budgeting and bill payments.
• Limited phone support. One Finance currently only offers phone support on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time. If you live on the East Coast, you can’t speak with a support specialist until noon.
• Inconsistent early paydays. Although One Finance offers early pay days up to two days earlier when paid via direct deposit, I’ve never actually received my paycheck two days early. It usually arrives one day earlier.

If you’re looking for a digital account with a simpler APY structure, compare your options to find the right one for you.

How does One Finance‘s personal line of credit work?

One of the most unique features about One Finance is the personal line of credit available to all account holders. This line of credit exists to help you bridge financial gaps in case your Spend pocket is empty and you want to make purchase.

The credit line works like a credit card with an interest rate of 12% APR, except there’s no credit check required. When you open your account, your credit line will be around $200, but if you receive direct deposits on a regular basis, you can request an increase that’s equivalent to the amount of one paycheck.

Any purchases you make with your debit card that exceed the balance in your Spend pocket will automatically draw from your credit line. And as long as you pay back the borrowed funds before the first day of the following month, you won’t pay any interest. Any direct deposits you receive after using your line of credit will automatically go toward the amount owed on the credit line.

One Finance‘s ATM network and fees

You get free access to 55,000 Allpoint ATMs nationwide with your account. One Finance won’t charge you a fee for using a non-network ATM, but the operator might.

One Finance reviews and complaints

One Finance is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and it has no reviews on the BBB’s website. However, One Finance does have 21 reviews on Trustpilot with an average rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars. Many of the positive reviews mention the high APYs and positive customer service experiences.

How does One Finance compare to Simple?

Ever since the neobank Simple announced it was shutting down in January 2021, One Finance has been working hard to position itself as a perfect replacement. But does it do the trick?

As a Simple customer for nearly eight years, One Finance does check most of the same boxes for me, including the lack of fees and ease of use. However, One Finance doesn’t have an intuitive budgeting system like Simple did and this account requires a bit of a learning curve. But One Finance makes up for those shortcomings in other ways, including the built-in line of credit, subaccounts and the high interest rates.

If you’re a Simple user looking for a replacement bank, One Finance is a good alternative. But if you don’t get paid by direct deposits you might want to compare other accounts like OnJuno, which offers 5% cashback and up to 2.15% APY.

Compare One Finance with other digital accounts

Use this table to see how One Finance compares to other digital bank accounts.

How do I deposit or withdraw my money?

There are nine ways to access money in your One digital bank account:

How can I contact customer support?

There are three ways to get ahold of One Finance customer support:

• Email help@onefinance.com
• Call 855-830-6200
• Live chat in the mobile app

Customer service hours are weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.