SoFi Money Review (And Earn An Easy $50!)

I first heard of SoFi about three years ago. Back then, SoFi was a newish finance company that was mainly known for providing student loan refinancing. Around that time, I was almost finished playing off all my loans as a result of living very frugally as a resident. Thus refinancing didn’t make financial sense. Fast forward to now and SoFi has since evolved. In addition to student loan refinancing, SoFi has expanded to personal loans, home loans, investing, as well as an account called SoFi Money.

What Is SoFi Money?

SoFi Money is what they are calling a “cash management” account. It’s not quite a checking account or a savings account, but a hybrid of the two.

Along with the account, you’ll receive a Visa debit card that is associated with it. You can also use physical checks associated with the account too.

Here are some of the key features and benefits:

APY 1.6% (It was 2.25% at one time, but this was decreased as the Fed decreased interest rates)
$0 minimum balance requirement
No monthly fee
$0 minimum deposits
No overdraft fees
ATM fees are refunded
0% foreign transaction fee
There seems to be a 1% foreign exchange fee charged by Visa (it’s a Visa debit card), however data points from Miles to Memories seem to indicate that SoFi eats these fees and it is not passed on to the consumer

Earning Interest

Sure, 1.6% APY isn’t the best you can find. But it’s still pretty good. It’s much better than my Citi money market account, which is close to nothing

There are plenty of banks that offer a 2% APY or more. One example is Red Neck Bank. (This is not a referral link, I just wanted to type it out because it’s funny name for a bank; and yes, it’s a real bank.)

Keep in mind, a lot of these banks have higher minimum requirements.

Low Maintenance

Because there are no monthly fees, no minimum deposits, and $0 minimum balance requirement, the account costs nothing to maintain.

Great For Travel and ATM’s Abroad

I’m an avid traveler and I love earning credit card rewards points. So it’s not a surprise that I try to use credit cards as much as possible when I’m abroad. For example, I use my Citi Prestige card when dining to earn 5x Citi Thank You points. And for any travel-related expenses (like Uber/Lyft, flights, metro, etc.) I’ll use my Chase Ink Business Preferred to earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points. Not only do they not have foreign transaction fees, they also earn valuable transferable points to boot!

But unfortunately, you can’t always pay for everything with a credit card. Sometimes you need cold hard cash for foreign vendors who simply don’t accept credit cards. In these circumstances, you can exchange your dollars for local currency. Or you can withdraw local currency from an ATM machine using your banking card.

Depending on the bank, using your banking ATM card could incur a foreign transaction fee. And often times an ATM fee will be charged, especially if you use a third party ATM machine.

One of the major benefits of having a SoFi Money account is that you’ll receive a debit card that can be used in any ATM machine worldwide. You will not be charged a foreign transaction fee and all ATM fees refunded. That’s pretty awesome!

It’s Only a Soft Pull

Another benefit of applying for a SoFi Money account is that it only results in a soft pull. What this means is that there is no hard inquiry on your credit so it won’t show up on your credit report.

This is great because opening a SoFi Money account will not lower your credit score which is important for people who are anticipating opening new credit or taking out a new loan.

A Few Things To Consider

SoFi Money may not be for everyone. There are a few limitations to consider.

SoFi is Not a Bank

Since SoFi is not a bank, the cash balance in SoFi Money accounts is swept to one or more program banks where it earns a variable rate of interest and is eligible for FDIC insurance. FDIC Insurance does not immediately apply.

Coverage begins when funds arrive at a partner bank. There are currently six banks available to accept these deposits, making customers eligible for up to $1,500,000 of FDIC insurance (six banks, $250,000 per bank).

There Are No Brick-and-Mortar Branches

Again, SoFi is not a bank. Thus, SoFi Money does not have any physical branches. Because of this, no cash deposits are accepted.

This is not a big deal since most people these days do not deposit cash anymore. Transferring money electronically online from your bank to your SoFi Money account is easy, just a click of a button.

Money Limits

There is a peer to peer withdrawal limit of $250 per day and $3000 per month. For bill pay, you cannot exceed more than $10,000 per transaction

With the debit card there is a limit of 12 transaction per day with a point of sale spending limit of $3,000. Additionally, you cannot withdraw more than $610 cash from an ATM per day.

Below is a chart summarizing these details.

Earn An Easy $50 with SoFi Money Referrals

Okay, here’s the fun part.

One of the great things about SoFi Money is that there’s a referral program.

A new member gets ~~$50~~ (now $25) bonus when signing up with a referral link and funding the account with $100.
The referrer also gets ~~$50~~ (now $25). (Thanks in advance if you use my link!)

In order to earn the $25, you will need to use a referral link. So feel free to use mine if you’d like.

Once you’re signed up, you can refer anybody you want including your friends, family, and significant other. Every referral earns $25. So if you sign up, then refer someone else, that’s an easy $50.

You can earn up to $10,000 in referral bonuses which is pretty awesome!

Signing Up For SoFI Money

Signing up for SoFI Money is fast and easy. Seriously, I did it in less than 5 minutes.

Once you click on the link, proceed to click on the “open account” button. Then it’ll ask you for some basic information like your name, state of residence, and email.

Next, you’ll have to provide your address and a telephone number. A verification code will be sent to your phone for confirmation.

Afterwards, you will confirm additional information such as your U.S. citizen status, date of birth, and social security number. It’s important to note that SoFi Money uses banking level Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.2) encryption to keep your data safe.

Once everything is confirmed, you will have to review some regulatory questions.

Questions included:

Do you work for a securities exchange, FINRA, or security brokerage firm?
Are you an officer, director, or 10% shareholder of a publicly trade company?
Are you a highly ranking military, government, or politician of a foreign country?

After responding “no” to the above answers, you’re set. You can then link your bank account, transfer $100 to fund your SoFi Money account, then earn the $50 bonus.

Earning $50 in less than 5 minutes is nothing to scoff at!

Final Thoughts

Banking bonuses were never a serious consideration for me at first. They usually require a high minimum balance that could potentially tie up money I would otherwise invest. And if I didn’t meet the minimum balance, I might be hit with a monthly fee. Plus I would be taxed on the earnings from banking sign up bonuses and interest, further reducing their appeal. This is in contrast to credit card sign up bonuses, which are usually not taxed.

But SoFi Money is different. It has no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirement. Thus it’s an easy, low-risk way of earning a $50 sign up bonus while earning a decent interest rate. And since I travel quite a bit, I can use the additional benefit of having a debit card with no foreign transactions fees which also provides reimbursements for ATM fees.

I currently have a high yield savings account that earns more than the 1.6% APY that is offered by the SoFi Money account. Because of this, I’m not putting the bulk of my savings in SoFi Money. However, I will likely transfer a few thousand dollars into the SoFI Money prior to international trips. That way I can withdraw foreign currency without worrying about those annoying ATM fees.

And if the SoFi Money APY goes higher (like 2.25% which it once was) in the future, then I can always transfer money to the account and earn more money :).

SoFi Money Review (And Earn An Easy $50!)