Current - Mobile Banking

Review by eFreeware

Current is a financial technology app from the company of the same name, and it has been on Android since May 2017. It is free to download, carries no ads and has no in-app purchases, and it has passed 5 million installs on Google Play with a 4.4 average from roughly 180,000 ratings. The pitch is straightforward: get your paycheck sooner, avoid overdraft fees, and build credit while you bank.

What makes it worth a closer look is that those three things usually live in separate products. A paycheck advance tends to come from one app, early direct deposit from a bank account, credit building from a card or a loan. Current folds them into one place, and the developer says more than 6 million members are already using it.

One thing to be clear about from the start: Current is not a bank. It is a financial technology company, and the banking services behind the account come from Choice Financial Group and Cross River Bank, both FDIC members. Deposits are covered up to $250,000 through those banks, not through Current itself.

A fit for people paid by direct deposit

Almost every headline feature here is tied to receiving regular payroll deposits into the Current account. Early pay, the fee-free overdraft, the 1% cash back on the Build Card and the highest savings rate all depend on a qualifying direct deposit, and in most cases the threshold is at least $200 over a 35-day window. If your pay arrives that way, the app is built for you. If it does not, much of what Current advertises will not apply.

That makes the app a poor match for anyone paid in cash, by paper check or irregularly, and for people who already have a bank they are happy with and are only looking for a spending tracker. It is also worth saying that the account is a real one: switching means moving your direct deposit, not just installing an app alongside your existing bank.

The people I would expect to get the most from it are those living close to payday, or those who want their credit history to grow without taking on a separate credit product. The app is aimed at that group rather than at savers with large balances, and the savings terms reflect it.

Getting your paycheck sooner

The core promise is early access to your pay. Current makes your pay available the moment your employer sends it, which the developer says can be up to two days earlier than a traditional schedule. That timing depends on the employer or payer sending funds when expected, so a late payroll run pushes everything back with it.

Paycheck Advance goes further. If you qualify, you can take up to $750 of your pay before payday, and the developer notes that no credit check or line of credit is involved. The advance is provided by Finco Advance LLC, a separate financial technology company rather than a bank, so it is a distinct product sitting inside the app rather than part of the deposit account.

The overdraft feature is the other half of this. Current offers fee-free overdraft, meaning you can go negative without a penalty charge, but you have to enroll and meet the same kind of payroll requirement: at least $200 in eligible direct deposits over the previous 35 days, plus other conditions the company sets. The amount you can go negative varies and can change. Any negative balance has to be repaid within 60 days of the transaction that caused it, which is a firm deadline rather than an open line of credit.

Building credit and earning on spending

The Build Card is Current's route to a credit history. Using it for everyday purchases is meant to build credit while you bank, which is the part of the app that appeals to me most for anyone starting out. The card also earns 1% cash back, though only on eligible categories, and eligibility for earning points requires that same $200 payroll deposit over 35 days.

Points do not appear instantly. The developer allows three to five business days for them to post to your account, and they expire 365 days after they settle, so they reward regular use rather than occasional spending. Categories can include dining and groceries, or others you select in the app, and Current may designate further qualifying actions.

Cash back at this rate is modest, and it is not the reason to open the account. The credit-building side is the more useful part for someone with a thin file, and it works alongside the deposit account rather than as a separate card to manage.

Savings pods, round-ups and cash access

Savings works through Savings Pods, which are separate buckets you can set up inside the account and fund automatically. Round-Ups add to them by rounding up purchases, which is a low-effort way to put money aside without deciding on an amount each month.

The headline savings rate is a bonus of up to 4.00% a year, and it is conditional. You need at least one qualifying payroll deposit of $200 or more in a 35-day period to reach that top rate; without it, the rate is 0.25%. The bonus applies to the first $2,000 in each pod and up to $6,000 across pods, with anything above that earning nothing. The rate is variable and can change at any time, so it is a rate to check rather than count on.

Getting cash out is handled through a large ATM network. The app points to more than 40,000 fee-free AllPoint ATMs nationwide and shows which ones qualify for fee-free transactions. You can also add cash in person at stores including CVS, Walgreens and McDonald's, which covers the gap for anyone who still deals in physical money.

Support runs around the clock, which matters more than it sounds for an account people rely on for their pay. Support is available 24/7 rather than only on weekdays.

What you pay, and what you don't

The app itself is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases, and the account has no monthly fee.

Missing the deposit requirement does not cost you anything directly, but it drops you to the lower savings rate and out of the other programs.

The advance is its own arrangement with Finco Advance LLC, separate from the banking side, and it comes with its own terms. I would read those before relying on an advance as part of a monthly budget, because the amount available can vary and is set at the company's discretion.

How it compares with the alternatives

Against a conventional bank account, the draw here is speed and the absence of overdraft charges. A traditional account will usually hold your deposit until the stated payday and charge for going negative; Current moves the deposit earlier and removes that fee for enrolled members. What a traditional bank offers instead is a branch network and a familiar set of protections, which this app does not try to replicate.

Against a standalone credit-building product, Current's advantage is that the card sits inside the same account as your pay and savings, so there is one balance to watch rather than two. A dedicated credit builder may be more focused, but it would not also hold your paycheck or your savings pods.

Against a budgeting app, the comparison is less flattering in one direction: a tracker can connect to whatever accounts you already have, while Current is a place to move your money to. If you want insight into accounts you already hold, this is a different sort of product. If you want the account itself to do more, the combination of early pay, an advance, a card and savings in one app is the reason to consider it.

A strong fit for direct-deposit earners who want more from payday

Current is worth installing if your pay arrives by direct deposit and you want it sooner, want a cushion when the account runs low, and want your credit to build while you spend. The app gathers those jobs into one place, it is free to download, and it has a large enough user base that the 4.4 average from around 180,000 ratings is a reasonable signal.

The conditions are the thing to weigh. Nearly every benefit is tied to a $200 payroll deposit over 35 days, the savings bonus only reaches 4.00% on the first $2,000 per pod and $6,000 overall, and the overdraft must be cleared within 60 days. If your income does not arrive as a qualifying deposit, the app loses most of its advantage.

For anyone paid that way and looking to leave overdraft fees behind, this is one of the more complete options I have come across in the category. For everyone else, the terms are the deciding factor, and they are worth reading in full before you move your paycheck.

What's new in version 8.19.0

With Paycheck Advance, now any day can be payday. Qualify, and get up to a $750 advance, no credit checks or lines of credit required.