Aspiration Bank review 2024: Eco-friendly banking, but limited services and fees for top rates

Looking for an environmentally conscious way to bank? Online financial firm Aspiration advertises itself as an alternative to a traditional bank — because, technically, it isn’t a bank at all. This financial services firm offers a hybrid cash management account that combines checking and savings features, promising both competitive rates and eco-friendly practices.

Is Aspiration a good choice for you? Here’s what you need to know about this online banking alternative.

About Aspiration Bank

Aspiration is a financial technology company that focuses on environmentally conscious banking alternatives. It pledges that customer deposits will never fund fossil fuel exploration or production.

While it doesn’t provide traditional banking products like loans or CDs, Aspiration differentiates itself through its unique “Pay What is Fair” account fee model and commitment to sustainable practices.

Aspiration rates and products

Unlike traditional banks, Aspiration keeps its product lineup simple. Their main offering is a cash management account that combines the features of checking and savings accounts.

You can use this account to save, pay bills, buy products, and invest. Your Aspiration physical and digital debit cards are also tied to this account.

Cash management account

Aspiration offers two versions of its Spend & Save account: a basic plan and Aspiration Plus. Here’s what you need to know:

• Minimum initial deposit: $10
• Monthly fee: $0 for basic plan, $7.99 for Plus ($5.99 if paid annually)
• Annual percentage yield (APY): Up to 1.00% with basic plan, up to 3.00% with Aspiration Plus
• Additional fees: No overdraft, minimum balance, or in-network ATM usage fees

The basic Spend & Save plan follows what Aspiration calls a “Pay What is Fair” model — you decide what monthly fee to pay, even if it’s nothing. They’ll donate 10% of whatever you pay to environmental nonprofits.

However, to earn interest with either account, you’ll need to spend at least $500 monthly with your Aspiration debit card. With a basic plan, you’ll earn 1.00% APY on your first $10,000, with no interest on balances above that threshold.

The Plus account offers 3.00% APY on the first $10,000 and 0.25% on additional funds. The spending requirement also holds for an Aspiration Plus account. If you don’t spend at least $500 with your Aspiration debit card during a month, you’ll earn only 0.25% interest on your savings, including the first $10,000 in your account.

This balance limit for higher interest rates makes this account less appealing if you have a larger savings balance. However, if you’re just starting to save, the Plus account offers a solid interest rate. But as you can see, you have to jump through some hoops and pay a monthly fee to access that rate.

Debit card

Every Spend & Save account comes with an Aspiration Mastercard debit card that is available in physical and digital formats. The digital version can be added to Apple, Google, or Samsung Pay.

The debit card includes:

• Access to 55,000+ fee-free ATMs nationwide
• One monthly out-of-network ATM fee reimbursement (Plus accounts only)
• Cash back rewards through Green Marketplace
• Cell phone protection when paying your bill with the card

The cashback program is limited to purchases from Aspiration’s Green Marketplace partners, which include environmentally conscious retailers such as Thrive Market, ZeroWasteStore, and Simply Straws (among others).

If you use your debit card at one of these retailers, you’ll receive 3% cash back if you have a basic Aspiration account and 6% cash back if you have an Aspiration Plus account. You won’t receive cash back on other purchases with your Aspiration debit card.

Other Aspiration products and services

Beyond its cash management account, Aspiration offers a few unique services:

• The Redwood Fund: The Redwood Fund is Aspiration’s investment fund. You can invest in this fund and hope your dollars grow over time. What sets this fund apart from other mutual funds and investments? Aspiration says it only invests in environmentally friendly companies focusing on sustainable practices.
• Phone protection: Aspiration provides free cell phone protection up to $600 per claim ($1,000 maximum per year) when you pay your bill with your Aspiration debit card.
• Payments: With Aspiration's Payments feature, you can send money electronically to pay your bills or friends. The online tool allows you to designate a business or person for payment. Aspiration will then send that person or company a paper check. After you schedule a payment, the recipient will receive a check within five to seven business days.

Aspiration digital experience and customer support

What customer support does Aspiration offer? How strong is the company’s online service?

Mobile app

You can download the Aspiration app from Google Play and the App Store. With the app, you can access your Spend & Save account, deposit checks, pay bills, and access Aspiration’s Redwood investment fund.

The app receives generally positive reviews on Google Play, rated 4.2 by more than 14,000 reviews, and the App Store, where it has a 4.7 rating from over 30,000 reviews.

Those who like the app point to its ease of use and the ability to make payments and deposit checks quickly into the app. Those who rate it poorly say that the app often fails to open and sometimes closes unexpectedly.

ATM and branch access

Because Aspiration is an online-only financial services company, it offers no physical locations.

You can only deposit cash in your Aspiration account at certain AllPoint ATMs.

You can use the company’s Find an ATM tool to find one near you. But if you don’t live near one of these ATMs, you might find it difficult if you frequently need to deposit cash.

Customer support

Because Aspiration doesn't offer physical locations, you can't walk into a branch and ask for help. You can, though, call customer support at 800-683-8529 Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time. You can also email [email protected].

Customer reviews

Aspiration has a 4.3 rating out of five on TrustPilot. Those who liked the company pointed to its customer service and seamless operations. Those who gave the bank negative reviews complained about Aspiration closing accounts without warning and customer service representatives who could not answer their questions.

ConsumerAffairs, however, gives Aspiration a low 1.1-star rating, but based on just 14 reviews. Aspiration is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

Account security

Aspiration Spend & Save accounts are offered through Coastal Community Bank, an FDIC member. Your deposits in Aspiration accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000.

If you have more than $250,000 in your Spend & Save account, Coastal will sweep — or move — your excess funds to one or more FDIC-insured institutions in its sweep network. Because Coastal has five sweep banks available, your deposits are FDIC-insured up to $1.25 million.

How Aspiration stacks up

How does Aspiration compare with other online banks? That depends on whether you want traditional bank services or prioritize high interest rates.

Aspiration vs. Ally

Online bank Ally offers savings, checking accounts, money market accounts, CDs, and IRAs, often with competitive rates.

Ally's savings account offers an APY of 4.00%. Ally's traditional checking account offers an APY of 0.10% for accounts with a minimum balance of less than $15,000 and 0.25% for accounts with a daily minimum balance of at least $15,000. Ally’s money market, checking, and savings accounts charge no maintenance fees.

Aspiration vs. SoFi

The online bank SoFi offers various products, including student loans, auto insurance, homeowners' insurance, mortgage loans, and refinance loans.

SoFi also offers a checking account and a high-yield savings account. The checking account has an APY of 0.50% and no fees or minimum balance requirements. The high-yield savings and checking account offers up to 4.30% APY and charges no account fees.

Ally vs. Synchrony

Fellow online bank Synchrony offers a high-yield savings account with a 4.30% APY. This account requires no minimum deposit or minimum balance and charges no monthly fees.

As you can see, many online banks offer savings accounts with higher interest rates than you’ll get with Aspiration. Many of these accounts don’t charge monthly fees, either.

Is Aspiration right for you?

Consider Aspiration if you:

• Value environmental sustainability in banking
• Are comfortable with online-only services
• Don't need to deposit cash frequently
• Want a combined checking/savings solution

Look elsewhere if you:

• Prefer in-person banking
• Need to deposit cash regularly
• Want the highest available interest rates
• Need traditional banking products like loans or CDs

How we rated this bank

Every bank review we publish has undergone a rigorous editorial process to ensure accuracy and objectivity. Learn more about our methodology here.

The bottom line

Aspiration offers an interesting alternative to traditional banking, especially if environmental impact is important to you. While its rates aren’t the highest available, and its monthly fee for Plus accounts may reduce its appeal, the combination of sustainable practices and banking features could make it worthwhile for the right customer. Just be prepared for the limitations of the product lineup and online-only banking.