Axos Bank is one of the first digital banks in the US and in the world. The bank was founded in 2000, and at first, it was called Bank of Internet USA. Even though it’s an online-only bank, it has grown over time, and today it offers complete personal and business banking services. The bank itself says that it has around $12B in assets today, and its technology-driven services are one of the most innovative in the whole world. The main headquarters of the bank is in San Diego, California.
Axos Bank No-fee Checking Account
Review
Axos Bank Offers Details
At Axos Bank there are 4 types of accounts that you can get:
Users can get the Axos Bank Visa debit card with all these accounts. This gives them additional options like cash withdrawal, ATM usage, and flexible payments.
CD Accounts (Certificates of Deposit)
This type of account gives you guaranteed returns you can rely on and high-interest yields. These two are great tools for reaching the goals you’ve set. They offer certificates of deposit accounts ranging from just 3 months and up to 60 months.
To open any of these accounts, you will have to make a minimum deposit of $1000. This is a bit higher number than other similar banks, but they come with additional benefits such as:
- No initial, maintenance, or annual fees
- Users can transfer interest electronically for free
- FDIC insurance
- 10-day grace period with auto-renewals
- 25% APY for terms from 3 to 12 months
- 40% APY for terms from 12 to 60 months
It’s important to know that CD accounts have early withdrawal penalties. You need to wait for the maturity date before you can withdraw your principal. Each of the terms has different maturity periods, and these two should be confused:
- half interest loss for terms of 3 to 5 months
- 3-month interest loss for terms of 6 to 11 months
- 6-month interest loss for terms of 12 to 23 months
- 12-month interest loss for terms of 24 to 35 months
- 18-month interest loss for terms of 36 to 47 months
- 24-month interest loss for terms of 48 months or longer
Savings Accounts
The high-yield savings account at Axos Bank offers the best returns for your money. It comes with a really good APY and various other benefits and features. It allows you to pile up interest in a way you won’t be able to with a local bank.
To open your account, you will have to make an initial deposit of at least $250, but after this initial deposit, you won’t have any minimum balance. With this savings account, you can make 6 transactions for each monthly billing statement. This doesn’t include transfers or withdrawals through ATMs or mail.
Of course, there are different offers available that you can choose from. But the best one comes with these features:
- Bonus Visa debit card after getting the account
- Different online tools for financial management
- Daily interest addition
- Minimum balance of $250
- $0 maintenance fees
- APY varies
Axos Bank savings accounts come under a different brand name – UFB Direct High Yield Savings – and include a free UFB Direct Visa® Card.
Money Market Accounts
The money market accounts offered by this bank combined all the convenient features of checking accounts allowing high-yield interest. This account also includes a Visa debit card but also gives users the option to write checks. No matter what your balance is, the APY is fixed at 1.05%.
However, to open a money market account, you need to make a deposit of at least $1000. However, similarly to savings accounts, there are no additional balance requirements afterward. This account doesn’t have any fees either, and it offers a mobile app for easier management.
- $1000 deposit for opening an account
- 0.5% fixed APY
- Ability to write checks
- Debit card with all important transactions
- No fees
- No balance requirements
Axos Bank money market accounts come under a different brand name – UFB Premium Money Market Account – and include a free UFB Direct Visa® Card.
Checking Accounts
One of the best services offered by Axos Bank is checking accounts. These accounts come in 5 different versions. They have a similar concept, but each of them is designed for specific groups of people. Simply put, anyone can find an account that is suitable for their needs.
Types of Axos checking accounts:
Golden
The Golden checking accounts are designed for people who are 55 or older. They require a low starting deposit of $50, and it’s an interest-bearing account. Its main features are:
- Flexible APY that can go up to 0.20%
- The total monthly fee reimbursement for domestic ATMs of $8
- Writing personal checks for free
- No annual, and No maintenance fees
First
First checking accounts are designed for parents that want to teach their children financial management. You can get it for kids that are 13 to 17 years old. This is a joint account, meaning that it will be in your name, and you can check the balance, activity, and limit the balance as you see fit.
Its main features are:
- A fixed APY of 0.25%
- The maximum fee reimbursement for ATMs of $12 per month
- There are no overdraft fees
- No fees for non-sufficient funds
CashBack
CashBack rewards are usually available with credit cards. However, Axos Bank is one of the first financial service providers that offer a checking account along with a debit card that has these benefits. The account has a fixed cashback of 1% for all purchases that require a signature.
Other important features are:
- Access to mobile banking accounts
- No monthly, maintenance, or annual fees
- Unlimited and free check writing
- No limit on ATM fee reimbursement in the US
Rewards
The Axos Bank Rewards Checking Account has a tiered interest rate system. It has a high APY without any minimum balance required, but it has a minimum deposit of $50. There are no fees involved, but to get the highest possible APY you need to meet these requirements:
- With a direct monthly deposit of at least $1000 the user earns 1/3 of advertised interest;
- If the cardholder uses the debit card for a minimum of 10 transactions with an amount of $3 or more, he or she will get an additional earning interest which is equal to another 1/3 of the APY advertised online;
- When the debit card is used at least 5 times, it will earn an additional APY which is again 1/3 of the main APY featured on their website
Essential
The Axos Bank Essential is the default checking account you can get at Axos Bank. There aren’t any rewards or earning interest with this account. However, it does have a ‘Direct Deposit Express’ perk through which users can get their pay two days in advance.
It also has unlimited ATM fee reimbursement and no balance requirements. Some additional perks include:
- No annual, monthly, or maintenance fees
- No fees for insufficient funds
- And, no overdraft
Axos Bank Advantages
- Checking accounts
- Savings accounts
- Money market accounts
- Certificates of deposit
- Loans
- Mortgages
- Investment options
- Unlimited ATM fee reimbursements for the US
- No monthly fees
Axos Bank Disadvantages
- No brick-and-mortar branches
- Lower-level accounts offer lower savings
Our Likes and Dislikes About Axos Bank
What We Like
Savings and checking accounts don’t come with any fees – it’s FREE. This is very rare in the banking world and gives customers a lot of room to operate and organize their finances. With reimbursements for ATM fees, you can freely use your card as much as you want.
The bank is good at tracking these fees and pays them back on time. They are very reliable, and whatever they promise, they make it happen. Both their desktop tool and the mobile app are well-designed, and they make money management very simple, even if you aren’t used to this method.
What We Don’t Like
There are physical branches to turn to. Even though Axos Bank deals well with customer issues, as a customer, you simply feel better when you have someone to talk to in person. Customer service channels can sometimes feel completely impersonal and cold.
However, you can rest assured that the bank will handle whatever issue you might be having. The low fees and good interests are all very good with this bank. However, their CD rates sink a bit lower than other similar banks.
Usage/ Applications
People who are looking for a wide range of different financial services and capabilities should consider Axos Bank. At the same time, Axos Bank is strictly an online organization. There are no physical branches that customers can go to.
If this is not an important factor for you, then you might want to opt-in for their services. Here are some other reasons why you might want to consider this option:
- If you like digital technology and prefer shopping online
- If you need different types of checking accounts that you can switch whenever needed
- Looking for a bank that doesn’t require any fees
- If you forget about your payments and get into trouble
- If you need a joint account with your kids
- And would like to get a good debit card with rewards
This bank has a wide range of services for different applications, mainly focused on online use. There is something for everyone. At the same time, they offer customers the option to combine different products and create their own ‘package’ with added benefits.
Costs and Fees
Axos online banking services aren’t all for free. Even though some of them don’t have any initial deposits or periodical fees, later on, they do have a cash deposit fee, which is usually somewhere around $5. However, some accounts have minimum balance requirements you need to pay initially.
It’s important to check this before you get some account and see how the fee works:
- Deposit fees for certain accounts
- No purchase fees
- Minimum balance requirements for certain accounts
- No overdraft fees
- ATM fees depending on the ATM company
Qualifications and Requirements
Even though the application process is quite simple and most people can get approved with an account, there is some information you need to provide.
As soon as you apply on the Axos Bank website, you will be directed to a page where you need to add your Social Security number, some form of valid ID in the US, and your physical address. Your credit report will also be checked, and you won’t be able to get approval if the report is frozen for some reason.
Main requirements:
- Valid US ID (passport, driver’s license, or personal ID)
- 18 years or older (First checking account is available for kids aged 13 to 17)
- You must be a US citizen
- Existing physical address
- Social Security Number
- No freeze on your credit report
How to Apply
The application process is quite simple, and it lasts a couple of minutes. You just have to go to the Axos Bank official website and choose the account you want to open. You will then go through two pages requiring you to fill out the necessary information, and you’re good to go.
There is no other way to apply. The bank has no physical branches where you can go personally to open an account. Before applying, make sure that your credit report isn’t frozen for some reason. If it is, unfreeze it and wait a couple of days before applying.
Other Financial Services of Axos Bank
Over time the Axos Bank has expanded its services and upgraded its financial products. Apart from typical banking services, they also offer lending options for businesses, investment options, loans for army veterans, federal housing loans, equity loans, mortgages, auto loans, and personal loans.
When a cardholder has been using his or her account for some time without issues, he or she can find it easier to get any of these services. For example, if you don’t meet the requirements for a certain loan, but have a good financial record with the bank, they are willing to lower requirements.
All Axos Bank accounts come with a Checking Visa debit card:
Level of Customer Service Offered by Axos Bank
Since Axos Bank doesn’t have any physical locations, all their customer support services are focused online or via phone. However, this isn’t a limiting factor in any way. Just because you can’t rely on other banks to respond to your emails doesn’t mean that Axos Bank operates the same way.
Ever since the start in 2000, Axos Bank has focused on providing digital banking and long-distance relationships with its users. They’ve grown their customer support into a 24/7 service. Account-holders can use several methods to reach out to customer support.
Ways to Contact Axos Bank Support
- They can call via phone
- Use their online account to send secure messages
- Use the mobile app to communicate with customer support
- Send emails
To make it more convenient for their customers, Axos Bank has added various mobile app features. This includes mobile check deposits, paying bills online, making fund transfers, and switching accounts. Both Android and iOS users can access the app.
On the other hand, the main website of the bank also includes a lot of useful information. There are various FAQs, articles, tools, and calculators that will make your financial management easier. All the accounts of this bank are FDIC insured with up to $250k for every individual.
How to Contact Axos Bank
- Customer Support: 1-888-502-2967 (24/7. Excluding Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day)
- Auto Refinance: 1-844-517-5556 (8am – 5pm PT Monday to Friday)
- Personal Loans: 1-866-923-3625 (7am – 6pm PT Monday to Friday)
- Loan Servicing: 1-866-923-7112 (8am – 5pm PT Monday to Friday)
- Small Business Banking: 1-844-678-2726 (6am – 6pm PT Monday to Friday)
- Account Login: Login to your Axos Bank Account. If you want to apply – click here
Axos Bank Mailing Address
Axos Bank
P.O. Box 509127
San Diego, CA 92150
Axos Bank Special Delivery Address
Axos Bank
Attn: (Write Department/ Staff Name here)
4350 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 140
San Diego, CA 92122
Best Axos Bank Checking Alternatives Available for Application
- Consumer Credit Union Free Checking (Review) – Earn high APY rates fast, easy, and free. The Account comes with CCU Visa Debit Card.
- Novo Business Checking Account – Free account built for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. NOVO checking comes with Free Novo Mastercard debit card.
The Verdict
This is a very popular bank that helps customers increase their savings. They offer accounts with various perks, and anyone can find something that works for them. At the same time, their Visa debit card that can be used at any ATM worldwide makes the whole spending process a lot easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Methodology
MarketProSecure® requires content creators to use primary sources to support their work. These include original data, white papers, interviews with industry experts, and government information. We also reference original studies from other reliable authors where appropriate.
- Axosbank.com. “Rewards Checking“. Last Accessed August 21, 2020
- Axosbank.com. “Personal Products“. Last Accessed August 21, 2020
- Axosbank.com. “Customer Support“. Last Accessed August 21, 2020
