A modern bank

I decided this week to spend a little time investigating modern banks.  By "modern" I don't mean glass-walled skyscrapers, I mean neobanks -- a type of direct bank that operates exclusively online without traditional physical branch networks.  These banks pass along significant savings to customers in the form of low or no fees.  For my research I wanted:

• A checking account with no minimum balance, no annual fees, and a free debit card with no (or reimbursed) ATM fees and international transactions
• FDIC insured
• A savings account with high yield interest rates
• An investment account that supports SEP IRA, automatic fund rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, and 0.25% monthly fees or lower
• Android mobile app with good reviews

Here are my results:

Top Pick: Betterment

Pros:

• FDIC insured no-fee checking with Visa debit card, reimbursed ATM fees, and international transactions
• Cash Reserve savings account with 0.4% APY (5x higher than national average)
• Investment account requires no minimum deposit and supports SEP IRA, automatic fund rebalancing and allocation, tax-loss harvesting, and an annual fee of 0.25%
• 4.4 out of 5 rating on Google Play Store

Cons:

• Everyday Savings was released with a promotional APY of 2.69% which they lowered to 2.43% after the promotion and then abruptly switched to Cash Reserve with a disappointing 0.4% APY (compared to others).  The behavior was criticized by their rival, Wealthfront, as "bait-and-switch".
• Need to inform them a week before international travel for your Visa debit card to work in the destination country
• Checking account does not earn interest
• No cryptocurrency investment option
• No cash or check deposits (but photo check deposits are on their roadmap)

Others Researched:

• Acorns:
• $3/month fee is more expensive than 0.25% competitors unless you have at least $14,400 in your combined accounts
• No savings account option
• No published APY (variable) but they do support automatic rebalancing
• No cash deposits
• No SEP IRA support
• No tax-loss harvesting
• No joint checking option
• Website hard to read (not WCAG contrast compliant)
• Manual IRA rollover process
• $50 per ETF to have your ETFs transferred to another broker when you close your Acorns account
• Wealthfront:
• $500 minimum deposit
• Checking accounts not currently supported
• notable feature: relatively low 0.25% fee and supports 529 Plan for college savings
• Ally:
• $500 minimum deposit
• No automatic rebalancing unless you pay a 0.5% annual fee for their Risk Assist service
• Human advisors may panic sell versus AI algorithms that aren't susceptible to emotion
• No cash deposits
• Axos Bank / Invest:
• Separate sites and apps for Checking/Savings and Investments
• Invest app has poor reviews
• Manual IRA rollover process
• $75 ACAT transfer out fee, $25 outgoing wire fee; $10 IRA closing fee
• SoFi:
• Troubled past with leadership
• Poor customer reviews
• Can't trade cryptocurrency or transfer to another wallet
• Chime:
• No investment options (such as SEP IRA)
• No joint accounts
• Revolut:
• No investment options (such as SEP IRA)
• Business account service not currently available in the U.S. at the time of this writing

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Hopefully one of those options above will lead you to a solution that helps you manage your money prudently so 15% of your paycheck can go toward retirement financial happiness*

* based on this 2018 Purdue study, which you can adjust for inflation