Best Banks for Early Direct Deposit in 2024

Ally has one available checking account, which offers early direct deposit of up to two days, the Ally Interest Checking account. However, there are qualification requirements for early direct deposit: You must receive two direct deposits within six months to be eligible. If you’re using Ally as your main bank, this likely isn’t an obstacle.

With Ally Interest Checking, you can add up to 30 spending buckets to help you track and manage your budget by earmarking money for specific monthly expenses. This can help you avoid overspending and not having the money to pay a bill.

There’s also an overdraft safety net of 100 to 250 just in case you overdraw your account. Depending on your balance, you can earn Up to 0.25% APY on money in your checking account. Many other banks do not offer any APY on checking accounts.

Axos supports peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. To make a P2P payment, you only need your recipient's mobile number or email address. Axos also has no limits on its early direct deposit, which means you’re eligible as soon as you set up a direct deposit.

Other benefits of Axos include unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements and the ability to set up account alerts via push notification, text, or email to help you stay aware of your account activity. Despite these benefits, Axos doesn’t pay interest on funds in an Essential Checking account, so if you’re looking for a checking account with APY, you will need to look elsewhere.

Chase offers early direct deposit of up to two business days with its Secure Banking account with no eligibility requirements beyond enrolling in direct deposit. As of May 2024, Chase is offering a $100 welcome bonus for new checking customers, so you can make extra money by becoming a customer. To get the bonus, you must complete 10 qualifying transactions within 60 days of enrollment. Qualifying transactions include debit card purchases, online bill payments, and Zelle payments, among others.

Unlike the other checking accounts on this list, Chase charges a $4.95 monthly maintenance fee for its Secure Banking account (the only Chase checking account with early direct deposit). There’s also no APY, so you can’t earn interest on your funds. However, Chase has a Zero Liability Protection policy that will reimburse you for unauthorized debit card transactions, so you won’t need to worry about losing money if you’re a victim of debit card fraud.

Chime’s Online Checking Account has early direct deposit—up to two days early once you sign up for direct deposit. Chime also allows you an overdraft on your checking account by up to $200 with the Chime SpotMe program. To qualify for this program, you just need to enroll in direct deposit, and you’ll be prompted to sign up for SpotMe.

If you make a purchase that would overdraft your account, Chime will spot you the money to cover it. When your next direct deposit hits, the money will be repaid, and your SpotMe limit will reset.

Chime doesn’t pay interest on funds in its Online Checking Account, and cash withdrawals are limited to $515 daily. But you can access more than 60,000 fee-free ATMs, making it easy to get cash when needed. As a fintech, Chime offers plenty of additional perks, including customizable debit card security, no monthly fees, and 24/7 access to your money.

LendingClub’s Rewards Checking account lets you access your direct deposits up to two days early with no qualification requirements. In addition, the Rewards Checking account offers unlimited 1% cash back on all qualified purchases—you just need to make sure you select “credit” rather than “debit” at the point of sale when making purchases, and the money will be credited to your account on or before the 10th of the next calendar month. To get this benefit, you’ll also need to maintain an average daily balance of at least 2,500 or receive at least 2,500 monthly in qualified direct deposits.

LendingClub also pays out 0.10% or 0.15% APY on money in a Rewards Checking account. While not a huge amount, it’s less common for a checking account to earn APY and every little bit of extra money counts.

APY on a checking account is unusual, and if a bank does offer interest on its checking accounts it’s usually a low amount. SoFi stands out with its 0.50% APY on the High-Yield Checking account, allowing you to earn even more on your money. This is in addition to SoFi’s early direct deposit, which gives you access to your money up to two business days early with no qualifying requirements.

The one potential downside of banking with SoFi is that you must open a checking and a savings account together. That said, having both accounts at the same bank can mean less administrative work for you. SoFi also makes it easy to build your savings by offering automatic roundups, which deposit extra dollars into your savings account for an extra boost.