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SoFi Bank Review 2024

Updated September 11, 2024
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At a glance

4.5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
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Checking

Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5

Savings

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

About Bankrate Score

Overview

SoFi Bank is ideal for consumers who are looking to get a competitive yield on a checking and savings account, interested in getting early direct deposit and looking to avoid overdraft fees.

Highlights

  • High APY
  • Free Checking
  • No Min Deposit
Sponsored offers
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These are sponsored offers rated highly by us for competitive rates, fees, and minimums.

Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
3.90
%
APY
APY
Info Icon
As of 11/28/2024
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right Icon
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
3.90
%
APY
APY
Info Icon
As of 11/28/2024
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right Icon
Promoted offer: It only takes about 5 minutes to open a fee-free account.
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.46
%
APY
APY
Info Icon
As of 11/28/2024
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right Icon
Promoted offer:

Overall

SoFi Bank offers a competitive yield for checking and savings customers who have a qualifying direct deposit with SoFi. But customers will need to open both a checking and savings account to bank with SoFi and will have to use direct deposit or make qualifying deposits of at least $5,000 to earn the top APY.

Pros

  • Checkmark Icon

    SoFi offers competitive yields on both its checking and savings accounts.

  • Checkmark Icon

    SoFi Bank offers early direct deposit.

  • Checkmark Icon

    At the time of our review, SoFi Bank had a bank account bonus for opening its checking and savings account.

  • Checkmark Icon

    The bank doesn’t have overdraft fees.

  • Checkmark Icon

    Those who live close to SoFi Stadium — or attend games at SoFi Stadium — might benefit from this account through 25 percent cash back on eligible purchases, such as team merchandise and food in the stadium, and VIP access at the stadium.

Cons

  • To earn the bank’s top APY, you’ll need to set up qualifying direct deposits or make a certain number of qualifying deposits.

  • You’re required to get both a checking and a savings account; you can’t just open one or the other.

  • The bank’s top bank account bonus requires direct deposits of $5,000 or more during the 25-day evaluation period.

CTA We want to know what you think about SoFi Bank

We want to know what you think about SoFi Bank

Do you have experience with SoFi? Let us know your thoughts.

SoFi banking products

5.0
/5
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
SCORE BREAKDOWN
APY offering:
4.30%
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
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Minimum balance for APY:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Access to funds:
Great
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
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FEATURES
Invest Rate Icon
4.30% APY
Info Icon
Savings Icon
$0 minimum balance for APY
Loan Icon
$0 minimum deposit to open

SoFi savings overview

The SoFi savings account offers a competitive yield, but it’s only for customers who make direct or qualifying deposits into the account. Customers without a direct deposit at SoFi will still earn a yield much higher than the national average, but SoFi’s direct deposit yield is much more competitive with top online banks. At the time of this review, there’s a cash bonus for opening a new account and setting up direct deposit.

You can’t withdraw from the savings account at an ATM. But because you have to get both a checking and savings account, you can transfer money from savings to checking and then withdraw from the checking account at an ATM.

The account comes free of fees, including monthly fees, overdraft fees or minimum balance fees. Moreover, the account comes with overdraft coverage, which will cover you up to $50 if you overdraw your account. Otherwise, your transaction will be declined. This coverage is only available to customers with monthly direct deposits of $1,000 or more.

Pros

  • Checkmark Icon

    The SoFi savings account allows you to earn a competitive yield, as long as you have a direct or qualifying deposit with SoFi.

  • Checkmark Icon

    SoFi doesn’t require a minimum opening deposit or charge any fees.

  • Checkmark Icon

    Customers can set up savings Vaults to set aside money for specific goals.

Cons

  • You can’t just get a savings account at SoFi. You need to get both a checking and savings account at this bank.

  • Without qualifying direct deposits, the savings yield is much lower.

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

    SoFi
    APY
    APY
    Info Icon
    National average APY
    How do we get this data?
    Info Icon

Bank fees

Fee Charged?
Overdraft fee None
Non-sufficient funds fee None
Monthly maintenance fee None
Out-of-network ATM fee None*
Excessive transaction fee None
*Third parties may charge you a fee if you use an out-of-network ATM.

Customer experience

Customer support

Support hours. You can chat with SoFi’s customer service seven days a week. The hours are Monday-Thursday 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT and Friday-Sunday 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. 

Low customer satisfaction. SoFi scored below average in overall satisfaction among online-only banks for both its checking and savings accounts, according to J.D. Power’s 2024 Direct Banking Satisfaction Study

Digital experience

Highly rated mobile app. SoFi’s mobile app is highly rated on the Apple App and Google Play stores. Collectively, more than 300,000 users have reviewed the app. SoFi’s app also comes with a financial insights dashboard, which offers helpful digital resources such as a budget planner, spending insights and free credit score monitoring. Moreover, you can easily find all the details of your financial products in one place, from banking and investments to personal loans.

Cluttered interface. While the app is highly rated, the user interface can be bogged down with information and marketing materials.Because the app includes access to all of SoFi’s financial products, there’s quite a bit of marketing that comes along with it,” said a Bankrate staff member with a SoFi account. “Pop ups during in app sessions and push notifications for credit cards and personal loans are frequent and can be annoying.”

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Bankrate staff insights

“Aside from the notifications and common marketing, the SoFi app has been extremely easy to use, and the bank seems to take a very “technology forward” approach to an industry that’s sometimes lacking in that area,” said a Bankrate staff member with an account. “The lack of physical locations does mean that large expenses that require cash or cashiers checks require a bit more planning, but I think that’s a fair trade off for a competitive rate and positive app experience.”

Disclosure: To enhance our product reviews, Bankrate employees often open accounts and provide feedback. They may have been compensated for their time and account maintenance, but this does not affect the integrity of their review.

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The above images were last updated on Dec. 11, 2023.

About SoFi

SoFi has been around in one form or another since 1986. In August 2011, Social Finance, Inc., began. The institution has undergone many changes over time, including what financial products and services it provides. 

In the past, SoFi has been primarily known for providing personal loans and refinancing services for student and auto loans. It became a chartered bank in early 2022. Shortly after that, it started offering its checking and savings account.

How SoFi compares to other banks

Compare different account types offered by SoFi. Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown were updated between Nov. 21, 2024 and Nov. 27, 2024.

Selected bank
SoFi checking account
SoFi Logo
Member FDIC
Bankrate score
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
4.9
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Most comparable
Discover Bank checking account
Discover Bank Logo
Member FDIC
Bankrate score
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5.0
Info Icon
Read review
Search for or select a bank:
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Bankrate score
Info Icon
Read review
APY
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0.50% 0.00%
Minimum balance to open
$0.00 $0.00
SoFi Checking and Savings lets you earn a competitive annual percentage yield and it gives you access to direct deposits up to two days early. The account also lets some customers overdraft by $50 or less without being charged a fee. Discover Bank’s Cashback Debit account offers a top-notch cash back program for a checking account. Customers can earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month. What’s more, the account comes without monthly maintenance fees or overdraft fees.
  • Customers can receive early direct deposits at SoFi Bank.
  • SoFi customers have access to Allpoint network ATMs.
  • SoFi customers earn a very competitive APY.
  • The SoFi checking and savings account doesn’t have fees, which includes overdraft fees.
  • Discover Bank’s checking account offers a stellar cash back deal.
  • There are no monthly maintenance, overdraft or non-sufficient funds fees associated with the account.
  • Customers have access to more than 60,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide.
    N/A
  • You can’t just get a checking account – you have to get both a checking and savings account.
  • The Cashback Debit account doesn’t earn interest.
    N/A

SoFi Bank FAQs

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.

SoFi Bank customer reviews

CTA SoFi Bank has 25 reviews

SoFi Bank has 25 reviews

Dive into community reviews below and see what others think about SoFi Bank.

4.4 Star Icon
25 ratings
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Score breakdown
5 stars
56%
4 stars
28%
3 stars
12%
2 stars
4%
1 star
0%
Score by category
Overall Rating 4.4 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 4.2 / 5
Amount of fees 4.2 / 5
Customer support 4.3 / 5
Website / Mobile app 4.6 / 5
Verified Badge Icon Bankrate methodology disclosure

In July 2024, Bankrate collaborated with a third-party vendor to survey 1,200 bank account holders nationwide. Bankrate and our vendor collected and summarized account holder responses to five rating questions on a 5-point scale as well as open-ended reviews of the banking experience. Responses are based on individual account holder product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Reviewers received an incentive for their feedback. Their ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by the associated bank or credit union, nor do these responses reflect Bankrate's own expert review of these banking products.

Community Reviews

See what users like you are saying about SoFi Bank.
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Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
It's a virtual online bank that offers.50 APY ob a checking account. The high APY, no balance fees or account minimum was required.
Score by category
Amount of fees 4 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 4 / 5
Customer support 4 / 5
Website / Mobile app 4 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
Absolutely amazing bank. Very helpful when problems arise. Quick fast and reliable. A friend recommended SoFi to me.
Score by category
Amount of fees 5 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 5 / 5
Customer support 5 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
They have been nothing but helpful with customer service, but I was frustrated because they advertise a bonus for signing up but didn’t mention half of the requirements until it was too late and I didn’t get it. Other than that I do like them. I chose them for the sign on bonus, good customer service, and I heard my friends say they liked banking with them.
Score by category
Amount of fees 4 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 4 / 5
Customer support 3 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
It's a good bank with no fees. easy to transfer money through external accounts. No fees. Easy transfers. Great savings.
Score by category
Amount of fees 3 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 3 / 5
Customer support 4 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
Three factors that influenced my decision to use sofi are how easy they are to use, the monthly cost to use, and their online rating.
Score by category
Amount of fees 3 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 3 / 5
Customer support 3 / 5
Website / Mobile app 3 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
I love this banj and the rates are very nice they love their clients and u have great benefits. The rates also customer service is outstanding. They offer many more products. Besides just accounts they always keep me up-to-date. They are exquisite.
Score by category
Amount of fees 5 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 5 / 5
Customer support 5 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
It is a great bank that could help you with your credit.
Score by category
Amount of fees 4 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 4 / 5
Customer support 4 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
I find that they are just as competitive if not a standard above most banks because of their customer service features. The factors I considered when choosing this bank were availability online, reputation it had with my friends, and I liked it's website and it's interest rates on savings accounts.
Score by category
Amount of fees 3 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 3 / 5
Customer support 4 / 5
Website / Mobile app 4 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
All in the app, never had to deal with customer service yet. Good rates does what I need it to do. Convivence, all in app, Free card and virtual card. Never had a problem.
Score by category
Amount of fees 4 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 4 / 5
Customer support 4 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
Fees and monthly charges and customer service, benefits and or offers. Benefits, monthly charges and or fees.
Score by category
Amount of fees 5 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 5 / 5
Customer support 5 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5