Varo Visa® Debit Card review
Updated September 28, 2026 · VaultCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
Varo Visa Debit Card suits US customers who want one card for everyday spending with nothing to pay each month and no charge for spending abroad. Money sits with a bank rather than an e-money wallet, and deposits are covered at FDIC up to USD 250,000.
Key facts
- Best for
- A free US debit account for everyday spending with a bank licence behind the card.
- Monthly fee
- $0↗
- Licence type
- Bank↗
- Deposit protection
- FDIC up to USD 250,000↗
- Currency conversion fee
- 0%↗
- Local account details
- Us-ACH
- Free ATM withdrawals
- $0↗
- Transfer fee
- Free↗
- Legal entity
- Varo Bank, National Association↗
- Headquarters
- United States↗
- Founded
- 2015↗
- Support channels
- Email, Chat, Phone, Help-centre↗
- Pricing model
- No monthly fee
- Features
- Free ATM withdrawals, Digital-only, No credit check
- Official website
- varomoney.com
Facts checked September 26, 2026, 5 sources
Apps and profiles
- Get the app
- App StoreGoogle Play
Pros and cons
Pros
- The monthly fee is $0, so nothing is charged simply for holding the account open.
- Currency conversion is charged at 0%, so card spending abroad carries no extra charge from the bank.
- The fee on a transfer is listed as free, so paying money in and taking it out costs nothing extra.
- Money sits with a bank, bank, and deposits are covered at FDIC up to USD 250,000.
Cons
- The account is digital only, one of the features listed under free atm, digital only and no credit check, so there is no branch counter for anyone who prefers to bank in person.
- Payments run on US ACH, us ach, so it is built for a US market rather than for readers who need IBAN or UK sort code details.
- It is a US institution, US, so it suits readers whose money and bills already sit in US dollars rather than euros.
- The feature list under free atm, digital only and no credit check is brief, so anyone looking for a wide set of extras inside the account will find a plain card.
Who it suits
- US customers who want one Visa debit card for everyday spending with nothing to pay each month.
- Travellers and anyone paid in another currency, since conversion is charged at 0%.
- Customers happy to run the account from an app, which is how this account is set up.
Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone who wants euro payments rather than US ACH: AXI Card Tarjeta y Credito, with a monthly fee of €0, sits closer to that.
- Readers who want a wallet rather than a bank account: Skrill matches that shape of service better.
- Anyone whose banking is not US based: XTB is worth a look, since these rails are US ACH, us ach.
Who regulates it
Varo is licensed as a bank, bank, in the US. The licences behind it name the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the FDIC record for the institution reads FDIC cert 59190. That licence type is the first thing to check when you are weighing where the money sits, because a bank licence puts the balance under a deposit scheme, while an e-money balance sits under a different rule. In our data, e-money licences, 39.1%, are more common than bank licences, 27.5%, so choosing a bank licence is a deliberate step away from the most frequent setup. The regulator matters for a practical reason too: a claim about the institution itself runs through the named supervisor rather than through a payments partner.
Fees and FX
The three numbers most readers check first are all at the floor, and all of them apply to the US bank account behind the Varo Visa Debit Card. The monthly fee is $0, the fee on a transfer is listed as free, and currency conversion is charged at 0%. There is no monthly charge for holding the account, no cost for paying money in or taking it out, and nothing added for spending in another currency. For scale, the monthly fee range across our data runs up to €449 while its median is €0, so a free account is not unusual, and free transfers are rarer still. Cost is the easiest part of this account to understand, because the pricing is short and every line in it sits at the floor.
Deposit protection
Because the account is a bank, bank, the balance is a deposit rather than a wallet balance, and deposits are covered at FDIC up to USD 250,000. The institution behind the card appears in the licences as FDIC cert 59190, so the named bank is the one holding the money rather than an intermediary. That scheme is the practical answer to the safety question for anyone who has seen providers hold funds with nothing behind them. It is worth holding the distinction in mind when reading the rest of this comparison: the deposit protection described here belongs to the bank licence, and the e-money licences that are more common in our data, 39.1%, do not carry it. The scheme speaks to the balance you hold in the account, not to the card purchases you make from it, so keep spending within the balance you keep.
Foreign exchange costs
Two figures decide the cost of spending abroad: what the card charges to convert, and what it charges to hand over cash. Conversion is charged at 0%, so the exchange rate on a card purchase is the one your network gives you rather than a marked-up one, and the ATM free allowance is $0, which is what keeps a foreign cash withdrawal from adding another charge on top. Put together, travel money through this account comes down to one conversion, with no further line underneath it. The same two figures explain the ranking: the account sits at 1 of 312 brands compared on conversion fee, in a field where our median is 0.5% and the upper quartile reaches 2.08%.
How it compares on our data
On the two numbers most readers compare first, this account ranks at the head of a wide field. On currency conversion fee it sits at 1 of 312 brands, and on monthly fee at 1 of 500. The monthly fee picture across our data is lopsided, with a median of €0 and a top of the range at €449, so many free accounts sit beside expensive ones and the median alone tells you little. Conversion fees vary more widely still, running from 0% at the floor to 7% at the top with a median of 0.5%. Holding that position on both measures is a narrow result: it says the routine charges are lower than most, not that the account offers more.
How Varo Visa® Debit Card compares
9.2 vs 8.7
9.2 vs 8.6
9.2 vs 8.0
9.2 vs 8.9
9.2 vs 9.1
9.2 vs 9.2
9.2 vs 8.7
9.2 vs 8.7
9.2 vs 8.7
Varo Visa® Debit Card vs Skrill9.2 vs 9.0Its monthly fee is €0, but a wallet is a different job from a Visa debit card attached to a US bank account.
9.2 vs 8.7
9.2 vs 9.5
9.2 vs 9.4
9.2 vs 9.3
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9.2 vs 9.2
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9.2 vs 9.0
9.2 vs 9.0
9.2 vs 8.9
9.2 vs 8.9- 9.2 vs 8.9
9.2 vs 8.7
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9.2 vs 8.5
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9.2 vs 8.2
9.2 vs 8.1- 9.2 vs 8.1
9.2 vs 8.0
9.2 vs 8.0
9.2 vs 8.0
9.2 vs 9.1
Where Varo Visa® Debit Card is available
- Available
- United States
- Licence in United States
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), checked September 26, 2026
- Licence in United States
- FDIC (FDIC cert 59190), checked September 26, 2026
Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Is there a monthly fee on the Varo Visa Debit Card?+
No. The monthly fee is $0, so holding the account open costs nothing each month. It is a US bank account with a Visa debit card attached, and no monthly fee is the most common pricing model in the everyday accounts group, so the price of simply keeping it is the least of the things to check.
What does it cost to spend in another currency?+
Currency conversion is charged at 0%, so the card adds no margin of its own on a purchase made abroad. That is the main reason to look at this account for travel money. It sits at 1 of 312 brands on this measure, against a median of 0.5% in our data.
Is my money safe at Varo?+
Varo holds money as a bank, bank, rather than as an e-money balance, and deposits are covered at FDIC up to USD 250,000. The bank also appears in the licences as FDIC cert 59190. The scheme is written against the balance you hold in the account, so what you are comparing is deposit cover, not cover for the card purchases you make from it.
Who regulates the bank?+
It is licensed as a bank, bank, in the US, and the licences name the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The FDIC record for the institution reads FDIC cert 59190. Licence type is the first line to read when you are weighing safety, because it decides whether the balance is a deposit at all.
How do I get help if something goes wrong?+
Support runs on email, chat and phone, so you can pick the route that suits the problem rather than being stuck with one channel. Email and chat suit routine questions, phone suits anything urgent, and the help centre covers the basics before you write in at all. You are not left with a single inbox to check.
Can I open the account without a credit check?+
Yes. The features listed under free atm, digital only and no credit check include no credit check, a digital only service and free ATM withdrawals. In practice that means the decision is not built on your credit file, the account runs through the app, and taking cash out is one of the free parts of the setup rather than an extra to pay for.
How do payments work for someone in the US?+
The local payment details listed are US ACH, us ach, which is the rail used for salary payments, direct debits and bills in the US. An account built for US income and US bills settles on it without extra steps. Anyone who needs IBAN or UK sort code details instead is looking at a different provider.
Does it cost anything to move money in or out?+
The fee on a transfer is listed as free, so paying money in and taking it out adds nothing to the account. Set that beside a monthly fee of $0 and conversion at 0% and there is no routine charge to budget for. The account sits at 1 of 500 brands on monthly fee.
How established is the bank?+
The bank was founded in 2015 and runs as Varo Bank, National Association from the US, US. The licence number on file, FDIC cert 59190, is what ties the card brand to the regulated institution that holds the balance. It is a young name next to the long-established banks in the US.
Sources
- banks.data.fdic.gov/bankfind-suite/bankfind/details/59190 checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Headquarters, Legal entity, Licence type, Licences
“CERT=59190; NAME=Varo Bank, National Association; WEBADDR=www.varomoney.com; ACTIVE=1”
- support.varomoney.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000334946-Cont... checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Support channels
“Contact us in the app by tapping Tap My Varo > Help and Support ... Chat ... Phone Call 1-877-377-8276 ... Email Visit varomoney.com/support”
- varomoney.com/about-us checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Deposit protection, Founded
“2015 FOUNDING - We were founded in 2015 in San Francisco, California by Colin Walsh.”
- varomoney.com/no-hidden-fee-bank-account checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Features, Currency conversion fee, Pricing model, Monthly fee, Transfer fee
“40,000 fee-free US ATMs ... Sign up for a free Varo Bank Account in less than two minutes. It's free, easy, and there's no credit check required.”
- varomoney.com/privacy-legal/fees checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Free ATM withdrawals
“Withdraw cash at 40,000+ U.S. and Puerto Rico-based Allpoint ATMs - Free”
Compiled from 5 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
Not confirmed yet: Currencies.
Related by the facts
Varo Visa® Debit Card
A free US debit account for everyday spending with a bank licence behind the card.