Business Insider's personal finance team compared GO2bank to the best banks and found it to be in need of improvement. GO2bank doesn't offer as many products as a regular bank might. Its products have some interesting perks, but they also come with some downsides that other online banks might not have.
GO2bank Overall Rating
| Category | Rating |
| Checking Account | 4 |
| Savings Account | 4 |
| Trustworthiness | 2 |
| Total | 3.25 |
GO2bank Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
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About GO2bank
GO2bank is an online bank brand of Green Dot Bank (Member FDIC). GO2bank offers a checking account and savings sub-accounts called Vaults. It also offers a secured credit card. To open and deposit money into a Vault, you have to do it from the GO2bank™ Account.
Customers have access to over 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs in the Allpoint ATM network.
Not all online banks let you deposit cash. You can put cash in your GO2bank™ Account at retailers with Green Dot locations, but you'll pay up to $4.95 each time.
The GO2bank mobile banking app is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store and 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple store.
To receive customer support by live chat or phone, you'll have to be a current GO2bank customer. The GO2bank help center says that GO2bank offers 24/7 customer service through live chat and through its customer support phone line, though.
GO2bank accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor.
Is GO2bank Trustworthy?
We include a breakdown Better Business Bureau ratings and recent controversies or lawsuits for each of our banking products to give you an idea of the company's ethics and how they treat customers.
GO2bank has an F rating from the BBB because of the number of complaints filed against the company, a few of which the bank hasn't responded to, and the short length of time the business has been operating.
GO2bank is an online brand of Green Dot, which also has an F rating from the BBB. The BBB says that there are a pattern of complaints against the Green Dot corporation regarding service issues and customer service problems, including customers saying they become locked out of their accounts, receive little to no customer support, have trouble accessing IRS direct deposits, and have issues where prepaid debit cards are drained before they have a chance to register them, among other complaints.
Green Dot has been involved in a recent lawsuit. In 2024, Green Dot entered into a Cease and Desist order with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Cease and Desist order says that the Green Dot Corporation engaged in deceptive business practices regarding prepaid debit cards. The Green Dot Corporation had to pay a $44 million penalty to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond as part of this order. The Green Dot Corporation neither admits nor denies wrongdoing by entering into the Cease and Desist order.
GO2bank FAQs
What bank is behind GO2bank?
GO2bank is a brand of Green Dot Bank.
How can I add money to a GO2bank account?
You may add money to your account by depositing cash at a Green Dot location, setting up a direct deposit, cashing a check through the platform's mobile app, or transferring money from another bank account.
How much can you deposit at GO2bank?
You may deposit up to $3,000 in cash to your GO2bank account each day.
Can you transfer money out of your GO2bank account to another bank account?
No, you won't be able to directly transfer money out of your GO2bank account to fund another bank account. However, you may withdraw cash from an ATM and deposit that money into your account. Just keep in mind that GO2bank's ATM withdrawal limit is low, which could make it difficult to transfer money from a GO2bank account to another bank account.
GO2bank Reviews
GO2bank Account Review
$5 monthly service fee, waived with qualifying direct deposit
None
$0 online, $20 to $500 at a retail store
- Low minimum opening deposit
- Early direct deposit
- Possible to waive the monthly service fee
- Overdraft protection up to $200
- Can deposit cash at select retailers
- $5 monthly service fee
- $15 overdraft fee
- No overdraft protection for overdrafts exceeding $200
- Over 42,000 free ATMs nationwide
- Waive $5 monthly service fee by receiving a payroll or government benefits direct deposit in the previous monthly statement period
- Earn 4.50% APY with the high-yield savings account, paid quarterly on savings up to $5,000 (Terms and Conditions apply)
- FDIC insured
The main perk of the GO2bank™ Account is that you can receive your money early through early direct deposit. You could receive your paycheck up to two days early and your government benefits up to four days early.
GO2bank also offers overdraft protection: If you receive direct deposits to your account and opt in to the service, you can overdraft your account by up to $200. That being said, if you don't pay the overdrafted amount within 24 hours, you'll have to pay a $15 overdraft fee. The best banks for avoiding overdrafts don't charge overdraft fees at all.
GO2bank comes with more fees than you might expect for an online bank. There's a $5 monthly service fee, waived with qualifying direct deposit for each month you don't have a direct deposit. While this fee is pretty easy to waive, the best checking accounts don't charge monthly service fees at all.
While GO2bank does have an extensive ATM network through Allpoint, and it doesn't charge any fees for using in-network ATMs, there is a $3 fee for out-of-network ATM usage. The best banks for avoiding ATM fees reimburse a certain amount of out-of-network ATM fees each month. GO2bank's ATM withdrawal limit is also low, at $500 per day. If you regularly withdraw more money from ATMs, you might want to go with another bank.
Compare Today's Banking Offers
GO2bank Savings Account Review
$5 monthly service fee, waived with qualifying direct deposit
4.50%
$0
- High interest rate on balances up to $5,000
- Low minimum opening deposit
- Possible to waive the monthly service fee
- May create up to 5 Vaults to save for individual goals
- $5 monthly service fee without direct deposit
- No interest earned on any average daily balance over $5,000
- Over 42,000 free ATMs nationwide
- Waive $5 monthly service fee by receiving a payroll or government benefits direct deposit in the previous monthly statement period
- Earn 4.50% APY with the high-yield savings account, paid quarterly on savings up to $5,000 (Terms and Conditions apply)
- FDIC insured
The GO2bank™ Savings Account is made up of five separate sub-accounts called Vaults, making it a savings account with buckets. Savings accounts with buckets can help you plan out your budget and build toward savings goals. To move money into a Vault, you'll have to transfer money through your GO2bank™ Account. You can earn 4.50% APY on up to $5,000 across all your Vaults. That's a decent interest rate, but the best high-yield savings accounts let you earn a high interest rate on your entire account balance. If you'd like to earn a competitive interest rate on an account balance over $5,000, you'll want to consider other options. You won't earn interest on balances over $5,000 across Vaults.
GO2bank Secured Visa Credit Card
GO2bank also offers a secured Visa credit card, which it advertises as good for building credit. GO2bank does not make a credit check to approve you for this credit card; instead, you'll be approved as long as you have a GO2bank account in good standing that receives at least $100 in direct deposits each month. The card comes with an annual percentage rate, or APR, of 22.99%.
With secured credit cards, you generally set your own credit limit based on how much money you deposit in your bank account. GO2bank's $100 credit limit is lower than average, which could be useful if you're struggling to open a secured credit card with another bank. Just keep in mind that low credit limits aren't great for your credit, even though they're better than no credit at all. If you do open a credit card with GO2bank for credit-building purposes, make sure to keep your utilization ratio low by only using a small amount of your available credit each month.
How GO2bank Compares
GO2bank vs. Chime
The best option for you may depend on how much money you want to keep in your savings. The Chime Savings Account pays 2.00% to 3.75% APY on all balances. You'll also need to open the Chime® Checking Account. Meanwhile, the GO2bank™ Savings Account pays 4.50% APY on balances up to $5,000 (no interest is earned on balance over $5,000). Similarly, you'll need to open a GO2bank™ Account to open the savings account.
If you're looking for fee-free overdraft protection, Chime® has the edge. Both offer overdraft protection up to $200, but Chime doesn't charge a fee if you don't pay the overdraft back within 24 hours, unlike GO2bank.
GO2bank vs. Varo
Your decision between the two may come down to whether you qualify for Varo's highest interest rate. If so, Varo could be the better option.
The Varo Savings Account works best if you receive direct deposits of $1,000 or more each month — that way, you'll earn 2.50% to 5.00% APY. You'll get 5.00% APY on balances up to $5,000, and 2.50% APY on balances over $5,000.
Meanwhile, the GO2bank™ Savings Account only pays interest on balances up to $5,000, and its interest rate is slightly less.
Varo doesn't send you a checkbook, though, so you'll probably like GO2bank if you use paper checks.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed GO2bank
For our GO2bank review, we rated bank products and services using our bank account methodology.
At Personal Finance Insider, we rate bank accounts on a scale from one to five stars. We review different features for distinct types of bank accounts. For example, for checking accounts, we'll factor in the ATM network size and fees, as well as its overdraft protection options. Meanwhile, for savings accounts, we'll pay attention to interest rates. We'll also usually examine minimum opening deposits, monthly service fees, customer support, miscellaneous features, security, and ethics.
We rate each of these categories from 0 to 5. We calculate the weighted average to get the account's total score, which means we weigh certain features, like interest rates and fees, at a higher weight percentage than others. We understand that these areas can more heavily impact a person's overall banking experience. We then average each banking product's score together, along with the bank's ethics rating, to get the total bank score.
Chime® Disclosures:
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.
Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.
Early Pay: Early 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.
The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") for the Chime Savings Account is variable and may change at any time. The disclosed APY is effective as of September 20, 2023. No minimum balance required. Must have $0.01 in savings to earn interest.
Round Up: Round Ups automatically round up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and transfer the round up from your Chime Checking Account to your savings account.
SpotMe® on Debit is an optional, no fee overdraft service attached to your Chime Checking Account. To qualify for the SpotMe on Debit service, you must receive $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits to your Chime Checking Account each month and have activated your physical Chime Visa® Debit Card or secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card. Qualifying members will be allowed to overdraw their Chime Checking Account for up to $20 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals initially but may later be eligible for a higher limit of up to $200 or more based on Chime Account history, direct deposit frequency and amount, spending activity and other risk-based factors. The SpotMe on Debit limit will be displayed within the Chime mobile app and is subject to change at any time, at Chime's sole discretion. Although Chime does not charge any overdraft fees for SpotMe on Debit, there may be out-of-network or third-party fees associated with ATM transactions. SpotMe on Debit will not cover any non-debit card transactions, including ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, or Chime Checkbook transactions. SpotMe on Debit Terms and Conditions.
Money added to Credit Builder will be held in a secured account as collateral for your Credit Builder Visa card, which means you can spend up to this amount on your card. This is money you can use to pay off your charges at the end of every month.
The secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted. Please see the back of your card for its issuing bank.
On-time payment history may have a positive impact on your credit score. Late payment may negatively impact your credit score. Chime will report your activities to Transunion®, Experian®, and Equifax®. Impact on your credit may vary, as Credit scores are independently determined by credit bureaus based on a number of factors including the financial decisions you make with other financial services organizations.
Qualifying Direct Deposit: The qualifying direct deposit must be from your employer, payroll provider, gig economy payer, or benefits payer by Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit OR Original Credit Transaction (OCT). Bank ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, verification or trial deposits from financial institutions, peer to peer transfers from services such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo, mobile check deposits, cash loads or deposits, one-time direct deposits, such as tax refunds and other similar transactions, and any deposit to which Chime deems to not be a qualifying direct deposit are not qualifying direct deposits.
Save When You Get Paid: Save When I Get Paid automatically transfers 10% of your direct deposits of $500 or more from your Checking Account into your savings account.
Once the retailer accepts your cash, the funds will be transferred to your selected Chime Account. Barcode and debit card cash deposits land in the Checking Account. Credit Builder card cash deposits first go through your Card Account and then land in your Secured Account. Cash deposit fees may apply if using a retailer other than Walgreens and Duane Reade.
Tax e-file services provided by April Tax Solutions Inc. ("april") or Column Tax, Inc. ("Column Tax"). These tax filing offers are not endorsed or offered by our partners, The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A.
Maximum refund guarantee is provided by april or Column Tax. If you use april's service to prepare and file your return and you find an error in the tax preparation that entitles you to a larger refund (or smaller liability), you may use their service to amend that return at no additional charge. To qualify, the larger refund or smaller tax liability must not be due to differences or inaccuracies in data supplied by you, your choice not to claim a deduction or credit, positions taken on your return that are contrary to law, or changes in federal or state tax laws. See here for details. If you use Column Tax's service, Column Tax will reimburse you for up to $250 if you are able to pay less federal or state income tax or receive a larger federal or state income tax return by using another tax return preparation provider. Eligibility requirements apply. See terms for details.
If the april tax preparation software makes a mathematical error that results in your payment of a penalty and/or interest to the IRS that you would otherwise not have been required to pay, april will reimburse you up to a maximum of $10,000. See april terms for details. If interest and/or a penalty is imposed by the IRS as a result of a computational error by Column Tax, you may be entitled to up to $10,000 reimbursement by Column Tax. See Column Tax terms for details.
There are no fees required to use this product. Chime does not require you to deposit your refund into your Chime Account to qualify for free tax filing. Certain costs may be incurred if you decide to obtain other optional financial products offered in relation to your tax filing. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may impose penalties or other charges depending on your personal tax situation. If the april tax preparation software makes a mathematical error that results in your payment of a penalty and/or interest to the IRS that you would otherwise not have been required to pay, april will reimburse you up to a maximum of $10,000. See april terms for details. If interest and/or a penalty is imposed by the IRS as a result of a computational error by Column Tax, you may be entitled to up to $10,000 reimbursement by Column Tax. See Column Tax terms for details.
Chime does not guarantee timing of refund. Six day refund estimate is based on 2023 tax year filing data. Refund timing estimates are dependent upon timing of complete tax return submission and when the IRS submits your refund.
