One Finance Review 2024

One Finance logo

One Finance

7.0

BankBonus.com rating

Expert Take

With its intuitive budgeting tools, zero fees, and high-end interest rates, there’s a lot to like about One Finance.

Pros

  • Modern budgeting tools
  • No fees — seriously, none
  • High-interest rates
  • Excellent mobile app

Cons

  • Just one account option
  • No physical locations

Bonus Offers

5.0

Product Variety

7.5

Customer Experience

7.7

Interest Bearing Accounts

10.0

Fees

10.0

Free ATM Access

10.0

One Finance logo

Learn More

at One Finance

One Finance Inc., more commonly referred to as just “One,” is a relatively new fintech company that provides modern, online-only banking solutions.

Founded by former executives of Intuit, PayPal, and Capital One, the bank aims to help middle-class American families maximize their paychecks with a low-cost platform.

In this post, you’ll learn how One works toward this goal and get a look at its top products, pricing structure, and everything in between.

One Finance Products

One has, fittingly, exactly ONE product available: an all-in-one online-only bank account designed to serve all your standard banking needs.

This account combines the ease and flexibility of a checking account with the earning potential of a high-yield savings account.

Checking & Savings

Checking: From a checking account standpoint, One comes with everything you would normally expect. You’ll get a debit card, access to direct deposit and online banking, and easy bill pay and transfers.

There are no minimum balance or initial deposit requirements, and you can get cash without fees from any Allpoint ATM.

Savings: From a savings account standpoint, you have a standard Save Pocket and the option to enroll in an additional Auto-Save Pocket that automates your transfers into it.

Auto-Save works by rounding up your everyday purchases to the nearest whole dollar and putting the difference in savings, but you can also set up specific automated amounts on top of that.

Pockets: Pockets allow you to stash money away for specific expenses, and you can tailor them to whatever you want to build toward.

In addition to your checking and savings pockets, you can have three other pockets. You may use pockets for short and long-term goals, such as saving for gifts, car expenses, or travel, but the options here are virtually endless.

One of the main benefits of an all-in-one account is that it allows for more flexibility. One’s account is technically high-yield checking, so it doesn’t have to adhere to federally mandated savings withdrawal limits.

This means that the funds in your savings Pockets aren’t limited to the standard six withdrawals per month that you’ll see with most HYSAs.

This flexibility enables you to treat yourself when necessary without transferring funds out of savings or forgo earning interest on your balances.

Interest Rates

One doesn’t charge any monthly maintenance fees, and the account is interest-bearing with a staggering APY of up to 5.00%, though it could seem a little confusing at first.

The standard APY for a One account is a respectable 1.00%, but this won’t apply to all of the funds in your account — just the money that you allocate to your Save Pocket (up to $5,000). You can earn up to 5% interest on funds up to $250,000 across all your ONE accounts.

If you opt to enroll in paycheck direct deposit, you’ll get the same APY for funds up to $25,000.

The eye-popping 5.00% APY is up for grabs in two ways:

  1. First, any round-up card purchases, which rounds your transactions to the nearest dollar and drops the remainder in your Auto-Save pocket, will earn interest at the top-tier rate.
  2. The second option is likely to be more lucrative and can be had by enrolling in both direct deposit and Auto-Save. Just set up payroll direct deposit and make sure you receive at least $500 in qualifying direct deposits to your savings bucket each month. If you’ve met the requirements for the previous month, your savings balance will earn 5.00%.

Unfortunately, any funds in your Spend Pockets, along with any funds over the $5,000 or $25,000 limit do not earn interest.

Features

Online-Only Banking

First of all, One is not actually a bank. It’s a tech company that provides online accounts through its partner, Coastal Community Bank, an FDIC-insured institution based out of Washington State.

One has no physical locations of its own, so all of your banking is done in the digital space.

From your desktop or smartphone, you can make payments and transfers, and get customer support when you need it.

Mobile App

One’s mobile banking app lets you get all of your banking done on the go. Deposit checks, make payments with free ACH transfers, and manage your accounts right from your phone.

Overall, the One mobile app fares exceptionally well on both iOS and Android, with a 4.7-star rating (out of 5) in the App Store and a 4.7-star rating (out of 5) in the Google Play Store.

55,000 Free ATMs

One is part of the Allpoint ATM network, so users have fee-free access to its 55,000 US locations. So just find one of those and you will avoid the ATM fees.

Early Direct Deposit

One lets you get your paycheck a little bit early if you enroll in direct deposit, which is becoming an increasingly common feature with newer online banks.

Basically, you can get early access to your funds in a couple of days compared to a traditional bank.

Credit Line Overdraft Protection

ONE offers up to $200 in overdraft protection if you have at least $500 in direct deposits each month. If you happen to overdraft your account, ONE will first look at your other pockets to see if it can cover the balance. If not, you have until the end of the statement period to pay it back.

Overdrafted funds are due immediately and will be collected from any later deposits if you’re unable to pay right away. Overdraft protection doesn’t apply to transfers to external accounts.

Pockets

One offers only one account. You won’t have separate checking and savings accounts because your single account operates as both.

The One account comes with Pockets, which are designed to help organize your money. By default, you’ll get a “Spend” Pocket, which effectively functions as a traditional checking account, and a “Save” Pocket for online savings.

You can add as many Pockets as you want for specific things, like a vacation or a down payment for a house.

You can easily transfer funds between Pockets and even automate your deposits into each.

One Finance Fees

When it comes to fees with One, there just isn’t much to talk about. This is a truly free checking account, and the fees you would see with a traditional account simply aren’t here.

Here’s a look at the lack of fees that you can expect with a One account:

  • No monthly service fee
  • No minimum deposit requirements
  • No minimum balance requirements
  • No overdraft fees
  • No incoming wire transfer fees
  • No foreign transaction fees

While a fee-free banking existence is definitely something to get excited about, there are some limitations.

For example, you can receive wire transfers with your routing and account numbers, but you don’t have the option to send outgoing wires from your account.

Getting Started

Signing up for a new One account can easily be done from your computer or phone.

Once you click Join For Free on the One site, you’ll have to enter your phone number, and One will send you a code.

From there, it’s just a matter of confirming your number with the verification code, adding your personal information, and creating your profile.

When it comes to funding, the only option seems to be a transfer from a connected, external bank account. Typically, transfers can take up to three days to become available in your One account.

One Finance Promotions

Unfortunately, there are currently no active One Finance promotions. Check out these bonus offers instead:

BankBonusExpiresRequirements 
Citi® LogoCiti® Enhanced Direct Deposit $300 July 8, 2024
  • Direct Deposit
KeyBank LogoKeyBank Personal Checking Account $200 July 19, 2024
  • Direct Deposit
TD Bank LogoTD Bank Beyond Checking $300 March 31, 2024
  • Direct Deposit
see all bonuses

Security

As a new, online-only bank, there are predictable questions that pop up surrounding how safe One’s platform is to use.

First of all, it’s important to note that One is FDIC-insured through its partner bank, Coastal Community Bank, which means that any deposits you make into your One account are protected up to $250,000 if the bank fails.

As for online security, One is deeply committed to protecting your personal and financial information and has a variety of security measures in place.

In other areas, One is still getting up to speed. For example, it doesn’t currently utilize multi-factor authentication but seems to be actively working on making it available.

Customer Service

When you need support with your One account, you have several different options.

Your first stop should be the website, which has a help center that’s full of useful articles, FAQs, and troubleshooting suggestions.

If you need to talk to someone, you can send an email, call customer service, or chat with someone online. Both the phone line (1-855-970-1919) and online chat are available Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm Pacific time.

Customer Reviews

One hasn’t built up a ton of reviews yet on TrustPilot, but the early ones are encouraging, with its net rating currently at 4 stars (out of 5).

One doesn’t have the best online customer reviews, but it also doesn’t have a significant volume of complaints. On TrustPilot, One has a 1.7 out of 5 star rating based on 125 reviews. Let’s take a look at some real-life customer experiences so you have a better idea of how the company operates.

A representative typically responds to reviews and takes steps to remedy any issues as they come up.

ONE's app is very easy to use with a simple interface. The pockets are an interesting idea, even though I barely use them. What is really great is their savings account. ONE offers a 5.00% APY, the highest rate among online banks or fintechs. So far, there has been no issue with the app or its services.
JC Trustpilot

It was 5 stars before they got rid of the credit line. Now, it's just like every other online bank. Not bad, but it’s not a standout any longer.
Ray Trustpilot

Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Modern budgeting tools
  • No fees — seriously, none
  • High-interest rates
  • Excellent mobile app

Cons:

  • Just one account option
  • No physical locations
  • Somewhat limited interest-earning ability
  • Poor customer reviews

Alternatives to One Finance

If you’re interested in looking into other online banks that offer simple, interest-bearing accounts, you might want to check out Chime or SoFi Money.

Both have similarly limited account options and offer comparable account features to One, but offer much more in terms of security and customer support.

For online banking services that bring a little more to the table in terms of account options, take a look at Ally, CIT, or Axos.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is One Finance legit?

Yes, One Finance is a legitimate fintech company that partners with an FDIC-insured bank to provide consumer accounts. It’s pretty new but is already making a splash with its tech-forward platform and easy-to-use online tools.

Does One Finance use Zelle?

You can receive transfers through Zelle and other services, but at the moment, One is not integrated with Zelle for outgoing transfers.

Can I deposit cash with One Finance?

No. If you need to deposit Cash into your One account, you’ll have to first make a deposit into an external account, and then transfer it over.

Is One Finance Right For You?

If One Finance’s innovative approach to personal finance sounds appealing, then by all means sign up for an account and see how it goes.

With intuitive budgeting tools, no fees to worry about, and high-end interest rates, there’s a lot to like and nothing to lose.

However, One isn’t for those who want the wide swath of account options that come with a traditional bank.

Also, if interest-earning is your singular goal, and you plan to keep over $5,000 (or $25,000) in your account, you may want to explore an HYSA that does not cap your interest-earning ability.

Overall, One is an interesting addition to the online banking space and we are excited to see where the company goes.

Take your time when comparing exactly what you need from a bank, and the decision of which one to go with will be much easier to make. Good luck!

Comments are closed here.