Current is a fintech banking app similar to banking apps like Chime or Varo. It’s one of the largest fintech apps out there – raising over $400 million in the past few years. As a fintech banking app, I think Current is pretty good. They offer a free checking account with no fees or minimum balance requirements, and they have a slick, well-designed app that’s easy to use. But the real reason I use Current is for its savings account. They have one of the best savings account options available, offering 4% interest on up to $6,000.
I’m someone that likes to keep a large emergency fund, so for years, I’ve been taking advantage of bank accounts exactly like this one, earning 3-6% interest on cash I keep in the bank. It gives me the best of all worlds. I get the safety and certainty of cash in the bank, but with high-interest rates that generally at least keep up with inflation.
Previously, Current’s 4% interest savings account was limited to targeted users, but they’ve since opened it up to everyone. Even better, they’ve recently made it so you can open three accounts each. This means my wife and I can each put away $6,000 earning 4% interest in FDIC-insured saving accounts. Combined with all of the other mega-high-yield savings accounts we have, that gives us $37,000 earning 3-6% interest in FDIC-insured savings accounts. That’s a massive emergency fund that anyone can be happy with.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the Current banking app’s 4% interest savings account (also called the Current savings pod). I’ll go over how this account works and why you should get it. At the end of this post, I’ll also have guides to other mega-high-yield savings accounts so you can incorporate more of these savings accounts into your own savings strategy.
What is Current?
Current is a part of the new wave of neobanks or fintech banking apps. These are mobile-first banking apps that partner with an FDIC-insured bank. With Current, your funds are held by Choice Financial Group and Metropolitan Commercial Bank, both FDIC-insured banks. That means your funds are insured and safe, just like money in any bank.
Current offers two plans. The basic plan is free. The premium plan gives you additional features, including access to up to three savings accounts per person. An interesting thing to note is that the premium plan used to charge a monthly fee, but is now free for all users. When you open your account, it might still say that the premium plan costs money, but when you sign up for it, you’ll see that it changes to say no annual fee.
There are two interesting products with Current. The first is a checking account. It has no fees or minimum balance requirements, so it’s a fine checking account if you’re someone that prefers using fintech banking apps. You can also get early direct deposit with the checking account, which is something I think all banks should do these days anyway.
The second product that Current offers – and the one I particularly care about – is the Current savings account (or savings pods, as they call it). The savings account pays 4% interest on up to $2,000. Everything above $2,000 doesn’t earn interest.
If you sign up for the premium plan (which used to cost a monthly fee, but is now free), you’ll be able to open up to three savings accounts, giving you the ability to put save $6,000 earning 4% interest.
At 4% interest, Current is one of the highest interest savings accounts available. And since Current is an easy account to open and manage, that makes it a perfect place to store at least a portion of your emergency fund or idle cash.
How to Set Up Your Current 4% Interest Savings Account
Here’s how Current’s 4% interest savings account works. To get started, you’ll first need to open a Current account. If you use a referral link, you can get $50 after you complete a direct deposit of $200 or more within the first 45 days of opening your account.
You can use my Current referral link here. Make sure you use the code CAITLINH786 when you open the account so that you can qualify for the signup bonus. The terms require you to complete a direct deposit, but data points suggest that an ACH transfer from Discover Bank or Schwab will trigger the bonus. I have a detailed post on how to earn your Current referral bonus that you should check out if you need more direction: Current Bank $50 Referral Bonus – Step by Step Guide.
When you open your Current account, you’ll have the option to choose between the basic plan or the premium plan. As I mentioned, the premium plan is now free, so you should sign up for the premium plan to gain access to three savings accounts.
After you’ve opened your Current, you’ll see an option in the app to open what Current calls a “savings pod.” This is the savings account that pays 4% interest. You have to move at least 1 cent into your savings pod to activate it.
My recommendation is to link your bank account with Current, move $6,000 into it, then put that into three savings pods. It took 5 business days for my $2,000 transfer to clear, which is longer than most other banks, but ultimately not that big of a deal.
How the Current 4% Interest Savings Account Works
The Current 4% interest savings account is a savings account that pays 4% interest on your first $2,000. As previously mentioned, you do not earn interest for amounts above $2,000. To make it clear, if you have $2,001 in your savings account, you’ll earn 4% interest on the $2,000 in the savings account and 0% on the $1 extra that you have in the account. In other words, going over the $2,000 limit does not impact the interest you earn on the first $2,000 in your account.
There’s no limit to how often you can withdraw money from your savings account, which is different from most savings accounts that typically limit you to 6 withdrawals per month. For our purposes, this doesn’t mean much, but it’s something that might matter to you depending on what you use your savings account for.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Current savings account is that it pays interest daily. This is different from most savings accounts which pay interest monthly. While there isn’t any real advantage to Current paying interest daily (especially if you’ve maxed out your savings account), it is nice to see the interest accrue in your account each day.
Finally, the last thing to know is that Current limits you to one savings pod on the free plan, but lets you get three savings pods under the premium plan. The premium plan is now free, so make sure you get the premium plan and open three savings pods. If you max out each one, you’ll earn $240 of interest per year.
If you’ve already opened a Current account, you can upgrade to the premium plan also. It might say that it costs $4.99 per month, but once you upgrade, you’ll see that it’s free.
Why You Should Open a Current Savings Account
I recommend everyone open a Current savings account because it’s a simple way to get much more than the typical 0.5% to 1% interest that most regular high-yield savings accounts offer.
Getting 4% interest on $6,000 means you’ll end up with $240 of interest per year. That might not seem much, but it’s important to put things in perspective.
Consider this. To get the same amount of interest in a savings account earning 1% interest, you’d need to save $24,000. When you look at it that way, I think it makes a lot of sense to take advantage of a high-yield savings account like this one.
Current has a calculator on its website that shows you the difference between what you’ll earn with Current vs. what you’ll earn in a regular savings account from one of the big national banks. The difference is pretty stark, especially when you look at how low the interest rate is at many of these big banks.
Additional Reading On 5% Interest Savings Accounts
A basic rule of personal finance is to have an emergency fund. Unfortunately, emergency funds often come with a trade-off. If you want safety and liquidity, you usually have to accept low-interest rates.
I’ve opted to go a different way by taking advantage of savings accounts paying 3-6% interest. By doing this, I not only get the benefit of a strong emergency fund, but I also get the benefit of a good rate of return. It’s more work than just opening a savings account at your bank, but I find the benefits worth it.
Right now, my wife and I have $37,000 saved between multiple savings accounts paying 3-6% interest. That’s a great emergency fund – one that I’m very comfortable with. Even better, that money is generating over $1,500 of interest each year.
If you want to learn more about my emergency fund strategy, check out my post: Where To Get 5% Interest Savings Accounts. In that post, I give a brief rundown of each of the mega-high-yield savings accounts I use.
For in-depth posts about each of those accounts, be sure to check out the following:
- Netspend Account: The Ultimate Guide to a 5% Interest Savings Account
- DCU $20 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Guide (Plus A 6% Interest Savings Account)
- The H-E-B Debit Card 6% Interest Savings Account
- Workers Credit Union Savings Account – Earn 3.56% Interest On Up To $1,000
- Service Credit Union – A Mega-High-Yield Savings Account For Up To $3,500
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($10) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($100) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Upgrade ($100) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on January 31, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before January 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- OnJuno ($60) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $10 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and make a deposit of $50 or more. You will also get 1000 JCOIN. The 1000 of JCOIN is cryptocurrency. At the time I'm writing this, it'll be worth about $50. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Novo Bank. Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. It’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
In reference to the Current Premium savings account, if one can save up to $6,000 and be able to have three savings Pods at up to 2,000 for a total of $12,000 earning the 4% APY in which case I believe paying for upgrading to the premium account maybe worth it.
I may have misread the instructions that you have provided along with the instructions on the bank website.
Please correct me if I’m wrong on my thinking.
I don’t think you’re wrong, and I’m definitely willing to change my view on the premium account.
Here’s how I’m thinking of it.
If you have $6k earning 4% interest, you’ll end up with $240 in a year. The premium account costs $60 per year. That leaves you with $180 after paying the premium fees.
$180 on $6,000 equals 3% interest. That’s totally fine and isn’t inherently bad. But then you factor that you’ll get a 1099-INT indicating you earned $240 of interest in the year so you’ll be paying taxes on the $240.
For me, I’d rather have $2k earning 4% without paying the fee.
I don’t believe Current is the best option. Check out Stairs app. It earns 4% basic plus two options to add another +1% each (monthly recurring transfer and round-ups). No overall cap, only a daily $5k cap. In a test I was able to move money out of the Stairs app and into my checking in two business days. Not bad!
Hey Spike,
Never heard of Stairs before. I checked it out and I don’t think you can compare the two. Stairs isn’t a bank account and funds aren’t FDIC-insured. It looks like your funds are invested in real estate notes. I’m not saying Stairs is inherently a risky account or that there’s anything wrong with it (I haven’t researched it, so I don’t know), but it’s an apples to oranges comparison.
I was going to mention Stairs by Groundfloor to you as well. The one thing to consider between Current and Stairs is that Current is FDIC insured. When you invest in Stairs it’s not insured by the FDIC but backed by physical real estate. You can take your money out at anytime via ACH transfer. You initially get 4% but if you setup a recurring transfer you will be bumped up to 5%. I setup a simple recurring transfer of $10 on the first day of the month.
The app if very simplistic but I’ve been using it for a few months now.
Were you prompted to set up a log on and password? I wasn’t. Also no security questions. Just directly into asking for my bank info to deposit money. Im feeling hesitant. What was your experience?
I honestly don’t remember. I opened my current account over a year ago and didn’t track it. But I wouldn’t be too worried.
I was reading the comments about Current on another website (doctor of credit) and several individuals detailed how to obtain a free premium account for life. The premium plan allows you to save $6,000 @ 4%. Click on to profile picture at the bottom right of app. Under current codes type “BEASTHUNT, BEASTBANK, and BEAST”. You will receive three $1 deposits shortly and the banner will update to say ” MrBeast just gave you Premium for FREE FOR LIFE!”
I set up my wife’s Current account as well and she has a free premium for life. So in total, we will have $12,000 of our emergency fund making 4%.
I tried this and it didn’t work for me. I got the three $1 deposits but I’m still on the basic membership plan.
I can confirm this ($3 and free premium membership) worked for myself and my wife. Mine was nearly instant (within a few minutes). My wife’s took a few days.
I only got three $1 deposits as well and I’m on the basic account.
The current website as of 5/13/22 only lists the Current and Teen accounts as options
https://support.current.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408091015195-What-types-of-accounts-does-Current-offer-#what-types-of-accounts-does-current-offer–0-0
Like Karl, the only options I was presented with were Current and Teen accounts. Once I provided requested info I was presented with a screen to “Activate your Virtual Card” with an option to activate later. Any advice on which to do?
Some info here https://support.current.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408251334811-What-s-a-virtual-card-
Do the current account. Inside the Current account you have savings pods. Those savings pods are what offers the 4% return. You can have up to 3 savings pods.
Thanks so much for your website! It has helped transform my finances, and in turn, my life! FYI, as of yesterday, Current has updated their APY to 0.25%, unless you have a direct deposit of $200 or more every 35 days. I’ve currently got $12k in there (between me and my spouse) but I’ll be looking for somewhere else to stash my cash.
Will need to review the terms and fee schedule to see if there’s a monthly bill I can pay from the Current account without any fees after a $200 direct deposit. Otherwise, for the time being, Personal Capital Cash (and I’m sure others) are paying close to 4% with no stipulations. Of course, once interest rates start coming down, those rates aren’t going to last forever.
Confirmed with Current support that the direct deposit must be a paycheck. Depoosits from Social Security, IRA custodians or annuity payments are only eligible for th 0.25% rate. Guess I’ll move this to Treasury Direct spread across 1 yr bills @ 4.45%, 2 yr notes @ 4.25% and an inflation gamble in I-Bonds at 6.89% until the next adjustment unless anyone has a better idea.
Good evening! I have enjoyed your blog, and I am putting into place some of your recommendations. I got an e-mail from Current stating that they are introducing a direct deposit requirement in order to get the 4% APY, within the next week or so. Otherwise, it reverts to 0.25% or something like that. It’s a bummer. I am pulling out the money and switching to Varo, which gives $5,000. I’d rather use Varo because it’s easier to ACH my money in and out, and we did have a direct deposit that could be switched. But the direct deposit requirement for Current is a deal breaker for me.
Thanks for the tip, Chris – I missed Varo on my earlier readings of Financial Panther’s articles. I like that Varo’s Savings account pays 3% on amounts over $5,000 instead of the 0.0% that Current was offering. Varo support confirmed that direct deposit from Social Security counts toward eligibility for the elevated 5% savings rate., so that’s another plus.
However, there are some rather disturbing posts on the Varo reddit that bear investigation before I commit $5,000 and my monthly SS check to the Varo platform.