2 Great Banks That Will Pay You to Open an Account

If you're still hanging on to your branch-based checking or savings account and have been thinking about finally making the switch to an online bank, now could be an excellent time to do it. Not only are there some great online bank accounts available that could take the place of your current bank, but there are a couple of top-notch online banks that will pay you to open and use a new account.

A big bonus to ditch your big bank

SoFi is perhaps the closest thing to a true bank replacement that operates entirely online. In addition to a checking and savings account, SoFi offers an investment platform, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, and much more.

The SoFi Checking and Savings account is a top-notch product, and it's important to discuss it in combination because you can't open one without the other. On the checking account side, SoFi charges no monthly maintenance or overdraft fees, and offers free ATM access at over 55,000 ATMs nationwide.

On the savings account side, SoFi offers one of the best APYs on our radar, early access to direct deposits, and will even give you free checks whenever you need them. Plus, SoFi's mobile banking app is fantastic and allows you to easily manage all of your SoFi financial products in one place.

SoFi is offering a $300 cash bonus for new customers who open an account and have qualifying direct deposits of $5,000 or more within 25 days. And if this sounds unattainable, you can get a $50 cash bonus with a qualifying direct deposit of $1,000 or more.

A high-interest checking account with a monthly bonus

The Axos Bank Rewards Checking account is one of the more unique checking accounts on our radar, and it can also be quite lucrative for account holders. It has one of the highest possible APYs of any checking or money market account we know of -- 0.40% (up to 3.30%), -- but to get the maximum APY, you'll need to do all of these things:

• 0.40% APY for direct deposits of $1,500 or more during a statement cycle.
• 0.30% APY for using your Axos Visa Debit Card for at least 10 qualifying transactions per month.
• 1.00% APY for maintaining a $2,500 average daily balance in an Axos Managed Portfolios (robo advisor) account.
• 1.00% APY for maintaining a $2,500 average daily balance in an Axos Self-Directed Trading account.
• 0.60% APY for using your checking account to make your payment on an Axos Bank loan.

Even if you don't completely max out the APY, this is still a solid checking account. It's one of the few that offers unlimited ATM fee reimbursement, and it has no monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements.

Axos Bank is offering new customers the ability to earn a bonus of as much as $300, and it's structured differently than SoFi's. For each month that you maintain a minimum daily balance of $7,000 and have at least $5,000 in qualifying direct deposits, you'll receive a payout of $50, and you can get up to six payouts during the first seven calendar months the account is open.

It's not all about the bonus

These bank accounts from SoFi and Axos Bank are offering excellent new customer bonuses, but there are plenty of other good reasons to take a closer look. Both offer excellent account features and could be a far better fit than any branch-based bank. If you've been thinking of finally making the switch to an online bank, one of these two banks that will pay you to become a customer could be the right way to do it.