GO2bank is a neobank by Green Dot, a financial technology company with the rare benefit of having its own banking license to provide federal deposit insurance. Like Green Dot’s first neobank, GoBank, GO2bank has a checking account with separate savings subaccounts called vaults. The bank’s key benefits include a 1% annual percentage yield on savings accounts up to a certain balance; access to direct deposits up to two days early; and the ability to deposit cash with a GO2bank debit card or the mobile app at many retail locations. But there are neobanks that earn interest on higher balances and have no monthly fees or overdraft fees on checking accounts.

You can pick up a GO2bank Visa debit card at retailers such as Walmart and activate it online, or open an account directly on the bank’s website. The bank also provides a secured credit card to build credit, with no credit check.

Best for: Customers who want a digital banking account with easy ways to handle cash, plan to save up to $5,000 and receive direct deposits from work or as government benefits.

GO2bank’s primary account has a monthly fee of $5 that can be waived with at least one direct deposit per month. Although the fee is low compared with traditional banks, similar mobile checking accounts don’t have such a fee. There’s no minimum balance to open the account online. If you get the debit card at a store instead, there’s a purchase fee up to $2.95 and a minimum deposit of $20.

The checking features include withdrawals at over 19,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide and cash deposits at over 90,000 locations of big-brand retailers such as Walmart and CVS. The mobile app can create one-time bar codes for a retail cashier to scan as they accept your cash, making for an easy bridge between cash and digital. Cash deposits aren’t a common feature among neobanks given the nature of being digital-only.

You can receive direct deposits up to two days early (or four days early, in the case of government checks) compared with traditional banks. There’s also a limited cash-back program for purchasing online gift cards. There are many ways to add money, but there isn’t yet a way to make a transfer out of a GO2bank account to an external bank account.

The mobile app offers check deposits for free if you don’t mind waiting 10 days; otherwise, to receive funds within minutes, the fee is 1% or 5% of the amount, depending on the type of check. Other fees include $3 for out-of-network ATM withdrawals, up to $4.95 for each cash deposit at a retailer, and a 1.5% fee for online transfers from an external debit card to fund a GO2bank account.

Go2bank