What is Varo?

Founded in 2015 and based in San Francisco, California, Varo is a mobile banking app offering both free checking and high-yield savings. One of the factors that distinguishes Varo from the many thousands of available banks is that it operates entirely as a mobile banking platform. Not only are there no physical branches, but there’s no traditional browser access either. It’s all on the app.

To keep things simple, Varo offers just two accounts: a checking account and a high-yield savings account. Unlike traditional banks, they don’t offer other deposit products (like certificates of deposit). However, you can get a cash advance for up to $500 and a personal loan of up to $2,000.

Varo has a Better Business Bureau rating of “A-“, the highest rating on a scale of A+ to F. Meanwhile, the service is rated 4.7 out of 5 stars by more than 242,000 users on Google Play, and 4.9 out of 5 stars by more than 233,000 users on The App Store.

Go to Varo

Varo Bank (Checking) Account

This is Varo’s primary bank account. It provides all the services of a traditional bank checking account including the ability to send paper checks, but it does so with very few, if any, fees. What’s more, there’s no minimum balance required in the account.

You can deposit checks, make transfers, and pay bills, all with no fees. The account also comes with a Visa debit card (see description below).

Your checking account may be eligible for “No Fee Overdraft” of up to $50 for purchases made using your Varo Visa Debit Card. There is no fee to enroll; you’ll be notified if you’re determined to be eligible. If you are, you’ll have the option to either turn on or turn off the feature
(if you prefer not to have overdraft protection at all).

Paper statements will not be mailed to you, but you can access them through the app. Don’t worry that the bank has no brick-and-mortar branches. You can get cash from a very large no-fee ATM network, and make deposits five ways (see Making Deposits below).

Paper checks. The checking account doesn’t offer paper checks, but you can send a check to anyone in three- to nine-business days using the app. There is no fee to send a check this way.

Related: 9 Apps Like Moneylion

Varo Visa Debit Card

Your account will come with the Varo Visa Debit Card that can be used anywhere Visa is accepted – which is virtually everywhere. It can be used with both Google Pay and Samsung Pay. Apple Pay is available for iOS devices only. Varo is working with Zelle to add that service, but they warn it’s still not fully functional.

The debit card can also be used internationally, and there are no foreign transaction fees.

Using your debit card, you can make no-fee withdrawals from more than 40,000 Allpoint ATM machines. If you make out-of-network withdrawals, Varo will charge a fee of $3.50 per withdrawal.

The card has a spending limit of between $2,500 and $5,000 per calendar day, depending on personal factors such as account age and transaction history.

You can also activate a feature that will round up your debit card purchases to the next dollar and transfer your change to your savings account.

Varo Savings Account

This is a high-interest savings account with no fees and no minimum initial balance. The interest rate is currently 2.50% APY.

However, you can qualify for 5.00% on the first $5,000 in the account if you set up direct deposit into your checking account for at least $1,000 per month.

Balances above $5,000 will earn the 2.50% APY.

Go to Varo

Credit Building Credit Card

The Varo Believe Secured Credit Card helps you build credit. It is connected to a Varo Believe Secured Account, which is kind of a savings account that acts as the collateral for the credit card. Your spending limit on the credti card is the balance in the Believe Secured Account.

You will deposit money into the Believe Secured Account and spend with your credit card. When you make a purchase, the amount is deducted from the savings account and earmarked for payment.

When the bill is due, the SafePay feature will automatically pay the entire balance due with the money that was set aside from the savings account. Note that you must turn on the SafePay feature.

Varo reports to all three credit bureaus, and there is no annual fee or interest. To qualfiy you must have a positive balance in your Varo Spending Account and at least $200 a month in direct deposit.

Cash Advance

Varo will give you a short-term loan of up to $500, if you qualify. Note that these loans are not free, so be aware of fees before you agree to a cash advance.

To qualify, you must have at least $800 per month in direct deposit. You will start with eligibility as low as $20, but can work your way up to $500 through responsible use.

If you want to use an advance, you can request one through the app via the “Advance” tab. Decide how much you’d like to borrow and the money is added to your account immediately. You’ll then have 30 days to pay back the loan. and you’ll pay a flat fee for each advance.

Here are the fees:

Personal Line of Credit

With Varo’s personal line of credit you can borrow between $600 and $2,000. You’ll pay a single flat fee and zero interest, plus all payments are reported to the credit bureaus. So responsible use will improve your credit score.

Your credit score is a factor in elibility for the loan, but so is the balance in your Varo account and transaction history.

How long you’ll have to repay will depend on the amount you borrow, but all payments are around $200 per month.

How Varo Works

Making deposits: Varo provides five ways to make deposits into your accounts:

1. Direct deposit – you can use this method to deposit payroll checks, government benefits, and other regular income sources. Using this method you can receive your paycheck up to two days early. You can also receive deposits from income derived from Uber (Instant Pay) and Lyft (Express Pay).
2. External bank transfers – make transfers into your Varo accounts from third-party banks using ACH transfers. Expect transfers to take between two and four business days.
3. Digital wallets – your account can accept transfers from Cash App, Venmo and PayPal.
4. Mobile deposit paper checks – snap a photo of the check, then upload it to your app. The amount you can deposit will be limited based on how long your account has been open as well as prior account activity.
5. Cash deposits – you can deposit checks at thousands of Green Dot locations, including: Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, 7-Eleven stores, Dollar General stores, Family Dollar stores, Albertsons, Safeway, Kmart, and Kroger. Varo does not charge a fee for Green Dot deposits, but the store location will charge a fee of up to $4.95. You can also deposit cash by purchasing a Green Dot MoneyPak (usually in the same locations where you can make deposits). There is a fee of $5.95 payable to Green Dot for MoneyPak.

Varo Mobile App: Everything goes through the app. You’ll need it to apply for an account and you’ll need it to access the features of the account. The app is available at The App Store for download on iOS devices, 11.0 or later. It’s compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It’s also available at Google Play for Android devices 5.0 and up.

Save Your Pay: You can have a percentage of your direct deposits automatically transferred into your Savings Account. You’ll decide what that percentage will be.

Varo security: Your accounts are fully covered for up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance. Meanwhile, all information transferred is protected by 256-bit AES encrypted technology, and as is always the case when opening a financial account, your identity is fully verified according to federal law.

Go to Varo

Referral Program

You and your friend can each get a $25 bonus if you refer a friend to Varo.

To qualify for the referral bonus, your friend must sign up for Varo using your unique referral link and spend at least $20 in the first 30 days of having the account.

To find your link, open the app and go to the “Invite Friends” tab, then click “Share Link.”

You can refer up to five friends per calendar year.

Customer Service

You can reach customer service 24/7 via the chat feature in the app.

You can also call 877-377-8276 for disputing transactions, trouble logging in, and trouble adding a card to your digital wallet. Phone support is available 7:00 am to 8:30 pm seven days a week.

You can reach Varo via email at varomoney.com/support for help with account applications and refund checks for closed accounts.

Varo Pricing & Fees

Neither the checking nor savings accounts have monthly service fees. In fact, Varo has very few fees at all. For example, there are no overdraft fees and no foreign transaction fees.

There are no fees charged for use of in-network ATM machines, but you will be charged $3.50 for any non-network ATM machine use.

As described earlier under Making Deposits, there are fees associated with use of the Green Dot system. Though Varo doesn’t charge any fees for use of the service, participating merchant locations can charge up to $4.95 per deposit, or you can pay $5.95 to enroll in the Green Dot MoneyPak program.

How to Sign Up with Varo

To be eligible to open an account with Varo, you must be at least 18 years old, be a US citizen or permanent resident, and have a valid Social Security number. You’ll also need to supply a form of personal identification, preferably a state-issued photo ID such as your driver’s license. Be aware that Varo offers individual accounts only and has no capacity to accept joint accounts.

You’ll also need a mobile device, including either an Android or iPhone, as Varo is only accessible through its mobile app. The sign-up process takes place entirely through the mobile app.

A major advantage with Varo is that neither your credit report nor your FICO score will be obtained during the sign-up process. If you have credit issues, that shouldn’t be a problem in signing up for this service.

Once you open your account, you can link it with accounts at thousands of banks, credit unions, credit cards, and loan providers. If your particular institution doesn’t appear on the drop-down list, you can have it added by contacting customer service.

Go to Varo

Varo Alternatives

Albert

Unlike Chime, Albert has both an app and a website through which you can access your account. It offers a checking, savings, and investment accounts.

For short-term loans, you can get up to $250 as an instant advance, and payment is due in six days, but you can request a seven-day extension when needed. There is a fee for instant transfers.

The savings account earns a high rate, and Albert will analyze your account and determine what is safe to save. You can also invest in stocks, ETFs, and managed portfolios within the Albert app.

Here’s our full Albert review for more information.

Go to Albert

Current

Current is another app-based banking platform. It offers a checking account, a high-yield savings, and short term loans. One big difference between Current and Varo is that Current’s debit card is actually a secured credit card. So credit building is built into the checking account, it’s not a separate feature.

Current short-term loans are free unless you want the money instantly, then there is a fee. However, they don’t disclose the fee. Instead, it will be disclosed before you accept the loan. The free standard transfer takes three business days. The loan is paid with your next direct deposit.

Here’s our full Current review for more information.

Go to Current

Dave

Similar to Varo, Dave can only be accessed through the app and offers a checking, high-yield savings, and short-term loans. However, Dave charges a small monthly fee to be a member. The website says “up to $5” but there are many online reports that the monthly fee is $1.

The short-term loans are free unless you want the money instantly then there is a fee of 1.5% of the loan amount. Otherwise, the transfer takes three business days.

Go to Dave