Netspend Bank Account Review: Netspend 2024 Offerings

Are you trying to save for a rainy day and feel disheartened by low-interest rates? Rising inflation means that interest rates for savings accounts are falling through the floor. Netspend Bank is virtually unique with its 5% interest rate. This online banking platform offers a prepaid debit card that gives you access to a savings account.

Netspend is one of the United States’ leading providers of prepaid Visa, Mastercard, and corporate cards with FDIC insurance. You can personalize your Netspend card to make it unique for you – if you want to keep it simple or go all out with a WWE design for a quirky look.

Whether you want to utilize the savings account or prepaid debit card, Netspend comes with several perks. We’re exploring everything that a Netspend bank account has to offer and how you can get your $20 sign-up bonus by using our referral link. Let’s begin with our Nestpend Bank Account review below.

What is Netspend Bank?

Netspend is an online account that allows you to manage your finances through prepaid products, such as prepaid debit cards. Over 10 million customers have used Netspend since it was launched in 1999.

Your account gives you access to a Visa or Mastercard prepaid debit card. Your Netspend Bank prepaid debit card gives you access to a savings account that is FDIC-insured with a 5% annual interest rate on the first $1,000 that you save. As the account is FDIC-insured, it means that your money is handled the same as with any mainstream FDIC-insured bank.

If you’re not using Netspend’s prepaid debit card, you’ll not be hit by any fees. It’s an ideal choice for anyone wanting to maximize their savings portfolio with the 5% interest on the first $1,000 saved. With most emergency funds valued at over $1,000, Netspend Bank is a great way to kickstart your savings and earn interest to put towards your savings goal.

It’s worth stressing that Netspend’s main product is their prepaid debit cards. They’re a popular choice for individuals and businesses alike as an easy way to manage your money on the go. The platform also offers mobile check load that is ideal for businesses and freelancers.

Should you sign up for Netspend Bank?

It’s easy to be confused by Netspend Bank. The best way to approach the platform is to look at it as a bank that offers two services – a prepaid debit card and a 5% interest savings account.

Anyone looking to focus on their emergency fund or savings portfolio will want to skip the prepaid debit card. You can utilize the 5% interest savings account without using the prepaid debit card. As the two features sit separately, you can also use the prepaid debit card without worrying about using the savings feature.

When you add money from your bank account to your prepaid debit card, you have the option to add it to your interest savings account. In this sense, your prepaid debit card is a link between your regular bank account and your savings account. Alternatively, you can let the money sit on your debit card to use on daily spending or for major purchases.

Although Netspend is typically used for its prepaid debit card, its major selling point is the 5% interest rate on the first $1,000 deposited in your savings account. Other perks of Netspend include the fact that the platform doesn’t carry out credit checks and they offer cashback.

Like other modern banking services, you can get paid up to 2 days early through Netspend if you choose to have your salary paid into your prepaid card.

Netspend Bank’s Referral Program

Like most fintech banking platforms, Netspend offers its own referral program. It gives you a $20 bonus when you sign up through a referral link with the only qualification being a deposit of $40 or more.=

While the value of the sign-up bonus is lower than other platforms, it has one of the lowest value requirements, making it easy to get your sign-up bonus. If you deposit $40 into your account, you’re getting an additional 50% in referral credit.

It’s worth noting that you will only get the $20 referral bonus on the first Netspend account that you open. Many articles promote the idea of opening five Netspend accounts to maximize the amount you can earn through the 5% interest rate. If you decide to open five accounts, you won’t be able to claim the referral bonus after your first account.

Once your Netspend account is opened, you can use your own link to refer friends and family to the platform. You’ll earn $20 credit for every user that you refer to the platform to add extra funds to your prepaid debit card or savings account. Get more info about the Netspend referral program to earn your rewards successfully.

How to Sign Up for Netspend Bank

Whether you’re using it as a prepaid debit card or savings account, Netspend Bank is relatively easy to sign up for. You can follow our step-by-step breakdown alone to get started with your Netspend account.

1. Open an account with another bank

Before you open your Netspend Bank account, you need to have access to another bank account. You’ll need this because you must link a bank account to your prepaid debit card. It’s worth checking how many accounts your current bank allows you to link to. Some banks limit your linked external accounts. If you’re aiming to open 5 Netspend Bank accounts to maximize your interest gain, you may want to open another bank account to facilitate this.

2. Set up your Netspend Bank account

Once you’ve gotten your other bank account ready, it’s time to sign up for your Netspend account. If you use our referral link, you’ll get a $20 bonus when you deposit at least $40 into your account. You want to double-check that the code appears in the ‘referral code’ space during sign-up to ensure you get your $20 sign-up bonus after making your $40 deposit. When your set-up is complete, Netspend will post your pre-paid debit card.

3. Activate your prepaid debit card

You’ll usually receive your prepaid debit card within a few days. When it arrives, you’ll also get the information for the sort code and account number for your Netspend bank account. You’ll want to make a note of this information to use it to link your other bank account to Netspend.

When you activate your card, you’ll have to select a plan for your account. Selecting the ‘pay as you go’ plan means that you won’t be charged any monthly fees.

4. Link your bank account to your Netspend account

Once your Netspend account is activated, you want to link it to your other current or savings account to load money onto your account. Every bank has a different process, but you should be able to do this through your online banking.

Adding an external bank account or payee allows you to make a transfer to your Netspend account easily. If you want to save regularly, you can set up automated transfers to hit your savings goal passively.

5. Add money to your prepaid debit card

Once you’ve linked your accounts, you’ll need to add money to your prepaid debit card. If you’re using a Netspend as a savings account, you can easily transfer the money from your prepaid debit card to your savings account within just a few clicks.

You can do this on the app by selecting the ‘move money’ option in the sidebar before selecting ‘savings transfer’. Doing this will open your savings account and allow you to easily transfer from your prepaid card to your savings pot.

6. Set up an automatic transfer every 2 months

You’ll want to be careful of Netspend Bank’s inactivity fees. You’ll likely not incur these if you’re using it as a prepaid debit card, but you may deal with it if you’re using Netspend solely as a savings account.

If you’re not using the prepaid debit card, the only fee you’ll worry about is the inactivity fee. This charge is added to your account any time that there isn’t any activity for 90 days. The easiest way to avoid this is to set up an automatic transfer every 2 months into your account for as little as $1.

If you’re curious about other banks that compete well with Netspend, check out Chime bank referral. 

Final Thoughts – Is It Worth It?

Netspend Bank offers two very different services. It’s a great way to top up your savings with their 5% interest rates or you can use it exclusively as a prepaid debit card. These prepaid cards are great for traveling as you can use them to save up before your trip and avoid any foreign transaction fees on your everyday current account.

However, you’ll want to remember that the 5% interest only applies to the first $1,000 you save. If you have the time, you could open 5 accounts to save $5,000 with 5% interest if you’re using Netspend as a saving platform.

Although Netspend’s referral program has a relatively low value, it’s also easy to hit the $40 deposit threshold. Whether you want a savings account or a prepaid debit card, we recommend Netspend for its 5% interest rate and added perks.

Maybe you’ve heard about Netspend and Cash app comparisons. Yes, they have few similar features but they are totally different platforms. Read about Cash App referral and see the difference.