Varo Bank
reviews and complaints

I never thought this would happen. My veteran hardship deposit (hardship thanks to Covid) was sent to my Varo account by *** of *** I usually get all my dd thru Varo with no problem. But an notification popped on my phone indicating a large balance. I look in the app in the balance disappear. I called the VA and the deposit went through. I called Varo and was told at first that I need to call the VA, after I mentioned the notification, the rep looked further and saw a deposit pending that disappeared. Btw-my direct deposit was for Varo Bank not the former Bankcorp. I was told today to wait for a call or email for when my deposit should hit. The problem is my deposit hit days ago and Varo Bank told me it's an IT issue. My available balance is wrong and it should be much higher and I need to just wait. All these years of dd, I never heard of this. A bank received my deposit but they don't know where it went? I supposed to sit and wait till IT fix this? This is hardship disability pay that Varo stole. Tomorrow will be another day just sitting waiting for my money from the VA. This is sad. The rep told me that they are having issues but they havent said anything on *** I'm taking my money out of here and going back to a real bank. I rather have access to my money when I supposed to then getting the option of 2 days early. I just want my money. Been with Varo for over a year and now I'm leaving.

FRAUD ALERT! *** certainly doesn't provide the services of a "***." For several months, *** has rejected checks that I have deposited through mobile deposit. First off, it takes *** 5 business days to process a check. That's fraud right there because the *** receives the funds before making them available. Second, *** imposes an arbitrary limit of $2,000 in checks per day, i.e. most check deposits have to be split up over several days. Thirdly, Varo bank has rejected (after 5 business days, of course) many of the checks I deposited, claiming that "the check was altered" (a blatant lie!) or that the check couldn't be processed (another lie because I have depsited checks from the same check writers for ten years at *** of America without any problems).Customer service complaints are also only answered after 3-5 business days. The check deposit problem has persisted for several months despite many complaints. The $2,000 limit for check deposits has not been increased despite several complaints. *** is definitely NOT a ***. My suspicion is that it is a data gathering scheme among low income *** account holders. That would explain why *** tries so desperately to get account holders to get their wages paid into the account by direct deposit while offering hardly any other ***ing services. *** wants to have a record where you work and who pays you, but other than that *** offers very little and LIES repeatedly to its customers.

I took out a dispute on May 24th and requested a provisional since both of the charges were able to be canceled within 30days. I explained that I had a death in the family and that I did not want to continue with the services I am disputing. I did reach out to the merchants but no response and I told Varo. They said it would take 10 business days for an update. A day before the update, they sent out notification that I would not get the provisional which amounted to a little over $1200 which I was using for the funeral. Varo also said that my case would need additional investigation and that I would have to wait until around August 18, 2022 and although they filed the dispute on the day I requested, they didn't contact the merchant until almost 10 business days later which seems like the clock started again because now I have to wait until August 18th. So I am waiting 90 days. I also emailed Varo support to ask why my provisional was declined and I was never provided a reason. I even called and they just told me to email Varo support but Varo support does not fully answer your requests, They will only provide you with a vague response with no real information.***s like Navy Federal and *** of America will provide the provisional right away. Even Brinks Prepaid will provide the provisional after 10 business days. So the best thing to do is if you want to keep a card like this, just use it for small things and nothing that you *** want to dispute later on. And never for anything that *** mess you up later if you need your money back.

I truly love my Varo Money account simply because I have never had any problems with it so far to date. Plus, ever since I had opened it along time ago I had made several small deposits into it starting out small and working up to making larger deposits later on. Recently though I have noticed that it takes a little while for them to receive my payroll deposits from my federal government employer's financial banking institution and then to update my Varo Bankcard account afterward. So, I am not at all worried about not receiving my actual payroll right away simply because I know it normally takes up to 3 to 5 business days for it to be updated and posted into my Varo Bankcard account at one time. Also, when I have called there customer service department by phone I have never had any problems getting things resolved right away on any type of technical issue and alike. At this time though I don't understand why others have had so many problems with there Varo Money account in the first place. Unless they are doing something wrong on there own end and trying to blame Varo Bank for the wrongful doing period. I don't think that is right of anyone doing that to a company or business which is wanting their business in the first place. Now, if anyone had a simple technical dispute or even a problem and would have tried to contact there customer service representative in the first place maybe then they could have figured it all out and fixed the problem by resolving it for them from the start. But, if you never even attempted to contact them in the first place to let them know you had a simple problem with your card account then how are they going to be able to resolve it for you all.

So far my banking experience with Varo Bank has been great and I surely hope it stays this way. They haven't just let a Fraudulent Online Company access my account and take my money for nothing then make me constantly jump through hoops.made me feel as if they didn't care the least and treated me as if I was the theif that had stolen the Scammer's and/or Chime's money. Neither have they went to the extreme every chance they've had to not even Investigate the issue but lie saying they have to let the Scammers just take and just keep my money because they don't care so far and that's a Gigantic plus for me. Thankfully I haven't had any major problems with Varo Bank so far and I'm sincerely appreciative of that. The customer service representatives are extremely helpful and polite. They go above and beyond to help the customer, at least that's the way that my experiences with each of them I've spoken with over the phone as well as in emails have been since I signed up. They reply promptly to each and every email and have always had the solution to my inquiries. I had banked with Chime before the final issue with them for several years but came to realize that Chime Bank cheats people out of their own hard earned money, they don't care about their customers at all and banking with them was the worse banking experience I've ever had in my almost 48 years. They're evil people as well as thieves. I'm glad that I found Varo Bank during my leaving Chime Bank for good and while searching for a descent bank that I can trust with my money as well as trust that I'll be treated as a human being and a loyal customer at all times. I get the feeling that Varo Bank is going to do so and that I'm going to be a life long and happy customer here.

SO I WAS REFERRED TO VARO FROK A CLOSE FRIEND OF MINE. SHE SENT A LINK TO MY PHONE SAYING THEYLL GIVE YOU 50$ and THE FRIEND who REFERRED YOU 50$ after you spend 20$. YOU HAD TO BE A NEW CUSTOMER BEING REFERRED AS WELL. I READ THE *** AND CONDITIONS JUST TO BE SURE IT WASNT ANY TINY SCAMS GOING ON (and If you go on VARO for the Promotion its still ongoing) So everything looked good I was excited for Free money/One time FREE BONUS. The first problem I had the representative in customer service told me it could take from *** business days to show in your Varo account why I didnt know or understand it was coming from them right? Smh so I said okay fine. 10 days passed I called again and the Representative told me everything was done correct, they seem the referral link, I even sent them a screenshot of their own Terms and conditions, my referral text, the confirmation email etc. He then said that oh I see the issue, they said weve been updating and changing the promotion and now its you have to spend 50$ to get 50$ ! EXCUSE ME? So After me thinking Id get this cool free promotion ID BEEN WAITING ON THEY THREW A CURVE BALL IN. I told them you changed the promotion and didnt send an email about the change in the terms etc and they also changed the DATE OF THE PROMOTION TO A DATE THAT WAS AFTER THE DATE I RECEIVED THE REFERRAL. KEEP IN MIND I WAS REFERRED I NEVER KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT VARO AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS THEY CHANGE AND EDIT THEIR *** AND CONDITIONS when they want to. DO NOT GET VARO THEY DONT CARE WHAT THEY DID TO NEW CUSTOMERS, THEY DIDNT EVEN WANT TO FIX THE ISSUE! So now Im not a new customer I couldnt even be apart of the new promotion they did. Its a ***! GET VARO IF YOU WANT TO YOU WILL BE DISGUSTED! Stick with ***! If any prepaid card at all !

VARO I believe is trying to steal 900.00 from me after they closed my account because I told them exactly what I thought of their bank. When i first became aware that my account had been closed i informed them I was definitely due a refund of my balance and that i needed to update my address for the check to be sent because I couldnt access my account on the varo app obviously. No problem right? You would think so since in recorded the whole call where I was specifically told by the rep i was speaking to who took the updated address amd told me it would be passed on to the manager and updated. The check was still sent to the wrong address. I was only able to retrieve it because I informed the property manager and she let me know the check had came. I guess VARO thought this wouldnt be an option for me...i tried to cash the check at 2 different places to get cash and then deposit into my new bank account because i have bills that have been past due since the 20th of January because the closed my account with no notice. I ended up just depositing the whole check into my account at the atm and now it says theres a hold on my deposit until 2/3. Going to call and see if the hold can be reversed. VARO and its staff are completely unprofessional and i truly believe this isnt the end of my troubles with them. I will submit all recorded calls i have with csr from varo if necessary. Will also sue if necessary. I do not recommend varo. If you hurt their feelings because you dont like their business and let them know then they will close your account without your knowledge amd i believe if given the opportunity they will try to keep your money. Ne sure to read all terms and conditions and have full understanding of them because VARO staff will assume that you are uneducated amd afraid to fight back against them. Right game...wrong person varo!

I would give negative stars if I could when I signed up to borrow they were what they advertised as far money they had customer service they had *** paying by check they had advanced paycheck but now they are a shadow of what they used to be. You cannot call them for customer service but they lie and say they have customer service the only way to contact them is by email I waited 2 hours on the phone and got disconnected could not get through to them I did this multiple times and when they changed from Varo to Varo think they did it at the worst time ever during the time we were receiving stimulus checks the earned child credit they forced me to become a VARO BANK MEMBER they did not give me time to change then they only transferred my direct deposit from my old account to their VB account for a limited time so the monthly checks I'm receiving could not be sent directly to my direct deposit I had to transfer it to another bank altogether which has caused me financial hardship. They lie repeatedly saying they have customer service they don't no one answers their live call center you have to contact them by email and they have yet to admit that is the issue on top of that they have dropped one of my most useful products the ability to pay a *** by check through them it's not in their new VB. Don't become a member everything that made them a good bank is gone now. The basics which they copied from Chime are gone you can't contact them live for help you can't pay a *** by check while chime has its issues I'm forced to stay with him because *** has no customer service at this point what good is a bank or a business that you cannot contact by phone they don't even have a live chat and the automated chat. Are useless you cannot even do anything with them they don't understand what you say. Like I said if I could give them less than one star I would they are a terrible product right now any bank that will not tell you the truth about their customer service. The way they handle the stimulus is also horrible they became a bank but did not allow enough time for people to get their stimulus checks in and then they cut down service after that leaving you no options.

I would never recommend Varo banking to anyone, based on my experiences. I opened an account for savings purpose, because they had a higher savings interest rate than most banks. When I sent my funds after opening my account, they made me jump through several hoops to prove the money was mine and to show where I had gotten it from. This is presumably because it was a 'larger sum', though I assure you it not unreasonably large. I had to show multiple proofs of my identity and show exactly where that money is coming from - in my case this involved sharing my bank statements from my other ban. Meanwhile, the money I deposited was frozen until I was able to prove this, which made me made very uneasy. I was having my money held from me under suspect of being fraudulent money, and having to share with them the details of my other financial accounts! I have never experienced anything like this with any other bank. Not only is it commonplace for a person opening an account to invest a large sum, but surely Varo must know they will attract larger deposits with a competitive interest rate like that. Now in the process of closing my account, I am again uneasy with having my money with Varo. I want to invest my money elsewhere, so I closed the account over the phone. I was told over the phone and then by email that I would receive the check with the remaining funds within 14 days. After 20 days, no check has arrived. I called Varo and, after 30 minutes on the phone, I was told they are going to contact the people who cut these types of checks and that their response should come in 3-5 business days. That means 3-5 business days just for a RESPONSE about getting a new check cut. Who knows how many days it will be after that for it to arrive here. Even if they overnight it, I'm looking at a minimum of 24 days between closing the account and getting my money back. This is truly unacceptable. That is nearly a month of not being able to access, use, or invest those funds. This demonstrates a flagrant lack of respect for my account, funds, and my business. I am very happy I am closing the account. Throughout the entire process I have felt a sense of dis-ease about having my money with Varo. I cannot wait to receive my funds back, so I can put them in the hands of someone I trust and who respects my business more.

Please don't waste your time with this "bank". I have had nothing but issues since the beginning. First they keep lowering the interest rate on the savings. The app constantly has glitches. Showing double transactions, sending notifications of things that didn't happen. If you go and use it at the gas station first it will show you that you spent $150 then it adjusts 2 min later. Why not wait until it is complete. The overdraft only works when they want it to. Even when you pay it back within a few days. Forget about the benefit of that and early deposit. 90% of the time the early deposit doesn't even come early. So you are left anxiously waiting for it to appear. Even when you know for sure your job sent the money at the same time every time. Then Varo will just tell you the same scripted response over and over. They said I could use Zelle. Zelle keeps saying this isn't a real bank account only a cash card and won't work with it. Just as many other apps you are to link with a bank account. It has been quite the extra stressful experience using this "bank". I decided to just suck it up and open a Wells Fargo account. The only benefits of Varo, overdraft and early deposit, are not consistent. This is a waste of time. They also discourage reviews or comments because they keep getting so many negative reviews. Please save yourself a headache and don't even bother. Update: Oh I forgot also about the insanity of how CUSTOMER SERVICE would not even respond to a simple question I had a few months ago because I had accidentally emailed them from the wrong email. It wasn't like I was trying to access the account or anything. Just a question. They kept arguing with me until I sent them all of my identification in order to change my email address to get a simple question answered. In reference to my original part of my review/conplaint it's like they don't even read what I wrote. They keep saying call and we will fix this. I already am done and have tried getting it fixed. They refuse to just admit they need to get their act together and shouldn't have a "bank" if it wasn't ready. They responding like I'm an idiot. I received a response to my Google play review. Google won't give me nearly enough space to review. Varo basically responded the same way as I had already said the other day and at that time they said no that's not the reason I was having a problem. Suddenly today that was why I was having a problem. Which also goes against everything they keep trying to say their bank does as opposed to others. They act like I am the only bad review here or anywhere. Just say ok, sorry we couldn't work for you and let it go. They just keep on trying to make it look like all those things aren't wrong.

I am going through a hard time financially right now as many other Americans dealing with the financial impact of this Covid pandemic. I had to withdraw funds from my retirement savings and they issued me a check through Charles Schwab and drawn on Bank of America. I scanned the check on both sides and submitted to Varo... Moments later, I received an email saying the deposit was accepted and funds of around $200 would be made available the next business day. Two hours later I get another email from Varo stating that my check needed supporting documents. Supporting documents for a 401k check? So i took several photos of the check stub that was attached to the check. The stub included my full name and address, the name of my employer, the issuing back which is Charles Schwab, the type of check which is 401k loan and the check numbers associated with check.. The check was overnighted to me by fed ex and i sent all the requested info and spoke with a Varo rep and verified that they did receive it and they would expedite my request due to my financial situation. Fast Forward, I get another email at the end of business day that said check still not able to be verified.. By this time I am livid.. I have bills and rent due so this is really putting me in a more vulnerable situation than I am already in. The supervisor that I spoke with was very condescending and steadily implying that the check could be fraudulent ... The Check is valid and they know it.. I had the same type of check drawn on the same bank and issued by Charles Schwab because I had to take out a hardship loan earlier in the year.. There was never an issue and the check cleared.. The difference in the amount was a few hundred.. I explained over and over to the supervisor that i have no other documents and what other documents besides the check stub is needed.. I don't bank with Charles Schwab they only issue 401k checks ... He proceeded to say that i need to resend all the items I had sent previously and he will see what happens.. I need my money.. I am stuck in my house and can't go out as I am very high risk for Covid.. I asked to speak with the supervisor's manager and said that there is no one he can connect me to or give me their info.. he also said that there is no info for ceo ... i am beyond upset... my bills are due and I don't know where to go ... All they have to do is contact the issuing bank to check the validity and I don't believe they did.. They are trying to save face and not giving me a valid reason why the check is not verifiable.. I did locate one of the ceo's for Varo and Bankcorp and I am in the process of reaching out to each and filing a more formal complaint ... This is the worst banking experience i have ever had and I feel so helpless in terms of what else I can do... they have made it very difficult for me and They need to be investigated .. This is a 401k check.. who the heck is making fraudulent 401k checks in the middle of a health pandemic? they know me as a customer and I have never had any issues with depositing anything not legit.. I am no longer going to bank with them and will be taking advantage of Chase's online banking.. this is so sad...

I filed a dispute when I returned from my business trip to Buffalo, NY. I live in Rochester, NY but I had to travel to Buffalo, NY on M check. Stayed at the NBC seats in June. first to June 5th. When I returned I noticed that the card holder of all my bank cards and credit cards on my desk was not in the spot where I used to keep it. So I went. So I went through it and all the cards were not in alphabetical order. They're either placed, replaced back in their upside down, or backward. And then I logged into my bank accounts to check to see what happened or if any of the cards were used. Yes, this bank card was used with number of other bank cards. So I return everything in my card holder back to the original way I had it canceled. the card and reordered a new card. for every bank, I had in there. Every bank emailed me new cards and the others. banks that were my card were used by me. turn my money after they did. A very thorough investigation. but this bank, by the name of Varro Bank, did a poor investigation. The company that handles the ATM said that no one from that bank has requested video recordings of the days of those transactions. We would have been more than happy to turn them over. So I wrote tomorrow's bank dispute. sent them a letter and then sent them a copy of my photo ID and telling them that they did a very poor investigation. When I filed this complaint I told them and then they found that in their favor. Then I appealed it Then the appeal was taken so long. that I kept calling to find out what was going on. Oh, give it some time. They say to give it some time. This bank is a scam bank They go along with the criminals. They should be shut down or closed down. So therefore they're saying that I was in two places at the same time, which is impossible. I don't drive. I don't have a driver's license. I have to take the bus or an Uber or a Lyft. I am not paying large. the sum of money of $161 from Buffalo to back to Rochester and then back again. That's a one-way trip. But Varo Bank and saying that they did an investigation which the investigation was very poor. and wants to be stupid. So I recommend people to stay away from this online banking and go to real banks..

Per Varo's app and customer service in the app, they are experiencing a technical issue that may affect direct deposit. Thing is it has affected everyone's direct deposit. They will not communicate effectively on the matter which is causing anger and frustration for every card holder. I have "chatted" with multiple customer service representatives and a supervisor and no one can tell me what the technical issue is. Varo advertises that you can receive you check up to 2 days sooner if you bank with them. This is also based off if your financial institution submits your information to the federal reserve in a timely manner. My financial institution submitted our information to the federal reserve on Monday 6/26/2023, before noon. Ideally, if they submit before end of day of the processing day, I will receive my payment on Wednesday if my payday is Friday. I contacted my HR department and funds were sent out and processed and my fellow coworkers have already been paid who bank with other institutions. My problem is, Varo is being very nonchalant about this entire situation instead of taking some kind of action or accountability of the fact that many of their card holders literally live paycheck to paycheck so in return they need to understand why their money is not in their accounts. I understand glitches and other things, but the accountability is ZERO. There is no one out here doing damage control, no one is giving solid reasons for what is really happening, or the fact that they aren't even making it right. It's beyond frustrating.

I can never get a hold of anyone in customer service! The only way to reach someone is throught he app's mobile chat and it is disabled today. My direct deposit is not in my account and I am freaking out. There is no way it should be this difficult to get a hold of anyone. I need to pay my rent and would like to know why my funds are not available to me when they should've of been there since yesterday. I asked other people I know who use this bank and they have not received their deposits either. Can someone please help me?!

I am disabled and my advocate and i found 3 charges in one day and none of them wete approved by myself and tjere is not another matching charge anywhere so i called the companies and i do not have any connection to the companies and was told by all 3 to dispute with varo im on a limited income waiting on disability and my back pay so im glad i didnt do tjis once my large amounts came in. Anyways they said i authotized them and are not returning my money and now my medications are being affectec and i never made any of the 3 or allowed them to be charge. They were definatly approved charges by varo not me. 531 dollars is so much to me im not rich. They shpuld be ashamed. Im gonna keep this going mone is not protected by varo do mot trist them

I kinda liked Varo Bank at first I’ve had it for a few months now but I never really kept much money in but I did have a little in there and was using it to receive direct deposit off the items I sold on Fb marketplace …
I recently received my tax refund on my PayPal account so I decided I would transfer most of it to my varo account and put some up in savings … so I did. I didn’t see any issue with that since they give you the option to link and external bank and transfer funds.. this morning I woke up to an email from Varo saying they are closing my account … no other explanation just that my account was being closed… I AM MAD ! They will not answer my emails or my phone calls after I just transferred a majority of my tax refund to my Account now it’s just in thin air or what where is my money ! I finally received a ln email stating the 11.00 I had in there was would be sent to me by mail as a check… but where is my money I just transferred they won’t Say nothing to me about .. i asked PayPal about it and they said once the transfer it done it’s on the other banks end PayPal can’t do nothing about it… this to me seems scammy and fishy and I will take Varo to court if I don’t find out where my money is. Completely unprofessional!

I had a checking and savings account with Varo Bank and I experienced a close on my account after an unauthorized Varo to Varo transfer occurred. I received an email on 11/29 indicating that I sent a Varo to Varo transfer of $2000 to a person I didn’t know. It occurred while I was at work and didn’t check my email until later. Shortly after on 11/30, I received an email indicating a temporary suspension of my account and then a closing of my account. I contacted Varo on 12/1 and submitted a dispute on the $2000 that was taken from my checking account and they indicated they would conduct an investigation and get back to me on 12/15 with the findings. They refused to transfer the $2,695.39 that was still in my savings and the remaining $353.23 that was still in my checking account to my credit union while they conducted the investigation and said they would mail me a check within 14 days of 12/1. Varo sent an email on 12/14 indicating that they completed the investigation and found no instances of fraud or errors and will not be crediting my account with the stolen $2000. My question is, if there was no fraud present, why did they suspend and close my account abruptly after the transfer was initiated? It is 12/15 and there is still no check for the total of $3,048.62 and my $2000 is still missing.

This app is basically the exact same as the old varo money app, however there’s less to offer now then there used to be. You can no longer mail checks to pay people or even get your own paper checks, which is frustrating because some of my bills haven’t got with the times and I can’t pay online. There used to be a widget which was convenient and that’s gone as well. The varo advance is also much worse if a service then the overdraw protection they used to have in my opinion. You would think an online bank would have the best app since you have to do everything ✨online✨, but the app isn’t any better than other banks. My other bank accounts have a feature to see your card digitally which makes online shopping way easier, it also would have made the transition way easier since we were forced to redo all of our existing subscriptions and what not with the new debit card number. The only saving grace is the interest rate on the savings account, theirs is pretty much unbeatable. However I can’t even use the save your pay feature because everytime I set it up it just resets back to 0%. Overall not a pleasant experience going through the switch and having to use this mediocre app compared to the old one. They really should have had a much better app in place and ready to go so it doesn’t feel like we went backwards. Hopefully they can improve upon it and add some things that make them a truly good experience for an online bank. Because right now you may as well just use a regular one.

I downloaded this app expecting a bank that treats people with mental illness fairly and compassionately. One day after I finally get my first deposit I wake up to an email saying my account had been closed for “a reason they can’t discuss” I explained I’m on SSI and I needed the funds in my account for dental work this week. The miserable customer service person played games with a mentally disabled person saying I would not receive my own money for 3 weeks because they closed the account. Luckily I recorded the conversation from the prior day where they said how happy they were to have me as a customer and that my account was fine. I was forced to file with the ComplaintsBoard.com and retain a pro bono lawyer because no bank has any right to withhold funds that are legally yours, especially when you explain that is all the money you have and are in desperate need of dental work this week. I am sure they could easily have sent my remaining balance overnight but no, they played the fraud game and gave me this nonsense that I have to wait 3 weeks for money that I even offered to show them is legally mine. You’d think I had received a wire transfer from Some third world country, actually came from a legitimate business in LA. Never saw any bank do such illegal activities in my life, especially to a mentally ill person. And we’re talking about $890 not like a million. Stay away from this shady fraud bank. I have to go to court today because I am tired of banks thinking they can steal from the mentally ill. Just take my word and stay far away from these scammers

Varo has a long way to go. I’ve noticed many issues with Varo that make it almost impossible to transfer or withdraw any money.

Varo charges you a fee for using a third party atm, on top of the atm fee. Most banks will refund you the fees, Varo charges you an additional fee. Big Red Flag.

The atms Varo uses, are generally in Target and CVS. These atms usually are out of order, and very inconvenient to get to. Depending on the time, the store may be closed and you have no way to withdraw money, I’ve been in situations where the only atms near me were out of order and I could not get my money out of my account.

The cash back offers are laughable, you can get better cash back from online websites. There’s no flat rate cash back, so kind of pointless having to search through them.

The transfers is borderline criminal. There’s no way to link an account manually with account and routing numbers. I know 0 banks that don’t allow you to do this. Instead, they solely rely on plaid, which rarely ever works and doesn’t have every bank.

I’m unable to link my Varo account to my original bank due to errors, but I can link with my others banks. This seems to be a reoccurring theme with Varo.

The Varo Belive program terms had many errors and conflicting information. Customer Services response to this was extremely lackluster. They didn’t even thank me for letting them know, next time I’ll just inform the CFPB.

Overall, Varo offers less than just about every other bank out there. They make banking difficult, inconvenient and I’d say borderline illegal.

Good luck.

I had two fraudulent/unauthorized transactions take place on my account this week that totaled $2000. Varo responded by disputing the claim and closing my account. I am extremely disturbed.

Full story is below but to sum it up:
The Varo product is seriously flawed. It enabled someone to hack into my account and transfer money to another Varo user. Rather then helping me reverse the fraud, Varo closed my account (implying I was responsible) and went completely silent despite multiple requests for further detail or assistance.

This complete lack of security is troubling from a bank and I would strongly warn anyone against using them.

Full story:

I’ve had Varo since early 2020 and use it for savings. I’ve never taken money out of the account or transferred money to another account.

On 5/26 I noticed two Varo-to-Varo (“V2V”) transactions post to my account totaling $2000, which is also the limit you can transfer. I did not initiate these transfers nor do I know the person the money was transferred to.

I immediately called Varo and filed a claim. Two days later received a response saying that their investigation was complete and they found no error and my account was being irrevocably terminated.

I have had no luck with any follow up support and was told that the only thing to do was to send an email to their support line. So, instead of helping me with the illegal fraud on my account, they permanently closed my account and have refused to deal with the matter.

Anticipating a canned response by Varo here and would ask them to please contact me instead.

A genuine email from this company. I got the card and never used it, so I never even put a single dollar into the account. But these are the people you're dealing with. Basically "We closed your account and we're not telling you why and there's nothing you can do about it maybe we'll send you your remaining balance in the mail maybe not. Regardless, you have no rights." Read the whole thing, especially the last sentence.
"We’re writing to let you know that we’ve closed your Varo Bank Account and, if applicable, your Varo Savings Account. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Please note that the account closure process is final and your account cannot be reopened.

We understand your need to have your funds as soon as possible, and will work quickly to return any unused funds remaining in the Bank Account and Savings Account to you via refund check mailed to the address on the account, or to your legal representative if valid documentation has been reviewed and approved.

Under the terms of the Varo Bank User Agreement (which can be found here), as a result of this closure, you no longer have access to Varo app services.

In accordance with our internal protocols, we can confirm that the account closure was appropriate. We are authorized under the Varo Bank General Terms Agreement (which can be found here) to close your account. Specifically, this Agreement provides that we may terminate any Product Terms, or suspend or terminate any and all of your Varo Products (or your access to any Varo Products), at any time for any reason at our sole discretion. Our customer service team will not have further details regarding the account closure."

Recent updateVaro closed my bank accounts with no warning (not even 24hrs to allow me to move some money to cover bills) and told me my money would be sent in the mail within 4 weeks (past when my monthly bills are due). All because they had to take out a tenth of what I had in my account for taxes. This year was the first time I filed taxes myself, and I payed the incorrect amount by mistake, so there was a minuscule amount still owed and Varo was contacted to take it from my account. As soon as Varo received that notice, they closed my accounts and only notified me after. All because I made an error as a first time tax filer. I understood the terms violation and accepted I would need to find a new bank, but not giving me the respect of giving me time to withdraw my own money to cover bills and telling me they’d mail it within a month was absurd. Turn away. The interest rate isn’t worth the possibility of not having access to your own money at the drop of a hat. *Previous reviewI’ve been a Varo customer for around 2.5 years, and ever since they switched to being an independent banking unit, the service has gone down. Growing pains are expected but it has been a continuous struggle as a Varo customer. I’ve encouraged so many of my friends and family to get a Varo account because I really believed in the bank. However, after months of ridiculously long call wait times, app features like the mobile check deposit going down without any timeframe of when they’ll be fixed given, etc. I’m honestly ready to just go back to a traditional bank. I’ll give it a few more months but the savings interest rate just isn’t good enough to make up for these other hurdles.

October13, 2021- My Varo checking account would not allow me to withdraw $200 from my account via an ATM, the transaction was declined. My balance was $206. When this happened I called ***, *** proceeds to go down the troubleshooting checklist of "what could be" and nothing at all applies to me. So the support person tells me that they are going to have to look into this further and will let me know as soon as possible. Well the days turned into weeks and then into months. I sent email after email, Most of which went ignored. When I wasn't just being blown off the agent did not understand what I was describing to them. September 30,2022 I have been on the phone no less than 1 hour and 30 minutes every day this last week. I have been calling Varo every morning Im told that they have sent this issue to the right department and to give them 24 hours to *** Friday the 30th, I called and spoke to a woman that acted as if she were aware of my situation. I asked if I could please have the balance in my account sent to me via western union, since my account has been reviewed by *** multiple times and they confirmed that my balance is correct. My account has not been Frozen there is ZERO reason for this to be happening. Agent said she approved the western union of my balance but wait until 3pm Friday if the issue wasnt fixed then I would get a *** union no problem. I called back at 3pm, I quickly asked her to look at the notes in my file I told her what the agent said to me and this person was confused because she claimed they do not do this, I asked for a supervisor. 15 MIN later AJ is the Sup. He quickly informs me that there will be no western union i have to wait and there is nothing that can be done. My car was repossessed Oct 1, I was short that $200, I was promised it and I trusted them and now I can't get to work. *** up on me.

On September 17th 2022, I used my Varo Believe Secured Credit Card to make purchases on my phone through Apple. I in no way hold Apple responsible for anything that occurred,. Upon completion of these transactions, I received a notification that the payment was complete and I was granted access to the purchases on my phone. Today, October 18th, 2022 (a month later) I received an email from *** stating that they had to make 5 adjustments of $12.96, putting my card in the negative. Upon speaking to 2 representatives (the first time the call dropped) it was explained to me that although I got notification that the payment was made and I had access to the purchased content the money was never taken to cover 5 of the transactions, so they were manually adjusted today. I asked how a month could go by and MULTIPLE purchases have been made through Apple since and not once in a month was this noticed. The rep stated that the merchant (who apparently is *** in this case, because they are th company the handles Varo Believe cards) has 5 days to request the funds, but they didnt. Upon their transaction reviews *** realized they never received the money and requested it from Varo, who in turn did not bat an eyelash in adjusting my account for a total of $64.80 to recoup the payment (its been a month mind you and they have 5 days to request funds). I asked if a supervisor could interject and make a secondary adjustment, Denied. I asked how a merchant has 5 days but here it is a month later and they did it anyway, no answer. The only answer I was given was a cookie cutter response that it doesnt happen often but when it does we will go in and manually adjust the account to satisfy the merchant. I spend thousands of dollars a month exclusively using this card and no one will bite the bullet at Varo over a mere $65 (that I was under the understanding was already used to pay for the products). The rep then filed a dispute for me and noted my account and hung up.

Feb 7, 2022, 7:56 AM I was finally in need of my savings. I wisely kept it in my varo bank account that i thought was securue later returning home from an unexpected memoral service. On Sept 2nd, 2021, I was finally awarded my unemployment payments. I made sure I secured my cards in my mother's safe. With the impact of losing a loved one, I knew I didn't have to worry about that account. Reviewing bank statements I received when opening mail on the morning of Feb 7th, 2021, I saw the outrageous unauthorized transactions happen in a 30 day window of $10.159.64 of Varo Bank, N.A.Member FDIC account. Without hesitation, I immediately called customer service fraud protection and was informed that everything would be fine. That I was indeed going to be helped. Being in another state for such a long period of time. I then asked whether I should be contacting the police. The money was wiped out of my account within weeks after it was deposited. Not understanding why there wasn't anything about fraud alerts or anything sent to my phone number. The email that was assigned to that account allowed multiple, I mean multiple attempts to change passwords and transfer funds into cash app, a venmo account, and to withdrawal money from ATMS without second authentication. Varo is by far not in the right. You denied my claim. I do not and will not accept that the amount of money being spent with passwords being changed repeatedly is not fraudulent. Where are the limits to suspicious activities. I want my funds and concerns taken seriously. Being in and out of town has been one reason I've been late responseding, but I was sure your investigation wouldn't take longer than 10 days so i thought I was certain I wouldn't have to go worry any further. I do not accept the poor customer service and lack of effort, and i need my money. You have no protection for your account holders. Your conclusion to my fraudulent charges we're to close my account and this will not be acceptable.

Received a debit card in the mail from Varo with a return address of ***. This address I am not even sure is a legit address. I did NOT open up this bank account. Tried calling to speak with an agent, and EVERY option I selected prompted me to enter my entire 9 digit SSN. Shady! I did not enter my SSN obviously. They only give email addresses and have no actual people you can talk with. I am also not downloading an app that will force me to enter my DOB and SSN to verify me. I am LIVID at how unprofessional this company is to have no agents available to answer questions, and how unsafe and risky their process is. I have never heard of any bank that allows random people to open up accounts with no proper identity verification process, no required copy of their SSN card, no copy of mail verifying their address, etc. I emailed them and they replied that my email doesn't have an account associated to it. Obviously, because I did NOT open the account, but only received the debit card that some criminal setup! Since they can't verify me with my email, and there is no person to speak with, I have no option but to file a complaint here as well as a police report. I have the card #, & want to speak to a person that can assist in closing the account immediately, as well as mailing me documentation that the account was actually closed. Also, I am contacting the credit bureaus to put a fraud alert on all 3 accounts. I will not provide my SSN or DOB to Varo as I didn't authorize this account to be opened. I want to know the email of the person who opened an account in my name to report them to the authorities. Posing as me is a crime. They weren't intelligent enough to understand that the debit card would be mailed to the actual address they illegally used. This person needs to be caught and punished and any information other than mine that they stole, needs to be released to me in order for me to provide to the authorities.

On August 10th I went to the *** to withdraw my rent money from my Varo card. I had the money in my checking account for me to withdraw when I went to the *** I tried to withdraw money the first time it was fine it let me pull the $400 out when I tried to withdraw the other $400 it came back and said insufficient funds even though the money was in the account. A month later that *** takes $400 for my account and Varo lets them put my account in the negative $400 without checking that the charges were valid and letting them charge me a month later. On top of that my Varo account does not have overdraft protection therefore whatever charge that they tried to put through should have went back to them as insufficient funds because there was no money in the account for them to take. With no overdraft protection nothing should come out of my account if there's no money in there. Meanwhile I have $35 in my savings account that I can't access unless I transfer it to my checking which is in the negative and that was my gas money to get back and forth to work. Tomorrow is a holiday I can't call off on a holiday or I get fired and I'm due to be there at 9:00 a.m. with no gas in my car and no gas money because they let this *** overdraw my account which shouldn't have ever been able to be overdrawn in the first place. Now they're telling me that I have to wait one business day for them to try to make the account correct. Well one business day is Wednesday morning because they're not open on the weekends and Monday is a holiday and when I talk to the customer service rep they're basically telling me there's nothing they can do. It also has my credit card connected to the account locked because the balance is negative. The customer service rep that I had spoke to you on Friday told me that she filed a paper and I would hear something within 24 hours to make my account correct so that I can pull the money out of my savings and this rep is telling me it's one business day.

I created a new Varo account on [protected].After connecting my current bank account to Varo, I steadily began transferring funds from my current bank accounts to my new Varo account. This included the following:1 checking account transfer on 12-15-2022 3 savings account transfers on 12-12-2022, 12-14-2022 and 12-15-2022.In addition to these I had small amounts deposited via Apple Cash as small payments from a friend.I was in the process of waiting for the new Varo debit card to arrive in the mail, so I wasn't able to make purchases yet.Now, today [protected]) I receive a series of emails telling me my account is being forcefully closed in accordance with *** User Agreement and the *** General Terms Agreement. I've read through both of these agreements and neither of them state any policy that I have violated.The email that was sent to me says, "Based on a review of your account activity we've closed your bank accounts. This is final and cannot be reopened. We've reached the decision to close your account after conducting an objective and detailed analysis of account and transaction history."The email states they will take all of my funds and mail me a check with said funds. However nowhere in the email does it list the policy or reason for closure. I suspect I moved too much money too quickly without making a purchase. The Varo app didn't keep me from transferring said money, however.While I understand your own policy may entitle you to shut down people's accounts on a whim, this is poor business action. The fact the email states ***'s own support line will be of no help, nor is there any way to appeal the in-house baseless decision is asinine.Several thousand dollars may or may not be returned to me based purely on if the *** can manage to deliver the letter? What if the letter is lost in transit? The closure email is not a monitored inbox apparently.I demand an answer for my account closure with more detail than "we felt like it."

This is my second complaint with Varo Bank. He is a statement by the bank.Tennessee Tarrant (Varo Bank)Jan 28, 2022, 3:15 PM MST Hello ***, We are writing to let you know we received the complaint you submitted to the complaintsboard.com. We understand that this has been a frustrating experience for you. Upon further review of your experience, we identified the following:Your Varo Money account was closed on June 28, due to your account migrating to the new Varo Bank system. On June 29, we sent a refund check with your remaining Varo Money account balance of $2,309.37 to your mailing address on file, ***. This refund check was cashed on August 27. On October 12, you called and requested to have your check reissued to a new address and were advised that we are able to update your address once you provide identification and proof of address documents. After you provided the requested documentation and your address was updated, we discovered that your check had already been cashed and therefore would not be reissued. We apologize for the inconvenience of requesting you the identification and proof of address documentation. As a token of our apology, we have issued a credit of $25.00 to your Varo Bank account. On January 25, 2022, we sent you an image of the endorsed check via email at your request. As of January 28, 2022, we have opened an investigation in regards to your report of the check not being received and cashed by you. Please kindly watch for further communication from us and we will advise you of what steps next to take and what information we will neeprocess. Here is another email from last year from Varo Bank. ..Sanya' (Varo Bank)Nov 15, 2021, 6:45 PM MST I also received another email telling me that they concluded the investigation and they were going to reissue the check. That never happened. Now they tell me that in not getting my refund until further notice.

I have waited 8 years to have my SSI and SSDI approved for my disability. I was finally approved in April 2022. In May I Received a partial back pay check in the amount of $2,523.00 on May 19, 2022. On May 25, 2022 I received another payment from the *** Treasury for $841.00 which was my payment for May 2022. I was to receive another payment on June 1, 2022 for my June 2022 SSI payment from the *** Government. On June 2, 2022 my payment had still not been credited into my account. I called *** Treasury and they confirmed that the payment was made on June 1, 2022 in the amount of $841.00 and was accepted and confirmed received by Varo on June 1, 2022. I contacted Varo and was given many excuses as to why that deposit was not in my account including they had not received any payments for me or my account. They stated as soon as it is received they do not hold them they are immediately deposited and made available. I called everyday through the 3rd to Varo and only got excuses and they never received anything from ***Treasury. I once again called the *** Treasury on Monday June 6, 2022 and they gave me the confirmation of varo receipt of the deposit and the tracking number. I called Varo and they said they would have to launch an investigation to "find" my deposit that once again had been received and confirmed by Varo on June 1, 2022. They told me it would take 2 or 3 days to investigate and I would than receive an update via email in 2 to 3 days on their progress. On June 7, 2022 I called again and got nothing but it's being investigated and I would have to wait another 2 or 3 days for an email update on where the missing deposit was. Now this is SSDI payments from the US Government that the bank is fraudulently NOT depositing into my account. I am demanding my deposit in the amount of $841.00 deposited immediately in my account. I will be reporting to FDIC and COC. Comptroller of the Currancy. This is unethical and damaging to people who rely on this payment.