Best Alex Bank alternatives

#1 alternative

Up

active

Australian spending account with a cheerful debit card.

4.7

Melbourne · 1M+ · Bendigo and Adelaide Bank-backed

7.9Solid

The Australian consumer pick. Archa is the business-card cousin in this register; they solve different jobs.

Best for: Australians who want an ADI-backed everyday account with a beloved app.

Licence

ADI via Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Protection

Financial Claims Scheme up to $250,000 at the ADI

Monthly

Free

#2 alternative

ubank

active

Division of NAB. Same ADI, same FCS $250k cap as NAB. Not a separate bank licence.

Sydney · NAB digital division · National Australia Bank Limited

7.4Solid

ubank is a division of National Australia Bank Limited, ABN 12 004 044 937, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686 — that line is on ubank’s own product footer. APRA’s FCS list files it as a trading name of NAB, not as its own ADI. NAB’s FCS page is blunt: one licence, so the A$250,000 cap is the aggregate of eligible NAB and ubank balances. Up sits on Bendigo. Judo is a separate SME ADI. Alex Bank is a separate ADI with a thinner product. If you already have $200k at NAB, ubank does not give you another $250k of FCS. That is the review.

Best for: Australians who want NAB’s digital division and understand the FCS cap is shared with NAB.

Licence

Division of National Australia Bank Limited — ABN 12 004 044 937, AFSL and ACL 230686. Not a separate ADI

Protection

ubank help: the Australian Government guarantees deposits up to $250,000 per person per ADI including ubank. NAB’s FCS page: NAB and ubank operate under the one banking licence, so the A$250,000 limit applies to the aggregate of eligible NAB + ubank balances. APRA’s FCS list names National Australia Bank Limited * Ubank as a trading name. Shared cap. Not Up. Not Judo.

Monthly

No fees from ubank on the homepage pitch — T&Cs apply

#3 alternative

Judo Bank

active

Australia’s bank built for SMEs. APRA ADI. FCS $250,000 per account holder on its homepage.

Melbourne · Australian SME bank · Listed / institutional — confirm live

6.8Mixed

Judo Bank’s homepage says it is Australia’s only bank built for small and medium businesses, and it prints the Financial Claims Scheme line: deposits protected up to $250,000 for each account holder at Judo Bank. That is an APRA ADI file, not a fintech. Up is the consumer brand (deposits at Bendigo). AMP Bank is wealth. Archa is a credit card. Judo is SME deposits and lending. If you wanted a peach-coloured personal app, you are in the wrong review. If you wanted a named ADI for a company term deposit or a business loan, you are in the right one.

Best for: Australian small and medium businesses that want an ADI, not Up-for-companies theatre.

Licence

Authorised deposit-taking institution — Judo Bank

Protection

Official homepage: under the Financial Claims Scheme, deposits are protected up to a limit of $250,000 for each account holder at Judo Bank. More: apra.gov.au/about-financial-claims-scheme.

Monthly

SME banking / lending tariffs — confirm live. Not a free consumer app.

#4 alternative

AMP Bank

active

Australian ADI. APRA. FCS $250k. Wealth parent, digital skin.

Sydney · ADI retail scale · AMP Limited group

6.6Mixed

AMP Bank is an ADI. FCS applies. Put it next to Up as a different object: wealth-bank deposits versus a Bendigo-issued consumer app. Neither is Revolut.

Best for: Australian residents who want an ADI that is not a Big Four branch, with FCS.

Licence

Authorised deposit-taking institution (AMP Bank Limited)

Protection

Financial Claims Scheme up to $250,000 per account holder per ADI

Monthly

Product-dependent

#5 alternative

Kestrl is a habit layer. Keep a Monzo/Starling/high-street account for the actual deposit. Halal branding does not move FSCS.

Best for: UK Muslims who want a money app that speaks their constraints, with a real bank still underneath.

Licence

App + partner EMI/bank rails

Protection

If a spending account exists, it is partner-EMI or bank — not Kestrl-as-bank

Monthly

Freemium / subscription SKUs — confirm live

#6 alternative

Found

active

US banking for the self-employed: taxes, invoices, and a debit card.

4.8

San Francisco · Self-employed base · Series-era (Allianz x others)

7.3Solid

Found is the freelancer current account. Novo is generic SMB. Relay is multi-entity ops.

Best for: US freelancers who hate QuickBooks more than they hate banks.

Licence

Fintech with partner banks

Protection

FDIC via Piermont Bank and partners

Monthly

Free core