SoFi

Many people figure that paying bank fees is simply an unavoidable part of life. Recent surveys say the average American shells out anywhere from $167 to $288 per year in fees. But take note: Some or even all of those may be avoidable.

This guide will teach you about common bank charges and help you be a smarter consumer who doesn’t have to pay for all of them. From monthly maintenance to returned item fees, find out how you can save.

Understanding Bank Fees

For many financial institutions, fees are a way that banks make money. They can help cover the cost of being in business, and they can also cover situations that require more of their team’s time (say, dealing with an overdrafted account).

However, these charges can become expensive for many customers, and they can eat away at any interest earned. That can foil a customer’s efforts to grow their wealth.

Next, learn about the specific fees that many banks assess and how you can lower or avoid them.

Monthly Maintenance Fees

If your bank or financial institution charges maintenance fees, you may be so used to watching that money disappear out of your account each month that you’ve simply stopped trying to figure out how to make it stop.

It isn’t unusual for banks to charge about $15 a month in maintenance fees, nearly $180 a year for this fee alone.

If you keep a large enough balance in this account, you can typically avoid paying a monthly maintenance fee at many banks. That’s great for those who have that kind of money, but this is the type of fee that often hits those who don’t have a lot of money in their accounts.

If keeping a larger balance in your account isn’t practical right now, then it can make sense to explore financial institutions that are more likely to not charge this fee. Online vs. traditional banks may not assess these monthly maintenance or account fees. Shop around, and see what’s offered.

ATM Fees

ATM fees come with unique pain points that can be especially frustrating. That’s because you sometimes have to pay a bank or a random ATM just to get your own money! And sometimes you’ll pay ATM fees twice on the same transaction: once in a surcharge by the ATM you’re using and, second, by the bank that issued your card.

To be specific: Out-of-network surcharges currently average $4.73, which is made up of $3.15 by the machine owner and $1.58 by your own bank, aka the issuer of the card you are using.

If you’re trying to budget carefully, this can be painful. To reduce how much you could pay in ATM fees, planning ahead might help. You could research locations of in-network ATMs and only make withdrawals there. Or use an ATM that’s in-network to get cash before you go shopping or out to eat at a cash-only location so you don’t have to use whichever ATM is nearby.

Here’s another idea for avoiding ATM fees: Many grocery stores and some big box stores will let you get cash back when you make purchases there. This could be another way to circumvent ATM fees.

Overdraft Fees

Banks often have an overdraft program, so if you withdraw more than what’s currently available in your account, the bank won’t “bounce” the check. Instead, it will be paid, but often you will be charged an overdraft or NSF fee, depending upon your bank’s policies. (NSF stands for non-sufficient funds, and you’ll learn more about this charge below.)

Overdraft fees can average around $35 per instance. To avoid being charged, you could decline to sign up for overdraft service (which may lead to bounced checks or declined debit card transactions).

Or you could ask if your bank has a service where, if you overdraft on your checking account, the amount would be covered from your savings account. Note, though, that this kind of transfer may also come with a fee.

What may be most important here is, you may want to be clear about what your bank or financial institution will do in a certain circumstance. Let’s say that you’ve signed up for automatic bill pay at your bank. What will your financial institution do if there aren’t enough funds?

Pay it anyway and charge you an overdraft fee? A little research with your own financial institution could reveal the answer, and if it’s not what you want to hear, you could see if another institution handles the situation in a way that works better for you.

Recommended: Overdraft vs. NSF Fees

Insufficient Funds Fees

Here’s a common bank fee that is somewhat similar to overdraft charges: what are known as insufficient funds, non-sufficient funds, or returned item fees.

If you don’t opt in to have overdraft protection on an account, banks typically decline, or bounce, the transaction if there aren’t enough funds to cover a transaction.

Besides the problems associated with a bounced check (that is, the payee not getting their funds), there is typically a returned item fee, averaging around $30 for each occurrence. And, unfortunately, sometimes a returned item fee can take an account balance to the point where another check may bounce, causing the situation to become increasingly worse.

To avoid this bank fee, you might want to adjust your budget to allow for a cash cushion in your checking account, which can help you avoid this scenario.

Wire Transfer Fees

There are times when you may need to send a wire transfer to quickly get funds to an account holder in the US or overseas. Wire transfers can smooth this process. But they may not be free: Wire transfer fees usually range from $0 to $50, with typical fees being $15 for incoming domestic and international transfers and $25 for outgoing domestic and $45 for outgoing international transfers.

A few ideas on avoiding these fees, if your financial institution charges them: Ask your bank if they will waive the surcharge; in some cases, they may. Use a payment service like Zelle, or, if you often make and receive international payments, you might look into getting a multicurrency or foreign currency bank account.

Inactivity Fees

If you have a bank account that you don’t use often, you might get charged what’s known as an inactivity fee or a dormancy if it sits untouched for a while. There are varying state laws that specify when a bank must turn dormant funds over to the state, as a form of unclaimed funds. Dormancy fees try to trigger account holders into action so that this handoff of funds to the government doesn’t happen.

Inactivity fees can typically range from $5 to $20, and the amount of time that must elapse before they are assessed will vary.

To avoid these fees, it’s wise to only have as many accounts as you can frequently manage. If you have an account you barely use, it can be a smart move to close it and transfer any funds to an active account.

Foreign Transaction Fees

If you’ll be going abroad, then you will likely need to deal with credit card foreign transaction fees. Credit card companies add these onto transactions processed by or passing through foreign banks; a typical fee is 3% of the transaction amount.

But what about your bank and fees when you travel? Some of them add a similar fee to debit card usage, so it’s wise to check on your financial institution’s policies before you travel. What’s more, banks often charge an additional 1% to 3% on international ATM withdrawals.

To help mitigate or avoid these bank fees (especially if you are a frequent traveler), you could check with your bank to see if it charges these fees. If it does, you might consider opening an account at a financial institution that doesn’t.

Also, perhaps your bank has affiliate banks in regions where you’re traveling, and you could withdraw from those ATMs without paying the additional international fees. You could also ask if your bank reimburses fees that you’ve paid.

As another way to reduce bank fees, you could exchange US dollars to foreign currency before you leave the country, perhaps eliminating the need for ATM withdrawals while traveling. Your bank might do this with no fees. However, then you do risk loss or theft of your funds.

Open a SoFi Checking and Savings Account

If you’re looking for a way to lower the bank fees you pay, see what SoFi offers.

Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.

SoFi® Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A. ©2023 SoFi Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
The SoFi Bank Debit Mastercard® is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a deposit to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate.

SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits can earn 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Qualifying Deposits means one or more deposits that, in the aggregate, are equal to or greater than $5,000 to an account holder’s SoFi Checking and Savings account (“Qualifying Deposits”) during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Qualifying Deposits only include those deposits from the following eligible sources: (i) ACH transfers, (ii) inbound wire transfers, (iii) peer-to-peer transfers (i.e., external transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc. and internal peer-to-peer transfers from a SoFi account belonging to another account holder), (iv) check deposits, (v) instant funding to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, (vi) push payments to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, and (vii) cash deposits. Qualifying Deposits do not include: (i) transfers between an account holder’s Checking account, Savings account, and/or Vaults; (ii) interest payments; (iii) bonuses issued by SoFi Bank or its affiliates; or (iv) credits, reversals, and refunds from SoFi Bank, N.A. (“SoFi Bank”) or from a merchant.

SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits throughout each 30-Day Evaluation Period to determine the applicability of rates and may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the “30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Upon receiving a Direct Deposit or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits to your account, you will begin earning 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% on checking balances on or before the following calendar day. You will continue to earn these APYs for (i) the remainder of the current 30-Day Evaluation Period and through the end of the subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period and (ii) any following 30-day Evaluation Periods during which SoFi Bank determines you to have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits without interruption.

SoFi Bank reserves the right to grant a grace period to account holders following a change in Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits activity before adjusting rates. If SoFi Bank grants you a grace period, the dates for such grace period will be reflected on the APY Details page of your account. If SoFi Bank determines that you did not have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits during the current 30-day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, then you will begin earning the rates earned by account holders without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits until you have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits in a subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period. For the avoidance of doubt, an account holder with both Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits will earn the rates earned by account holders with Direct Deposit.

Members without either Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits, as determined by SoFi Bank, during a 30-Day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances.

Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

SOBK1023027

The healthier you are, the less you will pay for life insurance, but age, lifestyle choices and how much insurance you need are also important factors.

If you’re lucky enough to find yourself in possession of a bundle of cash that isn’t immediately needed to pay bills, you have some thinking to do. How to use that money? Whether it came your way via an on-the-job bonus, an inheritance, or an unexpected refund, you have the opportunity to put it to work for you in a variety of ways.

Instead of going on a shopping spree, you could deploy the funds to improve your financial situation and build wealth. Options include paying down debt, contributing to retirement goals, and beyond. Read on to learn the full story.

The Opportunity of Extra Money

At some point, you may find some extra money heading your way. Perhaps you get a bonus for wrangling a complicated project at work. Or you didn’t realize that you’d overpaid your taxes one year. Or maybe an inheritance comes your way.

When funds turn up that you weren’t expecting, it may be tempting to buy a bunch of cool items you’ve been admiring or to take friends and family out to a lavish meal or away for a weekend. But then, once that cash is gone, there’s no getting it back.

Instead, you might look at the money as a means to enrich your financial standing. (Or use most of it that way, and go shopping with a small amount of it.)

A windfall can be a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to pay off debt or plump up your emergency fund. It can help you boost your retirement savings or kick your savings for a future goal into high gear.

Yes, it takes discipline to put that money to work vs. splashing out with it at your favorite store. But doing so can have a long-term positive impact on your finances.

1. Build a Solid Emergency Fund

If your emergency fund is low (or nonexistent), you might use your new windfall to build it up.

Having an emergency fund gives you a financial cushion, along with the sense of security that comes with knowing you can handle a financial set-back (such as a job loss, medical expenses, or costly car or home repair) without hardship.

Having this buffer can also help you avoid having to rely on credit cards for an unexpected expense and then falling into a negative spiral of high interest debt.

How Much to Save in an Emergency Fund

A general rule of thumb is to keep three to six months’ of monthly expenses in cash as an emergency fund. Two-income households may be able to protect themselves with three months’ worth of savings. If you’re single, however, you may want to aim closer to having six months’ worth of living expenses saved up.

Consider keeping your emergency fund in a separate high-yield savings account, such as a money market account, online saving account, or a checking and savings account. These options typically offer higher interest rates than a standard savings account, yet allow you to access the money when you need it.

2. Tackle High-Interest Debt

While mortgage loans and car loans tend to offer lower interest rates since they’re secured by collateral, the same can’t be said of unsecured debts, such as credit card balances, student loans, and personal loans. Credit card debt can be especially hard to pay off, given that the current average interest rate is over 20%.

If you carry any credit card or other high-interest debt, you might want to use your windfall to jumpstart a strategic debt payoff plan, such as the debt avalanche or debt snowball method, in order to pay it off as quickly as possible.

Strategies for Paying Down Debt

The avalanche method involves ranking your debts by interest rate. You then put any extra money you have towards paying off the debt with the highest interest rate (while continuing to pay the minimum on other debts). After the balance with the highest interest rate has been completely paid off, you move on to the next highest interest-rate balance (again, putting as much money as you can toward it), and then move down the list until your debt is repaid.

With the snowball method, you focus on paying off your smallest debt first (while paying the minimum on your other debts). Once that balance is paid off, you take the funds you had previously allocated to your smallest debt and put them toward the next-smallest balance. This cycle repeats until all of your debt is repaid.

Using your extra cash to pay off debt has added benefits. You may build your credit score as your credit utilization ratio (the amount of available credit you’ve used vs. your credit limit) goes down.

In addition, once you clear your debt, you won’t have to budget for debt payments anymore, which is essentially getting extra cash all over again.

3. Invest in Retirement Accounts

Here’s another idea for what to do with extra money. You might use it to grow your retirement accounts. There are a couple of options to consider here.

401(k) and Employer Match

Does your employer offer a 401(k) with matching contributions? If so, this can be a powerful tool to help you save for retirement.

Not only does a 401(k) help lower your taxes (since this money comes out of your salary before taxes are deducted), your employer’s matching contributions are essentially free money and can provide a nice boost to your retirement savings.

If you’re not currently taking full advantage of matching funds, you may want to adjust your contributions to help ensure you’re making the most of this benefit. And if a windfall comes your way, you may want to deposit it right into your account.

Start or Fund an IRA

What do you do if you don’t have a company plan or you’ve hit your contribution limit there? You might consider using your new influx of cash to open up (or add to) an individual retirement account (IRA).

While retirement may feel a long way off, starting early can be a smart idea, thanks to the magic of compound earnings (that’s when the money you invest earns interest/dividends, those earnings then get reinvested and also grow).

There is also a possible immediate financial benefit to investing in an IRA: Just as with a 401(k), your IRA contributions can possibly reduce your taxable income, which means that any money you put in this year can lower your tax bill for this year.

You’ll want to keep in mind, however, that the federal government places limitations on how much you can contribute each year to retirement funds.

Recommended: IRA vs. 401(k): What’s the Difference?

4. Explore Additional Investment Options Money

A little windfall can offer a nice opportunity to buy investments that can possibly help you create additional wealth over time.

Stock Market Investments

For long-term financial goals (outside of retirement), you might consider opening up a brokerage account. This is an investment account that allows you to buy and sell investments like stocks, bonds, and funds like mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

A taxable brokerage account does not offer the same tax incentives as a 401(k) or an IRA but is much more flexible in terms of when the money can be accessed.

Though all investments come with some risk, generally the longer you keep your money invested, the better your odds of overcoming any down markets. Your investment gains can also grow exponentially over time as your earnings are compounded. Worth noting: Past performance doesn’t guarantee future return, and while your money may be insured against broker-dealer insolvency, it is not insured against loss.

While investing can seem intimidating, a financial planner can be a helpful resource to help you create an investment strategy that takes into consideration your goals and risk tolerance.

Real Estate Investments

Another option might be to look into real estate investments. One possibility: REIT investing, which stands for Real Estate Investment Trust. This is a kind of company that operates or owns income-generating properties.

You can buy shares of REITs as a way of investing in different aspects of the real estate market, and you can do so for small amounts vs. buying an actual property. In this way, REITs can make it possible for people to affordably invest in real estate projects, including those involving large-scale construction.

5. Save for Future Goals

Still wondering what to do with extra money? If you already have a solid emergency fund and your retirement account is growing nicely, you may want to think about what large purchases you are hoping to make in the next few years. That could be buying a new car, accruing a down payment for a home, doing a renovation project, or going on a family vacation.

A lump sum of cash can be a great way to jumpstart saving for your goal or, if you’re already saving, to quickly beef up this fund.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Goals

When thinking about goals, it can be helpful to divide them into short-term goals and long-term ones. Typically, short-term goals are ones you want to achieve within a year, while long-term ones are those that have a longer runway to save.

So a short-term goal might be saving for a vacation next year, and a long-term one could be accumulating enough money for a down payment on a property.

Creating a Savings Plan

For things you want to buy or do in the next few months or years, consider setting up multiple bank accounts so you have a separate savings account that is safe, earns competitive interest, and will allow you to access the money when you’ve reached your goal.

Some good options include a high-yield savings account at a bank, an online savings account, a checking and savings account, or a certificate of deposit (CD).

Keep in mind, though, that with a CD, you typically need to leave the money untouched for a certain period of time or else pay a penalty.

The options directly above may also be a good place to put your extra money as you save up for a longer-term goal. But you might also look into whether there are suitable investments (see #4 on this list) that involve a bit more risk but offer potentially higher reward.

The Takeaway

Wondering what to do with a lump sum of extra money is a good problem to have.

Some options you might want to consider include: setting up an emergency fund, paying down high-interest debt, starting a savings account earmarked for a large purchase, or putting the money into your retirement fund or another type of long-term investment.

If you are looking for a place to bank your funds for a future goal, compare account features, such as the annual percentage yield (APY) offered and fees assessed.

Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.

SoFi® Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A. ©2023 SoFi Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
The SoFi Bank Debit Mastercard® is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a deposit to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate.

SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits can earn 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Qualifying Deposits means one or more deposits that, in the aggregate, are equal to or greater than $5,000 to an account holder’s SoFi Checking and Savings account (“Qualifying Deposits”) during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Qualifying Deposits only include those deposits from the following eligible sources: (i) ACH transfers, (ii) inbound wire transfers, (iii) peer-to-peer transfers (i.e., external transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc. and internal peer-to-peer transfers from a SoFi account belonging to another account holder), (iv) check deposits, (v) instant funding to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, (vi) push payments to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, and (vii) cash deposits. Qualifying Deposits do not include: (i) transfers between an account holder’s Checking account, Savings account, and/or Vaults; (ii) interest payments; (iii) bonuses issued by SoFi Bank or its affiliates; or (iv) credits, reversals, and refunds from SoFi Bank, N.A. (“SoFi Bank”) or from a merchant.

SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits throughout each 30-Day Evaluation Period to determine the applicability of rates and may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the “30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Upon receiving a Direct Deposit or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits to your account, you will begin earning 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% on checking balances on or before the following calendar day. You will continue to earn these APYs for (i) the remainder of the current 30-Day Evaluation Period and through the end of the subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period and (ii) any following 30-day Evaluation Periods during which SoFi Bank determines you to have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits without interruption.

SoFi Bank reserves the right to grant a grace period to account holders following a change in Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits activity before adjusting rates. If SoFi Bank grants you a grace period, the dates for such grace period will be reflected on the APY Details page of your account. If SoFi Bank determines that you did not have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits during the current 30-day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, then you will begin earning the rates earned by account holders without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits until you have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits in a subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period. For the avoidance of doubt, an account holder with both Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits will earn the rates earned by account holders with Direct Deposit.

Members without either Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits, as determined by SoFi Bank, during a 30-Day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances.

Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Tax Information: This article provides general background information only and is not intended to serve as legal or tax advice or as a substitute for legal counsel. You should consult your own attorney and/or tax advisor if you have a question requiring legal or tax advice.

Disclaimer: Many factors affect your credit scores and the interest rates you may receive. SoFi is not a Credit Repair Organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. SoFi does not provide “credit repair” services or advice or assistance regarding “rebuilding” or “improving” your credit record, credit history, or credit rating. For details, see the FTC’s website .

SOBK1023033

In your financial life, overdrafting your bank account is bad enough; no one likes to feel as if they’ve run out of money. But being charged an overdraft fee can dig you even deeper into the hole.

That’s why it can make sense to take some simple steps to avoid overdraft fees. You may be able to get a reprieve by contacting your bank or by linking accounts, among other moves.

In this guide, you’ll learn more about overdrafting and the charges involved, plus smart ideas for how to avoid overdraft fees.

What Is an Overdraft Fee?

If you pay out more than is in your bank account, your bank may go ahead and process the payment you’ve initiated, taking your balance into negative territory. They will likely charge you for this privilege (that is, letting you spend more than you have), and that is an overdraft fee.

How Much Do Overdraft Fees Cost?

Overdraft fees aren’t cheap. The cost can vary somewhat depending on the bank or financial institution, but they generally run around $35.

It’s important to note that the overdraft fee is generally per overdraft. So if you overdraft your account and don’t realize you overdrafted, you might make multiple purchases and incur a fee on each one.

And these fees can add up quickly. At $35 a pop, just three small purchases could set you back over $100.

Some banks may also charge extended overdraft fees (sometimes called continuous or sustained fees) if your account doesn’t go back into positive territory within a few days.

It’s no wonder that Americans paid $7.7 billion in overdraft and the related non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees each year.

However, a bit of hope: Over the last year or two, some banks are beginning to lower their overdraft fees. For instance, Bank of America reduced their fees to $10, and some financial institutions, often online banks, don’t charge any fees for, say, the first $50 of overdraft.

10 Ways to Avoid Overdraft Fees

Next, consider these ways to avoid overdraft fees. These strategies can keep overdraft fees from accumulating — or ever being charged in the first place.

1. Keep an Eye on Your Balances

How often do you monitor your balance typically? It’s a good idea to make a habit of checking your accounts weekly or even more frequently to make sure your balances aren’t too low.

This can be done quickly online, via mobile app, when you take money out of the ATM, and/or by calling the bank and getting an automated update on your account.

2. Maintain a Cushion

One simple way to avoid overdraft fees is to keep a cash cushion in your checking account. A cushion means you have a little more stashed in your account than you typically spend each month in order to cover unexpected or forgotten charges.

This cash cushion can prevent overdraft. You might even add it as an item on your budget to make sure it gets replenished if you use it up.

3. Set up Balance Alerts

An easy way to help avoid unexpected overdrafts, plus those high overdraft fees, is to set up some automatic alerts.

•   One that is particularly helpful is a low balance alert, which means you will be notified (by text, email, or cell phone notification) whenever your balance falls below a certain amount.

You could then immediately transfer money from savings, or hold off on making any purchases until another paycheck comes in.

•   Another useful alert you may be able to set up is the overdraft alert. This means you would be notified whenever you overdraft your account.

This alert won’t help you avoid the initial overdraft fee, but it could stop you from continuing to make payments and incurring more overdraft fees.

4. Opt Out of Overdraft Coverage

It is possible to prevent your bank from using the automatic overdraft. You just need to opt out of overdraft coverage.

Customers typically have to “opt-in” to a bank’s overdraft protection program, which many do without thinking much about it when they open their accounts.

This gives the institution permission to clear a transaction even if there is not enough money to cover it in the account. If you’re unsure about whether you’re enrolled in an overdraft program when you opened your account, you can contact your bank to find out whether you have this coverage or not.

There are pros and cons of overdraft coverage. If you have overdraft coverage, you may want to consider opting out. Without overdraft coverage for debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals, you will not be able to overdraft.

Instead, if you try to withdraw more than you have in the account, your charge will simply be declined — no money will be withdrawn from your account, and no fees will be triggered. This may help some people stay more mindful and accountable about their spending.

Keep in mind, though, that opting out of overdraft coverage programs typically does not protect you from fees charged for bounced checks.

5. Link to Another Account

Next on the list of how to avoid overdraft fees: Connect your accounts.

Your bank or financial institution might offer an overdraft protection service that is different from overdraft coverage. This service, which typically involves signing a contract to set up, will link your checking account to another account at the same institution.

Then, in the event that there’s not enough cash in your checking account to cover a transaction, the needed money would then be transferred from the linked account to cover it.

It’s important to remember, however, that some savings accounts have a limit of six withdrawals per month. Also, there may be a fee involved for the funds transfer, but these charges are typically lower than overdraft fees.

Another perk of overdraft protection is that it can help you avoid the awkwardness of having your transaction denied.

Recommended: Can You Overdraft Your Savings Account?

6. Be Careful About Where You Use Your Debit Card

Here’s another way to avoid incurring overdraft fees:

•   You may want to use something other than your debit card to check into a hotel or rent a car. These companies may put a hold on your card equal to or sometimes greater than the full amount of your bill.

In this case, money wouldn’t actually be withdrawn from your account, but it also wouldn’t be available for you to use. If you use your debit card to make another purchase and don’t realize that the hold is tying up your money, you may put yourself at risk for overdrafting.

If you’re planning to use your debit card to book a hotel or rent a car, you might want to check company policies in advance.

•   You may also want to avoid using your debit card to make lots of small purchases. These might be harder to keep track of and could add up quickly, making it more difficult for you to know how much money is flowing out of your account.

If you lose track of your spending, this too could put you more at risk for overdrafting.

7. Use Prepaid Debit Cards

Another tactic for avoiding overdraft fees is to do your spending with prepaid debit cards. These cards are often branded with a credit card logo and can be bought in a variety of sums. They come preloaded with that amount of money, and you spend until the cash value is gone. In this way, overdrafting isn’t a possibility. This might help some people stick to their budget.

8. Schedule Payments Carefully

You might also eyeball when payments are due, and see how that dovetails (or doesn’t) with your paycheck schedule. For instance, you might be more likely to overdraft your account if your credit card payment is due a couple of days before your paycheck hits. If that’s the case, you might try contacting your credit card issuer and see if they could move your due date slightly to better accommodate your cash flow. Many companies will do that.

9. Use Mobile Banking Apps

Here’s one more way to avoid overdraft fees: Use a mobile bank app, which can let you see your balance, pending payments, and spending in one click glance at your mobile device.

This can make it easy to eyeball how your money looks and avoid overspending.

10. Consider a Bank With No Overdraft Fees

Some banks are recognizing what a pain point overdraft fees can be for consumers. You may find that some are lowering their charges, and others are actually providing fee-free overdraft coverage. This may be limited to a certain amount (such as covering the first $50 of an overdraft) and may require the customer to get back to a positive balance within a certain period of time (say, until your next direct deposit hits). It can be wise to shop around for this feature; you may find it more often at online vs. traditional banks.

What to Do If You Overdraft

If you overdraw your account, here are some steps to take:

•   The best first step is generally to transfer money into the account right away. You might still be able to prevent an overdraft fee.

You may then want to see if your provider has a daily cutoff time or deadline for adding money to an account to correct a negative balance that same day to avoid fees.

Even if you miss the cutoff, transferring money into the account soon can prevent other fees. That’s because leaving a balance negative for several days can sometimes result in an extended overdraft fee.

•   If you are charged an overdraft fee, however, that doesn’t automatically mean you are stuck paying it. It doesn’t hurt to negotiate to try to have the fee reimbursed.

You can try to get overdraft fees waived by calling the bank and politely asking if they will remove the charge—if it’s your first offense, you might prevail. You may also want to ask your bank if it has a formal forgiveness program. Some institutions have policies to waive the first fee charged each year or if a customer is experiencing economic hardship.

The Takeaway

Overdrafting is when you try to spend more money from your checking account than you actually have in that account. Banks will often let your charge go through instead of declining it, but then will charge you an overdraft fee that can be around $35. These fees can add up quickly, especially if you don’t realize you overdrafted your account and continue to make purchases.

But there are a few simple ways to avoid hefty overdraft fees, such as opting out of overdraft coverage, setting up an automatic low-balance alert, linking your accounts, keeping a little cushion in your account, or banking where you get a level of no-fee overdraft coverage.

Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.

SoFi® Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A. ©2023 SoFi Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
The SoFi Bank Debit Mastercard® is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a deposit to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate.

SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits can earn 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Qualifying Deposits means one or more deposits that, in the aggregate, are equal to or greater than $5,000 to an account holder’s SoFi Checking and Savings account (“Qualifying Deposits”) during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Qualifying Deposits only include those deposits from the following eligible sources: (i) ACH transfers, (ii) inbound wire transfers, (iii) peer-to-peer transfers (i.e., external transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc. and internal peer-to-peer transfers from a SoFi account belonging to another account holder), (iv) check deposits, (v) instant funding to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, (vi) push payments to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, and (vii) cash deposits. Qualifying Deposits do not include: (i) transfers between an account holder’s Checking account, Savings account, and/or Vaults; (ii) interest payments; (iii) bonuses issued by SoFi Bank or its affiliates; or (iv) credits, reversals, and refunds from SoFi Bank, N.A. (“SoFi Bank”) or from a merchant.

SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits throughout each 30-Day Evaluation Period to determine the applicability of rates and may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the “30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Upon receiving a Direct Deposit or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits to your account, you will begin earning 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% on checking balances on or before the following calendar day. You will continue to earn these APYs for (i) the remainder of the current 30-Day Evaluation Period and through the end of the subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period and (ii) any following 30-day Evaluation Periods during which SoFi Bank determines you to have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits without interruption.

SoFi Bank reserves the right to grant a grace period to account holders following a change in Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits activity before adjusting rates. If SoFi Bank grants you a grace period, the dates for such grace period will be reflected on the APY Details page of your account. If SoFi Bank determines that you did not have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits during the current 30-day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, then you will begin earning the rates earned by account holders without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits until you have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits in a subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period. For the avoidance of doubt, an account holder with both Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits will earn the rates earned by account holders with Direct Deposit.

Members without either Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits, as determined by SoFi Bank, during a 30-Day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances.

Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

SOBK1023032

Most of us have hopes and plans for the future, and they often require a degree of financial success. Whether your aspiration is relatively small and close to home (say, hosting an amazing 30th birthday party for your sweetie at their favorite restaurant) or considerably grander (owning multiple homes and retiring by age 50), it takes planning and discipline to achieve them.

In a nutshell, smart money habits can start you on the path to achieving financial success and realizing your dreams. Adopting small (and repeated) changes in behavior can be one way to start building good financial habits that can last a lifetime.

Read on to learn six of the most important money habits that can help steer you to financial success and realizing your money goals.

Why Good Money Habits Matter

Good money habits can set you up for financial success. They act like guardrails, keeping you moving towards positives (like an impressive retirement fund) and away from potential challenges (say, too much credit card debt). They are, in fact, similar to other wise habits in your life, whether that means eating well, exercising regularly, not staying up too late watching Netflix, or remembering to call your folks often.

Yes, good habits can require some time and energy to establish, and then you likely need to maintain focus to stay on track. Some will become second nature or no-brainers; others may require more ongoing effort. But by sticking with them, good money habits can guide you to help manage your personal finances well, make smart decisions with your funds, and achieve your future goals.

6 Good Money Habits to Adopt

Here’s a closer look at six key money habits that can help you develop financial success.

1. Set Financial Goals

Formulating your financial goals can be an important step. Goals can guide you as you go about building a financial plan for the years ahead.

One person’s goals might be to pay off their student loans and save for a down payment on a house; another might want to sock away enough cash to start their own business down the road; and yet another might want to achieve a lifestyle where they can pay for their child’s college education and take ski vacations every winter.

Putting pen to paper or opening a document on your laptop can be a helpful way to focus and define specific financial goals to work towards. This can give you clarity and boost your motivation vs. simply saving in the abstract.

Once you have goals in mind, you can begin saving toward them and tracking your progress.

2. Budget Well and Track Your Spending

If you are just winging it in terms of your finances, it’s probably wise to prioritize setting up a budget. The word “budget” can cause a knee-jerk reaction because it smacks of deprivation (as in, no more lattes, ever!) but that’s not what it’s about.

Rather, a budget involves understanding how much money you have coming in and where it’s going (typically towards spending and saving). It can help you be more aware of your finances and balance them, too.

Out of the various techniques, the 50/30/20 budget rule is a popular option. It spells out that 50% of your take-home pay goes towards your needs (housing, food, and healthcare, for instance), 30% towards your wants (dining out, those lattes mentioned above, travel), and 20% towards savings.

There are plenty of other different budgeting methods to try and tools you can use to track your spending, which is an important facet of good budgeting. Your bank may even offer a convenient system for this. By tracking your spending, you can see where you may be spending too much (say, your once-a-week takeout habit has crept up to four times a week), be more mindful with money, and optimize your finances. Perhaps you can put more towards debt payments, for example, than you realized.

It can also be wise to get in the habit of checking in with your money regularly; many people find that a couple of times a week is a good frequency.

3. Consolidate Debt

As you work on your budget, you may want to cultivate another money habit to develop financial success. That involves dealing with debt.

This might mean paying off credit card balances in full and making all other necessary debt payments on time, such as mortgage installments and student loan payments. Calendar reminders can help ensure that all payments get made on time, as can automating your payments (more on that below). It may even help to arrange to have all payments due on the same day. Some lenders are willing to move a monthly due date.

If you have student loan debt, you might look into refinancing options. You might, say, be able to lower your monthly payment, though that could extend the term of your loan and cost you more in interest over the life of the loan. However, doing so may be the right move for some people. (Also keep in mind that if you refinance federal loans as private student loans you will lose access to federal benefits and protections.)

Facing and managing your debt is an important step, regardless of the specific solution you decide upon. It’s a habit that allows you to take control of your money. And it can keep your debt-to-income ratio low, which can be an important factor when you want to borrow money at as low a rate as possible.

4. Know When to Consider Balance Transfer vs. Personal Loans

Building on the idea of consolidating debt is the next financial habit. This one involves knowing the warning signs when your debt is getting uncomfortably high and then taking steps to rein it in.

Sometimes, the steps above aren’t enough. If that’s the case, it’s wise to consider your options vs. taking a wait and see approach. Currently, credit card interest rates are over 20% which can be hard for some people to pay off.

So if you see your balance rising to a level you are worried about, consider the following options as you take control of your debt:

•   You might try a balance-transfer credit card, which can give you a reprieve from high interest accruing for a period of time (often 18 months), allowing you to pay down your debt.

•   You might consider taking out a personal loan and using those funds to pay off your credit card debt. The goal here is to have a lower monthly payment on the personal loan than what your credit card bill amounted to.

•   Contact a nonprofit credit counseling service, such as the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, or nfcc.org.
Getting in this habit before debt gets deeper can help you in the long run.

5. Automate Your Finances

It can be a good idea to save money right after getting paid — before the cash sits in checking long enough to spark the urge to spend it. So why not make it simple and save automatically upfront?

A person interested in saving might begin by automating just one kind of transaction. For example, they may opt to have $50 moved from a checking account to a different savings-oriented account each month. If that money remains unspent each month, those monthly automatic savings would total to $600 at the end of the year.

That could be a good way to start an emergency fund without expending much effort. You can also automate payments of, say, your utilities and housing costs or your car loan. Paying bills on time this way can help build your credit.

There are also numerous ways to automate your investments. A workplace plan, like a 401(k), may already be doing this. For someone who’s on their own, mutual funds can make auto-investment really easy. Alternatively, a robo-advisor service can automatically invest contributions on behalf of the investor. (Note: This automation may be challenging for those paid irregularly, such as freelancers and seasonal workers.)

By embracing automation, you can nail an important money habit. You can pay yourself first and stash cash away in savings. And you can avoid such bad money habits as not saving enough, paying bills late, or forgetting to pay them at all.

Recommended: How to Become Financially Independent

6. Investing Early and Often

“I invested too much money for retirement,” said no one, ever. Arguably, there’s no other financial goal that requires more habitual action — spread over decades — than saving and investing for retirement.

It can be tempting to push off planning for retirement until tomorrow. After all, when someone’s in their 20s or 30s, retirement is likely decades and decades away. Psychologically, it’s simple to presume that it’s just not worth thinking about in the now.

But, for many, retirement can be one of life’s biggest and most important expenses. It can secure your comfortable future. Investing early, often, and wisely, can help accomplish that goal.

Adopting this habit ASAP can be a big help; it allows for more time for money to grow via compounding. Compound returns are earnings on both the original amount invested (the principal) and the money earned via investing (the profit). The more months (or years) a person invests, the higher the potential for profits to compound. Note: It is important to note that all investing carries risk as the stock market can fluctuate.

Being consistent about moving money into your portfolio is important, too. Luckily, there are easy and affordable ways to get started investing. First, open an account, like a brokerage or a retirement account. (Investing in a 401(k) also counts as investing.) Then, investors can purchase investments like stocks and funds to achieve their goals. Or investors can use an automated investing service.

The Takeaway

Building good financial habits can be rewarding. There are more technological tools than ever to help with budgeting or expense tracking. From digital apps to automatic investing, building healthy financial habits has never been more accessible.

Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.

SoFi® Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A. ©2023 SoFi Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
The SoFi Bank Debit Mastercard® is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a deposit to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate.

SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits can earn 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Qualifying Deposits means one or more deposits that, in the aggregate, are equal to or greater than $5,000 to an account holder’s SoFi Checking and Savings account (“Qualifying Deposits”) during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Qualifying Deposits only include those deposits from the following eligible sources: (i) ACH transfers, (ii) inbound wire transfers, (iii) peer-to-peer transfers (i.e., external transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc. and internal peer-to-peer transfers from a SoFi account belonging to another account holder), (iv) check deposits, (v) instant funding to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, (vi) push payments to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, and (vii) cash deposits. Qualifying Deposits do not include: (i) transfers between an account holder’s Checking account, Savings account, and/or Vaults; (ii) interest payments; (iii) bonuses issued by SoFi Bank or its affiliates; or (iv) credits, reversals, and refunds from SoFi Bank, N.A. (“SoFi Bank”) or from a merchant.

SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits throughout each 30-Day Evaluation Period to determine the applicability of rates and may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the “30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Upon receiving a Direct Deposit or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits to your account, you will begin earning 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% on checking balances on or before the following calendar day. You will continue to earn these APYs for (i) the remainder of the current 30-Day Evaluation Period and through the end of the subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period and (ii) any following 30-day Evaluation Periods during which SoFi Bank determines you to have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits without interruption.

SoFi Bank reserves the right to grant a grace period to account holders following a change in Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits activity before adjusting rates. If SoFi Bank grants you a grace period, the dates for such grace period will be reflected on the APY Details page of your account. If SoFi Bank determines that you did not have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits during the current 30-day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, then you will begin earning the rates earned by account holders without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits until you have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits in a subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period. For the avoidance of doubt, an account holder with both Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits will earn the rates earned by account holders with Direct Deposit.

Members without either Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits, as determined by SoFi Bank, during a 30-Day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances.

Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

External Websites: The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third-party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi. Links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement.

SoFi Invest®
INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE
SoFi Invest encompasses two distinct companies, with various products and services offered to investors as described below: Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of these platforms.
1) Automated Investing and advisory services are provided by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser (“SoFi Wealth“). Brokerage services are provided to SoFi Wealth LLC by SoFi Securities LLC.
2) Active Investing and brokerage services are provided by SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA (www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org). Clearing and custody of all securities are provided by APEX Clearing Corporation.
For additional disclosures related to the SoFi Invest platforms described above please visit SoFi.com/legal.
Neither the Investment Advisor Representatives of SoFi Wealth, nor the Registered Representatives of SoFi Securities are compensated for the sale of any product or service sold through any SoFi Invest platform.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

SOBK1023030