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Business Insider's personal finance team compared Jenius Bank with the best online banks and found it in need of improvement due to how few products it offers. However, its high-yield savings account is strong, with one of the best interest rates available and no fees.
Jenius Bank Overview
Jenius Bank is an online-only digital banking division of SMBC MANUBANK. It only offers two products: high-yield savings accounts and personal loans. It opened in July 2023, making it a relatively young bank.
Its savings accounts are available to U.S. residents who live in a state other than Hawaii and New Mexico, while its personal loans are available to U.S. residents who live in a state other than Hawaii, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Maryland.
Jenius Bank's mobile banking app is well-rated, with a 5.0 on the Apple App Store and a 4.4 on the Google Play store. Keep in mind, though, that neither version of the app has very many reviews.
Jenius Bank is FDIC-insured up to $250,000 for individual accounts and $500,000 for joint accounts.
Is Jenius Bank Trustworthy?
We include a bank's Better Business Bureau rating to help you decide whether a bank is trustworthy or not. BBB ratings are based on how many customer complaints a bank has, how quickly the bank responds to and resolves complaints, whether government action has been taken against the bank, and how long the bank has been opened, among other factors.
Jenius Bank doesn't have a BBB page. However, its parent bank, SMBC MANUBANK, currently has an A+ rating from the BBB.
Jenius Bank doesn't have any recent lawsuits or controversies.
Jenius Bank Pros and Cons
Pros
- High-yield savings account with high interest rate
- No monthly bank maintenance fee for the savings account
- No minimum opening deposit for the savings account
- 24/7 customer support
- Well-rated mobile app
Cons
- Not many products offered; doesn't offer checking accounts, debit cards, credit cards, or CDs, for instance
- No physical branches or ATMs
- Slow to transfer money into and out of the savings account
- U.S. residents who live in Hawaii can't bank with Jenius, and U.S. residents who live in New Mexico, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Maryland can't use all of its services
Jenius Bank Products
Jenius Bank Savings Account
no monthly service fee
4.80%
$0
- No minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fee
- Joint savings accounts available
- Residents of Hawaii and New Mexico aren’t eligible
- Limited ways to deposit and withdraw money
- Jenius is an online division of SMBC MANUBANK
- Interest compounded daily and paid monthly
- FDIC insured
Jenius Bank's savings account offers one of the highest interest rates you can get with a high-yield savings account, and it compounds your interest daily. This account is a good choice if you want to avoid bank fees; it doesn't require a minimum opening deposit, charge monthly service fees, or limit how many times you can withdraw from the account. And if you try to withdraw more money than you have, you won't be charged a nonsufficient funds fee.
Jenius allows you to open a joint bank account, if you're hoping to open a high-yield savings account with another person.
Keep in mind, though, that Jenius Bank doesn't offer wire transfers, so deposits and withdrawals might take some time to go through. There's no way to convert your money into paper cash with Jenius. And if you're a resident of Hawaii or New Mexico, you won't be able to open a savings account with Jenius.
Jenius Bank Personal Loans
Besides its savings accounts, the only other product that Jenius Bank offers are personal loans. You'll be able to borrow between $5,000 and $50,000, and you can expect between a 8.99% APR and 22.49% APR at a fixed rate. If you take out a loan, you can also reduce that rate by 0.25% if you sign up for autopayment. You'll have between three years and six years to pay the loan off.
Jenius Bank charges no loan origination fees, pre-payment fees, or late or missed payment fees. That being said, if you live in Hawaii, Nevada, Wisconsin, or Maryland, you won't be able to take out a personal loan with Jenius.
Digital Banking Experience for Jenius Bank
Jenius Bank is a digital bank, so most of your banking will be done digitally. You'll primarily use Jenius Bank's website and its mobile banking app. Like many of the best banks for digital banking, Jenius Bank's app is well-rated on the Apple App Store and Google Play store, albeit with very few ratings. You'll also be able to call customer service on the phone if you prefer to talk to a person while banking; you can also use its live chat options.
Jenius Bank Customer Service
Jenius Bank offers 24/7 customer service, which means that you'll be able to use its phone line no matter what time or day it is. If you know you'll need to bank at odd hours, or you don't want to worry about not being able to report a lost or stolen credit card immediately, this could make Jenius Bank a good choice for you.
Jenius Bank Application Process
The Jenius Bank application process is similar to opening a high-yield savings account at other online banks. You'll need to provide some personal information, such as your Social Security number and physical address. You'll fill out a form on the website, since it's an online-only platform. Once you're approved, you'll link an external bank account to fund your new account. You can also send a physical check to Jenius Bank.
You can't sign up for a Jenius Bank personal loan on the website; you'll need to go through Intuit Credit Karma instead. Credit Karma is a credit monitoring service that offers other products, as well.
Jenius Bank Alternatives
Jenius Bank vs. OpenBank
Openbank is an online division of Santander Bank with a high-yield savings account. Openbank High Yield Savings offers a high interest rate of 5.25% (vary depending on location) APY, so it may be more appealing than the Jenius Savings Account if you're mostly focused on finding a competitive savings account rate.
Openbank isn't available for everyone, though. You won't be eligible for Openbank High Yield Savings if you live in Conneticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, or Rhode Island. You also aren't eligible if you have a bank account or loan with Santander Bank.
Jenius Bank vs. Synchrony
Synchrony is an online-only bank, like Jenius Bank. If you want easy access to the money in your savings account, you might prefer Synchrony; the Synchrony High Yield Savings Account is a savings account with a debit card. Since neither bank offers a checking account, this is especially useful if you're hoping to do all your banking with one financial institution.
Jenius Bank might be a better choice for you if you're interested in taking out a loan with an online bank. Jenius Bank offers personal loans, but Synchrony only offers different types of savings accounts, such as CDs and money market accounts.
Jenius Bank vs. BrioDirect
BrioDirect and Jenius Bank are both online-only banks. If you're purely hoping to get the highest interest rate on a high-yield savings account, it could be a close toss-up between the two banks.
The Jenius Savings Account's interest rate is 4.80% APY, while the BrioDirect High-Yield Savings Account pays 5.00% APY. Both accounts offer rates that are higher than the average savings account interest rate, though.
The best choice for you could ultimately depend on how much money you plan to open an account with. The BrioDirect High-Yield Savings Account requires a minimum of $5,000, while the Jenius Savings Account only needs $0 to get started.
Who Should Use Jenius Bank?
If you're interested in opening a no-fee high-yield savings account with a very strong interest rate to bolster your savings goals, Jenius Bank might be a good choice for you. However, its lack of other products make it less suitable for people who want to do all of their banking with just one bank. Other online banks offer more options for how to get money into and out of your account, and they also offer different types of savings accounts that might be a better fit for specific savings goals, such as saving for a down payment for a house.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Jenius Bank
At Business Insider, we use our bank account methodology to review all of our banking products, including banks as a whole. In order to get our final score, we first rate each product that the bank offers. We rate each banking product based on several different factors, such as interest rate, customer service, and monthly service fees, giving each factor a score from zero to five. Then, we average each of those scores together to get the final product score.
Once we've rated each product the bank offers, we average those scores together, along with the bank's trustworthiness score, to get the bank's final score.
Jenius Bank Review: Overall Rating
| Feature | Business Insider Rating (out of 5) |
| Banking | 4.25 |
| Trustworthiness | 3 |
| Total Score | 3.5 |
Jenius Bank FAQs
Yes, Jenius Bank is a legitimate for online banking. It's an online banking division of SMBC MANUBANK. Its savings account is FDIC-insured for up to $250,000 per depositor.
The main benefit of Jenius Bank is its high-yield savings account, which doesn't charge monthly service fees. The account gives one of the highest interest rates you can find.
Jenius Bank doesn't offer as many products as many other online banks do. However, its savings account offers one of the highest interest rates you can get with a high-yield savings account.
Jenius Bank doesn't charge monthly service fees, minimum opening deposits, withdrawal fees, or nonsufficient funds fees. The only fees you need to be aware of are those that come with its personal loans; namely, your loan's annual percentage rate.
Jenius Bank is secure. It's FDIC-insured, which means your money is federally insured up to $250,000 for individual accounts and $500,000 for joint accounts.
Jenius Bank allows you to maximize your earnings with a high-yield savings account. Its savings account doesn't have any requirements for you to earn interest.
*The annual percentage yield (APY) is accurate as of November 7, 2024 and subject to change at the Bank's discretion. Refer to product's website for latest APY rate. Minimum deposit required to open an account is $500 and a minimum balance of $0.01 is required to earn the advertised APY. **Earn 5.00% APY when you deposit at least $250 per month, earn 4.00% standard APY if minimum isn't met. ***Rate are determined by balance tiers and amount deposited. Earn 4.80% APY with balances over $250,000 and 4.50% APY for balances under $250,000. ****0.25% APY on balances under $5,000. Rates as of 5/3/2024. CIT Bank is a division of First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which means your deposit accounts are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, for each account ownership category. Deposits held under the names First Citizens Bank & Trust Company and CIT Bank are not separately insured but must be combined for purposes of determining whether a depositor has exceeded the federal insurance deposit limit. *****SoFi members with Direct Deposit or $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits during the 30-Day Evaluation Period can earn 4.20% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate. Members without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits, during the 30-Day Evaluation Period will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Only SoFi members with direct deposit are eligible for other SoFi Plus benefits. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/31/2024. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.
