[Update] Empower Banking 1.9% Savings Account, 1% on Debit Card Spend + Referral Offer to Double That

Update 9/17/20: They have a new referral program with $20 for referrer and $20 for new member. Full details here. Looks like they also increased the monthly fee from $6 to $8.

Update 2/10/20: Seems like they ended their referral program. Also added a $6 monthly fee. And no more debit card cashback. (ht Gadget)

Update 8/7/19: Swagbucks is offering $10 + $10 for $100 deposit. (ht K Man) Not as good as the Drop offer was, but easier requirements.

Update 4/22/19: Drop is offering a 50,000 point bonus when you sign up for Empower Banking currently, you need to connect a pay direct deposit of $500 within 45 calendar days to receive the bonus. Check out our review on the Drop app here. Hat tip to Travel In Points

Original Post:

Empower Banking is another online/digital/mobile banking account with high interest rates and no fees. They also offer cashback on debit card spend.

• 1% cash back on up to $1,000 in debit card spend per month
• 1.90% 2.00% interest savings account
• No fees, no minimum balance requirements
• Free ATMs (25,000 in-network plus 1 reimbursed/month anywhere in the world)
• No foreign transaction fees
• FDIC insured

Looks pretty similar to Discover who offers a high interest savings account (currently 2% or 2.05%), and also offers 1% back on debit usage with their checking account. Discover is better due to higher $3,000 limit on earning cashback. Empower is better due to the lack of foreign transaction fees and the one ATM reimbursement per month.

Referral Offer

Empower has an interesting referral offer whereby both the referrer and the new member get a 30-day boost to double their 1% debit rate and 2% savings rate. You’ll get 2% on debit card spend and 4% on your savings account (max $50k gets the 4% rate).

This amounts to a nice signup bonus for new members since if you deposit $50,000 immediately, you’ll land up with $75+ during the first 30 days from the extra 2% boost, plus an extra $10 from the debit card boost if you max out the $1,000 debit spend.

If you are someone who has regular referrals, e.g. a blogger, you can keep this account as a permanent 4% savings account on $50,000, plus you’ll get permanent 2% back on up to $1,000 in debit card purchases per month. (‘Permanent’ in this context is temporary since they can end this referral bonus at any time.)

Currently Android users cannot refer members. They hope to have this fixed by the end of January.

DO NOT LEAVE REFERRALS HERE, instead, head over to this dedicated page to connect with others and refer. 

Hat tip to reader raekwon