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Compare Varo products
Varo Savings Account
Varo Bank Account
Editor’s Rating
4.75/5
Editor’s Rating
4.25/5
Pros and cons
Varo Savings Account
4.75/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00% to 5.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Fees
no monthly service fee
Varo Savings Account
4.75/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00% to 5.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Fees
no monthly service fee
Varo Savings Account
Details
Fees
no monthly service fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00% to 5.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
High APY
No monthly service fees
No minimum opening deposit
No physical branch locations
Most open a Varo Checking Account before opening a savings account
Must meet certain qualifications to earn highest APY
Only earn highest APY on balances up to $5,000
Only way to deposit cash is to visit a Green Dot location and pay a fee
No joint accounts
Highlights
You must open a Varo Checking Account to qualify for a Varo Savings Account
To earn the highest APY each month, you must receive $1,000 in direct deposits, maintain a daily balance of $5,000 or under in your Varo Savings Account, AND keep your bank accounts above $0
Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
FDIC insured
Additional Reading
Read our review
Varo pays two interest rates. You’ll earn 5.00% APY if you receive at least $1,000 in direct deposits and keep a positive account balance that’s under $5,000. If you don’t meet these requirements, you’ll still earn a competitive interest rate that’s on par with rates from other high-yield savings accounts.
Keep in mind you must open a Varo Bank Account before opening a savings account, though.
Varo Bank Account
4.25/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
None
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Fees
no monthly service fee
Varo Bank Account
4.25/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
None
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Fees
no monthly service fee
Varo Bank Account
Details
Fees
no monthly service fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
None
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
No minimum opening deposit
No monthly service fees
No foreign transaction fees
Get your paycheck up to 2 days early
No overdraft fees
Earn cash-back rewards
No physical branch locations
$3 out-of-network ATM fee
No joint accounts
Only way to deposit cash is to visit a Green Dot location and pay a fee
Highlights
Access to 55,000+ Allpoint ATMs in the US, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, UK, and Australia
Earn up to 6% cash back at select retailers; see current cash back offers in the Varo app
When you receive $5 in cash back, the money is automatically deposited into your account
If you overdraw by more than $50, there will be no fee — your transaction will just be denied
Varo also offers up to 6% cash back at select retailers.
Varo Bank features
Varo Bank, N.A. is an online bank with a checking account and high-yield savings account.
You must open a Varo Bank Account to qualify for a Varo Savings Account. While this may be annoying if you aren’t looking to open a checking account, there aren’t many cons to opening both. Neither one charges monthly service fees, and you don’t need a minimum opening deposit for either.
You can use over 55,000 Allpoint ATMs for free in the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and the United Kingdom. If you use a non-Allpoint ATM, Varo will charge you $3.00.
The Varo mobile app has received 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple store and 4.5 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store.
Contact customer service either over the phone or via email. Customer support hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET and on weekends from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.
Varo doesn’t offer joint accounts. Your deposits are FDIC insured for up to $250,000.
Is Varo trustworthy?
Varo has received an A rating from the Better Business Bureau. A strong BBB rating signifies the company is transparent in how it handles business, responds effectively to customer complaints, and is honest in its advertising.
A good BBB rating won’t guarantee your relationship with the bank will be perfect. Reach out to current customers or read online customer reviews to see if Varo is suitable for you.
Varo hasn’t been involved in any recent public settlements. According to a regulatory filing by Banking Dive, Varo Bank could be at risk of having insufficient funds before the end of the year, though.
How Varo compares
We’re comparing Varo to two other banks with high-yield savings accounts: Chime and Ally. We’re also looking at all three institutions’ checking accounts.
Varo and Chime have a lot of similarities. Both require you to open a checking account before opening a savings account. Neither have minimum opening deposits or monthly service fees. Both offer early direct deposits, and neither charges foreign transaction fees. Neither offers joint accounts.
Your choice between the two may come down to whether you qualify for Varo’s highest interest rate. If so, Varo could be the better choice.
Ally has a money market account and CDs. You may prefer Ally if you want to open these types of accounts since Varo and Chime do need to have money market accounts or CDs. Ally allows you to open joint accounts, too.
Varo doesn’t charge any monthly service fees on its savings or checking accounts.
Varo doesn’t have any branches. If you’d like to deposit cash into your account, you’ll have to find a Green Dot location. You also might need to pay a fee of up to $4.95.
You can withdraw up to $1,000 from an ATM per day.
Laura Grace Tarpley (she/her) is a personal finance reviews senior editor at Insider. She oversees coverage about mortgage rates, refinance rates, lenders, bank accounts, investing, retirement , and borrowing and savings tips for Personal Finance Insider. She was a writer and editor for Insider’s “The Road to Home” series, which won a Silver award from the National Associate of Real Estate Editors. She is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF). She has written about personal finance for seven years. Before joining the Insider team, she was a freelance finance writer for companies like SoFi and The Penny Hoarder, as well as an editor at FluentU. You can reach Laura Grace at [email protected]. Learn more about how Personal Finance Insider chooses, rates, and covers financial products and services »
Evelyn He is a compliance associate at Insider who supports the Personal Finance Insider team. Personal Finance Insider is Insider’s personal finance section that incorporates affiliate and commerce partnerships into the news, insights, and advice about money that Insider readers already know and love. The compliance team’s mission is to provide readers with stories that are fact-checked and current, so they can make informed financial decisions. The team also works to minimize risk for partners by making sure language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Before joining Insider, she served in various legal and compliance roles in different industries, including the legal and pharmaceutical industries. Evelyn obtained her M.S. degree in Marketing at Boston University in 2022. Prior to combining and consolidating her knowledge of law and business, she spent one year finishing 1L courses at Suffolk University Law School to further her legal knowledge. She has also completed MBA business law courses while working on her Bachelor of Business Administration in Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her 14-year-old Shih Tzu named Money, and her 4-year-old Bichon named Tibber.
