What banks allow you to get paid early

There’s an abundance of apps from digital banks that help you get paid early. Typically, this means that you’ll get your paycheck up to two days in advance. 

Traditional banks can take as long as five days to transfer your direct deposits into your account.

Given that so many banks offer this feature now, I decided to mix in other benefits and bring you the absolute best “get paid early” and cash advance apps on the market.  

What all of them have in common is that anyone over 18 and an SSN can sign up for them. However, to get paid early, you need to set up a direct deposit (which is easy to do). 

Digital Banking Apps Worth to Know About

Current: Best for Early Direct Deposit

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So, without further ado, here are the best mobile apps that help you get paid early (among other awesome things). 

1. Current

Current is one of the leading digital banks in America right now. Millions of customers have flocked to it because of its no-fee policy and many advantages over regular banks.

The challenger bank offers what is ultimately a simple bank account that is, on the other side, jam-packed with cool features. 

Current allows you to receive your money from direct deposits up to two days earlier than with a traditional bank. After you sign up, all you need to do is enroll in the direct deposit scheme, and you’ll be eligible for faster direct deposits. 

Apart from getting paid early, Current has no hidden fees, has tens of thousands of fee-free ATMs, a great cashback program, teen banking accounts, and overdrafts of up to $200 without overdraft fees. 

Lastly, Current offers its customers great ways to spend their money more wisely and save more of it. One of its best features is “Savings Pods.” These pods act like mini savings accounts. 

You can specify what you’re saving for and how much you need, which can help you plan for larger purchases. 

RELATED: Current Bank Name (For Direct Deposits)

2. MoneyLion

MoneyLion is an excellent all-in-one digital bank account. It, too, can get you paid early when you set up direct deposits from your employer, payer, or benefits provider.  

Setting up a direct deposit is easily done inside the app or by giving your payer your routing and account numbers. 

MoneyLion’s so-called RoarMoney account has no hidden fees, free ATMs at more than 55,000 locations, automated round-ups that help you save up, price protection (refunds the difference when you find a lower-priced product), cashback rewards, analytics and budgeting tools, and much more.  

The bank also offers up to $1,000 cash advance. It comes with no fees, no credit checks, and no interest attached to it. However, to get the $1,000, there are many requirements that need to be fulfilled. 

For most people, the max will be $250. That is and isn’t a lot of money. It could be a difference between an empty or a full gas tank, a full or an empty fridge, and so on.

READ ALSO: 15 Bank Account Scams in 2022 (How to Easily Avoid Them)

3. Dave

Dave is an extremely popular mobile banking app because it makes it easy to register for its checking account which has no fees and enables effortless money saving, budgeting, and cash advances. 

Of course, there’s also the ability to get paid early once you set up direct deposits. 

Apart from all these features, their app used to give up to $200 in cash advances until recently, but now they have up to $500 cash advances that can get deposited instantly if you have their checking account as well. 

Dave is also notable because it helps you find side hustles directly from the app enabling you to find flexible and local jobs that suit you.  

4. Albert

Albert is another popular banking, investing, and savings app. It has all the features that most digital banks have these days:

• Low to no fees
• Cashback
• Free ATMs
• Easy budgeting
• Analytics tools
• Cash advance up to $250

However, where this banking app stands out is the ability to invest in stocks, funds, and themed portfolios. If you have no idea where to start with investing, you can do it on autopilot, on a recurring schedule. 

The app also analyzes your income and helps you find extra cash to squeeze out and save automatically. 

And the last standout feature is something that we should cherish much more in today’s world of robo-advisors, robocalls, and automated support systems. Albert has a team of real human experts that are on standby and ready to answer any of your financial questions, giving you personalized advice. 

Digital Banking Apps Worth to Know About

Current: Best for Early Direct Deposit

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5. Chime

Chime is a digital bank with 14 million users. That means it’s one of the most popular banks in the US, period. 

It’s no wonder since the challenger bank offers many benefits and features that can be very useful. 

Chime offers its customers a free checking account, and if you have more than $500 in deposits per month, you’ll also qualify for their free overdraft protection service, SpotMe. SpotMe allows you to have $100 in overdraft protection without having to pay any fees.

Aside from the ability to get you paid early and a fee-free overdraft, there’s the much-talked-about credit builder program that can help you increase your credit score by an average of 30 points. 

You just need to sign up for the Chime credit card, spend as you would normally, and make regular and timely payments.  

Of course, there are also no monthly maintenance fees. On the other side, there are many free ATMs, fee-free overdrafts, a high-yield savings account, and a free debit card.  

RELATED: 6 Payday Loans Apps that Accept Chime (How to Get)

6. Varo

Varo, Varo Bank, or Varo Money, as it’s also known, is a digital bank that is the first in the country to get a fully-fledged banking license. It, too, offers early payments from direct deposits. 

Other than that, the bank has over 55,000 ATMs, and the account itself has no monthly fees.

After you create an account, you can sign up for early direct deposits. All you need to do is complete your direct deposit information. 

Once you do that, Varo detects any and all direct deposits from your employer or payer and gives you access to the funds two days quicker than you typically would. 

Varo is a solid bank that has overdraft protection, a credit builder program, cash back, a high-yield savings account, no overdraft fees, and more.

For overdraft protection, you need to meet stringent requirements to qualify. That means at least $1,000 a month in direct deposits, and you need to use their Visa debit card at least five times in the preceding month. The overdraft protection is only $50, which is quite low.

7. One Finance

One Finance is a digital bank with no-fee bank accounts. It offers a checking account with the option of a savings account as well. Their Auto-Save function allows you to garner some money from your paychecks and put it into a savings account with 1% APY. 

One Finance gets you paid early by using the direct deposit information you provide to them upon opening an account. You can access your direct deposit up to two days earlier than conventional banks. 

One Finance has no fees for out-of-network ATMs, a feature many other banks don’t have, whether online or traditional. That means you can withdraw your cash at any ATM without having to worry about that $2.50 charge that’s common with other banking institutions. 

8. Majority

Majority is an all-in-one digital banking solution for international travelers and migrants. The company charges a $5/m maintenance fee. For that, you get early access to direct deposits through your majority checking account, a Visa debit card, low-fee international money transfers, free international phone calls, and customer service in various languages.

Like other banks, apps, and companies on this list, the Majority account is FDIC-insured, meaning your deposits are safe. The Majority account gives you access to your funds up to two days earlier. 

Once you sign up for Majority, all you need to do is input your direct deposit information, and you’ll have access to an early direct deposit account.

Alternative Apps to Get Paid Early

Empower

Empower is an interesting beast. You see, you can sign up for their free debit card and get a checking account with cashback, instant cash advances, and, of course, two days faster payments. 

However, if you don’t want another card in your wallet, you can sign up for cash advance of up to $250 without interest, late fees, and credit checks. 

If you need more than that, there’s Empower Thrive which goes up to $1,000 with every on-time payment and helps you build up your credit score with each on-time payment. 

Empower offers instant cash advances when you link your account where you receive payroll deposits. Mobile, online, and digital banks work as well.

Earnin

If you don’t want to open yet another bank account, digital or traditional, Earnin is the app for you. Its sole focus is on giving you access to your funds as soon as they become available.

However, Earnin offers more than just early paychecks. With the app’s Cash Out tool, you can access the money you haven’t even earned yet.

This option is obtainable only for those who have a direct deposit history with Earnin. It then allows you to withdraw money from your account even before the app notices a direct deposit. The max amount you can withdraw is between $100 and $500 per pay period or more once you deposit more funds.

Earnin only works if you have a bank account already. You then connect the two together and can easily get deposits to your account. 

READ NEXT: Fintech Vs. Digital Banking (With Examples)

How do Banks Process Your Paychecks Early

When your employer or payer sends a direct deposit, they will use this information to create a batch order of direct deposits. With a batch order, a release date is also set. The release date is basically when the funds that you earned become available to you in your account.

This means that if your employer creates the batch order on the 1st, with a release date on the 4th, you won’t be able to access your funds at a traditional bank until the 4th.

However, digital banks credit your account the amount specified by your employer on the batch order as soon as possible and up to two days before the date. 

Conclusion

For some people, two days aren’t a lot; for others, they can mean the world. 

For those of you trying to find a way to get your money faster, early direct deposits may be the solution. Most of these apps also offer cash advances as well as other useful features. 

Adrian Volenik is a fintech enthusiast who loves testing and reviewing digital banking apps and financial products in general.

How many digital banking accounts can one man have?

Not enough, if you ask Adrian. As his wallet will soon explode if he doesn’t cut back on the number of cards.

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