Best Current alternatives

#1 alternative

Chime

active

US spend account with early paycheck and no monthly fee.

4.7

San Francisco · 22M+ · $2.3B raised

7.1Solid

Correct product for a US paycheck, wrong product if you need a chartered bank or to wire overseas. Always name Bancorp/Stride when someone asks ‘is Chime FDIC insured.’

Best for: US hourly and salaried workers who want early direct deposit and no monthly fee.

Licence

Partner-bank fintech

Protection

Pass-through FDIC up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category at The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A. Chime itself is not FDIC-insured (Chime About).

Monthly

Free

#2 alternative

Varo Bank

active

Varo Bank, N.A. is an OCC national bank. FDIC sits on Varo’s own name, not a partner bank.

NaN

Draper · US digital bank · Private

7.3Solid

Varo is a bank. The OCC gave Varo Bank, N.A. a national charter in 2020, and FDIC cover sits on that name. If you are tired of “banking services provided by [partner bank]”, this is the cleaner US file. It is still a US-only, one-person account. It is not a travel IBAN and not a joint household bank.

Best for: US residents who want a neobank app that is actually a bank.

Licence

National bank charter

Protection

FDIC up to $250,000 at Varo Bank, N.A. — not pass-through via a partner (Varo About: “FDIC-insured up to $250,000 with us”).

Monthly

$0 on the core bank account

#3 alternative

SoFi

active

SoFi Bank, N.A. is an OCC national bank and FDIC member. Investing sits in a different company.

NaN

San Francisco · 10M+ · Public (SOFI)

7.8Solid

Yes, SoFi is a real bank. SoFi Bank, N.A. holds an OCC national charter and is FDIC-insured. That is the whole point of this file. Deposits live at the bank. Stocks live at SoFi Securities LLC, which is SIPC, not FDIC. Use it for a US salary and savings. Keep a proper FX app for anything that is not the dollar.

Best for: US persons who want a real national bank plus a brokerage in one login — not a partner-bank neobank.

Licence

National bank charter

Protection

SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Core cover is $250,000 per depositor per ownership category at SoFi Bank. SoFi’s own FDIC page: the bank does not provide more than $250,000 of FDIC insurance per depositor per category. Additional cover up to $3M is only via the opt-in Insured Deposit Program at participating banks — not the core checking balance.

Monthly

$0 on Checking and Savings

#4 alternative

Yuh

active

Yuh is not a bank. Swissquote Bank Ltd is. esisuisse cover is CHF 100,000, shared.

Gland · Swiss all-in-one app · Swissquote (100% after July 2025)

7.6Solid

Yuh is not a bank. The English homepage says it in one paragraph: Swissquote Bank Ltd provides the banking, FINMA authorises that bank, and esisuisse cover is CHF 100,000 shared with Swissquote. July 2025 ended the PostFinance joint venture. If you already hold cash at Swissquote, do not count CHF 100,000 twice. Zak is Bank Cler. Neon sits at Hypothekarbank Lenzburg. Read those files separately.

Best for: People who live in Switzerland and want spend plus invest, and who accept Swissquote as the bank.

Licence

Fintech app — not a bank

Protection

Yuh itself is not a bank. Banking sits at Swissquote Bank Ltd, FINMA-authorised. esisuisse covers eligible deposits up to CHF 100,000. Yuh and Swissquote are one entity, so the cap is shared.

Monthly

No fees whenever possible — live list on yuh.com/en/pricing

#5 alternative

Chase UK

active

J.P. Morgan Europe Limited trading as Chase. UK bank, PRA/FCA, FSCS up to £120,000.

London · UK digital bank · JPMorgan Chase

7.6Solid

Chase UK is a bank. The legal name is J.P. Morgan Europe Limited. PRA-authorised, FCA-regulated, FSCS up to £120,000. It is a useful UK current account with honest travel spend. It is not Revolut’s multi-country stack and not a US Chase login. UK tax residents only.

Best for: UK residents who want a JPMorgan current account in an app, with FSCS, and cheap travel spend.

Licence

UK bank

Protection

FSCS up to £120,000 per depositor per bank (Chase UK FSCS page) at J.P. Morgan Europe Limited.

Monthly

£0

#6 alternative

Neo Financial

active

Calgary fintech. Not an OSFI bank. Eligible cash sits in trust at CDIC-member institutions.

Calgary · Canadian fintech · Private

6.8Mixed

Neo Financial is not a bank. Neo Financial Technologies Inc. is a Calgary fintech, a FINTRAC money-services business and a payments-Canada PSP. CDIC cover, when it applies, follows the member institution that holds the funds in trust — Peoples Bank of Canada is named on the HISA. File it as a Canadian app with a partner-bank deposit, not as EQ Bank.

Best for: Canadian residents who want the Neo app and will read which CDIC member holds the cash.

Licence

MSB and payment service provider

Protection

Neo is not a CDIC member. Eligible funds held in trust at CDIC-member institutions can be covered up to CAD $100,000 per beneficiary per member institution.

Monthly

$0 monthly on chequing, on the September 2026 agreement