Current Interest Review

Current Interest Ratings at a Glance

Savings With Interest With Current Interest

In January 2022, Current launched Current Interest, which is a high-yield savings offering that lets anyone with a Current personal account earn a 4.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY)¹  on funds up to a total of $6,000 annually. This impressive APY is presently around 60 times the U.S. national average savings account interest rate of 0.06%, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Furthermore, all Current accounts are FDIC insured up to $250,000 through its partner banks. Current’s payment service also works with Apple Pay and Google Pay for faster and more convenient purchases.

With Current Interest, members now have easy access to an opportunity to grow their savings during a time of record inflation rates in the United States. Current Interest is available to all personal account members on Current through Savings Pods, which are one of the most highly-engaged features on the platform.

Members can seamlessly move money from their spending balance to their Savings Pods by enabling the feature in the Current App. With Current Interest, you incur no minimum deposit requirement to open an account, as well as no hidden fees², no minimum balance, no restrictions on moving money and no spending requirement.

Over the past year, Current member balances in Savings Pods have more than doubled, with the largest spikes following periods of cash infusions such as stimulus payments and tax refunds. The launch of Current Interest helps members grow those funds as part of Current’s mission to enable everyone to improve their financial lives.

See how much you can be saving using Current’s free Savings Calculator here. All Current Interest members earn interest on their funds compounded daily. Check out Benzinga’s article on compound interest to read more about how this benefit can increase your interest income.

Given the substantial interest rate earning benefits of having an FDIC-insured Current Interest account, Benzinga gives this service its highest rating of 5 stars. 

Current offers excellent and responsive customer service support for members via live chat, website form submission and email to support@current.com. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, so you should always be able to reach a customer service representative to help with any issues. No phone support is presently available, which reduces Current’s customer service rating somewhat. 

Current’s Basic and Teen accounts have no membership fee, while a the Premium service costs $4.99 per month. Current’s Basic account has no hidden fees or minimum balance, and it charges no in-network ATM withdrawal, instant transfer or bank transfer fees.² The Premium service also gives Current clients considerable advantages compared to the Basic account, including two additional Savings Pods and no overdraft fees up to a variable limit when Overdrive is enabled.³

The affordable customer pricing for Current’s services, the lack of hidden fees and the high interest rate clients can earn on Current Interest accounts seem especially notable, so Current gets a top 5-star rating with respect to its pricing. 

Current is presently only available through its mobile app. The app can be freely downloaded for both iOS and Android devices, and it has been highly rated by users with 4.7 and 4.6 ratings at the Apple App Store and Google Play respectively.

Image of Current’s mobile app. Source: Google Play.

The mobile app has a sleek appearance and has a number of privacy controls including a Face ID and fingerprint lock. The app keeps you fully up to date on all activity in your account with features that include: 

• Notifications every time your card is swiped
• Paycheck early arrival notification
• Gas holds removed  instantly with Current Premium
• ATM locator for in-network machines without ATM fees²
• Locations near you for adding cash to your account

• Access to the company’s peer-to-peer payment platform called Current Pay
• Access to Apple Pay or Google Pay
• Mobile check deposits
• Privacy settings
• Spending notifications

Through the mobile app, parents can also access settings to their children’s Teen accounts that include automating allowance payments, setting chores and pausing debit cards issued on the Teen accounts. Basically, Current’s excellent mobile app provides many useful banking features and definitely deserves its top rating of 5 stars. 

In addition to the unusually high APY of 4.00%¹  on up to $6,000 and other benefits mentioned above for most users, Current also offers accounts for those under 18. This feature allows teens to learn financial responsibility and independence with their own account and debit card while also providing parents the convenience to transfer money instantly, have full visibility into spending and balances as well as offer cashless convenience and security.

Current members can automatically save money into different Savings Pods using scheduled deposits. They can also use round-ups every time they swipe to automatically allocate funds for specific purchases. This money then is no longer available in their spending balance, but it can be instantly unlocked when it is ready for use.

The Basic and Teen accounts offer just one Savings Pod, while you can get up to three with a Premium account. With the Premium account, you also get up to $200³ in overdraft protection without any overdraft fees up to a variable limit when you enable Overdrive, as well as faster direct deposits⁴, getting gas holds instantly removed and up to 15 times more points⁵ for Current’s cashback program with participating retailers.

Additional useful Current member benefits include the ability to:

1. Withdraw cash from their accounts without any ATM fees at over 40,000 Allpoint ATMs in the U.S.²
2. Add cash instantly into their Current account at over 60,000 participating stores.
3. Deposit physical checks into their Current account using their phone’s camera.
4. Get tools to help manage their expenses, including options to create individual monthly budgets for specific spending categories. 
5. Gain insights into their spending habits, including how much money they have spent in a month versus how much they have earned.
6. Instantly send or request money via Current Pay to other members on Current without any transfer fees using their personalized Current tags.²

Overall, the user benefits at Current deserve a high rating of 4.5 stars. 

Current’s mobile app has an intuitive, easy-to-navigate interface, although a companion desktop app would be useful for those who prefer to use that method to access their accounts.

With the recent addition of a 4.00% APY return on up to $6,000, this app could be a great alternative to other banking apps that pay a fraction of the interest. The Savings Pods feature gives users an excellent way to save money for particular products or services and is one of the best features offered by the app. 

In addition, having more than 40,000 ATMs and 60,000 participating stores to add and withdraw money gives you easy access to your account while letting you earn a great APY return on up to $6,000 of your money. 

Letting you deposit checks via your mobile phone camera and up to a 2-day advance on paychecks⁴ also makes the app perfect for people working in conventional jobs. In addition, Current’s Teen accounts give parents and their teenage children a framework for managing their interrelated finances. The app has many appealing features to justify its 4.5-star user experience rating. 

Current Interest vs Competitors

Benzinga has compiled the chart below showing how Current compares to other companies in its sector:

Mobile banking continues expanding with more banks and companies jumping on the bandwagon each year. Current’s excellent mobile app combined with the temptation of offering a 4.00% APY return on up to $6,000 basically puts the company in a higher league that can solidly compete with other banks and mobile apps providing similar services.

Savings calculator on Current’s website showing your APY return at Current versus other competing banks like Bank of America and Chase. Source: Current.

You can also get your tax refund up to 5 days faster when you sign up for direct deposit to your Current account⁴. Current has teamed up with TurboTax to offer discounted rates, and members can save an additional $20 when signing up for TurboTax through the Current app, although this is a limited-time offer.

Another special offer for new Current members that distinguishes it from its competitors lets you get a $50 bonus if you sign up for a Premium subscription using the advertised campaign link here, enter the code WELCOME50 and add a qualifying payroll direct deposit of $200 or more within 45 days. Check the terms and conditions to see this might apply to you.

Current has earned its place as a leading U.S.-based digital financial platform that aims to serve the needs of its members working to create better future financial outcomes for themselves. The company excels by leveraging the best in modern technology to deliver inspirational and motivational financial products in a world of increasing digitization and complexity. 

Overall, Current has been given one of the highest ratings Benzinga offers. The app ranks highly in all categories and received the 4.5-star rating on User Benefits from its lack of a desktop version and inability for a user to link to their brokerage accounts. 

Current Interest Tutorial

Check out Current’s YouTube channel for a tutorial on how to use its mobile app and other useful information about this digital financial platform. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Current is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by and Visa® Debit Card issued by Choice Financial Group, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc and can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

¹The Annual Percentage Yield ("APY") for Current Interest is variable and may change at any time. The disclosed APY is effective as of January 1, 2022. No minimum balance is required. Must have $0.01 in savings pods to earn Current Interest on up to $2000 in deposits per Savings Pod up to $6000 total.  Please refer to Current Interest Terms and Conditions

²Out of network cash withdrawal fees apply. Third-party, adding cash and Current membership fees may apply. 

³Please refer to Overdrive™ Features Terms and Conditions. Current Premium Accounts Only

⁴Faster access to funds is based on a comparison of traditional banking policies and deposit of 

paper checks from employers and government agencies versus deposits made electronically. Direct deposit and earlier availability of funds are subject to the timing of the payer's submission of deposits. Current Premium accounts only.

⁵Earning rates over 1x are only available on Current Premium accounts.  Teen accounts do not earn points