When opening a checking or savings account, what are the features and benefits that you expect the most? With this bank, you will find socially responsible banking services and a “pay what is fair” approach. See if Aspiration Bank is right for you.
Aspiration Bank is one of the most unique banks that is currently open. It aims to make the world a better place by offering socially conscious banking services and products. Wondering how they do this? Read through this post to find out.
Editor’s Note: Go through our Referral Link to earn $25 bonus + $25 toward charity of your choice.
What is Aspiration Bank
Aspiration Bank combines the aspects of the banking world and integrate them with the socially conscious mind set of making the world a better place. The most ambitious thing they do is live by a “pay what is fair” approach.
This means that instead of charging for their services, you have the option to pay whatever you think is fair. Yes, that means you can choose to pay nothing. In addition to this, they also give 10% of what you pay to charities. They also offer 2 main services.
Aspiration Bank offers a spend & save account which allows people to save money or manage their daily expenses. The spending account gives cash back while the saving account offers a high interest yield. To open one of these accounts, you will only need a $10 deposit.
This bank offers 2 professionally managed mutual funds. It selects safe investments with low volatility to help you build up your funds. You can choose individual accounts and traditional IRAs. To start using one of these services, you will need a $10 deposit.
An unlikely yet notable featue of Aspiration Bank is their “Pay What Is Fair” approach, which allows you decide what their services are worth – even if it’s $0. Also, they will donate 10% of what you donate to charities.
Banking Services
As discussed before, banking services is one of their 2 main services that this bank provides. Their main cash cash management service is the spend & save account. You can choose how much money you want to put into the spending and saving side.
High yield on all saving balances
No fees for anything. “Pay what is fair” approach
If you charge your cellphone bill to your Aspiration mastercard, you get a free $600 in coverage for protection against theft, damage, or other hazards to your phone.
With mobile check deposits and online bill pay, have the comfort of doing business from anywhere .
This is a score that shows you your personal impact on the Earth based on the vendors you shopped with. Each store will have some sort of score that compares their actions to their impact on the Earth.
Get unlimited cash back on all purchases with the Aspiration debit card. Earn extra cash back when you shop at socially-conscious businesses.
Aspiration waives all ATM fees in the U.S. and overseas. It will also reimburse ATM fees charged by third parties.
If your identity gets stolen, Aspiration will reimburse up to $1,000 per claim.
Compare Checking Accounts
 • New Chase checking customers enjoy a $300 bonus when you open a Chase Total Checking® account with qualifying activities • Chase Mobile® app - Manage accounts, pay bills, send money to friends with Zelle® and deposit checks from almost anywhere. • Chase Overdraft AssistSM – no overdraft fees if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day or if you’re overdrawn by more than $50 and bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day* • Help keep your money protected with features like Zero Liability Protection, fraud monitoring and card lock. • Chase Total Checking includes FDIC insurance up to the maximum amount allowed by law. • With over 4,700 branches, Chase has the largest branch network in the U.S. plus access to more than 15,000 ATMs. • Open your account online now • Available online nationwide except in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. For branch locations, visit locator.chase.com. *With Chase Overdraft AssistSM, we won’t charge an Overdraft Fee if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day OR if you’re overdrawn by more than $50 and you bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day (you have until 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) to make a deposit or transfer). Chase Overdraft Assist does not require enrollment and comes with eligible Chase checking accounts. |
Investment Services
The second main service the Aspiration Bank offers are their investment services. They give more complex investment options and strategies to the average Joe.
This fund aims to help give you steady growth by investing into less volatile funds that performed well when markets were previously down. This is a great option for anyone who wants to see their money slowly rise up without having to worry too much about market down turns.
If you are scared of having a negative impact on the environment, Aspiration Bank has you covered. This fund is completely fossil fuel free, and invests in businesses that are environmentally conscious.
Reasons to Bank with Aspiration
- A lot of bank require you to break the bank to open an account. Aspiration only requires $10 to open the Spend & Save Account, and there is no monthly balance requirement.
- Aspiration offers a very competitive interest rate on Save balances. The APY is in line with those offered by the top online banks.
- Aspiration never charges you ATM fees, and will even reimburse fees charged by 3rd parties. However, for ATMs overseas, there will be a 1% foreign transaction fee that cannot be waived.
- They put you in charge of the service fee, even if it means $0. They feel that trust works both ways, so they let you be in the driver’s seat. You can change the amount you pay as often as you want too.
- Aspiration commits to donate 10% of their earnings to charity. You can also make a donation yourself through their online giving platform. The charity categories include poverty, water, education, environment, health, and human rights. You can decide which cause you want to donate to, or to all of them.
- You can link Aspiration to apps like Mint, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. You can link the external accounts just like you would any checking account.
- Aspiration’s platform offers a socially responsible investment fund. Requiring only $10 to start, this opens up socially-responsible investing to everyone, instead of only to the wealthy.
- Every time you refer someone to Aspiration, and they sign up for an account, Aspiration will donate $25 to your charity of choice. They will also donate $25 to your friend’s charity of choice once their account is open and in good standing for at least 10 days.
- This tells you how your own spending habits affect the environment. Aspiration bases your score on the impact the businesses you spend your money on have on the environment and the people.
Reasons Not To Bank with Aspiration
- You won’t find a physical branch anywhere. If you are the type who likes to conduct your banking in person or you want to see a “real” person before you make investments, you’ll want to use a brokerage with physical branches.
- You only have 2 funds to choose from. If you are looking for variety or have an interest in investing in a specific industry, you may not find it within Aspiration’s available funds.
- Aspiration does not offer ATM deposits, so you’ll have to deposit the cash in an external account. You can then transfer the funds from your external account to your Aspiration account. This could take extra time and hassle just to deposit cash.
Compare Savings Accounts
 Open a Discover® Online Savings Account for all these features: • Earn $200/$150 Bonus with promo code LOP325 by 9/11/2025 • Earn high interest rate of 3.70% APY • No minimum opening deposit, no minimum balance requirement, and now no fees • Interest on Discover Online Savings Accounts is compounded daily and credited monthly • Manage your account online or with the Discover mobile app • FDIC insurance up to $250,000 • See advertiser website for full details To qualify for Bonus: Apply for your first Discover Online Savings Account, enter Offer Code LOP325 at application, deposit into your Account a total of at least $15,000 to earn a $150 Bonus or deposit a total of at least $25,000 to earn a $200 Bonus. Qualifying deposit(s) may consist of multiple deposits and must post to Account within 45 days of account open date. Maximum bonus eligibility is $200. What to know: Offer not valid for existing or prior Discover savings customers. Eligibility is based on primary account owner. Account must be open when bonus is credited. Bonus will be credited to the account within 60 days of qualifying for the bonus. Bonus is subject to tax reporting. Offer ends 09/11/2025, 11:59 PM ET. Offer may be modified or withdrawn without notice. Due to new customer funding limits, you may wish to initiate fund transfers at your other institution. For information on funding, see FAQs on Discover.com/Bank. |
Aspiration Bank Routing Number
To find out the routing number, log into your account, click settings, and then click account info.
Contact Customer Service
Reach Aspiration Customer Service at 800-683-8529. They are only open from Mon – Fri: 7am – 5pm PST.
In addition, You can fill out a request form to to ask any question you might have.
How Aspiration Bank Compares
- Ally: Another online-only bank, similar to Aspiration, with a full range of services. Comparable to Aspiration, they also offer checking and savings, as well as several flexible CD options. Ally offers high interest rates, 24/7 customer service, and more than 40,000 fee-free ATMs.
- Bank of America: For convenience, Bank of America offers the most branches and ATM machines. Though they don’t offer special interest rates, promotions, or enticing bank accounts.
- Capital One: Looking for a bank with high interest rates and low fees? Capital One 360 is the way to go. This is an online bank only but in exchange you’ll earn a higher interest rate and pay fewer fees.
- Chime: If you open a checking account, you can get a “bonus” savings account with Chime. Their savings account is a micros savings account, in other words, purchases are round up and the spare change is deposited in your savings account. Chime has about 30,000 fee-free ATMs in their network.
- Simple: For a checking account without all of the fees, Simple offers that. In addition, they offer budgeting software tied directly to your checking account. The software will allow you to track your spending to help you control it. It does this by looking at your upcoming bills before providing you with a “safe to spend” balance.
Bottom Line
Choosing a bank that best suits your needs is a crucial decision. You’ll be investing time and money into these institutions and will need to make the right choice and be sure the bank/credit union will offer you what you need. It’s very important to keep in mind the potential fees that may incur and how to avoid them if possible. If Aspiration Bank has the variety and options you’re looking for, apply today!
For more options from a variety of banks, see our list of the best bank promotions!
I opened an Aspiration account back in December of 2018. At first, I was skeptical. Free ATM use EVERYWHERE, no fees, and all from a company that was trying to behave ethically and responsibly?!? It sounded too good to be true. I tried it out and I have not been disappointed. Some of the features can be a little weird, like direct transfers going through the mail by check. But on the whole, Aspiration has delivered on all of its promises.