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Need a new checking or savings account? In your research you may have heard about Aspiration Bank.\n<\/p>\n
Many banks have bank account promotions<\/a>, sign up bonuses and other perks. What does Aspiration offer to make it worthwhile?<\/p>\n In this Aspiration Bank review, I answer all of those questions and more!<\/p>\n Aspiration Bank (AB) is an online-only bank.<\/p>\n It offers services in the following categories:<\/p>\n It\u2019s not your traditional bank with branches that you can visit. Instead, its services are offered online.<\/p>\n The other thing that makes it stand out among other financial institutions is the fact that it has a focus on giving and sustainability. These days, banks have to really compete to get your attention. Many banks offer free money<\/a> in the form of sign up bonuses. Aspiration, is trying to appeal to the environmentally conscious among us.<\/p>\n Those things are important to a lot of people, and Aspiration aligns with people who\u2019re looking to make more sustainable choices.<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s important to note that although it\u2019s often called an online-only bank, Aspiration not actually a bank. It\u2019s a financial firm. You still get a checking account etc., and your funds are still protected, but more on that below.<\/p>\n You can manage your account online or through the mobile app.<\/p>\n The mobile app offers lots of features, which I mention below.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where you can get the app:<\/p>\n Above, I mentioned that the bank provides services in a few different areas. Below, I\u2019ll cover the banks services and the accounts they offer.<\/p>\n This bank offers checking accounts and also allows you to save money too.<\/p>\n One of the main benefits of AB is its Spend & Save account<\/a>.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s technically two accounts, it\u2019s meant to operate for you as one seamless Aspiration account.<\/p>\n This is comprised of two elements:<\/p>\n So, pretty straightforward.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a cash management account that provides up to 1% APY on save funds. This is great because a lot of banks just don\u2019t offer interest.<\/p>\n The Spend and Save account also comes with lots of other benefits, including:<\/strong><\/p>\n Like I said above, there are no fees with this bank. That\u2019s what sets AB apart from other financial organizations. It says it\u2019s built on trust.<\/p>\n Now, there are no:<\/strong><\/p>\n You choose your account maintenance fee, even if that\u2019s zero. You \u201cPay What is Fair,\u201d but more on that later.<\/p>\n While there are no account fees, there are some service charges:<\/strong><\/p>\n Learn more about service charges here<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can also invest money with AB through its Redwood Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s just a $10 minimum opening deposit.<\/p>\n It\u2019s open to new investors.<\/p>\n AB says that it makes investing easy with professionally managed funds that are 100% fossil-free or with fewer ups and downs.<\/p>\n So, with the Redwood fund, you basically get to invest in companies with sustainable environmental and employee practices.<\/p>\n Here are the different asset classes within the fund:<\/strong><\/p>\n The bank says that with the Redwood Fund it believes that by investing in sustainable companies, it can produce strong returns while making the world a better place.<\/p>\n It\u2019s really trying to make sustainable investing open to everyone.<\/p>\n The Aspiration Redwood Fund is offered through a strategic partnership with UBS Asset Management. This is one of the world\u2019s leading asset managers, and the fund is based on a strategy that used to only be available to UBS\u2019s elite institutional and private wealth clients.<\/p>\n Another thing that sets the Redwood Fund apart from other investment opportunities is the fact that the bank and its portfolio managers earn what you decide is fair. And they donate 10% of that to charity.<\/p>\n This again aligns with AB\u2019s no fee policy.<\/p>\n Because the Redwood Fund is only available directly to the bank\u2019s customers on its platform, it doesn\u2019t pay gatekeepers or middlemen, which is how it\u2019s able to keep the cost down.<\/p>\n There are no:<\/strong><\/p>\n There are however operating expenses. These fees in the fund go to third parties.<\/p>\n AB caps these annual operating expenses at 0.5% of your assets (and it makes up expenses over that itself).<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where this 0.5% goes:<\/strong><\/p>\n You can save for your future and on your taxes, while helping the planet with a Redwood IRA account.<\/p>\n AB offers a traditional, tax-deferred IRA account that you can fund through the Redwood Fund.<\/p>\n The minimum deposit required to fund the IRA is $10.<\/p>\n Basically, all of the information in the investing section above applies!<\/p>\n AB has a real focus on giving. It has tools to help make giving to America\u2019s leading charities simpler.<\/p>\n Every dollar you give goes to the causes you care about.<\/p>\n It offers:<\/strong><\/p>\n Now, you know what this bank has to offer, you\u2019re probably wondering, is it legit?<\/p>\n Well, it is a well-known company that\u2019s been featured by major outlets, like Forbes.<\/p>\n The Spend & Save account with the bank is FDIC insured<\/a> for up to $2 million per depositor.<\/p>\n Since it\u2019s not a bank, each business day, Aspiration deposits the cash balance in the Spend and Save accounts into deposit accounts at one or more federally insured depository institutions (each a bank) up to $246,500 per bank.<\/p>\n Then, your deposits at each bank are eligible for insurance by the FDIC up to $250,000.<\/p>\n Currently, there are eight banks available to accept your deposits, meaning you\u2019re eligible for insurance up to $2 million, including accrued interest on deposit balances.<\/p>\n This is done through the Aspiration Insured Bank Deposit Program.<\/p>\n Here are the banks in the program at the time of writing:<\/strong><\/p>\n Now, program banks may change, so check this page<\/a> for a current list.<\/p>\n But what do customers have to say?<\/p>\n Is opening up a bank account with AB a good idea?<\/p>\n In this section, I\u2019m going to cover what the bank\u2019s customers think about banking with AB as well as their Better Business Bureau\u2019s rating.<\/p>\n From the bank\u2019s Trustpilot<\/a> page, it\u2019s easy to see that customers have a great experience with AB.<\/p>\n On Trustpilot, Aspiration has an Excellent rating. Here\u2019s what customers had to say about their experience with the company:<\/p>\n Looking at their BBB profile, the company has an average of 2 stars (out of about 30 customer reviews). And the Better Business Bureau gives the company a B rating.<\/p>\n I also looked at Reddit reviews for personal experiences from other customers. As you would expect, the reviews are a mix of positive and negative experiences. But overall, most people on Reddit seem to like what the bank offers and feel like their money is working harder and better for them, while also noting that their user interface is a little confusing and could use a better, easier system especially when it comes to opening an account and getting it approved.<\/p>\n We probably answered a lot of the questions you have about this bank in this review. But one of the most commonly asked question (which I found out about while researching for this post seems to be the following:<\/p>\n How to close Aspiration account?<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the company\u2019s Terms of Use, to close your account you\u2019ll have to call the bank at 800.683.8529. By the way, it seems like once you close your account, you can never come back and open another account.<\/p>\n Okay, so as you can see, Aspiration is well-reviewed by customers, it offers savings, checking, investing and IRAs.<\/p>\n But, should it be your bank?<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look at some pros and cons of banking with Aspiration.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll start out with the pros.<\/p>\n One of the biggest benefits, aside from the fact the AB doesn\u2019t charge fees, is that the bank has a focus on giving and protecting the planet.<\/p>\n So, it really puts that across in the services that it offers.<\/p>\n Banks don\u2019t tend to be seen as caring organizations. And a lot of customers are sick of that. They want a bank that cares and that\u2019s exactly what AB does. That\u2019s appealing to a lot of customers.<\/p>\n According to AB, the financial industry often finances the fossil fuel industry and spends $450 million a year on lobbyists and campaign contributions. Instead, AB commits to donating 10% of earnings to charities so that it can help struggling Americans to build a better life.<\/p>\n Other ethical services and features of banking with AB include:<\/p>\n Okay, so the biggest benefit of having an account with AB is that there are no fees!<\/p>\n Yes, you read that right.<\/p>\n I mentioned above that there are no deposit fees, debit card fees, etc. So that\u2019s awesome, right?<\/p>\n Also, you don\u2019t have to pay any fees for investments either.<\/p>\n There are of course some service charges, which I mentioned above, associated with the bank\u2019s accounts. But, for the most part, you\u2019ll pay zero fees.<\/p>\n So, how does the bank keep its fees at zero?<\/p>\n Well, it does this through its Pay What is Fair policy.<\/p>\n With this policy, you choose the bank\u2019s fee. It provides you with financial products and services, like sustainable investments, no-fee IRAs, and high-interest cash management services, and then you pay what you think is fair.<\/p>\n So, you can set the bank\u2019s fee, even if that\u2019s zero. You can change this fee whenever and however often you want.<\/p>\n AB says that it hopes you don\u2019t pay zero, but that its business is built on trusting that you won\u2019t.<\/p>\n You can learn more about the bank\u2019s Pay What is Fair policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Everyone wants to save money where they can. One of the best ways to do that is by getting cashback on your purchases<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, this is definitely one of the biggest benefits of the Spend & Save account.<\/p>\n You can earn cashback rewards automatically by using your AB debit card to buy stuff.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s that easy!<\/p>\n You can even earn extra rewards for spending at businesses with a conscience \u2013 as I mentioned earlier, the bank gives you an AIM score.<\/p>\n AB will give you more rewards when you make purchases at businesses with the highest AIM scores.<\/p>\n You can earn an even higher cashback rate if you use your AB debit card at businesses that are members of the Conscience Coalition.<\/p>\n You can earn between 0.05% and 5% cashback depending on where you shop.<\/p>\n You get:<\/p>\nWhat is Aspiration Bank?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Get the app<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Aspiration Bank Services<\/span><\/h2>\n
Checking and Saving<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Fees<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Investing<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Fees<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Retirement<\/span><\/h3>\n
Giving<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Is Aspiration Legit & Trustworthy?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Is it FDIC-Insured?<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Aspiration Bank Reviews & Rating<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Aspiration FAQ<\/span><\/h2>\n
Pros & Cons<\/span><\/h2>\n
Pros<\/span><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s a more ethical bank<\/span><\/h4>\n
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There are no fees<\/span><\/h4>\n
You get cashback on purchases<\/span><\/h4>\n
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