No Fees and Savings Bonuses
Mobile Banking App
- Fee-free everyday banking
- Substantial bonuses on savings
- Early direct deposits
- Secure teen accounts
- Secured Build Card that helps you grow your credit
- FDIC insurance protects deposits up to $250,000 through partner banks
- Savings pods with up to 4% bonus
- Round up your purchases to nearest dollar and save the change
- $6,000 cap on high-yield savings
- Not a chartered bank
- Some concerns over customer support
Does traditional banking feel slow and outdated? If you’re looking for a modern alternative that puts speed and control at your fingertips, Current might be worth a look. Current is a user-friendly banking app that offers fast access to your money, flexible financial management, and credit building opportunities.
In this Current app review, we’ll explore what it does best, what it could improve, and how it stacks up against competitors in 2025.
Table of Contents
What is the Current mobile app?
Founded in 2015, Current seeks to provide an alternative to traditional banks. The platform aims to bypass common banking drawbacks, like slow access to funds and clunky interfaces. It’s a fast, simple, smooth mobile app that allows users to manage all their finances with a tap and swipe.
Current functions very similarly to a conventional bank account, including setting up direct deposits and building savings. You can even trade crypto directly in the app. Current also offers a range of cool features and rewards. The app doesn’t require a minimum balance, making it accessible to everyone.
You don’t have to worry about hidden fees or charges, either: Current earns revenue through interchange fees, spreads on crypto trading, and optional premium features. However, the free version covers all the core functions most account holders need.
Why use Current? The app’s features
Now let’s dive deeper into Current’s range of functions, including banking, savings, advances, and credit building.
Banking and payments
Fast, accessible everyday banking is one of Current’s strongest points. It offers easy check deposits via mobile app and intuitive tracking and budgeting tools that help you monitor your spending. Plus, with Current’s Direct Deposit, you can access your paycheck up to two days early.
Need cash? Current connects to a nationwide network of over 40,000 fee-free ATMs. You can access all these handy banking functions with no annual or transfer fees. In addition, qualifying Current users who have received at least $200 in direct deposit may be eligible for a fee-exempt overdraft with a repayment timeframe of 60 days.
Current Premium members unlock even more perks, like instant gas hold removals, so funds clear immediately when paying at the pump with a debit card.
Credit building
Whether you have limited credit history or are working to improve your credit score, you’ll appreciate Current’s credit-building tools. The app’s Build Card, a secured charge card powered by Choice Financial or Cross River Bank, allows you to build credit without risking debt.
While traditional credit cards often demand a hard inquiry, Current’s card is accessible even to users with poor credit or no credit history. It secures funds from your Current account and uses AutoPay for timely, hassle-free repayments. Current reports credit activity to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), so responsible Current Visa credit card or Current debit card use will help improve your score over time.
Paycheck advance
Do you need emergency cash before payday rolls around? Current’s Paycheck Advance allows you to access up to $750 from your upcoming paycheck, either within three days at no cost or immediately for a small fee. Current’s cash advance service sets no usage caps, requires no credit check, and doesn’t impact your credit score. Your advance limit may grow with consistent payroll usage.
Current’s approach to short-term paycheck advances is far more borrower-friendly than predatory payday loans or high-interest credit card cash advances. It’s also quicker and more practical than personal loans, which usually involve an application process and a credit check.
Savings features
Setting money aside is quick and easy with Current’s Savings Pods, flexible buckets that help you forward your financial goals. You can create up to three Pods, which are essentially a modern equivalent of cash envelopes allocating money for different purposes (e.g., home improvement projects, emergencies, extras).
Since Current has no minimum balance requirements, you can begin saving whatever amounts that work for you. Plus, you may move money instantly between the Pods and your main account, maintaining full control over your savings.
Current boost
Boost is one of Current’s main perks, allowing you to reap an annual bonus of 4% on up to $6,000 across your Savings Pods. To earn this rate, you must collect at least one eligible payroll deposit of $200 or more every 35 days. If you don’t meet this requirement, you still earn a base bonus of 0.25%.
Round-Ups is another nifty feature for painless, automatic savings. Every time you swipe your card, Current rounds up your payment to the nearest dollar and funnels this spare change into your preferred Savings Pod.
Crypto trading
Current also functions as a seamless crypto trading platform with no fees apart from the market spread. No need to switch to another platform: manage your crypto funds directly within the app.
You can buy and sell a range of widely used cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Binance, and Dogecoin. Current powers fast crypto transactions, making it fast and easy to access your digital currencies.
Teen banking
Current’s Teen Banking feature is ideal for teaching teenagers financial independence in a safe, supportive environment while protecting parents’ peace of mind. Teen accounts let you assign payments for chores, which fosters responsibility and helps kids learn the value of hard work. You can also send instant transfers for emergencies or pocket cash.
You’ll get a real-time notification every time your teen makes a transaction via Current, so you can easily track their spending habits. Plus, you can block specific merchants if you want to limit your teen’s access to certain products or services.
Is Current safe to use?
The app features multiple security measures to protect your hard-earned money and personal information. Current uses bank-level encryption to block unauthorized access and protect your sensitive data. Biometric login (face or fingerprint ID) adds extra security. You’ll also receive instant alerts for any transaction, so you may detect any suspicious activity in real time.
Moreover, the app doesn’t store your full card number to lower the risk of data theft. If you lose your card or suspect it’s stolen, you can instantly lock it through the app.
What bank does Current use?
Current works with Choice Financial Group and Cross River Bank. Current’s partners provide FDIC insurance up to $250,000, a standard amount in traditional banks.
What we like about Current
Current is a convenient, intuitive, and transparent banking platform with handy money management features. In our opinion, the app’s highlights are:
- Zero hidden fees and no minimum balance requirements
- Early direct paycheck deposits and interest-free paycheck advances
- Fee-free overdraft option
- Bonuses on savings and easy round-ups that add up to significant chunks of cash
- Built-in crypto trading
- Credit score improvement with Current’s prepaid card
- Teen banking that helps teach financial management while protecting underage users from overspending or unsafe transactions
- Robust security with biometric login, real-time alerts, and instant card locking
Overall, we’d recommend Current to anyone who is comfortable with mobile banking and might want to boost their credit.
What Current could improve
While many users love Current mobile banking, the app has some room for improvement.
Lack of joint accounts. While this is the standard for most mobile banking apps, it could be inconvenient for couples who prefer to manage finances together. Adding a joint account option could make life easier for many account holders.
Additionally, although Current’s Savings Pods offer an impressive bonus, you can only run up to three Pods and deposit up to $2,000 in each. Thus, your interest-earning amount caps at $6,000. Even a modest APY on balances beyond that cap would be nice.
Finally, although Current offers 24/7 live support, some users have been unhappy with how the company handles emergencies like fraud (more on this later). Since Current is a fintech app rather than a bank, resolving urgent situations or disputes could go slower because of needing to coordinate with a partner bank. We believe Current should prioritize fast fraud response for its clients’ peace of mind.
How Current compares to similar apps
The Current banking app enjoys well-deserved popularity, but you might still want to check out other options. Two of Current’s main competitors are Chime and Varo , both of which cater to those interested in flexible, mobile-first banking.
Current vs. Chime
Like Current, the Chime banking app offers fee-free mobile banking with no maintenance fees and a Get Paid Early feature.
However, while Current’s Savings Pods allow you to earn an annual bonus of up to 4%, Chime’s savings account only offers an APY of 1.25%, with a potential bump-up to 3.75% for Chime+ members. Chime+ is an upper service tier you can unlock for free by making a qualifying direct deposit.
The two platforms offer similar credit-building options: Current’s Build Card and Chime’s Credit Builder card. Both function as secured cards that limit your spending to the amount you’ve deposited and can help improve your credit with consistent responsible use.
Two important features where Current stands out vs. Chime are teen accounts and crypto trading. Unlike Current, Chime doesn’t enable trading in crypto directly through the platform and doesn’t offer protected teen accounts.
Current vs. Varo
While Current partners with Choice Financial Group, Varo is a chartered bank with FDIC-insured deposits. Thus, although it works online only, Varo provides a broader range of banking services, such as a line of credit allowing eligible clients to borrow up to $2,000 .
Varo users can earn up to 5% APY on up to $5,000 through the platform’s high-yield savings account, provided they collect direct deposits of at least $1,000 every month through the app. Any amount above that earns 2.5% APY. Thus, Varo may have an edge over Current for high savers.
However, Current is still the winner for feature-rich everyday banking complete with crypto support, teen accounts, and a smooth interface.
What users say about Current
| Platform | Rating | Number of reviews |
| TrustPilot | 4.5/5 | 13,000 |
| Better Business Bureau (BBB) | 2.83/5 | 77 |
Current boasts a 4.5 TrustPilot rating based on 12K reviews. This score is substantially higher than either Chime’s (3.4) or Varo’s (3.9). Current is also a BBB-accredited, A-rated business.
A recent review says, “My paycheck is always two days early. I have overdraft protection without fees, and when I’m in a bind, I always have my payday advance available to use.” Another user states, “Current has not cost me a single dime to use, and [its] credit service single-handedly repaired my credit scores.”
However, some reviewers have expressed their frustration with Current. For instance, Heather, who fell victim to identity theft, writes, “They had evidence that the charges were not mine and they still refused to refund my money.”
Likewise, Jay says, “Current offers little to no customer protection in the event of fraud. Their dispute process is opaque, dismissive, and unresponsive.”
Should you give Current a try?
Overall, we think Current deserves a spot on any list of recommended personal finance companies. This seamless, fee-free banking app combines useful features, secure teen banking, and a built-in crypto trading platform.
However, if you hold larger cash reserves or prefer to work with a chartered bank, you may consider fintech apps operating under their own banking licenses, like Varo or SoFi.
| Company | Key benefits | What to know | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No fees, savings bonuses | No joint accounts, not a chartered bank |