The new account, announced Wednesday (Dec. 10) for SoFi Plus members, is designed to offer better choice and control over spending, rewards, a way to build credit history, and high interest on savings balances.
The release noted that while debit card users avoid paying interest and spending beyond their account balance, they often miss out on rewards and protections credit cards typically offer.
“Smart Card is the best all-in-one account, hands down,” Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, said in a news release.
“Members get the best of debit and credit card benefits, all in one account. It’s our latest innovation to help people get their money right by staying in control of their finances, earning rewards on essential purchases to incentivize smart spending, improving their credit, and protecting their accounts.”
Other benefits of the account include ways to send and receive funds via person-to-person payments, Zelle, bill pay, worldwide money transfers, and mobile check deposit, along with access to complimentary and unlimited financial planning, the release added.
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The announcement came days after SoFi said it hoped to fund additional business opportunities with an underwritten public offering of $1.5 billion of shares of its common stock. In addition, the company aims to grant the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase as much as an additional 15% of the shares of common stock on offer.
Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote last month about SoFi’s role in the evolution of neobanks, which “began as a digitally native model built on debit cards and simple spending apps has become something more complex, more regulated, and, increasingly, more sustainable.”
While some companies began as FinTechs that built themselves into banking businesses, SoFi, the report argued, presents an alternative: a neobank with an owned bank at its center.
When it acquired Golden Pacific Bank, SoFi realized the ability to gather low-cost deposits, issue loans directly, and earn net interest income. As reported here, SoFi’s deposit-led funding model now supports lending economics that are more in line with those of a traditional bank even amid the branching out.
“Payments and checking accounts draw users in, but lending and investing generate margin and deepen relationships,” the report added.
“That dynamic shows how a charter can convert a spending app into a full-service financial institution. In its latest quarter, and as reported here, management noted that SoFi card and deposit spend totaled nearly $20 billion in annualized transactions, up 55% year over year.”
