Is Current Legit & A Good Bank? Our Honest Review

Current is a legit mobile banking solution that's known for its lack of monthly fees and unique Savings Pods feature. Plus, the company recently rolled out cash advances and has offers several features and services to enhance your cash flow and savings efforts with no hidden charges.

But is Current worth using and safe? And how can you tell if this savings solution is right for you?

In this Current review, we’ll explore Current’s banking, saving, and investing features, fees, and benefits to help you decide whether it’s worth using.

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Key Takeaways:

• Current offers no-fee banking and savings
• Earn 4% APY on up to $6,000 in savings
• Other perks like faster paycheck access, free overdraft protection, and cash advances
• Current also lets you invest in crypto and offers teen accounts
• We recommend Current if you're building your savings and want to ditch bank fees

What Is Current?

Current is a financial technology company that helps its members save and spend their money without expensive fees. It also has a credit building product, teen accounts, and numerous other features to help its members manage their finances.

Current's first product was a teen debit card that launched in 2017. Since then, it's grown into a comprehensive financial solution that lets you save, spend, and invest your money similar to how you would using a traditional brick-and-mortar bank.

The difference is that Current isn’t a bank. Instead, it’s technically a neobank and works with Choice Financial Group, Member FDIC, and Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, to provide its banking services.

As such, your money is FDIC-insured through these partners. Current also doesn’t provide your typical checking and savings accounts, instead combining the two into a blended account with no credit checks and zero annual fees.

Is Current Legit?

Current is a legit and offers excellent digital banking services designed for people who want to skip unnecessary fees and bank as simply as possible. It's also highly rated, with a 4.5 star rating on Trustpilot and over 9,000 reviews.

If you want to ditch bank fees and earn passive income on your savings, Current is a great choice. It also has a great sign up bonus for new members and pays a competitive 4% APY right now on savings. If you're just starting out your savings journey, we think Current's a great choice.

That said, larger account balance holders might want to look elsewhere. Current only pays interest on $6,000 in savings. If you have a larger balance, we suggest using Raisin to find the top savings account for you.

What Does Current Offer?

Current has numerous features to help you save, spend, and invest your income. Let's take a look at them!

1. Current Spend

Current Spend is Current’s main offering. It's a checking account, savings account, debit card, and credit card all in one.

You get a Visa debit card card from Current that you can use to access the money in your account, whether you want to visit an ATM or make purchases. You can set up direct deposit to your account for your paychecks, enjoy fee-free overdrafts, and earn points on your purchases.

On top of that, you can also opt for the Current Visa secured card charge. This card lets you build your credit as you use it and make on-time payments since Current reports these payments to major credit bureaus.

Current Spend also has plenty of other nifty perks, including:

• Option for AutoPay
• Paychecks up to 2 days faster with direct deposit
• Mobile check deposits
• Earn up to 7x points on card swipes
• Fee-free overdraft between $25 to $200
• Credit building with purchases
• 40,000+ fee-free AllPoint ATMs
• No temporary holds at gas pumps
• Money management tools

2. Savings Pods

Current Savings Pods are similar to a regular savings account. However, you can have up to 3 Savings Pods, making it easy to set money aside for different goals, like paying off debt or going on a vacation.

You can put as much money as you’d like into your Savings Pods, but only a certain amount is eligible for interest earnings, also known as Current Boosts. You can earn Boosts on the first $2,000 in each Savings Pod, up to a maximum of $6,000.

Current Boosts provide a maximum of a 4.00% annual bonus on your money. If you’re eligible for the full 4.00% bonus and you have at least $2,000 in each Savings Pod, this is $240 in free money per year. To get the full 4.00% bonus, you’ll need at least $500 of qualifying direct deposits per month. Otherwise, your Boost sits at 0.25%.

Earning 4% APY is a nice way to earn money on autopilot with your savings. But again, if you have over $6,000, you'll want to move your excess cash elsewhere.

Also note that you can also save cash with Current by automating your savings using the Round-Up feature. This rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and deposits the extra change into your savings account.

3. Cash Advances

Current has a new cash advance feature that lets you borrow up to $500 against an upcoming paycheck. And this is an amazing feature if you need to pay rent or other bills and are having trouble making it to payday.

This is similar to some of the best cash advance apps out there like EarnIn and Dave. And it's also very easy to get started. To be eligible, you simply set up your payroll direct deposit with your Current bank account, and your deposits must be more than $500 per month. You can also link an external bank account to your Current account if your check already gets deposited there.

Current may offer you a lower cash advance amount to start with but can increase the amount up to $500 once it sees a consistent deposits and responsible spending.

Also note that cash advances are free if you wait up to 3 business days to receive the money. Otherwise, you can get paid instantly by paying a variable express fee based on how much you're advancing. When you get paid, Current automatically withdraws the money you owe from your account to repay your advance.

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4. $50 Sign Up Bonus

Right now, you can take advantage of Current's $50 sign up bonus if you're a brand new member. To get the bonus, simply:

• Sign up for a Current account.
• Enter code WELCOME50 in the promo code box when signing up.
• Within 45 days of signing up, have a direct deposit of at least $200 go to your Current account.

Current sends the $50 welcome bonus to your Current account within 10 business days of the date your direct deposit successfully cleared your account.

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5. Crypto Investing

Another new Current feature is its crypto investing side. This lets you buy and sell crypto right from Current's mobile app, and you don't pay trading fees. You can also trade dozens of coins including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Polkadot.

This feature makes it easier to begin investing for income. And you only need $1 to begin trading. However, the interface and trading tools you get are far more basic when compared to using an exchange like Coinbase.

You can also read our guide on the best income-generating assets to buy for even more investing ideas.

6. Current Teen Accounts

Current has separate accounts for teens to have some freedom over their money. Teens can open an account on their own, but if they’re under 18, the account will need to link to a parent’s Current account. Parents can then give their teen an allowance, create spending limits to control how much and where they spend their cash, and transfer money to their teen’s account at any time.

Teen accounts also have a Savings Pod known as a Giving Balance. This is a savings goal that allows your teen to save money to donate to a charity of their choice. Once they save enough money in their Giving Balance, Current will send their donation.

Current Fees & Pricing

Current doesn't charge monthly account fees, and there's no sign-up fee either. However, some services require fees:

• Out-of-network ATM fee: $2.50 per transaction
• International cash withdrawal fee: $3.00 plus the foreign transaction fee
• Cash deposit fee: $3.50 per transaction
• Card replacement fee: $5 for standard shipping or $30 for expedited shipping
• Foreign transaction fee: 3% of the transaction amount, or a minimum of $0.50
• Late payment fee: 3% of any total balances past due for two or more billing cycles
• Inactivity fee: $5 per month after 12 consecutive months of inactivity
• Account closure fee: $10

Is Current A Good Banking Solution?

Current can be an attractive banking solution for people who are just starting out with savings and want to avoid fees while earning a competitive interest rate. It also has a great sign up bonus, useful cash advances, and has perks like early paycheck deposits and free overdraft protection to help you out.

However, if you prefer to visit a bank in person or plan to open other accounts in the future with a bank you have a longstanding relationship with, Current probably isn’t the right choice. And it's not the best savings solution if you have $6,000+ in savings.

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Is Current Safe?

Current is a safe banking solution, and your money is kept in FDIC-insured partner banks. So, you get up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance to protect your funds. As for data security, Current uses encryption to protect any data you share with the app, including your account information and personal data.

What Are Some Good Alternatives To Consider?

We think Current is a great home for your emergency fund or first savings. And I love its lack of fees and nifty sign up bonus. However, you can still consider plenty of other options too.

Some of our favorite Current alternatives include:

• SoFi (best for sign up bonuses)
• Raisin (best for compare saving rates)
• Upgrade (best for cash back)
• EarnIn (best for cash advances)
• Varo (best digital bank alternative)

Of course, you can always try several of these options and take advantage of ongoing bonuses. Just decide which features are important for you, and don't be afraid to shop around for rates!

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Pros & Cons

Pros:

• No monthly account fees or minimum deposit requirement
• $50 sign up bonus
• Your money is FDIC-insured
• Plenty of perks like free overdraft protection, early paycheck deposits, and more
• A network of 40,000+ fee-free ATMs
• Current also offers teen accounts

Cons:

• Current only pays interest on savings up to $6,000
• $500 daily ATM withdrawal limit
• Fairly basic crypto investing features and no stock/ETF investing options

Final Thoughts

I hope our Current bank review helps you decide if this is the right home for your money.

If you want to ditch fees and earn a competitive interest rate, Current could be for you. And its sign up bonus and range of perks that help you save money are selling points.

That said, you can still use a tool like Raisin to compare saving products and rates in your area. But for a no-fee, simple savings solution, Current has our vote.

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