To earn the higher 2.8% APY, your Savings Account daily balance must be $10,000 or less and you must meet both of the following requirements:
- Receive qualifying direct deposits (payroll or government direct deposits) totaling at least $1,000 each calendar month into the Varo Bank Account or Savings Account. Payroll transfers made to the Varo Visa Debit Card via Visa Direct, from Uber, Lyft, DailyPay, Doordash, and Postmates are also considered Qualifying Direct Deposits.
- Use the Varo Visa® Debit Card to authorize at least 5 purchases each calendar month (excluding ATM or Over-the-Counter Cash Withdrawals and P2P transfers)
If the daily Savings Account balance is above $10,000 at close of business on any calendar day of the month, or both of the above conditions are not met, you will earn 0.20% APY on the entire Savings Account balance.
At account opening, the APY will be 0.20%. Effective March 23, 2021, our standard interest rate on savings accounts has decreased to 0.20% (0.20% APY). If you’re a new customer looking to qualify for 2.8% APY, you’ll need to set up and receive your first direct deposit of $1,000 or more from your employer or government agency, receive your debit card in the mail, and activate it in addition to meeting the requirements listed above.
When you qualify for the first time, you start earning the higher rate the next calendar day. You’ll continue to qualify for the premium rate through the end of the statement period and the entire next statement period, as long as the daily balance of your Varo Savings Account doesn’t exceed $10,000 during the Statement Period. We’ll let you know if your rate changes.
If you exceed the maximum daily balance of $10,000, you can re-qualify for the higher rate the day after you bring your balance to $10,000 or less.
You can see the rate you are currently earning in the app. On the Accounts screen, tap Savings > Varo Savings Account, then Details (upper right).
The fine print (see the Varo Savings Account Agreement for full terms and conditions).
Rates are variable and may change, and your Savings balance must be at least $0.01 to earn interest.
These deposit transactions into your Varo Bank Account are NOT considered qualifying direct deposits:
- ACH Transfers made using your Varo Bank Account number and routing number, including:
- Transfers from an account held in your name at another bank, brokerage firm, or other financial institution whether from the Varo Bank Account holder or a third party; or
- Transfers from digital wallets or Peer to Peer (P2P) services, including, but not limited to, PayPal, Venmo, Square, and ApplePay Cash.
- Non-Payroll transfers made to the Varo Visa® Debit Card via Visa® Direct from digital wallets or P2P services, including, but not limited to, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, GooglePay, Facebook, or other similar transfers.
- Cash deposits made via Third Party Money Transfer Services, including but not limited to the Green Dot® Network.
- Mobile Deposit of checks via the Varo Mobile App.
- Varo-to-Varo Transfers received in the Varo Bank Account.
These types of debit transactions are NOT considered qualifying debit card purchases:
- Transactions at ATMs, including but not limited to cash withdrawals and balance inquiries.
- Over the Counter ("OTC") cash withdrawals.
- Transfers from the Varo Visa® Debit Card via external Peer to Peer (P2P) transfer services, including, but not limited to, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and ApplePay Cash or similar services.
- ACH Debits from merchants, utility service providers and other financial institutions.
- ACH Transfers from your Varo Bank Account to another bank account you own made using the Mobile App.
- Payments made using the bill payment (“Mail a check”) feature in the Mobile App
- Transfers or withdrawals from the Varo Savings Account.
- Varo-to-Varo Transfers sent from the Varo Bank Account.