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6 Banks With Early Direct Deposit

Published July 2, 2024
Steven Porrello
By: Steven Porrello
Steven Porrello
Steven Porrello
Writer

Steven is a personal finance writer covering topics from mortgages to credit cards to market news. He has written for The Motley Fool Canada, Ramsey Solutions, Nerdwallet, Clever Real Estate, and other major outlets. Steven launched his writing career at the age of four with his first book, "Revenge of the Bad Guys." He currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Our Banking Expert

Ashley Maready
Check IconFact Checked Ashley Maready
Ashley Maready
Ashley Maready
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Ashley Maready is a former history museum professional who made the leap to digital content writing and editing in 2021. She has a BA in History and Philosophy from Hood College and an MA in Applied History from Shippensburg University. Ashley loves creating content for the public and learning new things so she can teach others, whether it's information about salt mining, canal mules, or personal finance.

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Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page. APY = Annual Percentage Yield. APYs are subject to change at any time without notice.

If waiting for your biweekly or monthly paycheck to hit your bank account often feels like an infinite delay, you're in luck. Many banks now offer early direct deposit features that can pay you up to two days in advance.

The feature is often free and automatic with certain eligible deposit accounts. Although not every bank offers this feature, it has become increasingly more popular, as it's relatively easy for financial institutions to pay you before your normal payday.

Below, we'll take a deeper look at why banks offer early direct deposit and turn to six banks currently offering this service.

What is early direct deposit?

Early direct deposit is an account feature that lets you access your paycheck one to two days in advance of your normal payday. For example, if you normally get paid on Friday, this feature would pay you on Wednesday.

How's that possible? Banks typically know in advance when your checking account will receive a direct deposit. When your employer is getting ready to pay you, it submits payroll information to both your bank and Nacha, the organization that runs the ACH Network, one to two days before your payday.

Once your bank receives this information, it can trust that your account will receive the payment. Instead of making you wait a few days before Nacha moves the funds into your account, your bank can just make it available to you instantly.

Of course, there's a slight chance that the payment won't clear the ACH network, which is why banks haven't always offered this service. But since these chances are slim, many big banks are willing to take on the risk to offer this perk to their clients.

Banks with early direct deposit

Not all banks offer early direct deposit. Even those that do generally won't offer it for all their deposit accounts. With that in mind, let's take a look at a selection of banks that are offering this perk and which of their accounts sport the feature.

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Rates as of Jul 04, 2024

SoFi Checking and Savings

Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings
Member FDIC.
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Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings
offer alert
Cash bonus up to $300 with direct deposit set up (see details when you click 'Open Account')
APY
0.50% Rate info Circle with letter I in it. You can earn the maximum savings APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.
Min. To Earn APY
$0
  • Competitive APY
  • FDIC insured (up to $2M with opt-in to SoFi Insured Deposit Program)
  • Welcome bonus up to $300
  • No monthly service or overdraft fees
  • Early access to direct deposits
  • Savings and investing tools
  • Wide range of financial products
  • Cash back on debit card purchases at select retailers
  • Combo account only; no stand-alone savings or checking
  • Overdraft protection tied to monthly deposit minimum
  • No local branches or in-person support

With no fees or minimums and tools designed to maximize your savings, the combo account is a good fit for individuals who want to do most of their banking in one place online. The account offers flexibility to access or move funds, especially if your employer's payroll system allows you to access the bank's early direct deposit benefit.

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SoFi Checking and Savings account holders can get paid up to two days in advance. This free checking account also offers an attractive APY when you set up direct deposit and receive $1,000 in direct deposits every 30 days.

In the past, this account has also sported an attractive bank bonus for receiving a certain amount of direct deposits within a bonus period.

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Rates as of Jul 04, 2024

Capital One 360 Checking

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Member FDIC.
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
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APY
0.10%
Min. To Earn APY
$1
  • Branches and Capital One Cafes in some states
  • Variety of accounts
  • Robust digital platform and app
  • Great customer service
  • Higher APY available at other financial institutions

Capital One boasts a top-rated mobile app and has over 70,000 fee-free Capital One, MoneyPass, and Allpoint ATM locations. For those looking for face-to-face interaction, Capital One has over 450 locations and 50 Capital One Cafes, where customers can bank, get a cup of coffee, and ask for advice from a certified money coach. However the APY is lower than other online banks.

Account holders of the Capital One 360 Checking can get paid up to two days in advance. This account is free, has no minimums, and earns some interest on your balance.

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LendingClub Rewards Checking

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Member FDIC.
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APY
Up to 0.15%
Min. To Earn APY
$2,500
  • Unlimited cash back on debit card purchases
  • Unlimited ATM fee reimbursements worldwide
  • Get your paycheck up to two days early
  • No monthly maintenance or overdraft fees
  • Low balances won't earn interest
  • Most customers won't qualify for the highest APY
  • Higher APY available at other financial institutions
  • Must have at least $2,500 to earn cash back rewards

LendingClub offers early direct deposit up to two days in advance. This is a feature of the LendingClub Rewards Checking account, a free checking account that earns an unlimited 1% cash back on debit card purchases.

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Rates as of Jul 04, 2024

Ally Spending Account

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Member FDIC.
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Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
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APY
up to 0.25%
Min. To Earn APY
$1
  • Strong online and mobile tools
  • No monthly maintenance or overdraft fees
  • Monthly ATM fee reimbursements
  • Competitive APY
  • Early direct deposit
  • Higher APY available at other financial institutions
  • No physical locations
  • No cash deposits

The Ally Spending Account is an appealing option for those who are comfortable managing their money online. Its monthly ATM fee reimbursements give you the freedom to access your cash wherever you need to. That, plus its APY, means you should only make money with this account.

Early direct deposit at Ally Bank pays you up to two days in advance as an automatic, free service. This feature comes with the Ally Spending Account, and you can receive up to eight direct deposits per account per statement cycle with a maximum of $10,000 per deposit.

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Rates as of Jul 04, 2024

Wells Fargo Everyday Checking

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Member FDIC.
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
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4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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APY
0%
Min. To Earn APY
N/A
  • New account $300 cash bonus
  • Large network of physical branches 
  • Large network of free ATMs
  • No minimum daily balance required
  • Overdraft protection available
  • Need to meet certain requirements to avoid $10 monthly fee
  • $25 minimum opening deposit
  • Does not earn interest
  • Fee for out-of-network ATM withdrawals

Wells Fargo offers convenient banking solutions with a widespread network of approximately 4,700 branches and 12,000 ATMs. You can earn a generous $300 bonus by simply opening a new checking account with a minimum deposit of $25 and receive a total of $1,000 or more in qualifying direct deposits within 90 days of opening the account. To avoid the $10 monthly fee, you will need to do one of the following: receive $500 in direct deposits per month, maintain a minimum balance of $500, link your account to a Wells Fargo Campus ATM or Campus Debit Card, or be age 17-24.

Early Pay Day at Wells Fargo can pay you up to two days in advance. The feature is available on any of its checking accounts, such as its Wells Fargo Everyday Checking (which has a waivable monthly service fee: $10).

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Rates as of Jul 04, 2024

Chase Secure Banking℠

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Member FDIC.
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APY
0%
Min. To Earn APY
N/A
  • Early direct deposit
  • Free money orders and cashier's checks
  • Potential new account bonus
  • Not interest bearing
  • Monthly service fee of $4.95 applies
  • No overdraft services
  • No check writing privileges
  • No wire transfers

Chase Secure Banking℠ is a checking account offered by Chase that advertises no minimum deposit and the ability to get your money up to two business days early with early direct deposit, all for a $4.95 monthly account fee. This account falls short on other features, however, so you may be better off looking elsewhere for a checking account you plan to use often.

Chase's early direct deposit feature will pay account holders of a Chase Secure Banking℠ (waivable monthly service fee: $4.95) account up to two days in advance.

Pros and cons of early direct deposit

Early direct deposit is a banking feature with several pros, but it has a couple notable cons as well.

Pros

  • It's usually free. There's often no additional checking account fee to use early direct deposit. As long as your bank offers the service, you're typically enrolled automatically at no charge.
  • Could help you avoid late payments. If you pay your bills on the same day that you're normally paid, having a few extra days to manage your cash could help you avoid late payments. At any rate, it can give you peace of mind knowing that you'll get your money before your bills are due.
  • More interest. Cash in your checking or savings account could earn slightly more interest when it's deposited early. Having a few extra days each month to let your money grow could lead to increased earnings over time, especially if you have a high-yield savings account.

Cons

  • It's not guaranteed. Your bank will release funds early so long as it receives payroll information in a timely manner. If your employer changes its payroll scheduling, however, it could affect this service.
  • Not all checking accounts offer early direct deposit. This feature is not available everywhere -- you might have to search for banks that pay two days early, for example. Although many of the best checking accounts offer early direct deposit, bracketing out those that don't could lead you to overlook banks that might better serve your other needs.

As you can see from above, a decent number of banks offer early direct deposit as a free banking perk to account holders. Our list is not exhaustive. Although early direct deposit is only one of several features to consider when comparing banks, it can be a sweet perk when your bank checks all the other necessary boxes.