Top Fee-Free Digital Banking Options
TL;DR – Quick Summary: Simple Bank, launched in 2012, was acquired by BBVA in 2014 and shut down in April 2021 when BBVA USA itself was acquired by PNC Financial Services. Simple's promise fee-free digital banking with built-in budgeting, savings goals, and a "Safe-to-Spend" balance that automatically accounted for upcoming bills and savings commitments was ahead of its time. In 2025, multiple platforms deliver equivalent or superior functionality: Chime for fee-free everyday banking, SoFi for comprehensive digital banking with high savings APY, Revolut for multi-currency and feature breadth, Wise for international transfers, Ally Bank for competitive savings rates, and Current for rewards on debit spending. This guide identifies which Simple alternative fits each specific financial profile.
Table of Contents
What Made Simple Bank Special and Why It Was Shut Down
Simple's Key Features: What to Look for in a Replacement
Chime: The Most Popular Fee-Free Simple Alternative
SoFi: Comprehensive Digital Banking with High Savings APY
Ally Bank: Best for Savings Rates and No-Fee Checking
Revolut: The Multi-Currency Alternative for Frequent Travelers
Wise: Best for International Transfers and Multi-Currency Accounts
Current: Rewards on Debit Spending for Younger Consumers
Varo Bank: Federally Chartered with Mission-Driven Banking
Capital One 360: Full-Service Online Banking with Branch Access
How to Choose the Right Simple Bank Alternative
What Made Simple Bank Special and Why It Was Shut Down
Simple Bank launched in 2012 as one of the first truly digital-native banking experiences in the United States predating Chime by a year and operating at a time when the concept of a bank account with no monthly fees, no minimum balance, no overdraft fee, and a genuinely good mobile application was genuinely radical rather than table stakes. Simple's most distinctive innovation was its Safe-to-Spend balance: rather than showing the account holder their raw available balance which does not account for upcoming bills and committed savings goals Simple automatically deducted pending expenses and saved amounts from the displayed spendable balance, showing customers only the money that was genuinely available to spend without disrupting their financial commitments. This behavioural finance design choice reducing the cognitive load of budget management by doing the accounting automatically was influential on the neobank generation that followed.
BBVA acquired Simple in 2014 for approximately $117 million, enabling Simple to access banking infrastructure while maintaining its independent product identity. The shutdown in April 2021 was not a product failure but a corporate event: when PNC Financial Services acquired BBVA USA, BBVA decided to shut down Simple rather than integrate it into the combined organization, with all Simple accounts migrated to BBVA USA. Former Simple customers found themselves holding BBVA accounts with none of the design elegance, budgeting tools, or digital-first philosophy that had made Simple their bank of choice. The fintech landscape had evolved significantly during Simple's nine operating years, however and the alternatives available to displaced Simple customers in 2021, and even more so in 2025, are more capable than Simple ever was in most dimensions.
Simple's Key Features: What to Look for in a Replacement
Former Simple customers evaluating alternatives should assess each provider against Simple's defining features: no monthly maintenance fees and no minimum balance requirements, an FDIC-insured account with a Visa debit card, a savings account or savings goal feature with the ability to set named goals and track progress, a Safe-to-Spend or equivalent available balance display that accounts for committed funds, bill payment and direct deposit capability, and a clean, well-designed mobile interface without the friction of traditional banking interfaces. Most leading neobanks in 2025 deliver all of these features the market has converged substantially toward Simple's original standard. The meaningful differentiation among alternatives now exists in dimensions that go beyond Simple's original scope: savings APY, international transaction costs, investment integration, and product breadth.
Chime: The Most Popular Fee-Free Simple Alternative
Chime is the most widely adopted Simple alternative in the US market, with approximately 20 million account holders and a product model structurally aligned with Simple's core proposition: no monthly fee, no minimum balance, no overdraft fee (within SpotMe eligibility), and early direct deposit access. Chime's savings account equivalence to Simple comes through its automated savings features: round-up saving automatically rounds each debit card purchase to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into savings, and a Save When I Get Paid feature deposits a user-defined percentage of each direct deposit directly into the savings account. SpotMe provides up to $200 in fee-free overdraft coverage for eligible customers protecting against the account deficit situations that traditional banks monetise with $35 penalty fees. Chime's FDIC insurance flows through its partner banks Stride Bank, N.A. and Bancorp Bank, N.A. The primary limitation versus Simple is the absence of equivalent Safe-to-Spend functionality Chime's available balance display does not automatically deduct upcoming bills or savings commitments from the displayed spendable amount, requiring customers to perform this mental accounting themselves or use supplementary budgeting tools.
SoFi: Comprehensive Digital Banking with High Savings APY
SoFi is the Simple alternative with the strongest savings product, offering a high savings APY for customers who set up qualifying direct deposit consistently among the highest rates available from any US digital bank. Its checking and savings account combination packages both accounts together with unified FDIC insurance of up to $250,000 (SoFi holds its own national bank charter from the OCC). SoFi's Vaults feature named savings pots within the savings account provides a structural equivalent to Simple's named savings goals, allowing customers to create multiple savings objectives (Emergency Fund, Vacation, New Car) with individual balances tracked separately within the same account. SoFi's product breadth extends well beyond Simple's scope: it also provides student loan refinancing, personal loans, mortgages, stock and ETF investing, crypto trading, and life insurance all within a single platform. For former Simple customers who want to consolidate their financial life beyond basic banking, SoFi is the most comprehensive platform available with FDIC insurance and a self-held banking charter.
Ally Bank: Best for Savings Rates and No-Fee Checking
Ally Bank is not a neobank it is a fully established online bank subsidiary of Ally Financial, a NYSE-listed company with regulatory history dating to 1919. But its product offering delivers everything Simple customers valued no monthly fee, no minimum balance, no overdraft fee, an FDIC-insured savings account with competitive rates, and a strong mobile app with the added benefits of higher savings APY than Simple ever offered and 24/7 live customer service by phone and chat. Ally's Buckets feature within its savings account allows customers to divide their savings into up to 30 named categories, providing a direct functional equivalent to Simple's savings goals. Ally's no-fee checking account pays interest on all balances and reimburses up to $10 per statement cycle in out-of-network ATM fees addressing the cash access limitation that purely digital neobanks often leave unresolved. For former Simple customers who want the reliability of an established institution with FDIC insurance, competitive savings rates, and a no-fee everyday checking account, Ally is among the strongest available alternatives.
Revolut: The Multi-Currency Alternative for Frequent Travelers
Revolut's US product currently operated through a Metropolitan Commercial Bank partnership pending its own US banking charter application provides FDIC-insured accounts up to $250,000 alongside a feature breadth that significantly exceeds Simple's original scope. For former Simple customers who valued Simple's digital-first design philosophy and are also frequent international travelers or maintain financial connections outside the US, Revolut's multi-currency account, competitive exchange rates within monthly limits, and access to stock trading and crypto make it the most comprehensive feature-expansion over Simple's original capabilities. Revolut's Standard plan is free. Premium subscription tiers add travel insurance, higher ATM limits, and priority customer support. The limitation of Revolut's US product relative to its European offering is that some features available in Europe remain unavailable or limited in the US market, and Revolut's customer service for US customers has received more mixed reviews than for European users where the product is more mature.
Wise: Best for International Transfers and Multi-Currency Accounts
For Simple customers whose frustration with traditional banking included the high cost of international money transfers and foreign card spending problems Simple itself never directly solved Wise provides capabilities that Simple never offered and that no US neobank matches for cross-border financial management. Wise's multi-currency account provides a US routing and account number for domestic banking alongside account details in 10+ other countries, mid-market exchange rate conversions with transparent fees, and a debit card that spends in 150+ currencies without foreign transaction fees. Wise is not a replacement for Simple's everyday domestic banking — it does not provide a savings goal feature, a Safe-to-Spend equivalent, or a competitive US savings rate. It is best understood as a complementary product to a primary neobank account: use Chime, SoFi, or Ally for domestic everyday banking, and Wise for all international transfers and foreign currency spending.
Current: Rewards on Debit Spending for Younger Consumers
Current addresses a specific gap in the Simple successor market: debit card rewards. Simple provided no cashback or rewards on debit spending neither do most Simple alternatives. Current's points system, which earns points on debit purchases at eligible merchants that can be redeemed for statement credits, is a genuinely distinctive feature for a fee-free debit account. Beyond rewards, Current provides early direct deposit access, instant gas hold refunds (eliminating the 3 to 5 day pre-authorization hold that gas stations place on card payments a Common Simple user complaint), and teen banking accounts with parental controls for family financial management. Current is FDIC-insured through Choice Financial Group and Metropolitan Commercial Bank. For younger consumers the demographic that most enthusiastically adopted Simple Current's rewards orientation and faster payment release features make it a relevant consideration alongside Chime and SoFi.
Varo Bank: Federally Chartered with Mission-Driven Banking
Varo Bank became the first consumer fintech to receive a national bank charter from the OCC in 2020, enabling it to hold deposits directly on its own balance sheet and carry its own FDIC insurance up to $250,000 without the intermediary partner bank structure of most US neobanks. Varo's mission-driven positioning toward financial inclusion — offering banking access to consumers with thin credit files and lower income levels is aligned with Simple's original philosophy of making good banking accessible to people who had been underserved by traditional institutions. Varo's tiered savings APY a competitive base rate with a premium rate for customers meeting monthly deposit and activity thresholds rewards engaged customers with better returns. Varo Advance provides cash advance coverage up to $500 with a small flat fee rather than a percentage-based overdraft charge. For former Simple customers who valued Simple's commitment to a better banking experience for everyday consumers over premium wealth management features, Varo's mission alignment and federal charter make it a principled as well as practical alternative.
Capital One 360: Full-Service Online Banking with Branch Access
Capital One 360 is the online banking division of Capital One, a publicly traded major US bank, offering a fee-free checking account (360 Checking) and high-yield savings account (360 Performance Savings) that deliver digital-first banking features with the backing of a full banking charter and the convenience of Capital One's physical branch and café network in select major cities. For Simple customers who valued digital banking but occasionally need in-person banking access for cash deposits, notarised documents, or complex transactions Capital One 360's combination of competitive digital banking features and physical location availability is a meaningful differentiation from pure neobanks. Capital One 360 Checking has no monthly fee, no minimum balance, no overdraft fee (up to $50 automatic cushion through No-Fee Overdraft), and access to Capital One and Allpoint ATM networks. FDIC insurance covers deposits up to $250,000. Its mobile app and card controls are well-regarded, and Capital One's credit card and lending products are accessible from the same relationship for customers who need borrowing products alongside their checking account.
How to Choose the Right Simple Bank Alternative
The best Simple Bank alternative depends on which aspect of Simple's product you valued most. For the core Simple experience fee-free digital checking with automated savings Chime or Ally Bank most closely replicates the essential model, with Ally adding higher savings APY and live customer support that Simple lacked. For the savings goal and named pot functionality that was Simple's most innovative feature, SoFi's Vaults and Ally's Buckets provide the closest functional equivalents. For the broadest product scope including investment and lending beyond Simple's scope, SoFi is the strongest single-platform option. For rewards on everyday debit spending that Simple never provided, Current is the most relevant addition. For international financial management that Simple did not address, Wise is the essential complement to any primary neobank account. Most former Simple customers will optimally use two products — a primary fee-free neobank account for everyday banking and a supplementary provider for savings, investment, or international financial management rather than a single provider attempting to replicate Simple alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Simple Bank close?
Simple Bank closed in April 2021 as a consequence of the PNC Financial Services acquisition of BBVA USA. BBVA had acquired Simple in 2014, providing it with banking infrastructure while maintaining its independent digital brand. When PNC acquired BBVA USA in 2021, BBVA decided to shut down Simple rather than integrate it into the combined entity. All Simple accounts were migrated to BBVA USA accounts. The closure was a corporate transaction outcome rather than a product or market failure — Simple maintained a loyal and growing user base at the time of closure.
What is the closest app to Simple Bank in 2025?
Chime is the most commonly cited Simple Bank equivalent in terms of core structure: fee-free checking, no minimum balance, no overdraft fee, savings account, early direct deposit, and a clean mobile-first interface. SoFi's Vaults feature most closely replicates Simple's named savings goals. Ally Bank most closely matches Simple's banking philosophy — well-designed digital banking with competitive savings rates — with the addition of live customer support that Simple lacked. For the Safe-to-Spend balance concept specifically, no major neobank has directly replicated this feature with equal elegance, though SoFi and Ally's savings goal tools provide a manual equivalent.
Which Simple Bank alternative offers the best savings account?
SoFi offers the highest savings APY among Simple alternatives for customers who set up qualifying direct deposit — consistently among the top rates in the US digital banking market. Ally Bank's 360 Performance Savings account provides competitive rates with no minimum balance and no fees, and its Buckets feature provides direct functional equivalence to Simple's savings goals. Marcus by Goldman Sachs and Varo Bank also offer competitive savings rates, all significantly above traditional bank savings rates and above what Simple's savings product offered during its operating years.
Are Simple Bank alternatives FDIC insured?
All of the major Simple Bank alternatives Chime (through Stride Bank and Bancorp Bank), SoFi (own charter), Ally Bank (own charter), Current (through Choice Financial Group and Metropolitan Commercial Bank), Varo Bank (own charter), and Capital One 360 (own charter) provide FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. Revolut's US accounts are FDIC-insured through Metropolitan Commercial Bank. Wise is not FDIC-insured it safeguards customer funds in US Treasury accounts and bank accounts under its e-money regulatory framework. Verify the specific FDIC coverage of any provider through the FDIC's BankFind tool before depositing significant balances.
Can I transfer my direct deposit from Simple Bank to a new account?
Simple Bank closed in April 2021, so current users are already banking with an alternative. If you were migrated to BBVA USA and subsequently to PNC, you can update your direct deposit to any new provider by providing your employer's payroll department with the new account's routing number and account number. This process typically takes one to two pay cycles to take effect. Most neobanks including Chime, SoFi, Ally, and Current provide simple employer notification forms or direct deposit switch services that automate this process, contacting your payroll provider on your behalf.
