Varo Bank
Varo Bank is a U.S. nationally chartered digital bank serving American consumers with free checking, high-yield savings, secured credit-building, and small-dollar lending products delivered through a mobile-first platform and physical cash access via CVS and the Allpoint ATM network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Varo Bank does
Varo Bank, N.A. is a U.S. nationally chartered digital bank headquartered in San Francisco, founded in 2015. It is the first independent consumer fintech to obtain a national bank charter from the OCC (granted 2020) and operates as a direct FDIC member, allowing it to hold deposits, issue credit, and run a unified balance sheet without a sponsor bank. Varo serves U.S. consumers across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., with more than 4 million opened accounts. Its product set is built around a free digital checking account, a high-yield savings account paying up to 5.00% APY on the first $5,000, the Varo Believe Visa secured credit-builder card, the Varo Advance small-dollar cash advance ($20-$500, flat fees $1.60-$40, no interest), and the Varo Line of Credit ($600-$2,000, one-time flat fee $60-$400, no interest). Physical cash access is delivered through embedded partnerships with CVS (7,500+ fee-free cash deposit locations, powered by Green Dot) and the Allpoint ATM network (40,000+ fee-free ATMs).
The platform is mobile-first: customers onboard in under two minutes via the Varo app with no hard credit check, and Varo's proprietary technology stack combines mobile-based identity verification, cash-flow underwriting that fuses in-app account activity with credit-bureau data, and AI/ML-based credit decisioning and profitability optimization. Distribution is fully self-serve, with no physical branches; the marketing mix is built on content (blog, Money 101, Varo Prosperity Podcast), app-store presence (216k App Store reviews at 4.9 stars; 230k Google Play reviews at 4.7 stars), and earned media in NerdWallet, WSJ, Forbes, Fast Company, NBC Select, and Business Insider.
Varo's revenue model is diversified across interchange on debit and credit card spend, net interest margin on deposits, flat-fee small-dollar lending, merchant-funded cashback commissions, and ancillary fees (out-of-network ATM, foreign withdrawals). As of Q4 2025 the bank reported $38.6 million in adjusted operating income but a $20.8 million net loss (widened 16.2% year-over-year), and has cumulatively raised over $1 billion since inception — most recently a $123.9 million Series G in February 2026 co-led by Warburg Pincus and Coliseum Capital Management.
Varo Bank firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Varo Bank
- Legal name
- Varo Bank, N.A.
- Website
- https://varomoney.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Varo Bank is a U.S. nationally chartered digital bank serving American consumers with free checking, high-yield savings, secured credit-building, and small-dollar lending products delivered through a mobile-first platform and physical cash access via CVS and the Allpoint ATM network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Varo Bank industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Banking
- NAICS
- Depository Credit Intermediation (5221), Commercial Banking (522110)
- SIC
- National Commercial Banks (6021)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Personal Lending Platforms (Unsecured Installment) (FSAKAAAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Alternative Data & Credit Scoring (Cashflow, Telco, Utility, Open Banking) (FSAGAHAC)
Keywords
Where Varo Bank is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Varo Bank business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Interchange fee revenue: Varo earns a small percentage of merchant payment fees every time a customer uses the Varo Visa Debit Card or Varo Believe Card for daily purchases. This is the primary revenue stream cited by Varo's own FAQ explaining how a no-fee bank makes money.
- Lending revenue (Varo Advance + Varo Line of Credit): Flat-fee, no-interest credit products. Varo Advance: $1.60-$40 flat fee per advance on $20-$500 advances. Varo Line of Credit: $60-$400 one-time flat fee on $600-$2,000 advances, repaid in monthly installments. Generated $547M in lending volume in 2025.
- Cashback program commissions: Varo activates merchant-funded cashback offers through the Varo app on debit and credit card purchases (gas, groceries, dining). Cashback is funded by participating merchants, capped at $750 per month per customer.
- Secured credit card interchange (Varo Believe): Interchange revenue from the Varo Visa Believe secured credit card used at merchants, with credit activity reported to all three major credit bureaus.
- Out-of-network ATM and ancillary fees: $3.50 fee on cash withdrawals at out-of-network and international ATMs, plus out-of-network cash deposit fees at non-CVS retailers.
- Net interest margin on deposits: Spread earned on customer deposits held at the bank (2.50%-5.00% APY paid to savers vs. yields earned on the bank's investment portfolio).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free bank account with no hidden fees |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | High-yield savings account up to 5.00% APY |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Varo Advance small-dollar line of credit |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Varo Line of Credit personal installment loan |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Varo Bank product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Varo Bank, N.A. is an all-digital, nationally chartered U.S. bank that delivers fee-free consumer checking, high-yield savings, small-dollar cash advances, a personal line of credit, and a secured Visa credit-builder card through a single mobile-first app. Customers open accounts in under two minutes with no hard credit check, access 40,000+ fee-free Allpoint ATMs and 7,500+ CVS cash-deposit locations, and manage savings, spending, and credit-building under one regulated FDIC-insured bank.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Varo Bank Account (Checking) A 100% free, no-monthly-fee digital checking account with no overdraft, minimum-balance, or in-network ATM fees. Includes a Varo Visa Debit Card, early direct deposit up to 2 days early, instant P2P transfers, and automated savings tools. Targeted at U.S. consumers across all 50 states and D.C.
- Varo Savings Account High-yield savings account paying 5.00% APY on balances up to $5,000 (with $1,000+ monthly direct deposit and positive month-end balance) and 2.50% APY on balances above $5,000. No minimum balance, no monthly fees, and includes automated Save Your Pay and Save Your Change micro-savings tools. Targeted at U.S. consumer banking customers.
- Varo Advance (Cash Advance) Small-dollar cash advance of $20–$250 initially (building to up to $500 with direct deposit history) available instantly in the Varo app with no credit check and no interest. Charges a single flat fee per advance ranging from $1.60 to $40 depending on amount, with 30 days to repay. Targeted at Varo banking customers who need short-term liquidity between paychecks.
- Varo Line of Credit Personal line of credit of $600–$2,000 with a single one-time flat fee of $60–$400 based on amount. No interest, no late fees, no pre-payment fees; monthly payments over 3–12 months. Pre-qualified in-app without a hard credit inquiry, using cash-flow underwriting that evaluates Varo account activity plus credit score. Targeted at U.S. Varo banking customers seeking transparent installment credit.
- Varo Believe Visa Credit Builder Card Secured Visa credit-builder card issued by Varo Bank, N.A. that reports on-time payments to all three major credit bureaus and is paired with the Safe Pay auto-pay feature, which automatically pays the balance in full each month from the customer's secured funds to prevent missed payments. Average 40+ point VantageScore 3.0 increase after 3 months of on-time payments. Targeted at consumers building or rebuilding credit.
- Varo Cashback Offers Merchant-funded cashback program offering cash rewards on debit and credit card purchases at participating merchants in categories such as gas, groceries, and dining. Offers are activated in the Varo app, and cashback is funded by participating merchants with a cap of $750 per month per customer. Targeted at U.S. Varo cardholders.
Quantifiable outcome
- $547M lending volume generated in 2025 via Varo Advance and Varo Line of Credit
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Varo Bank
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles2 records
Varo Bank technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Varo Bank partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- PinwheelcorePinwheel's Switch Kit solution powers Varo Bank's digital onboarding experience. The integration increased the rate of bill switching among Varo users and is designed to improve account activation and customer engagement. Announced in February 2026 as 'Varo Live with Industry's Leading Account Activation Solution: Pinwheel Switch Kit.'
- CVSflagshipMajor banking partnership announced in December 2024 enabling Varo customers to deposit cash fee-free at 7,500+ stand-alone CVS locations nationwide (excluding stores inside hospitals, military bases, and Target). Deposit range $20-$500 per transaction. Service powered by Green Dot. This was described as 'a game changer for digital banking.'
- Green Dot CorporationcoreProvides the underlying cash-deposit processing infrastructure at CVS retail locations under NMLS #914924 (Green Dot Corporation) and NMLS #908739 (Green Dot Bank). Enables Varo's 'fee-free cash deposits at CVS' product feature.
- Visa U.S.A. Inc.flagshipVaro Visa Debit Card and Varo Visa Believe Credit Card are issued by Varo Bank, N.A. pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Underlying payment-rail partner for Varo's card products.
- Allpoint® ATM NetworkcoreProvides Varo customers with access to 40,000+ fee-free U.S. ATMs (more than 2x the count of Chase, Bank of America, or Wells Fargo), with ATM locations inside Walgreens, CVS, Target, and Costco. No fee for U.S.-based Allpoint ATM withdrawals.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Varo Bank competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Chime: Chime is the largest U.S. consumer neobank, offering free checking, high-yield savings, and secured credit-builder products targeted at fee-weary consumers. It is the closest head-to-head competitor to Varo in the digital-bank category and uses a similar product-led, D2C acquisition model.
- SoFi Technologies: SoFi operates a chartered digital bank with checking, savings, personal loans, credit cards, and investing - the same full-stack 'bank + lend' model Varo is pursuing. SoFi also holds its own bank charter, making it a directly comparable federally chartered digital-banking and lending peer.
- Current (formerly Current Bank): Current is a U.S. neobank targeting underbanked consumers with checking, savings, and credit-builder products similar to Varo's. Both companies compete for the same fee-sensitive, credit-building customer segment via mobile-first onboarding.
- Dave Inc. Dave is a subscription-based financial-app offering cash advances (ExtraCash), budgeting, and a banking account - closely comparable to Varo Advance plus Varo Bank's core checking. Both target lower-income, cash-flow-constrained consumers and compete on small-dollar, flat-fee credit products.
- MoneyLion: MoneyLion offers mobile banking, cash advances, credit-builder loans, and personal installment products to mass-market consumers - directly comparable to Varo's bundle of checking, Advance, Line of Credit, and Varo Believe. It also uses an alternative-data underwriting approach similar to Varo's cash-flow model.
Emerging players
- Step (Step Mobile): Step is a smaller, teen-focused neobank offering secured credit-builder cards and checking - directly competing with Varo Believe and core checking in the under-25 and credit-building segments. It is earlier-stage but competes for the same customer-acquisition narrative.
Broad incumbents
- Ally Bank: Ally is a large established online-only bank with checking, high-yield savings, and consumer lending products, competing with Varo for digitally native, fee-sensitive savers. It is broader in scale (retail brokerage, auto finance, corporate lending) and serves as a benchmark incumbent that neobanks aim to disrupt.
- Discover Bank: Discover offers digital checking, high-yield savings, personal loans, and credit cards - overlapping significantly with Varo's banking-plus-lending proposition. It is a much larger, publicly traded incumbent with a direct-to-consumer credit card business that competes with Varo Believe.
- LendingClub: LendingClub is an established online consumer-lending marketplace that also operates a digital bank. It competes with Varo's Line of Credit and personal-installment products in the unsecured personal-loan category and shares Varo's D2C digital-lending orientation.
Others
- Green Dot Corporation: Green Dot is the bank-infrastructure partner that powers Varo's CVS cash-deposit network, and is also a competing prepaid-card and digital-banking provider to underbanked consumers. It is both a vendor to Varo and an indirect competitor in the same end-customer segments.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Varo Bank social profiles
Digital presenceVaro Bank financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Varo Bank leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles21 records
Varo Bank funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds11 records
Investors25 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Varo Bank M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Varo Bank
What does Varo Bank do?
Varo Bank, N.A. is an all-digital, nationally chartered U.S. bank that delivers fee-free consumer checking, high-yield savings, small-dollar cash advances, a personal line of credit, and a secured Visa credit-builder card through a single mobile-first app. Customers open accounts in under two minutes with no hard credit check, access 40,000+ fee-free Allpoint ATMs and 7,500+ CVS cash-deposit locations, and manage savings, spending, and credit-building under one regulated FDIC-insured bank.
Is Varo Bank a public or private company?
Varo Bank is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Varo Bank founded?
Varo Bank was founded in 2015. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Varo Bank based?
Varo Bank is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Varo Bank make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Interchange fee revenue is the primary driver. The others are lending revenue (Varo Advance + Varo Line of Credit), cashback program commissions, secured credit card interchange (Varo Believe), out-of-network ATM and ancillary fees and net interest margin on deposits.
Who are Varo Bank's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Chime, SoFi Technologies, Current (formerly Current Bank), Dave Inc. and MoneyLion. Step (Step Mobile) is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Ally Bank, Discover Bank and LendingClub. Green Dot Corporation is listed as an others.
Does Varo Bank have an API?
No public API is recorded for Varo Bank.
What industry is Varo Bank in?
Varo Bank's product category is Digital Banking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAKAAAK, Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Personal Lending Platforms (Unsecured Installment), with a secondary code of FSAGAHAC, Alternative Data & Credit Scoring (Cashflow, Telco, Utility, Open Banking). Its NAICS code is 5221 and its SIC code is 6021.