Varo Bank
reviews and complaints

I miss the original Varo it was so much better.

I started Varo last year and I really enjoyed it. Getting my money was extremely simple, my direct deposits came early, and communicating with representatives wasn’t a hassle at all. I understand with the Stimulus payments there has been extremely high volumes, but I’ve been calling for days at a time and never received a call back. It took me a week to get someone on the phone. Also, they never answer emails so don’t even bother.

Don’t even get me started on the glitches on this app. Originally accessing everything was very self explanatory and easy, now it’s like a puzzle to find everything. The original routing and account numbers were very easy and worked almost everywhere and were very simple, and easy with direct deposit. These new routing and checking numbers do not work with every employer, and some places say it’s not a valid number. Don’t even think about using it for direct deposit for any government assistance or benefits it won’t work. They say it’s not a valid number. If you’re transferring money for cash app it’s not instant. It’s takes 20-30 mins to show up. If you make purchases at a gas station or a convenient store Varo takes all your money out of your account and doesn’t show up until the next day.

I loved the original app it was quick, easy, convenient, and really helped me save. This new app is egregious. Please do not download it. You will have so many problems and they will take forever to fix them. It’s not worth it. I’m leaving them as of Friday, do not waste your time. And as for you Varo. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Learn to leave things the way they are, if they’re working efficiently.

I started with Varo Money a few years ago, then made the switch to Varo Bank. On the surface, everything is fine. Can receive direct deposits generally a day or two early, acquire free and use the debit card, find an ATM, send money instantly to other known Varo account holders, get money rewards for referrals among other basic things.

The challenges I have encountered is 1.connecting with help. Once connected, assistance is rendered between one to two days. 2.places that are willing to do business with this institution.
-The frustration of not being able to link card nor account to Apple Wallet is grating.
-Once connected thru Plaid, connecting to other banking institutions, the amount that can be transferred is so low, (before I could transfer $700+, now it’s $0.00-$55 on average) with a wait time of 5 business days. I feel pressured to withdraw at ATMs and suffer surcharges for alternative means of transfer.
-Transferring money to and from major stock trading platforms are limited at best if accepted thru additional hoops and wires.
-No ACH/ATH offered.

Not having the ability to open an account ANYWHERE else, Varo may be a good place to start for basic “debit & go” needs. My account at Varo remains open because there was a time other banking institutions wouldn’t do any business with me. For my personal and business needs, Varo has fallen short and has been disappointing. For this reason, I cannot move forward with the “Varo Believe” venture though it sounds like a great way to assist credit building like the EXTRA app, but without the monthly fees.

I’m willing to revise this review, should I be proven incorrect or missing key factors that would make the aforementioned points moot.

So yeah I have been using Varo since 2017 and I can finally say that I have pretty much had the opportunity (or misfortune depending on the circumstance) to put them to the test in just about every way that matters... most recently I had a quite large
and bizarre unauthorized transaction from a rental car company for over $3000.00 post to my account making it negative over $2000. Now i have not rented a car in over a year and I have never rented from this particular company... I quickly filed a dispute, and was told it would take 10 business days to investigate. And I’m not gonna lie at first I was like 10
Days! That’s all my money in the world.. and what’s there to investigate... so of course I got to googling other peoples experiences with Varo’s dispute resolution policies and i found quite a lot of people crying foul about investigations that did not go there way... and not getting any communication at all back. I didn’t really find one positive account... I have to assume that just be because satisfied customers are less likely to leave a detailed review unsatisfied customers.

So I want to go on record and say that my expedited was 100% positive.. they did exactly what they said they would do, contacted when they said they would and promptly refunded my money at the end of the investigation. Not a single complaint from me, and I thought about it and the few times I have had to contact
Customer support my issue has always been resolved to my satisfaction promptly... whether jt was mobile deposit limit increases, or over draft fee correction/reimbursement... always excellent... that’s all i guess... just felt
Like they deserved a positive accounting of they service out there for people to see.

I never write app reviews but dealing with Varo Bank was an absolutely terrible experience and I thought I should share so others don’t have to go through it.

I opened a Varo bank account and over the last 4 months have deposited several thousand dollars. I wanted to deposit checks using my mobile phone and that is a feature that is offered. I noticed that my limit for deposit was $0 and submitted a request to raise it. I called and they said I have to submit the request online. What’s the point of calling if they can’t do requests like this? I received an answer back a few days later stating: “ After a review of your account, we are unable to make a limit exception at this time. Our limits are set automatically by account activity; you can help increase your limit by adding direct deposit and using your card and account regularly.” I have made over 10 deposits. Is that not regular enough?

Then I tried to transfer some of my money to another bank electronically and the limit is only $50! I would be here for months trying to transfer thousands of dollars. Tried calling and asking to raise that number and they said I would have to submit another request online (which could have been denied like the other one). Basically I’m depositing my money in Varo bank, they are using it to make make more money (investing and lending it) but not allowing me to access all of my funds. In the end the only way to get my funds out efficiently was to close my account and even that takes at least 14 days to mail a check to me. Even if legal, this is an extremely shady practice and no one should have to go through this. I suggest others STAY AWAY unless they don’t need easy access to the funds they deposit into Varo Bank.

0/10 help. 0/10 app experience. 1 star on Apple Store because I can’t give less. I emailed the Varo Bank help email address and for a week they have been giving me runaround responses and “fixes” to my issue. When I try to transfer funds from my Varo checking account, the transfer is cancelled and my money is just sitting in my account. I need it in another account so that my automatic payments do not overdraft my other account. Anyway, I email the Help email with detailed information about my issue, including screenshots, and their first of four responses was to copy paste the FAQ instructions on how to complete a transfer. I reply restating my issue and how unhelpful the FAQ was. They then respond that the app’s transfer feature is not working and will be fixed soon. I thanked them for being forthcoming about the app’s issues and ask them when the fix will occur.
Their 3rd response was that they would send my idea of fixing the issue to the Product Team. Fixing your own banking app! What a concept! I should charge the Product Team consulting fees for this. Anyway, I then give this a few days and email again asking them if the issue is resolved. Their MOST RIDICULOUS RESPONSE YET is received and it says to transfer my funds to an external account such as venmo or PayPal and pay those fees. I can also register my Varo with my other accounts to initiate the transfers from there. They also make mention of my “eligibility” for something unclear and seems like I have to meet certain requirements to transfer my own funds? I don’t know, I’m now awaiting their response. If Varo fixes my account, I’ll gladly reconsider this review. Until then, I’ve had a weeklong headache due to their unfixable “unexpected error” in the app.

THEY LITERALLY HAVE MY MONEY HOSTAGE!
I got a Varo account for my Direct deposits and I was told that I could apply for an account and that when I didn’t have my physical debit card because it was going to be mailed out I could use the digital debit card so whenever I got the app to the VaroBank account it immediately prompted me to set up my digital bank card so I proceeded to try and set it up and then it said we’re having issues try again later and so I hit the button that said try again later and when I went to go set it up later the option for a digital card was no longer there so my paycheck comes in and I am not able to access the digital card and I do not have a physical debit card because they have not sent it out now my money is in my bank account they said that there’s no way that they can give me a digital debit card or figure out how to give me the option to have my digital debit card and my physical debit card is not in the mail yet and I have not received it yet now my whole paycheck is in there it will not allow me to transfer to another person‘s VaroBank account because I have not yet activated my physical debit card and that it was a requirement in order to be able to transfer from Varo to Varo it will not allow me to transfer to a different bank account because it tells me that I can’t verify me as the account holder and the one account but it does let me verify it says now that it takes one to two days for me to get the money onto that account and by that time who is the say that I won’t have the physical debit card so now I’m sitting here for God knows how long until I can get a physical debit card because my digital card is no longer accessible due to their technical issues and they’re not even fixing it

Disappointed. For an online bank marketed to poor Americans, there are no features that are built into Varo’s banking apps for implementing savings techniques like the “envelope method” where I can set aside my money into different envelopes to cover basic costs of living every month, automatically, and even letting them stack up to begin saving for my living expenses 2 months out, 3 months out, 4 months out, etc. Instead they are simply just another online bank, with poor customer support, only out to make their founders and stakeholders rich at my expense. This is evidenced when they’d rather spend $3 million and 8 months on redesigning the “look” of the mobile app instead of helping their customers do what matters most — like saving more money when they’re broke. I bring this up because this is just 1 use case that “online banks” can utilize to be competitive with traditional banks, except they don’t do it! Instead, Varo has gone down the same path as a traditional bank, and after the founders have already made their millions, whether the company survives or not down the road is irrelevant because to them it is “playing with the house’s money.” Why is this an important concept to grasp? It’s simple. If Varo can keep you broke, then you’ll stay with Varo superglued to the “get paid 2 days earlier” feature longer versus upgrading to a traditional bank faster and achieving real financial freedom whereas getting paid once a month is the norm simply because you make so much money. False promises. Thus, a 1-star is merited due to the founder’s intentions being plainly known for spitting and walking all over the potential of improving the lives of millions of Americans. I’ll take this down if Varo’s Executive team can say otherwise with their actions. Yuck.

New Update: My account has officially been closed and I couldn’t be happier. I am fortunate enough to not live paycheck to paycheck but my recent experience with Varo truly reinforces why I left. I made a mistake updating my direct deposit and did not save my changes so my paycheck was sent to the closed Varo account. Banks have 5 business days to return the funds to the ACH originator and Varo of course is taking the whole amount of time lol. In my first review, hold times were consistently 30-60 minutes but now they are consistently 60+ minutes. If I could market my hatred for this bank I would.

Final Update: I submitted an account closure request yesterday by email and that was handled within a day. I submitted other requests by email and they were never handled and responded to a week later. I am glad to have made the choice to move from Varo. They do not deserve any loyalty.

Update: As of today I still have not received any responses from my emails sent six days ago. Varo replied to my App Store review and said to contact them by email lol. Why would I do that if no one is going to respond. Officially working on switching now. Again, I love the platform but it’s not enough to keep me.

I’ve been with Varo since 2019 and have LOVED banking with them. I’m not sure when things changed but now they treat you just like any other bank, like an account number instead of a person. Hold times are always 30-60 minutes and they do not respond to emails. I expressed my concerns when I finally made it through to a rep and they just didn’t care, even when I mentioned I may be switching because of it. I have my Direct Deposit split between two banks but will be closing out my Varo account very soon. It really is unfortunate because I still love the platform but I just can’t support a startup who grew because of our loyalty and am now being slapped in the face.

Five star, until - Dec 2022 they killed off the Home Screen widget…seriously?!? Bring it back, Now! Removing the Home Screen widget was a serous mistake, and a major inconvenience.

- I switched to VARO in 2017. I got fed up with my two other brick and mortar banks (that I only went inside twice in 22 years). Got tired of the attitude and delays in doing anything with them. I could never understand how they could bugger things up when my banking needs were really very basic and simple, and come up with bizarre fees and charges, and then get nasty and rude when I questioned them about what’s going on. I picked VARO over several other online banks I tested because they were polite, helpful, and everything happens faster than other banks. The transition from VARO money to VARO bank has been painless. My daughters and two of my friends have switched to VARO, and we can transfer money instantly with VARO to VARO transfers. VARO suits my needs perfectly. I don’t use much cash, don’t deposit many checks, direct deposits are posted 3-4 days early. The few checks I have posted through the app processed quickly and without any issues. The few times I’ve needed cash, they have ATM access just about everywhere. The app and Home Screen widget are great. Only bank I’ve ever dealt with where I haven’t found a single thing to complain about, or had a single problem. There’s no physical paper checks, which is one less hassle. You can use on-line e-checks to make payments, if you need to, like with utility companies and on-line businesses that charge a “convenience fee” for using a bank card. Most of my sent e-checks process overnight. The only real semi-issue I have found is if a payment requires a bank cashiers check, you are kind of stuck out, banks won’t issue one wo an account in their bank, but I found the places wanting cashiers checks can be talked into money orders, which cost less.

They were good when I first started using them for a source of direct deposit for my work check to go on. They pretend that it wouldn’t be any worries about overdraft fees and none of that. Then, I overdrafted $42.00, my balance was at a -$42.00 at the time, I didn’t have a job anymore so I wasn’t able to make it until later on. Before I could go to pay it, they closed my account out. It’s been closed since 2022. Today I happen to go on there and use my login and for some reason I had access to my account, and I was able to see my info and everything. Then it kicked me out and said I was only allowed to view statements and edit mailing address if I needed to. I didn’t understand so I contacted them via email, and they told me that they can’t tell me why they closed my account out. I thought it was due to the overdraft fee of $42.00, but it wasn’t, if they didn’t close my account because of the overdraft fee, why did they close my account out. I didn’t understand it at all. Before this I called customer service and they told me it was because of overdraft fees, and I couldn’t pay on it or open my account back up. I had to switch to chime since varo made me feel like crap! No answered my question, I don’t want to think they are discriminating against me because I’m African American, but it seems fishy that they closed my account due to the overdraft fee but then said they can not tell me why my account was closed out. When I talked to them the first time on the phone, they weren’t friendly at all, they just gave me a straight answer and said I had an overdraft fee of -$42.00 and I asked if I could pay it, they responded with no, and I asked, can I not pay it and get my account back? And they just said no with other comment. No response to why just a flat no. I can’t even open another account now and mine will just remain closed forever. I never thought that varo would do this but you never know who they hire in office. When I first got with them, they were nice and very friendly, now I don’t know what to say about them. If they can’t let me have another account then they could just delete my information if that’s the case.

I’ve been banking with Varo since they were Varo Money and their features are cool and the platform is easy to navigate. I do however have a problem with a sudden rule they have implemented.

So I joined for the high APY which is 2.8% (also you have to qualify to get your paycheck 2 days earlier as well if you care about that) if you meet the qualifications which are:
• Have at least $0.01 in your account and less than $10,000
• Make 5 qualifying purchases (buy things, no bank transfers or atm withdrawals)
• Direct deposit of at least $1,000 per month

These are fair enough terms. However, they have done something kind of sneaky in my opinion. Instead of qualifying from statement to statement they now make you qualify every single month. As in, on the first day of every month your APY is automatically reset back to .4%. (and your paycheck also comes at the regular time until you qualify again, I believe)

They changed the terminology in January. Which means until you get paid (for some workers this is the 15th/30th) you may miss out on the 2.8% APY for the first 15 days. Also, until you make the qualifying purchases - I don’t think I personally am excited to go swipe my debit card 5 times on the first of every single month especially in a pandemic (and I LOVE shopping).

This isn’t a big deal as you still get the 2.8% APY for at least half the year, if you’re lucky enough to get a paycheck on the first of the month - sometimes longer, which is great if the terms are explained properly, but I believe it is just sneaky and disappointing as someone who liked this company and their perceived transparency. It seemed very misleading and I wanted to give others a heads up.

They are the one of the highest among savings accounts for sure which is a safe option but I think the deceitful nature of this has me ready to close the account, currently looking at other options. There are other options out there and I highly recommend searching for them before settling.

Otherwise great app, great services, great customer service - e-mail wise they usually take 3-5 business days and I haven’t been on hold phone wise for longer than 30 minutes. (:
Cheers and happy saving!

after having an account closed at a more established bank, I was desperate to have a bank account as soon as possible to be able to receive a very important check last summer. I couldn’t get accepted with Chime, so I tried Varo and the reviews didn’t seem too bad. now I’m wondering if they pay for good reviews or something because I don’t know how anybody can be happy with this service. first of all, they wouldn’t let me cash the original check (>$3,000), so I had to get it sent in smaller increments. with zero warning, and no reason given, they changed my deposit limit from around $500 or $600 to $0. they would not increase it after the request even though I didn’t have any negative balance on my account or other infractions. I contacted customer service to close my account, something that sounds simple enough. this request was sent around October . in March 2022, I got an email notification for a monthly statement from Varo. I checked my email account and realized I had been receiving these emails consistently since my account was supposed to be closed, I just never noticed because I wasn’t getting sent the notifications for the emails in the past. I email support immediately to get this straightened out. I was told that my account was never properly closed (even though I received the check containing my remaining balance back in October) and that they would be escalating my request so that my account would be fully closed “soon.” well, this morning (4/3/22) I received yet another monthly statement email. I have never had an issue like this with any other bank. it’s weird. it’s sketchy. it makes me feel like they’re a scam or that they might do something with my identifying information. do not bank with them! I have been a happy customer with venmo in this time of rebuilding my finances before I can get another established brick and mortar bank. I have emailed them this morning reiterating my request and letting them know that if this is not resolved, I will be pursuing any legal options (or otherwise). even if all I can do is write this review, file a ComplaintsBoard.com complaint, etc. I will do whatever it takes to warn people to not use this app. I have every single piece of communication with their representatives archived as proof, so no, my review is not fake.

When you call the “customer service phone number” it’s not a real bank like chase, hsbc, td. We know that but when you call any business that is advertising as a “BANK” you should not have to wait on hold to get someone on the phone for 5 hours a day which I have proof and pictures of. I already reported them to the ComplaintsBoard.com. When you email their “customer support help email” they immediately respond with “we will get back to you in 2-5 business days” ? How in the world if I am trying to contact my bank that I have my hard working money in and they wanna tell me you won’t get back to me for a couple of days ? The help line doesn’t answer and when they do I asked for a manager they did not want to give me a manager they put a supervisor on the phone. I let him know that I was on hold for 5 hours and that it was an important matter, how I was not able to get in touch with my bank that is holding my money, not letting me sign in on the “app” and the supervisor proceeded to tell me it was irrelevant that I was on hold for so long, when I asked for his full name or at least his first name and his badge number employee number or supervisor number because I was disgusted with the service and disrespect from this business he proceeded to tell me “I don’t have to give you any of that information, I only have to tell you my first name”. After trying to explain my situations, concerns and how upset I was to this “supervisor” on a fake phone line he then proceeded to hang ip on me. I have now been on the phone since 9 this morning have not gotten in touch with one single live person that has treated me with any type of decent respect. When you call a bank you should be asked normal questions to prove your identity such as your address your phone number even your social which they “should have” access too. The fact that it takes multiple hours, days to get in touch with someone where you have thousands of dollars sitting in a checking or savings account. I will stop at no end to continue to let people know how horrible this “business” is. Please stay away and please get yourself a real bank. You will never get on the phone or a response from anyone. Which we all should have known since it’s just a fake app on the App Store with no branch. So I guess it’s my fault for trying to trust in someone new. Please please save yourself the trouble and stay away from this retched “bank”!

I have been using Varo Money (the old app) for about half a year and quite pleased with its services. Basically it fulfills all of its promises in terms of ease of use and great customer service. However, the new varo bank app is really a disappointment and few step backwards from the old one. I’ll be blunt and say that the migration to this new app is an obvious inconvenience. I didn’t like that the company didn’t offer any apology and just act like they are doing us a favor claiming this is an upgrade. You would have to update your direct deposit at your workplace and all the autopay services that you are subscribing too. This process could take a long time because of the verification of the new account. That’s why they offer the 60 days to soften this hassle/annoyance, but claiming that it is an easy process and not owning this inconvenience to the customer is rather dishonest and non-transparent on their part.
By the way, the activation of the new debit card is not that easy. You will get a new card delivered to your address you have on their file. The instructions say you can activate with the app or call the 1(877) numbers. I tried activating with the app which required to enter 4 last digits on the card and expiration date. It didn’t work. Tried like 5 times and gave up. Then I called the number, pressed “2” to activate the card, followed the instructions and then was told to download the app to activate it. At this point, I feel like this is beyond stupidity. Why can’t they just stay as Varo Money? Now I need to deal with their customer service to activate the card and somehow Im already feeling this new card is not as reliable as the old one. I was thinking of using it on the holiday while traveling but now just to be safe, this card needs to prove it’s working fine before going with me anywhere.
I really hope this Varo Bank or whatever is not the beginning of the downfall for this company. Bottom line is that they have definitely been changed from good to worse. Just keep that in mind and try Ally or Chime if you’re new to online banking.

Update: called customer service as recommended to get card activated and was told that the migration is having some technical difficulty. So they couldn’t activate the card. Then I waited 4 more days and called again. Put on hold for more than 1 hour 30 minutes:( I gave up. Spent so much time solving this simple issue

Well, Varo stayed true to form and as predicted said that they found that it was NOT a fraudulent charge and any money they credited to me, (never got a dime in 2 months of investigation) needed to be in my account so they can take it back. This answer came a day or two after my post here, and numerous calls and emails to Varo customer service during the 2 months that someone fraudulently stole $415 from me. Now I was never questioned by Visa, who is Varo blamed the whole time the investigation was going on and I was never credited a dime while it went on which goes against their policy. Again I’m not the first and definitely not the only one according to a thread in the help section of the mobile app for Varo. The thread is 3 years old with some crazy number of posts but it’s the same over and over. The strung me out for 2 plus months, never credited a penny and then never got any money back. I ask you Varo, how could you find that it was no fraudulent charges on my account when I’ve never been charged by such a company, I know there wasn’t a pin code used from my debit card because I know I didn’t use it for the charges and that’s easily seen on your end. What more do you need to constitute a fraudulent charge? I’ve never disputed anything and never had an overdraft nor was the 2 charges going to cause me an overdraft or similar. It’s just greedy bank that not once in 2 months could I speak to a manager or anyone higher up then cs. Who all had the same answer, the dispute team is the only one who can reverse a charge. Well lesson learned on my part and people please, I have nothing to gain and this is time I’ve misses from doing something with my kids so it means that much to me to let you know to stay away from this bank. They are thieves that steal from anyone and I dare someone to take my case and tell me I’m wrong and give me a solid reason why this isn’t 2 fraudulent charges and why my family has had to struggle for 2 months just to hear that you are keeping my money. Well I hope it was worth it and I hope upper management can buy an extra suit screwing over your customers. Read your own threads you might be surprised at how bad you do your customers on fraudulent charges or is it you charging me? If Varo does the right thing which I don’t think will happen but if they do I will repost to let everyone know the final outcome or is this it? God bless and be safe

I have been a Varo customer from the beginning when Varo had the orange starburst looking debit cards. I loved the fact that Varo paid the highest interest on money in your savings account. What doesn’t make sense is they significantly reduce that interest if you have more than 10k in your account. Last December 23rd or 24th there was a technical issue that prevented you from using your debit card for purchases. Without any notification from Varo I attempted to use my card to make a holiday purchase only to have my card declined. Fortunately I’m not the typical under banked customer that Varo provides service to, so I just used a different bank card. What was troubling to me was Varo never sent a notification warning me or its customers that your card might be declined due to technical issues. After I left the merchant I tried to call customer service but after over 20 minutes of unanswered calls I just gave up. It’s nice to get paid two days early even though I personally don’t need that benefit. I know that Chime and other Fintechs provide that service as well. My biggest issue is there is a limit of how much money you can transfer from Varo to an outside bank monthly. So if you meet that limit and need to get a large sum of cash, you have to go to a Walmart money center to get additional cash. The problem is the maximum you can get from the money center is $2000 per day. Here is where the traditional brick and mortar is beneficial. At the brick and mortar you have a personal banker that you can call or go see personally if you have any issues that have to be dealt with. With a Fintech you’re stuck trying to reach someone on the phone. Good luck reaching someone with Varo’s customer service department. My advice is to get an account with your local credit Union. If you have kids open a Varo account for them for their convenience since they probably won’t ever have the need to physically go to the bank. I still haven’t gotten the new Varo bank card and I was literally one of the original customers. Varo is still experiencing growing pains and will continue to do so as they are now officially a bank with their own charter. My personal banker called me the other day just to see if I needed anything. That’s a call you will never get from Varo. Your experience with Varo will be fine if you don’t have any real expectations of your bank to go above and beyond to provide a great user experience. I personally realized that Varo is a nice secondary or tertiary banking option.

I have had an account with Varo since before they got the banking app when they were still a money app and I use to glorify them compared to others but just the other dayFor no reason or at least that’s the way I see it since they’re not telling me why but the night before they did this I was on my account on the app everything seemed OK then out of nowhere for proprietary reasons they closed my accountI tried to call him about it in about 25 minutes later on the phone after being asked to wait on hold for about 15 of that the person told me that they were allowed to talk about why my account was closed and there was a note in my account saying not to service and she told me the only way I can get a hold of them to talk to them about this that they should be reasonableHer work through email I emailed them ask them why they shut down my account he sent me the message that for proprietary reasons they close my account and the decision is final and they did this right when my money was supposed to be coming in within a day or two so now I’m going to be late on my rent because in order to switch it over add to wait for my money to be returned to the previous person so they can send it back until I asked him if I can get my account number and routing number to the account at least because it was necessary to be able to change my direct deposit information and they never emailed me back luckily I found a photo in my phone with those numbers because if I hadn’t I probably would’ve lost my house and I told him this and yet they were not reasonable they barely even communicated the loan just out of nowhere closing my account without any trying to get a hold of me or anything they just hit your screwed button and I guess it just so happened to be me I don’t recommend them if they’re willing to do this and be this way about it I tells me that they are Shystie how do even been with them for over a year and they did this because someone you can trust will talk to you and tasty ones tend to go behind your back without even telling you why from this day forth I will no longer promote or advertise their company like I have been doing for over a year glorifying them well this way they took me off the safety of the stove and threw me right into the fire without the pan and they didn’t even care or couldn’t even be reasonable that’s not the type of company I want to be with and I’m letting you all know because you have a right to know whereas they won’t tell you even when they close your account ……

My true rating is zero stars. I’m not able to link Varo with simple things such as Quickbooks and similar apps. To make matters worse service has become increasingly unsatisfactory during their transition period to become a charter bank. Starting with them not syncing my new phone number to the card they sent and requesting I take pictures of my identification and a picture of me holding my identification which I’ve never had to do with any online bank before and find pretty invasive a picture of my ID cool but a picture of me holding it strange. Especially for a phone number update. It would be loads easier to verify via email the same as every other bank I do business with including Capital One which is completely i line as well. Furthermore, Capital One has never made such requests when updating info or verifying if I’m the actual account holder. They call I answer security questions or they send an email with a code etc. After this confusion I decided to close my account and have reached out to them via phone MULTIPLE times but the wait time is over an hour and they don’t have a callback option. I’ve emailed TWICE with no response regarding the process of closing my account. If they’re trying to become a serious competitor of online banks like Capital One they have a LONG way to go. Their customer service is nonexistent, they have ridiculously long wait times so no one can get assistance, they don’t answer emails, they request identification verification in an invasive manner unusual from an online bank in my experience. Sadly, I’m truly disappointed with my experience I was excited for their transition and now just want to replace them with another bank that has fewer loopholes and actionable customer service. And, if upon reaching out to them again they fail to respond and close my account to report them to Consumer Finance for failure to comply to my requests to close my account. I have no negative balance and my account is in good standing. This delay in my request makes no sense and only looks bad for them. I’m keeping all correspondence and sending a final email and written letter stating my request. I do hope they their job and respectfully close my account in a timely manner.

Update: They still haven’t closed my account and send emails about monthly statements which how can I have monthly statements if I never switched over to their new system? As usual can’t get in touch with a human because they are nonexistent with their customer support which leads me to believe they’re a fraud and engaging in fraudulent activity with MY information. I regret the day I ever opened an account with this horrendous “bank”

I joined Varo Bank sometime in March. I liked everything they had to offer, so much so that I got all my direct deposits set up to go to Varo. Then I set up all my auto pay bills to withdraw their payments from Varo. Then the red flags started. I sent them a question about something via email and they took days to answer but when they replied, it was only to tell me something like I made a good choice joining them, etc. didn’t address my question and I had to re-send that email which never did get answered. I had a dispute to file so since it was a weekend I had no choice but to send them an email. But it wasn’t long before I found out that the transaction I was disputing turned out to be legit so I re-sent the email and told them to forget what I sent, I didn’t need to dispute, etc. no answers from them on it, so it didn’t concern me since I told them all was okay. I have a few direct deposits since I’m a senior citizen and disabled. They all went through but the last one, it went to the former bank. So I went to deposit a mobile check to Varo. This is when I found out they are trouble. I kept getting errors on the mobile check. (Mind you, I’m a pro when it comes to online banking and to get errors on a mobile check is unheard of from where I’ve been!) It didn’t have the same name as was on my account. (Yes it did). It didn’t have the right date. (Yes it did). Other errors that made no sense so I can’t remember. I tried two times and got different errors and you have a choice of retry or deposit anyway. The second time I tapped deposit anyway. It took two days then I got an email from them stating it was rejected! So I set out to do it all over again, same routine, and after I tapped deposit again I was so sorry I did because what made me think it’d have a better outcome, and I’m already late with the auto pay bills expected to withdraw out of Varo, I was freaking out. So I had to figure out how to get that check deposited somewhere else and fast! I managed to do so and all ended up well regarding my bills. But, while all this was happening? I called them. First call I was told the wait would be over 60 minutes but I waited anyway, just set the phone down on speaker. I waited for more than three hours before I hung up. Called right back and waited two hours no answer. Called again but didn’t make it an hour. I don’t think they ever bother to answer their phone. To this date they’ve never answered my multiple emails on the subject and the emails were sent out on 04/11. Today is 04/18. I decided if they have no customer service for emergencies either by phone or email, I’m getting out of there right now. And I did. It was a lot of work but I had to re-direct my direct deposits and my auto pay bills to get out of Varo. I would stay away from this so called financial business. I’ve heard other horror stories about them but I won’t get into them. And I’d also give them a 0 star if I could.

Why don't I just offer a full blown strip search for you - live on camera. Sheesh.

I have a feeling this initial application for a checking account is DOA ... but, for kicks and giggles, let's see what happens.

For starters, I started my application on the web site and when it came time to enter my birthday the popup window would not properly display the dates - they were out of the frame of the popup window! I'm sorry, but, there is nothing more unprofessional than this kind of elementary nonsense with UI. Oh I'm sure it's somebody's fault ... Apple, Safari maybe - come on. So, because I was not allowed to just manually type in the information I was apparently born in 1902 ... or was it 1903. Obviously my birthday is not going to jive, and if I get a giant hassle over it ... well, like I said, DOA.

Fire the snotty nosed IT geeks and get some adults in your software development department, (and pay them handsomely), and stop wasting my time with this ... well, you fill in the blank. VARO, Simple, TAB, ALLY, et. al., please get real with quality UI development, and complete, well-backed banking services with NO flaws - yes you heard me correctly, no flaws. Why should I have to put up with this ridiculous nonsense so you can save a buck at my expense. As with all of these online banking services, there's so much potential, but it gets quickly buried the most ridiculous glitches and hickups.

If VARO and the others cannot get the job done, then please quit all together.

In short, fix - your - stuff.

UPDATE:
2/26
It's not going to be pretty.

Your apps are broken. My iPhone XS takes flawless pictures, my pictures are perfectly lit, I've worked in television studios for over 30 years, I know when things are well lit, yet your app says my ID pictures and selfie are not acceptable. So, I take my own pictures and attempt to use that function in the Varo app, literally nothing happens except that the app now takes me to a page where all of the pictures I've attempted to submit show up and the only option I have is to tap the "Acknowledge" button. And now I have to wait another 3-5 days to find out if I have to go through this again - which I'm pretty sure I will since the first time was perfect to begin with.

So, I continue to fight with this junk tech [VARO] in hopes that I might get a chance to actually use some of the promised features, which I'm already convinced are not going to deliver as promised because they will also be broken and, at best, only semi-functional. Wow.

In the meantime, my private personal information is floating around in VARO's clouds somewhere, never to be taken back again.

Here's question for VARO - Is VARO domestic to the USA, and if not, what is the country of origin?

PS
The latest update tries to make a big splash out of getting paid early - what a total word game. Instead of razzle dazzle, why don't you just make sure you get the features you already have to work reliably - just a novel thought.

I have been unable to access my Varo account because they sent me an email stating that it would be locked until I verified my identity. I then proceeded to upload required documents for verification I also waited the 2 business days for my account to be unlocked so that I can pay my bills but after speaking with customer support nothing was done. It is now the fourth day and my power has been disconnected due to this… I have begged every agent possible to unlock my account but still nothing… I have done nothing fraudulent I only receive my work direct deposits through Varo so this was done for no reason at all.

I did a pick up order from Walgreens using my Varo card but they charge me for the one order 13 times which went over $400. The total that the transaction was completed from Walgreens but they still got my other amount is pending they took all my money and negative in my account. I got four kids single mom with health issues and they won’t give me my money and they’re making me wait 10 days and I need my money now.

I have had no problems with Varo for the 2 years I had an account with them. Then suddenly and completely unexpectedly, I receive an email that my account has been closed with no warning or explination! my finances are going to be so messed up. When I call customer support, they say that they cannot tell by looking at the account why it was closed. How do they get away with this handling of people's finances?

Sept 29th I transferred 375.53 to varo from chashapp I then ordered Door dash idk how much like 28$ and then a hour later I get a email that my account is closed I have no access to it anymore. They will send me the money by check to the address they have. The thing I moved into a hotel and they will not help me in anyway get my money sent anywhere else without residency. I can show a bill where I been and this hotel does have residency. They said no and now I have no money and no one will help me. There very hard to reach and arr very heartless whst they did. I started researching this company it's very bad almost 750 complaints on the BBB this years alone. I'm desperate here I needed that money. Please help me

I closed my bank account and what they sent me in the form of a refund check was not casable at chase bank. After phone calls and several emails I was put off time after time. The emails stated they would have an answer for me in a couple days. This is crazy as if I’m not stressed enough closing the account because they are unreachable, what seem to be spoofed customer service call centers, and lack of communication skills both in chat and on phone and email. Both the bank and Varo acted as if I were the criminal. I really don’t think I can handle another day of this

I put in a transfer request on August 30th for $1000 from my varo account to my local bank account. As of September 17th, I still not have received my money. I have tried using their chat service, emailing their support and calling their customer service line. I am unable to get a hold of anyone or get any straight answers about what happened to my money.

On sept 3,2023 I file a dispute on several charges that were made on my accounts. While I was in the gas station paying for my gas someone stole my purse and my phone out of my vehicle my DL social security card and numerous cards were taken so I had a hard time replacing my phone because I couldn’t prove my identity. I wasn’t able to sign in to my Varo account on any Other devices either. On top of all this it was over the weekend so I couldn’t call customer support. The person who stole my cards and phone used my phone to transfer money from my Netspend card to my Apple Pay then from Apple Pay to my Varo and used my pin to take the money out of the atm. Because they used my pin at the atm my dispute was denied and and they came to the conclusion based on the pin being used it was authorized so now I’m out of 1390.00

It is very pathetic of viral not to have a person to be able to talk to a live agent everybody is not wise with the computer or emails I should be able to talk to a live agent I am having issues and I can't talk to nobody because I'm trying to update my address to get me a new card and I can't do it cuz they telling me to go on the app I'm completely literate what about the people that's computer literate then I get over at 900 a month and I've been with him over a year and a half and all they want to know me and then dance is 20 funky dollars what am I going to do with us then I

I went to the hotel paid with my varo believe card and the next morning they said it didn't go through that it was to be reversed well I waited to see it's still pending in haven't received my money back I end up paying twice $100.57 at the Baymont inn and Florida city I paid cash for the payment they said to be reversed and the card transaction still shows pending. I need that to be returned to me

On August 30th,2023 Varo decided that there was fraudulent activity on my account be cause I tried to update to my new phone number. The app immediately blocked me and suspended my account. I got an email stating that they wox email me within 4 days. That very day my direct deposit from work came in and I have had no access to it. It has been 5 days and no word. There is no human that you can contact or who contacts me the account holder. As of now, they have almost $3000 of my money and I have no idea if I'm going to get it.

My tax refund was deposited to my varo account which was 14,000 and the person who did my taxes hacked my varo account acted like me and changed all my stuff to her info so now every time I call they are so rude and nasty to me and nothing ever gets changed back to my info when they say it does they said they sent a check for my money over a month ago and I have sent them all the info they asked they won't give me any info at all and have closed my account. I didn't even use any of that money except 1000 dollars and they still have all my money.

Hi Varo Bank Support Team -

My name is Tonya Anthony, account number [protected]. I noticed several fees on my Varo Bank account that I would like to ask for a refund on. I have been a loyal customer of Varo Bank and hope to continue, but these fees are becoming really frustrating... Especially when there are now so many fee-free banks and it’s been such a tough year!

Can I get a refund on the $13.00 from my transactions below?

• Out of Network ATM fee 2340 West Main Street, Leesburg - 04/08/2023 - $3

• Out of Network ATM fee DATASTREAM ASAI 3898 Pontchartrain, Slidell - 01/14/2023 - $2.5

• Out of Network ATM fee DATASTREAM ASAI 3898 Pontchartrain, Slidell - 01/11/2023 - $2.5

• Out of Network ATM fee DATASTREAM ASAI 3898 Pontchartrain, Slidell - 01/09/2023 - $2.5

• Out of Network ATM fee Wells Fargo Ban 400 W North Blvd, Leesburg - 11/25/2022 - $2.5

Thanks a ton,

Tonya

I have been using Varo for years and always have my money deposited into my varo account. I received a paycheck today and was able to log in and had access to my money this morning. Now all of a sudden it says my account is closed? No warning and no information on why it was closed. I have been trying to reach an actual customer rep to talk to but I am not able to reach anyone. I need to pay rent in a few days and now I don't have access to my money?! Why did my account close all of a sudden as soon as I got money deposited into it?

This is in regards to a dispute I filed with Varo bank on June 22,2023 where my phone had gotten stolen with all my account information and debit card and my account had gotten compromised and someone had taken all my money out of my account including my paycheck that had just got deposited in my Varo account I filed a dispute on this matter and my claim was denied after waiting weeks for a decision only to find out it was denied even after I repeatedly contacted Varo I was denied I've been a Varo bank member for going on 2 yrs now but this has really got me upset that my claim got denied leaving me with absolutely no money

I've done everything so could and I still don't haven't debit card after 6 months. I've been late on rent because of it. If you're going to make it to where i can't have a physical card could y'all raise my [censored]ing varo to varo limit? Why can I only transfer $1.89?!

I haven't had a card since MAY it is now JULY

IVE HAD 4 REPLACEMENTS SENT OUT AND NEVER RECEIVED IT