Find Out The Best Banking Option For You
Online banking is the new frontier for finances, offering many convenient benefits.
Banking in the current world looks different than it used to 50 years ago, and this comes with benefits. There are now online banks you can choose to bank with which provide convenience and options that many traditional banks do not. Some online banks offer sustainable services and do not contribute to gas and oil industries.
Some online banking sites are made with bonus software to help you run your small business, and others provide more accessible ways to build your credit. Keep reading to find out more about online banking options and the difference between going with an online bank vs. a traditional brick-and-mortar-bank.
Aspiration
Aspiration is an eco-friendly online bank with a goal of sustainability. If you want to lower your carbon footprint, or even neutralize your carbon output through planting trees, this bank has you covered. Read about the impact you can have by opening an account with Aspiration.
Aspiration offers two types of accounts, a spend account and a save account, and two levels to choose from, regular or plus.
With a regular spend account and save account at Aspiration your monthly or annual charge is up to you. This means you can maintain your account for free or pay “what you think is fair” monthly to support the bank. You only have to have a $10 dollar minimum opening deposit to open an account, and you have access to 55,000+ in network ATMs that offer withdrawals free of fees.
There are free instant transfers between your spend and save account at Aspiration, and you have the option to plant a tree with every debit card swipe. You get cash back with Conscience Coalition purchases, and none of your deposits will go towards funding fossil fuel exploration or production.
With an Aspiration plus account the monthly charge is $7.99, or $5.99 if you choose to pay annually. Your savings account can have up to 83 times higher interest rates than other banks. Aspiration is also FDIC insured up to $2.46 million per depositor.
Learn more about Aspiration by checking out their website.
Chime
Chime is an online bank that offers a credit builder credit card. You don’t have to pay any fees to open a checking account with them or to receive a debit card, and you don’t have to pay an annual fee to get one of their credit builder credit cards, or pass a credit score test. Chime also offers 60,000+ in-network ATMs that require no fees to make withdrawals. Chime is also FDIC insured for up to $250,000 per depositor.
To be eligible for one of their credit builder credit cards, you simply have to have opened a checking account with Chime already, and have a deposit made into your checking account for $200 or more from an employer or a benefits provider. Once you are eligible, you will make a security deposit to your credit builder secure account, of the amount that will be available to you for the month. This money that is kept in the secure account you can still use to pay off the card at the end of the month, all while building your credit.
Chime savings accounts offer .5% APY, and there is no annual or monthly fee you have to have to open a savings account with Chime. You can set up an automatic saving feature as well, where Chime will round up every purchase you make and place the balance from your checking account into your savings account. Chime also offers up to $200 overdraft on your checking account with no fees, with eligibility.
Do you think Chime is a good fit for you? Learn more about Chime here.
Lili
Lili is an online bank made with your small business in mind. Lili comes with invoicing software to help you run your small business from your bank account, as well as many other built-in features to make running your business smooth.
To open an account with Lili you do not have to have a minimum balance, and you do not have to pay any annual or monthly fees. With your Lili account you can set up automatic tax savings for every business deposit which will automatically set aside money for your taxes into a “tax bucket” for when tax season rolls around. There is also a write off tracker built into your online banking experience, for any tax write offs you may acquire while running your business.
Lili is FDIC insured and offers free cash withdrawals at over 38,000+ ATM locations across the country. With eligibility, you can have up to a $200 overdraft on your checking account with no overdraft fee, and you can even set up your Lili account to automatically fill out your 1040 Schedule C form at the end of the tax season.
Lili offers an emergency saving bucket with a 1% APY, and you can set a fixed daily amount to transfer from your checking account to your savings bucket to save without hassle.
If you want to start banking for your small business, visit Lili.
Online Banking Vs. Traditional Banking
Online banking offers many benefits that traditional banking does not offer. But traditional banking has some features that online banking simply does not offer. High profile finance websites have been shifting their focus to online banking and discussing the pros and cons of making the switch, such as NerdWallet. Keep reading to see the pros and cons of both banking options.
The advantages of online banking
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Low to No fees: Most online banks do not charge a monthly maintenance fee, and often have a little to no deposit minimum.
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Higher APY: At many online banks the interest rate on your savings is much higher than at regular banks. For example, with a Lili savings account you earn 1% APY.
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Large ATM networks: With online banks there are many more in network ATMs with no withdrawal fee
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Convenience With online banking you can access your account anywhere you have internet service.
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Standard Services Many online banks offer all the same services you would get at a brick and mortar bank such as certificates of deposits, mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, and investment options.
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Security Online banks take security measures to make your banking experience just as secure as at a regular bank.
The advantages of a traditional bank
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Cash deposits It is not as simple to deposit cash to an online bank as to a traditional bank. You will have to find an ATM that accepts cash deposits that are in-network for an online bank which with traditional banking is much more accessible.
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Cash withdrawal ATMs often have a cash withdrawal limit where with a bank teller you can withdraw as much cash as you’d like from your account.
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In-person customer service With online banks getting in touch with customer service can take much longer than with traditional banks.
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Broader range of accounts and products Traditional banks often have much more to offer in the sense of investment accounts, safety deposit boxes, and check writing services.
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Stability of technology If your online bank’s website or app goes down and you can’t access your bank then there is no in-person option as with traditional banks.
