We will take a look at some of the best mobile banking options available to consumers and discuss what you can expect when you use these apps on your devices.

The Best Mobile Banking Apps

Mobile banking offers the opportunity for you to access important products and features no matter where you go. Some of these mobile banking options are available only through the app, while others are banking apps that complement online access.

Here are our favorites.

1. Chime

Chime is an award-winning financial app that allows you to manage your money on the go with an easy user interface and a clean design. Not only that, but Chime offers additional perks, including the ability to get your paycheck up to two days early when you have direct deposit.

With this mobile banking app, you can also automatically save every time you get paid. You can also see automatic savings when spending using your Chime Visa® Credit Card. Your purchases are rounded to the nearest dollar, and the difference is deposited into your savings.

Chime offers a variety of other products and features, including a Spot Me service that can cover you to ensure you’re not charged for an overdraft and the Chime Credit Builder Visa Card, which helps you build credit without having to make an initial security deposit.

• Google Play – 4.7 average score / 540k reviews
• Apple Store – 4.8 average score / 673k reviews
• Current Savings Account APY – %

Read our Chime Review

2. Cap One 360

The Cap One 360 mobile banking app is always rated highly on the JD Power annual rankings report. Part of the reason is due to the fact that this app is very easy to use. You can easily check your balances, use Zelle to make digital payments and transfer money, and manage other aspects of your finances.

Cap One 360 offers a full suite of financial products including a savings and checking account, plus a checking account designed specifically for teens. The app offers parental controls for this account so you are always aware of your child’s spending habits.

• Google Play Store – 4.6 average score / 1.49MM reviews
• Apple Store – 4.9 average score / 7.7MM reviews
• Current Savings Account APY – %

Read our Cap One 360 Review

3. Discover

For a full-service bank experience from your phone, Discover is a good choice. Not only can you get information about your Discover savings account, but you can also see any credit card accounts and other accounts. Plus, you can use the app to transfer money between Discover accounts as well as external accounts.

Perhaps the greatest feature the Discover mobile app offers is the ability to freeze your credit card accounts with the click of a button. Anytime you’re worried about your account or left your credit card somewhere, you can quickly ensure the card is temporarily deactivated until you’re able to locate it.

Discover also offers a competitive APY on its savings product and has a full suite of CDs including IRA CDs.

• Google Play Store – 4.6 average score / 285k reviews
• Apple Store – 4.9 average score / 4.2MM reviews
• Current Savings Account APY – %

Read our Discover® Bank Review

4. Ally

Because Ally has no physical locations, it has made it a point to develop its mobile banking app to the point where it is very easy to manage your money. You can use the app to find access to cash-back locations and receive ATM fee reimbursement as needed. I have a savings account through Ally and I check the app at least a few times each week.

Ally is also good for transferring money between Ally and non-Ally accounts using Zelle. This can help you get your money in a more convenient place and there is no fee whenever you’re transferring internally or externally.

• Google Play Store – 3.5 average score / 26k reviews
• Apple Store – 4.7 average score / 66k reviews
• Current Savings Account APY – %

Read our Ally Review

5. Varo

Varo allows you to do a little bit of everything. Whether you need to save, spend, build credit, or borrow, the Varo mobile app allows you to keep a close eye on your accounts with real-time transaction alerts and balance updates. Real-time customer support is available via chat and you can set up a call quickly if you need a live agent over the phone.

Like a few of the best mobile banking apps on our list, Zelle is the preferred transfer method of choice for Varo. When opening a Varo savings account, there are no monthly fees, overdraft fees, or as they call them, WTF fees.

• Google Play Store – 4.7 average score / 197k reviews
• Apple Store – 4.9 average score / 166k reviews
• Current Savings Account APY – %

6. Sofi Bank

The SoFi Bank mobile app is an all-in-one place to keep track of all your SoFi financial accounts. From student loans to credit cards to savings accounts, SoFi Bank has created one of the most diverse online banks today.

When using the mobile app, SoFi bank will give you reward points (blue diamonds) for good behavior. Paying your loans on time, getting your credit card balance to zero, and adding more to your savings account all qualify for reward points. Those points can be redeemed for cash, fraction shares of stocks, and added payment toward your student loans.

• Google Play Store – 4.1 average score / 30k reviews
• Apple Store – 4.8 average score / 280k reviews
• Current Savings Account APY – %

Read our SoFi Bank Review

7. Chase

The largest bank in the United States (and 5th largest bank in the world), Chase offers an excellent all-around mobile app that lets you transfer money using Zelle, break up your card purchases into budget-friendly payments, and set up automated savings goals that will pull money from one account and deposit it into your Chase account.

The coolest feature the Chase mobile app offers is QuickDeposit℠. When you have checks that need to be deposited, you can take a picture, submit the check, and have access to your funds quickly. You can deposit from any location at any time of day, making it extremely convenient.

• Google Play Store – 4.4 average score / 1.79MM reviews
• Apple Store – 4.8 average score / 5.1MM reviews
• Current Savings Account APY – 0.01%

8. CIT Bank

CIT Bank became a division of First Citizens Bank in 2022 and it offers high interest rates on a variety of savings, checking, and CD accounts. The CIT Bank mobile app can help you find ATMs, open up new CIT accounts, track your spending, and provide a quick line to customer support if needed.

The app also allows you to check your balances and history, as well as transfer money between CIT accounts. You can even use the app to deposit checks to your Money Market and Savings accounts.

• Google Play Store – 2.7 average score / 3k reviews
• Apple Store – 4.6 average score / 11k reviews
• Current Savings Account APY – (Platinum Savings) – %

Read our CIT Bank Review

What is Mobile Banking?

Essentially, mobile banking is done from a mobile device. Rather than logging onto a desktop computer or going to a physical location, you manage your money from the palm of your hand.

With mobile banking, it’s fairly easy to manage your account and the best mobile banking apps make it easy to access everything you need. When used on a new iOS device, once you get your app set up by logging in initially, facial recognition grants you instant access. On other devices, you might be able to access the app with your thumb or fingerprint, or even just touch the app when logged into your mobile device.

The convenience of mobile banking, for the most part, means that you don’t have to regularly enter your username and password when you want to access your accounts and manage your money. There are some cases where an app might not be available, but you can still use your phone’s browser to access your account on a highly optimized version of the website. In this case, you might need to save your login info on your phone’s browser if you don’t want to be stuck entering it each time.

Related: Best Online Banks

How Mobile Banking Works

Because you don’t generally visit a bank when you rely on mobile banking, there are some things to be aware of.

Deposits

If you have Direct Deposit for your paycheck, there isn’t a lot you need to do. The money still goes to your bank, and you can use your mobile banking app to verify that you’ve received the money. Without Direct Deposit, you have other options for depositing your money:

• Mobile check deposit: The best mobile banking apps allow you to snap a picture of a check and use that to make a deposit in your account.
• Electronic transfer: Connect other bank accounts with your mobile banking account to be able to move money back and forth. You can also receive P2P payments from others using apps like Venmo and Zelle and connect those to your bank account so you can move your money.
• Physical deposit: If your mobile banking is an app from a bank with a local branch, you can bring your cash or check into the branch.
• U.S. Mail: Send your deposit by mail. You won’t see the money for several days if you choose this method, and it’s best not to send cash through the mail.

Withdrawals

Getting money when using mobile banking usually isn’t too difficult. Most banks issue debit cards. In fact, even banks like Chime and Ally that don’t have physical locations send debit cards that you can use to get cash back at stores or make withdrawals from ATMs.

You can also see if your account allows you to write checks. Finally, if you need to send money elsewhere, to pay bills, or to send money to another person, it’s possible to use your app’s bill pay function or connect your account to a payment app like Venmo.

Our Methodology for Choosing the Best Mobile Banking Apps

As we put this list together, we did our best to review more than 40 bank apps that had at least 10k downloads. The criteria for which we finally boiled our list down to is the following:

• Product Features – First and foremost, we wanted apps that had the best features and user experience. Does the app crash often? Can I do everything I need to in order to manage my account through the app? These were the important questions first asked and any mobile banking app that wasn’t 100% reliable didn’t make the list.
• User Reviews – Millions of downloads and millions of reviews allowed us to see what others believe are the best mobile banking apps. Only one of the banks on our list didn’t average at least a 4.5/5 star rating and unsurprisingly, Google reviewers were more likely to leave negative feedback.
• Costs + Integration – Some mobile banking apps charge a fee for certain services and others wouldn’t allow us to connect accounts or have a single dashboard for all products from the same bank. All of the mobile banking apps chosen above are fee-free and you can see all of your accounts from the app.
• Personal Review – All of the above apps (along with a few dozen other bank apps) have been personally used by our team.

Is Mobile Banking Safe?

In general, mobile banking is safe. Most developers use a high level of security when developing these apps, so your information is protected. Additionally, depending on how the app is set up, you might need facial recognition, a PIN, or a fingerprint to access the app and make any changes. So, if your phone falls into the wrong hands, someone is still unlikely to be able to access your apps and make changes.

Related: What Happens if Your Bank App is Hacked

Bottom Line

Mobile banking is a convenient way to manage your money from just about anywhere. All you have to do is download your bank’s mobile app, set it up for access, and then use it. If you’re looking for an easy way to take care of almost every aspect of money management, it’s possible from the palm of your hand.

The post The 8 Best Mobile Banking Apps of 2024 appeared first on Doughroller.

Experian offers credit services that can help you keep an eye on your credit progress and alert you when your information might be compromised. I’ve used Experian for several years now, and this review is based in part on that experience.

What is Experian?

Experian is one of the three major credit reporting agencies. As a credit bureau, Experian collects data about your credit habits and compiles that information into a credit report. In addition to maintaining a record of your credit history, Experian also has a scoring model for producing a credit score. Experian can produce scores based on the FICO model, which is the most popular.

Related: How to Get Your Credit Score for Free

Experian Product Features

Experian offers three main products, each with its own features. Additionally, you can also sign up for the IdentityWorks product. Here’s what you can expect.

Experian CreditWorks Premium

• Monthly access to credit reports from Equifax and TransUnion in addition to your Experian credit report
• FICO Score monitoring across all three credit bureaus
• CreditLock allows you to control access to your credit report
• Interactive dashboard designed to help you track your credit score
• $1 million in ID theft insurance
• Ongoing access with a monthly fee

3-Bureau Credit Report and FICO Score

• Look at your credit reports from all three bureaus
• Compare your FICO Scores across the bureaus
• Overview of how your credit report is affecting your credit scores
• Live help for questions and preparing disputes
• One-time access and one-time fee

Experian Credit Report and FICO Score

• See your Experian credit report
• Find out who else has been looking at your credit report
• Overview of your FICO Score, along with the factors influencing it
• Ability to dispute inaccuracies online for free
• One-time access and one-time fee

IdentityWorks

• Access to CreditLock, which allows you to lock and unlock your credit report, controlling when others can view it
• Identity theft monitoring and alerts
• Dark web surveillance
• Fraud resolution
• Up to $1 million in ID theft insurance
• Ongoing with a monthly fee

Experian has products available for just about any need–at least when it comes to keeping track of your credit situation.

Experian Pricing

Your pricing depends on the product you choose. Both CreditWorks Premium and IdentityWorks have ongoing monthly fees, while the report and score options have one-time fees. Here’s what you’ll pay for the different products offered by Experian:

• CreditWorks Premium: $4.99 for the first month, $24.99 for each month after
• IdentityWorks Plus: Free for the first month, then $9.99 a month after
• IdentityWorks Premium: Free for the first month, then $19.99 a month after
• 3-Bureau Credit Report and FICO Scores: $39.99, one-time
• Experian Credit Report and FICO Score: $19.99, one-time

Experian also offers free support and education by offering a number of tools and articles on various topics related to credit and identity protection.

Also Read: How to Improve Your Credit Score

How to Sign Up

On the Experian website, you can see several options. Use the dropdown menu to compare options and decide which service is likely to be the best choice for you. As you sign up, you’ll need to be ready with the following info:

• Full name
• Phone number
• Address
• Email address
• Social Security number
• Birthdate
• Payment information

You also need to be prepared to answer security questions. Experian will ask questions about certain loans you’ve had in the past or other addresses you’ve had in order to verify your identity. Once that’s done, you’ll create a username and password.

Security

Experian is a legitimate company and takes its security very seriously. High-level encryption is used, and Experian takes steps to safeguard your information. Not only that, but Experian’s monitoring of the dark web can help you identify how much of your data is available for sale on shady websites.

Experian can also help you protect your credit report by making it easy to freeze your credit using CreditLock. You can also improve your own personal security with the help of IdentityWorks and other tools.

Mobile Support

You can get the Experian mobile app for iPhone and Android. It’s easy to use, and allows you access to all the products offered by Experian. You can sign into your account from the app, accessing the products and services you’re used to. It’s also possible to view a free copy of your Experian credit report once every 30 days.

When using the mobile app, you also get access to CreditMatch, which allows you to see which credit cards you might be eligible for, based on your credit report and score. This is a nice feature that can help you get an idea of where you stand financially.

Customer Service

Experian offers an extensive and searchable database of topics related to different aspects of credit and fraud. You can usually find what you’re looking for in the help topics. However, it’s also possible to use the Contact Us page to get email help with certain questions.

• 1-866-617-1894 (general customer support line)
• 1-877-FACTACT (credit report support line)

Representatives are available from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific on weekends. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any live chat options available.

Experian Pros and Cons

Pros

• Flexible choices: Choose to sign up for different products, based on what you need. You can get ongoing credit support and monitoring, or pay for a one-time snapshot.
• Includes the FICO Score: Some of the other consumer credit monitoring companies won’t offer a FICO Score, but it’s available through Experian.
• Lots of information: If you’re looking for a lot of information, Experian has it. When you get the credit report and score products, you’ll also receive information that can help you make better decisions in the future.
• The dashboard is easy to use: When you sign in, whether you’re on the computer or the mobile app, you can use an intuitive dashboard. It’s easy to see your financial and credit information in one place.

Cons

• It can be expensive: Some of the products will cost you. CreditWorks Premium is especially costly. You have to decide if it’s worth it for you.
• No online cancellation: If you want to cancel your ongoing subscriptions, you’ll have to do so by phone.
• You might not get alerts: Not all of the products come with ongoing alerts. You might get alerts related to fraud, but not other credit report alerts.

Experian Alternatives

There are other providers that offer similar services to Experian, although you might not get the same comprehensive offerings as you see with CreditWorks.

myFICO

myFICO offers quarterly access to scores, as well as analysis, but doesn’t give you monthly access. You have three different products to choose from and each service offers a level of credit score access and two offer identity protection.

Outside of the product, another great feature myFICO offers is its FICO Forums. There are more than 4 million topics posted where users and credit experts have offered advice and opinions on how to improve your credit and fix your credit.

Read our myFICO Review

Mint

One additional fee-free option is using Mint to track your credit score. With Mint, you’ll receive an updated credit score weekly (through TransUnion) and you’ll also have access to most of the information in your credit report. Mint tracks account balances, inquiries, open and closed accounts and lets you know what derogatory items you might have.

You can also use Mint to create a proper budget for your finances. After you connect your financial accounts to Mint, you will be able to track purchases to ensure no unauthorized charges are coming through.

Because this is free, you will be served ads on the platform for financial products while using the app.

Read our Mint Review

Who Is Experian For?

Experian offers products designed to help you maintain your peace of mind. If you want a comprehensive and ongoing credit monitoring product, CreditWorks Premium can be a good choice, especially since it includes some of the features included with IdentityWorks. You can get a good value.

If you’re more interested in casually keeping track of where your credit stands, though, you might be better off using a free consumer credit website, and then occasionally paying for the 3-Bureau product when you want to get more specific information.

Bottom Line

Overall, Experian does a good job of offering a variety of different credit and identity monitoring services, as well as offering a number of tools that can be used to monitor and improve your finances. While the premium product is a little pricey, it can be worth it if you want peace of mind and full and unfettered access to what’s happening with your credit report.

Experian

Miranda Marquit

Features

Mobile App

Pricing and Product Options

Security

Customer Service

Summary

Experian is one of the three main credit bureaus and they know how to offer you the info you need to improve and monitor your credit.

4.1

The post Experian Review – Credit Monitoring, Reporting, and Identity Theft Protection appeared first on Doughroller.

The earlier you start your savings habit, the better off you’re likely to be in the long run. An early savings habit allows you to build up a better emergency fund, as well as take advantage of compound interest to allow your retirement portfolio to grow over time.

Using Your Age for Benchmarks

One way to estimate how much you should set aside is to use your age to set benchmarks. Of course, not everyone is in the same place, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to finances.

However, if you think about it, your age can give you something to shoot for. As you plan for the future, keep in mind that you might need to tweak based on circumstances, and that could mean playing catch-up later.

No matter what you end up doing, though, it’s a good idea to bake savings into your budget and start the habit sooner rather than later, even if you don’t feel like you can save a lot of money right now.

Building Your Emergency Fund

In general, an emergency fund can help you save up for unexpected expenses. You can use an emergency fund for car repairs, to make hospital copays or to help supplement your income if your hours are cut at work.

Many experts suggest that you have three to six months’ worth of expenses in your emergency fund, but you might feel more comfortable with nine or 12 months’ worth, especially when you feel like a recession or some other economic event is on the way.

During your 20s, it’s a good time to build a solid foundation and put aside what you can so that by the time you reach age 30, you’re meeting your goals.

Ally offers this handy visual to provide you with a benchmark for building your emergency fund.

However, you might come up with a different goal, based on your monthly expenses. If you’re living frugally, maybe you only spend $3,000 per month. In that case, you can adjust your numbers based on your actual expenses.

On the other hand, though, creating a stretch goal for the upper end of the range can encourage you to save more–and build a fund that is more likely to get you through some tougher times.

Where Should You Keep Your Emergency Fund?

For the most part, an emergency fund should be kept in a high-yield savings account that is liquid and accessible. There are institutions like Everbank and Discover® Bank that can help you open accounts that pay a reasonable rate of return.

It’s also possible to use short-term CDs to build an emergency fund ladder that can allow you regular access to your money and potentially higher yields.

Related: How (and Why) to Create a CD Ladder

Finally, there are some people, like me, who use a tiered approach to emergency savings. I keep three to four weeks’ worth of expenses in a liquid savings account, while the rest of my emergency fund is in a taxable investment account. Betterment is great for this. You can take care of immediate needs from the savings account while you liquidate stocks as needed and transfer them.

Where you keep your emergency fund depends on your goals, as well as your risk tolerance.

Saving for Retirement at Any Age

Of course, you also need to be saving for retirement. Building your retirement portfolio is important at any age, but your best results come when you start earlier.

Once again, how much you save depends on your long-term goals and what you expect to do in retirement. Ally provides a basic benchmark for retirement savings goals by age, based on your income.

Another rule of thumb to consider is how much you expect to spend during retirement. Some experts suggest that you base your retirement savings on a withdrawal rate of 4%. This rate assumes the annualized inflation rate will be 3%, while your annualized returns are 7%. According to the theory, you should be able to avoid running out of money when you follow this rule.

If you think you’ll need $50,000 to live on each year, you’ll need $1.25 million in your portfolio when you retire, if you accept the 4% rule. If you apply the 4% rule to the amounts shared by Ally, you’ll have to manage your money a little more frugally — or rely on Social Security to make up the gap.

Applying the 4% rule to your retirement savings at age 60 on the chart only allows you to withdraw $16,530.92 a year. If you don’t care about drawing down your principal and spending money at a faster rate, that $413,273 will last you just over eight years if you spend $50,000 per year.

As you can see, determining how much you should have in your retirement savings is a little more complicated than just following a rule of thumb. While benchmarks can give you something to think about and a place to start, the reality is that you might need to save much more, depending on the lifestyle you expect to live, and whether you want to retire early.

Where Should You Keep Your Retirement Portfolio?

Where you keep your retirement portfolio depends on your situation and your long-term goals. If you have a company 401(k), there’s a good chance you’re already saving money in a retirement account. Review your options to make sure you’re getting what you need.

If necessary, you might be able to roll your money into an IRA for more options and to help you better meet your goals.

Carefully consider your options, and what you hope to accomplish with your money as you determine the best place to keep your retirement portfolio. You’ll also want to think of your asset allocation, shifting your investments as you approach retirement.

How to Catch Up if You’re Behind

While these numbers are guidelines and not hard and fast rules, you might still be interested in doing what you can to catch up if you feel like you’ve fallen behind.

For those in their 50s, it’s possible to make extra contributions to your IRA or 401(k) in order to catch up. However, if you’re younger and hoping to supercharge your emergency fund and/or retirement savings, you might have to take other steps.

• Pay down high-interest debt: You can pay that down and then divert what you were paying before to your savings. This can be effective in the long run since you’ll no longer be stuck with high rates.
• Increase your income: You can earn more money through a side gig, second job or by getting a new job or a raise. Bank the additional money. You can stick with the extra income indefinitely, or quit when you feel like you’re back on track for your goals.
• Cut back on some of your spending: If there’s room in your budget to cut back, you can take the money you save and put it toward your savings goals.
• Use windfalls to beef up your savings: Tax returns, bonuses, inheritances and other windfalls can all be used to increase what you set aside for savings.

In some cases, you might need to find ways to prioritize your savings so that you automatically move the money to retirement or emergency accounts before you spend on other items.

The most important thing, though, is to take the time to figure out what your needs are, and then take the time to create a plan to help you reach your goals.

The post Savings by Age: How Much to Save in Your 20s, 30s, 40s, and Beyond appeared first on Doughroller.