- When Juno first launched, it mostly focused
on offering attractive high-yield checking
and cash back options.
And those options, they're still available.
For example Juno is currently offering
a whopping 5% interest rate on checking accounts,
and 5% cash back at select merchants
when you spend with cash,
and 10% back when you spend with crypto.
With those kinds of interest rates and cash back rates,
Juno even offers better returns than many savings accounts.
But high-yield checking
isn't all that Juno is known for anymore.
Over the past year,
the company has been shifting heavily into crypto banking,
and has added some truly unique and noteworthy products
in that space.
In this video, we'll take a closer look
at what Juno has to offer.
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This is Andy Hill with "The College Investor,"
investing in personal finance for Millennials.
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Okay, who is Juno?
Juno is an online-only banking service
that makes it easy to manage your cash and crypto assets
all in one place.
Juno was founded in 2019,
and has raised 3 million in a seed round.
So what does Juno offer?
Well, Juno is not actually a bank.
It's a fintech, and it provides banking services
through its partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust.
Juno offers two different
high-yield checking account options
with its premium Metal account
paying a 5% annual percentage yield bonus
up to certain amounts.
It also offers a 5% cash back bonus
on certain debit card purchases when you spend with cash,
and up to 10% when you spend with crypto.
Coupled together, these features
make Juno a very attractive checking product.
It also allows customers to get paid in crypto
and instantly convert crypto to cash.
Juno uses Allpoint or MoneyPass for its ATM network,
which includes more than 85,000 locations.
The Juno card is compatible
with contactless mobile payments
such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
The lower-tier checking product is called Basic.
It has the following features.
It pays 5% interest up to $10,000.
It pays 3% on balances from $10,001 to $250,000,
up to 5% cash back on cash spends up to $500 per year.
It does not include a physical debit card.
It has $0 ACH transfer fee, $1 for same day ACH transfers.
It's got unlimited free in-network ATM withdrawals,
and one free ATM out-of-network withdrawal,
and a 0% foreign transaction fee.
The 5% rate only applies to the first $10,000 of deposits.
Also note that the spending limit for the 5% cash back
is $500 per year for Basic,
and $6,000 per year for Metal,
which is not as common
with some of the top cash back credit cards.
Let's review the Metal checking account now.
Metal checking is the highest-tier checking account
with Juno.
To upgrade an account to the Metal plan,
you need to set up a direct deposit
of $250 or more per month.
Once the direct deposit is settled,
the account will be automatically upgraded
to the Metal plan.
It has the following features.
It pays 5% interest up to $100,000.
Up to 5% cash back on cash
or crypto spends up to $6,000 per year.
A black Metal physical debit card is included.
A $0 ACH transfer fee, which is included there.
$1 for same day ACH transfers.
It also has unlimited free in-network ATM withdrawals.
It's got three free ATM out-of-network withdrawals.
And a 0% foreign transaction fee is included as well.
Note that Juno does not currently offer
joint checking accounts on either of its plans.
Let's talk about cash back with Juno.
The Juno cash back program works differently
from other banks.
Rather than cash back on certain categories of spending,
you receive cash back when spending
at five partner retailers of your choosing.
You can currently get up to 5% cash back
when you spend with cash,
and up to 10% when you spend with crypto.
There are 30-plus brands to choose from
for the bonus cash back.
These include Amazon, Walmart, Netflix, DoorDash, Target,
Dunkin' Donuts, and many more household names.
Let's discuss some more details about the crypto paycheck.
With Juno, you could receive
part of your paycheck in crypto.
You can choose Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC,
or a basket of other currencies.
For example, you could tell Juno
that you wanna be paid 50% in Bitcoin,
25% in Ethereum, and 25% in cash.
Juno has partnered with ZenGo to offer a secure wallet
for Juno users to store their crypto.
The two companies are offering a $50 Bitcoin
or Ethereum bonus via the referral code ZenGo
to customers who set up their ZenGo Wallet with Juno,
and receive their first direct deposit
of at least $250 or more.
When you liquidate crypto assets,
it can sometimes take days
for the cash to arrive in your bank account.
And many exchanges charge crypto withdrawal fees
for that to happen.
Juno eliminates both of these pain points, which is great.
Crypto cash-outs arrive instantly
in your Juno checking account.
And at least right now,
you can sell or buy crypto at any time for free.
As for international transfers,
Juno offers a competitive
international money transfer service that's powered by Wise.
It supports near-instant transfers, about five minutes,
to 30-plus different countries around the world.
And Juno says that its fees are significantly lower
than what you'll pay with most standard banks or PayPal.
Let's discuss the Juno mobile app.
It's available on both iOS and Android.
Juno makes it easy to manage your account
and connect to over 3,800 third-party financial apps.
Prominent app integrations
include Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
Also, Venmo, Cash App, Robinhood, Acorns, and Coinbase.
You might be wondering what are the fees with Juno?
Well, Juno does not have any monthly fees.
The following transaction-related fees
will apply to both accounts.
A 2% plus 30 cent fee on debit card deposits.
A 3.5% and 30 cent fee on credit card deposits.
2.3% and 30 cent fee on prepaid debit card deposits.
Juno is currently running an early-access promotion
for its crypto paycheck product.
Through December 31st,
it isn't charging any fees for buying and selling crypto.
This limited time fee waiver
is capped at $250,000 of transaction volume.
After that, you'll pay 0.95% per order.
Juno also doesn't charge any extra fees
for depositing or withdrawing cryptos
to and from external wallets.
However, Bitcoin and Ethereum network fees
will still be charged.
So how does Juno compare in the marketplace?
Well, Juno offers some of the best interest
and cash back rates that you can find right now.
But when we first reviewed Juno,
we were disappointed to find
that both of those earnings opportunities
have fairly strict limits on the basic checking plan.
Basic customers only earn 5% APY
on up to $5,000 of deposits,
and 5% cash back on total annual spends of $500
when they pay with cash or crypto.
However, the Metal plan has much higher limits:
$100,000 for interest, and then $3,000 for cash back.
Juno is truly able to compete
with the online banking heavyweights.
Here's a quick look at how it compares to Chime and to Axos,
two other competitors that we've reviewed
on this YouTube channel.
"So how do I open an account with Juno?"
you might be asking.
Well, you can visit the Juno website to open an account.
You can find that link in our video description.
You'll be asked to provide the following
during your application process:
your name, your mobile number,
your home address, your social security number,
and documents to verify your identity,
like a driver's license, passport, or legal identification.
Once Juno has verified your information,
you can make your initial deposit,
and you'll have immediate access to your virtual card.
Is my money safe with Juno? Well, yes.
Juno uses encryption on their website,
and cash deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000
through their partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust.
The debit card includes MasterCard's zero liability policy,
protecting you from unauthorized transactions.
So in the end, is Juno worth it?
If you're looking for a banking solution
that can take care of your cash and crypto management needs
all under one roof,
Juno is one of the best options available today.
And if you're not really into crypto,
the 5% rate that you can earn is hard to beat.
But that high APY is limited to your first $5,000
with Basic checking.
It extends to your first $100,000 with Metal checking,
but it requires a direct deposit of $250 or more per month.
If you'd rather find a bank that offers a high yield
on all balances with no direct deposit requirements,
check out our video
on the best high-yield accounts out there.
Thanks for hanging out today, everyone.
This is Andy Hill from "The College Investor."
We'll see you in the next video.