A month ago or so, I opened a SoFi account because I needed a bank account to save for my car loan debt. I just wanted to put $500 monthly so I can pay off my car debt in two years. So far, I am trying to learn the SoFi bank, especially adding money to my SoFi account.
This is due to SoFi bank being an ecosystem. It is there to meet most of your financial needs, not just your banking needs. I say this, because SoFi had helped me shop for a cheaper car insurance barely one week after joining it. My monthly insurance cost reduced from $350 to $156 a month.
I believe I mentioned this on a personal review: Is SoFi A Good Bank?
Despite this benefit, I am still finding ways to add money to my SoFi account. So far, the method I used to fund my account makes my fund available after three business days. I am sure I will discover other ways to make the cash deposit fund available faster than three business days.
But for now, I will be talking about the way I do it currently. That way, you can use it whenever you feel like you need to fund your SoFi account. Having said, here is what I want you to know about this.
How I have Been Funding the SoFi Account
When I initially opened a SoFi account, I was allowed to do a debit transfer from a debit card from one of my banks. It was instant, since the fund was available later in the day. I tried this method again a few weeks later and the option was not there any more.
So, how have I been depositing cash into my SoFi bank account?
I had to connect another bank account to my SoFi’s. That way, it is easier to move money easily from that bank account to mine at SoFi. I will walk you through how I was able to add my bank account. Then, how you could easily transfer money from the connected account to your SoFi account.
Before I show you how to add money to your SoFi account, let me first walk you through connecting to another bank account. You will need to do that first, before attempting to fund your account the way I do.
Link External Bank Account To SoFi
As I previously mentioned, you cannot fund your SoFi account from an external bank account without linking the two. Once linked, you can even see how much that external bank account balance is on SoFi before attempting a transfer.
Having said that, here is how I would link an external bank to a SoFi account.
- Login to SoFi app.
- Tap on the gear setting logo on the top right.
- Scroll down until you see Linked bank accounts. Tap on it, then tap on Link new account.
- You will be asked to agree to link your account. Tapping on “I agree” gives SoFi permission to obtain and use the information in the external bank through Plaid. Before you agree, I want you to know SoFi may share information with SoFi-affiliated companies.
- A series of banks will pop up. If you do not see your bank, you can search it using the search bar. If you ever find your bank, put in your login details and submit for your account to be connected.
There is another way you can do this. This is especially, when you do not have any bank attached to your SoFi account yet. Here is how I would go about it.
- Login to SoFi
- Tap on the $Banking tab on the bottom left.
- Tap on Transfer.
- Then, tap again on Transfer money.
- Tap on To. Then, select Link new account.
- Tap on I agree. Find your bank or type the name on the search bar. Follow whatever series of instructions are given to you like I previously mentioned above.
Once your bank is linked, it is easy to transfer money to your SoFi account from a linked external bank. I know all the big grammar I wrote above makes it seem like a lot of work, but it is not. Now, I will show you how I fund my bank account from an external bank.
How To Transfer Money From Outside Bank To SoFi?
I would simply login into my SoFi account. Then, tap on Transfer which is under the Banking tab. I would tap on Transfer money. Put in the amount I want to transfer.
This is basically the last set of instructions I mentioned earlier. But, here is where it is different.
When selecting from what bank account I want to pull the fund from, I select the linked bank account. If your account is linked, it should appear as one of the options to select from. Once selected, tap on Review and the fund will be on its way.
I am not going to lie to you, this may be easy but it is not the fastest way to fund your SoFi account. Usually, it takes about a few business days for the fund to be fully available for use. SoFi will deposit some of the money on the day of the initial deposit and the rest a few days later.
I tried to do the mobile check deposit, but it seems my method of cash deposit into my SoFi account is faster. This is due to SoFi mobile check deposit taking a whole week for your fund to be fully available.
As usual, some of the funds will be released in the first business day. Then, three business day later. You will get everything after a whole week has passed.
There is another way I am yet to try. It is going to SoFi cash deposit locations. I heard your full cash deposit is available within 15 minutes of deposit. When I try it, I will be sure to write about the experience, but this is what I want you to know about this approach below.
Where Can I Add Money To My SoFi Account?
SoFi says we could simply walk into some stores or gas stations to make a deposit into our SoFi account. I think I will use this method from now on. This is because some of the stores partnering with SoFi are around my city.
Here are the places I want you to go to deposit cash on SoFi.
Gas Stations
There are some nationwide gas stations which will deposit a cash on your SoFi account. You probably have some around you. These are:
- 7-Eleven
- Circle K
- Quick Chef
- Love’s
- Petro
Any of these gas stations can help you load cash into your SoFi account. If none of the gas stations I mentioned above is in your city, here is how you could find the nearest gas station on the SoFi app.
- Login to SoFi.
- Tap on Banking. Then, tap on Deposit.
- Tap on Deposit Cash. Then, tap on Find a location. Enter address or zip code.
The nearest gas station will be shown to you. This includes the address and the distance from wherever you are. I highly recommend you use the feature.
Stores
As for the stores, I like that there are many places you could walk in and add funds to your SoFi account. I am acquainted with the following stores below. So, I want you to run through them and see whether your city has any of them.
- Food Lion
- Family Dollar
- CVS
- Dollar Tree
- Acme
- Shore shop
- Dollar General
- Walmart supercenter
- Walgreens
- Cumberland farms
- HEB
- Barri
- Office Depot
I live in Texas. The above are stores you could find in my city. Not sure what your city has, but as I want you to do the same thing I recommended about finding the nearest place to fund your SoFi account. You will find places near to you.
When it comes to using this method to add money to your account, I want you to know it is not free. I know that traditional banks would make cash deposit free, but not our SoFi. The reason is because these stores are third parties putting money into your SoFi account.
You have remember SoFi is an online bank, so it doesn’t have a physical location. So, these stores will help you add money to your online bank account for $4.95 fee. Your fund will be available within 15 minutes as I previously mention.
SoFi Cash Deposit Limit
There is a cash deposit limit to some of these cash deposit places. It differs from one retailer to another. There is a maximum and minimum deposit to SoFi bank.
How many times can we deposit in our SoFi account?
We are allowed to deposit twice a day. There is a maximum of $500 per deposit. It is the most we deposit in cash. The daily deposit maximum at SoFi of $1000 per 24 hours.
Additionally, the maximum deposit per month is $5000. It means $1000 per 24 hours. Also, we can do $3000 per week. I just thought you would know.
Do you know there is a limit to this reset?
The daily limit resets every Tuesday at 12:01pm. Also, the weekly limit reset is on Mondays at noon Eastern standard time. If you have already exceeded your monthly limit, it will reset at the end of every month noon Eastern standard time.
On the whole, I fund my SoFi account using a linked external bank account. However, I am going to start using SoFi cash deposit locations. This is since it takes 15 minutes for the full fund to be available. Otherwise, my way of depositing cash into my SoFi account takes a few business days to be fully available.
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