Nearside is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $50 bonus if you open a Nearside business checking account using a referral link. Here’s what you need to do to earn your Nearside referral bonus:
- Open a Nearside business checking account using a referral link (here’s my Nearside referral link).
- Spend $100 with your Nearside debit card within one month of opening your Nearside account.
- You’ll receive a $50 bonus within 90 days of meeting the spending requirement.
Nearside used to be called Hatch but recently rebranded itself to Nearside. The rebranding is for the better – Nearside used to charge a $10 per month fee, but with the rebranding, it’s now a completely free business checking account.
The rebranding also makes Nearside one of the easier bank account bonuses currently available. There’s no direct deposit requirement and the only thing you need to do to earn the bonus is spend $100 on your Nearside debit card. Most people should be able to do this pretty easily. And since the account has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, you won’t have to worry about managing the account after you open it.
In the remainder of this post, I’ll provide some more detail about the Nearside business checking account and walk you through the exact steps to follow so you can earn your Nearside referral bonus.
Update: In addition to the $50 referral bonus after spending $100 on the debit card, Nearside is also offering new users 20% back on their first deposit into their Nearside Checking Account, up to a maximum of $40. To get the maximum $40 bonus, you’ll simply need to fund your account with $200. Your $40 should post immediately. Then spend $100 on your Nearside debit card to get an additional $50.
What Is Nearside Business Checking?
As previously stated, Nearside is a free business checking account that offers business banking to sole proprietors and small businesses. It was previously called Hatch but rebranded itself to Nearside in November 2021.
In the past, Nearside isn’t a bank account I would have recommended because it charged a $10 per month fee. However, in October, Nearside quietly removed the monthly fee, turning their business bank account into a free bank account with no fees or minimum balance requirements. That makes Nearside a bank that’s worth looking at.
One interesting feature with Nearside is that they offer cash back on debit card purchases. Currently, you’ll get 2.2% cashback on any purchase you make with your Nearside debit card. That’s really good, especially since most debit cards don’t offer any cashback rewards. I have no idea how long they can keep offering this amount of cashback, but if you’re someone that wants to take advantage of this offer, now is a good time to do so.
Nearside Business Checking Account $50 Referral Bonus: Step-By-Step Directions
Nearside is an interesting business checking account, but the primary reason to open a Nearside business checking account is to collect your $50 signup bonus. Opening an account is easy. You can do it online using your phone or computer. Submitting your application should only take a few minutes and assuming there aren’t any issues, you should get approved within a day or two. My account was approved about a day after I submitted my application.
Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your $50 Nearside referral bonus.
1. Open A Nearside Business Checking Account Using A Referral Link. The first thing you’ll need to do is open a Nearside account using a referral link. Here’s my Nearside referral link. The link doesn’t provide the bonus terms, but I referred my wife and received an email notification that someone had used my referral link, so it’s definitely a valid link.
The account opening process is fairly straightforward. The application should walk you through all of the steps. Since this is a business checking account, you’ll technically need to have some sort of business to be eligible to open this account, but almost everyone should be eligible, especially if you have a side hustle of any sort. Even if you do something as simple as selling things on eBay or Facebook Marketplace, that would make you a business.
On the first page of the application, you’ll see this screen:
The majority of people reading this should select sole proprietor as their business type. The name of the business should be your name. If you have a business entity you want to use, feel free to use that. For industry type, pick the industry that most closely matches your business.
Later in the application, you’ll be asked to link your bank account. You don’t have to do this immediately, but you’ll want to do it eventually because you’ll need to move at least $100 into your Nearside account so you can meet the spending requirement with the Nearside debit card.
The other thing you’ll have to do during the application is upload a photo of your ID. This is standard practice for any bank account, as banks have to do this as part of federal regulations.
Once you get through the application, you’ll likely get a message telling you your application is being reviewed. My application was approved about a day later. How long it takes for your application to be approved will likely vary.
2. Spend $100 On Your Nearside Debit Card. Once your account is approved, you should receive your Nearside debit card within 5-7 business days. To meet the $100 spending requirement, you’ll need to put some money into your Nearside account. To do this, link an external account with Nearside, then send $100 or more into your Nearside account. After that, spend $100 with your Nearside debit card
The easiest way to do this is to pay your phone bill or another account that lets you make a payment with your debit card. I’m self-employed, so I have to pay for my health insurance, which I did with my Nearside debit card.
3. You’ll Receive $50 In Statement Credit Within 90 Days Of Meeting The Spending Requirement. The terms state that you’ll receive a $50 statement credit after you meet the spending requirement. Statement credit just means they deposit $50 into your checking account.
In addition, while the terms say you’ll get your bonus within 90 days, when I did it, I found the bonus posted instantly. So, you shouldn’t have to wait to get your bonus.
Earning $50 after spending $100 that you already have to spend is good for a 50% return on your $100. I’ll gladly take that.
Refer Your Friends And Earn More Nearside Referral Bonuses
When you open your Nearside business checking account, you’ll get a referral link that you can use to refer other people. Each person you refer who uses your link and meets the $100 spending requirement earns you $50 (the person you refer will also earn $50 for using your link).
You can earn a maximum of $500 in referral bonuses per calendar year, so you should be able to refer 10 people per year (note that the $50 you earn for opening the account probably counts toward the $500 maximum, so you might only be able to refer 9 people in your first year).
If you’re a two-person household, you should be able to earn $150 by opening accounts for both people. To do this, first, open your account using a referral link. Then refer your spouse or partner with your referral link. You’ll get $50 for opening the account, then your spouse will get $50 for using your referral link and you’ll get $50 for referring your spouse.
Final Thoughts
Nearside is a relatively unknown business checking account that has an easy referral bonus you can earn. Filling out the application should only take you a few minutes. And the bonus terms are easy to meet. If you feel like supporting this site, please feel free to use my Nearside referral link.
If you’re looking for a bank account for your business or side hustle, Nearside could also work for that, especially since they have some interesting cashback categories that might be useful for you.
For more information on bank account bonuses, please check out my post, the Ultimate Guide To Bank Account Bonuses. That post goes into great detail about how bank account bonuses work and how you can take advantage of them. It’s essential reading for anyone interested in getting deeper into the world of bank account bonuses.
I hope this info was helpful. Please feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions.
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.
I got the $90 ($50 referal bonus + $40 on 20% back) in a week. This was a very easy bonus. Tip to meet $100 spend on debit card: Buy single banana at Walmart ($.15), & get $100 cash back with debit card on purchase. Many people are using their bills to earn credit card rewards. No need to divert any of that money.
That’s some optimization there!
Hi, there’s an update to this offer: when I clicked on the link, it says that they are currently updating their bank and not accepting any new accounts right now, but you can join a waitlist and will get notification in August 2022. fyi.