GO2bank
Strengths
- No credit check or chexsystems check
- High savings interest rates
- Cash bank on egift card purchases
- Direct deposit up to two days early
- Overdraft protection available
Weaknesses
- $5 monthly fee if you don’t meet Direct Deposit requirements
- High savings interest rate only applies to the first $5,000
- Limited customer service options
- No check writing privileges
GO2bank is a fintech-owned online bank whose mission is to “simplify banking by enabling you to quickly and affordably access, manage and move your money.” They refer to themselves as “the ultimate mobile banking app.” In this GO2bank review, we’ll help you decide if that’s an accurate descriptor.
We’re sharing all of the essential details about GO2bank, including features, fees, and other important facts you need to know about banking with GO2bank. Also, if you’re searching for a bank that doesn’t use Chexsystems, GO2bank might be an intelligent choice for your banking needs.
Table of Contents
What Is GO2bank?
GO2bank is a brand of Green Dot Bank. As you may know, Green Dot began in 1999 as a payment platform company. It’s also the largest prepaid debit card provider (by market capitalization). Green Dot founded GO2bank to provide online banking capabilities to the unbanked and underbanked.
The FDIC found in a 2019 survey that over 5% of U.S. households were unbanked or underbanked. That equates to 7.1 million U.S. households.
GO2bank works to help the unbanked and underbanked have access to checking and savings account features through its online banking services. The FDIC-insured bank offers several features to those needing checking or savings account services.
GO2bank won’t check your credit or deny you a checking account because of previous banking issues.
GO2bank Features
As a GO2bank customer, you’ll find a wide array of features that can help meet your banking needs. Let’s take a closer look at some of the standout ones, including a unique Savings Vault feature that’s designed to help you reach your financial goals.
Checking Account Features
GO2bank’s checking account includes the following features:
- No minimum balance requirement
- Open your checking account online with no minimum balance
- $5 monthly fee which is waived with Direct Deposit of payroll or government benefit
- For any months where your account does not receive direct deposit, the monthly fee applies
- Deposit funds via Direct Deposit, bank transfer, debit card transfer, or cash at any Green Dot location (fee applies for cash deposits)
- Check the GO2bank app to find retail locations
- Free debit card
- No fee for in-network ATM withdrawals
There are no check-writing privileges with your GO2bank checking account, so you’ll have to make withdrawals at an ATM or purchases via your GO2bank debit card.
If you need to deposit a check, you can do so with GO2bank’s mobile check deposit/check cashing feature.
Choose instant approval to access the check funds immediately if you use the Ingo Money feature and pay the fee or choose a 10-day waiting period with no fee applied1.
Overdraft Protection
GO2bank checking accounts come with the ability to opt-in to the bank’s overdraft protection feature2.
You can get up to $200 of overdraft protection regardless of your credit history if you have an eligible direct deposit going into your account each month.
A $15 fee applies for each transaction that brings your account into a negative balance. However, there are ways to avoid the overdraft protection fee:
- For Premium 100 and Premium 200 eligible customers, there are no fees for transactions of $5 or less and no fee for transactions that overdraft your account balance up to $10. For example, if you spend $4 twice for a total overdraft account balance of $8, there would be no fee.
- Bring your account to a positive balance of $0 or more within 24 hours of the first transaction that results in an overdraft to avoid the $15 fee.
For Premium 100 overdraft protection, you need to receive at least 2 direct deposits totaling $200+ in a 35 day period. For Premium 200 overdraft protection, you need to receive at least 2 direct deposits totaling $400+ in a 35 day period. Both coverage levels allow for a maximum of 10 overdrafts in a monthly statement period.
Savings Vault Features
GO2bank also has a savings account feature they call the Savings Vault. You cannot spend money in your vault directly; you must first transfer it into your GO2bank checking account.
GO2bank lets you create up to five Savings Vaults with your checking, which means you can have different vaults for different savings goals.
GO2bank Savings Vaults pay 10x the national average in interest as well, making GO2bank one of the best online savings accounts you can find3. See the GO2bank website for current interest rates.
GO2bank only pays this high-interest rate on combined vault balances of up to $5,000. There is no minimum required balances or monthly maintenance fees for Savings Vaults.
Cash Back on eGift Card Purchases
When you purchase an eGift Card through your GO2bank app, you’ll automatically earn up to 7% cash back on the purchase4.
Egift Card cash back rates and merchants vary, Amazon eGift Cards currently earn 3% cash back, and there are over 100 other popular national and online merchants from where you can choose to get eCift Cards.
The eGift Cards are kept in your GO2bank wallet for use at any time, or you can gift them to other GO2bank account holders.
The cash bank percentage you earn from your eGift Card purchases is instantly available in your GO2bank balance after the purchase is complete.
Bill Pay Capabilities
GO2bank does offer bill pay. Go to your account and choose from the available list of thousands of bill payees.
Enter your details, and GO2bank will cut and mail a check to cover the bills you want to pay. There is no charge for Bill Pay with GO2bank.
Secured Credit Card
GO2bank also offers a secured credit card5. Send them the amount of money you want as your credit card limit on your secured card.
The deposit amount you submit ($100 minimum requirement) will earn interest, and you can use the secured credit card with an equivalent available credit balance to build up a credit history.
GO2bank Customer Service Reviews
GO2bank is rated 1.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot as of this writing, based upon 147 reviews. Most are centered around customer service issues when users have problems, such as a lost debit card or missing transaction.
Remember that most reviews of larger companies will skew on the lower end, as people have an axe to grind and review sites are a great place to “get back” at a company.
There is no Better Business Bureau rating for GO2bank or Green Dot Corporation’s parent company. Other review sites such as Yelp report similar issues and have low ratings.
If you need to reach GO2bank customer service, GO2bank has telephone and live chat customer service options. You can contact them via phone at 855-459-1334 or via live chat during the hours of 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. PST 7 days a week.
Next, let’s go over a list of pros and cons you may want to consider before opening an account with GO2bank.
GO2bank Pros and Cons
There’s a lot to like about GO2bank, from their attractive interest rates on savings to the cash back on eGift Card purchases. But there are also some limitations if you’re used to traditional, in-person banking. Here’s a full list of pros and cons to consider.
Pros:
- No credit check or chexsystems check
- High savings interest rates
- Cash back on eGift Card purchases
- Direct deposit up to two days early
- Overdraft protection available
Cons
- $5 monthly fee if you don’t meet direct deposit requirements
- High savings interest rate only applies to the first $5,000
- Limited customer service options
- No check writing privileges
GO2bank Alternatives
These GO2bank alternatives share a lot in common with GO2bank, but there are differences. I recommend that you check them out also to compare features. You can also see our list of the best check-cashing apps here.
Chime
Chime is a fintech company that offers eligible members a checking account, optional savings account, and secured Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card.
There are no minimum balance requirements and no monthly fees charged with Chime. Chime offers many of the same benefits as GO2bank, including:
- No chexsystems or credit check
- Fee-Free overdraft with SpotMe®1
- Direct deposit up to two days early2
- Fee-Free3 in-network ATM usage
See our full Chime Review for more information about Chime or, if it’s not quite right, a few alternatives to Chime.
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC. The Chime Visa® Debit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Please see back of your Card for its issuing bank.
1 Tipping or not tipping has no impact on your eligibility for SpotMe.
2Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payment file from the payer. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.
3Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven location, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.
CIT Bank
CIT Bank is an online-only bank that offers checking accounts with no minimum balance and no monthly service fee.
Because CIT Bank is an actual bank, they offer checking accounts and other accounts, including Money Market accounts, savings accounts, and CDs.
Other CIT Bank checking account features include:
- ATM fee reimbursements of up to $30 per statement cycle
- $100 minimum opening balance requirement, no minimum balance after that
- Interest bearing account
- No chexsystems or credit check
See our full CIT Bank Review for more information.
Current
Current is another fintech company offering a checking account with no Chexsystems check.
Current’s Basic checking account offers the following features:
- No minimum balance
- No monthly service fee
- Fee-free in-network ATMs
- One free savings pod
There is no check writing privileges with Current. See our full Current Review for more information.
FAQs
If you received an unsolicited offer in the mail for GO2bank, it’s because you’re a prior customer or because you opted in to receive offers from a GO2bank third-party partner.
If you received an offer and didn’t want a GO2bank account, cut up the card you received. The card has to be activated to be valid, so cutting it up and throwing it away will ensure that there is no account opened in your name.
No. All GO2bank customers who have direct deposit going into their account qualify for overdraft protection. See the GO2bank website for more details on overdraft protection.
You can manually add payees to your bill pay list. GO2bank will cut a check and mail it to the specified person or company.
No. GO2bank won’t check your credit if you want to get a secured credit card from them. Just put down a deposit amount equal to the credit limit you want.
GO2bank Review: Final Thoughts
GO2bank has several great checking account features to help serve the unbanked and underbanked population. As long as you can connect a direct deposit, you have access to free banking with several added features designed to save you time and money. In addition, GO2bank gives you perks that matter, like up to 7% cash back on eGift Card purchases and attractive interest rates on your first $5000.
There are several competitors in this space, some of whom we’ve covered here, so make sure you compare features before signing up so that you end up with the mobile banking solution that best suits your needs. It very well might be GO2bank.
1 Ingo Money is a service provided by First Century Bank, N.A. and Ingo Money, Inc., subject to the First Century Bank and Ingo Money Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Fees may apply. All checks subject to review for approval. For more details, visit https://www.ingomoney.com/partners/greendot-terms-conditions/.
2 Activated, chip-enabled debit card and opt-in required. $15 fee may apply to each eligible purchase transaction that brings your account negative. Balance must be brought to at least $0 within 24 hours of authorization of the first transaction that overdraws your account to avoid the fee. We require immediate payment of each overdraft and overdraft fee. Overdrafts paid at our discretion, and we do not guarantee that we will authorize and pay any transaction. Learn more about Overdraft Protection (PDF).
3 1% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) paid quarterly on savings, of up to a $5,000 balance. APY as of 1 2022, and may change anytime. National savings average based on FDIC-published rates as of 1]/1/22 on the $2,500 product tier of insured depository institutions for which data is available.
4 Activated, chip-enabled debit card required to purchase eGift Cards. Active GO2bank account required to receive eGift Cards. eGift Card merchants subject to change. See Deposit Account Agreement (PDF) for details.
5 Available only to GO2bank accountholders with direct deposits totaling at least $100 in the past 30 days. Eligibility criteria applies. Other fees apply.
