Bonus increased to $175 for limited-time. Current is a fintech, with banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, member FDIC. After the whole Synapse/Juno/Yotta fiasco, I no longer recommending keeping significant balances in a fintech, even if the interest rate is very competitive. The entire point of cash is to be as close to 100% safe and liquid as possible.
I am updating this review of my Current account opened years ago, as right now they are offering a boosted $150 referral bonus if you complete an eligible Payroll Deposit of at least $200 within your first 45 days of opening an account. You must either apply directly through the link above or enter promo code JONATHAP228 when signing up. Thanks if you use my link!
Other features:
- No minimum balance. No minimum opening deposit.
- No credit check. No Chexsystems check.
- No overdraft fees.
- Fee-free ATM withdrawals within the 40,000+ Allpoint ATM network.
- Access to paycheck up to 2 days early.
- Gas station authorization holds immediately released.
- On top of no overdraft fees, also get up to $100 in fee-free overdraft coverage.
This is a pretty big bonus with no minimum deposit requirement that should be easy for those that have payroll websites/apps where you can split and/or switch your direct deposits easily.
Current also offers 4% APY on their “Savings Pods” if you maintain a $200+ direct deposit monthly. But even though the $175 new customer bonus is nice and they have some thoughtful features like the free overdraft coverage, they are still a fintech so I’m not keeping significant balances there long-term.
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I signed up, entered the MrBeast promo codes, and was luckily awarded “Premium membership for life” just like you mentioned – this makes maxing out the account(s) completely worth it, because otherwise, accounting for the Premium membership fees would make the net return pretty much identical to the 3% APY I’m already getting through HMBradley.
Still waiting on my bonus with Swagbucks. They also never credited me for a home depot purchase. Their customer service is TERRIBLE, they said that it takes 30 days to get an email response!!
Good News: Current is about to announce that the premium tier will be free. I think this starts in May, but if you email them now they will waive your April fee.
Did this in February still waiting for the $120 from Swagbucks. Swagbucks is an ABSOLUTE SCAM, they make your jump thru a crazy amount of hoops!
To earn the points, you have to get them verified, then awarded, then posted.
To redeem them you have to do an identity verification, email verification, wait 5 days for your order to be verified, then approved, then 10 more for the order to be “delivered” electronically. And that’s if there is no “additional verification” required.
Each step requires you to complete a draconian “Customer Service” Form with order numbers, dates, screenshots, and additional information. A few days later they send you an auto-reply asking for the same information that was on the form (which of course isn’t emailed to you when you complete the form).
It is clear that their business model is to make it so difficult to earn and redeem points that you give up.
Thanks for the warning!
Current app says they just launched a $50 referral program. Get $50 for each referral who signs up and receives a qualifying direct deposit within 45 days of opening the account.
It says “update your account to see this offer” if you already have the Current app.
Forbes , Nerd Wallet, FinanceBuzz, and The College Investor both reviewed the Current app. Forbes review was in Dec 2021 while the other three were in Feb 2022. You can find these (all positive) reviews on-line.
Is the account FDIC insured ?
Yes, “Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Members FDIC.” My routing number is from Choice Financial Group, 091302966, which you can verify here:
https://www.aba.com/about-us/routing-number
FWIW you cannot use your Google Voice number. I don’t have a legitimate mobile number (mine gets 20 spam calls a day, I have it silenced on iPhone completely) so keep that in mind if your “real” number is basically a burner phone number.
If your bank isn’t in Plaid — this is cell phone only setup — setting up linked accounts might be, impossible. Once HMBradley is linked, I could setup savings pods right away from within the app. Lafayette isn’t supported via Plaid, unfortunately. Couldn’t link Alliant either, as it got tripped up on security codes and device registration.
I setup the DD; If it works, there should be some coin headed your way eventually. Thanks for all your posts!
Thanks!
I’d forgotten about this. Never did get the bonus from Current, sadly.
Might be worth it after bank rates go down and this stays at 4%. You can get the same at Bask Bank and no direct deposit.
are you eligible for the bonus if you previously had an account with them?
The bonus is for new customers, but I’m not sure what their actual rules are. I still have my account open, so I won’t be trying again.
Used your referral code and already got the bonus after first $200 DD 😀
Nice! Thanks!
I did a $200 deposit from Fidelity (which DOC said would work) about 2 weeks ago, still no bonus. I’ll change my DD from work for this month if I have to.
Will the RMD distribution work as a Direct Deposit?