Five Neobanks We Actually Trust With Cash

Post-Synapse, 'FDIC insured' on a neobank homepage requires more scrutiny — these five pass the verification test.

The Synapse Financial Technologies bankruptcy of April 2024 froze customer funds at roughly a dozen fintech apps and exposed the fragility of the BaaS middleware model. It should not have been a surprise — the model always had a reconciliation risk that the industry had papered over with 'FDIC insured' marketing.

Here are five neobanks that pass a more rigorous standard.

SoFi Bank, N.A. Received a national bank charter from the OCC in January 2022. SoFi deposits are directly FDIC-insured — no middleware, no pass-through ambiguity. The regulatory relationship is between SoFi Bank and the FDIC. This is the most important distinction.

Varo Bank. Received a bank charter in 2020, making it one of the first fintech-founded entities to obtain a full bank charter in the current generation. Deposits are directly FDIC-insured. The bank structure is transparent.

LendingClub Bank. Acquired Radius Bank in 2021, giving it a bank charter. LendingClub High-Yield Savings is directly FDIC-insured.

Ally Bank. Ally Bank, N.A. holds a national bank charter and is directly FDIC-insured. It is an online bank rather than a neobank in the technical sense, but it is worth including given its competitive rates and the confusion that exists.

Wealthfront Cash Account. Wealthfront uses a pass-through model but names its partner banks explicitly (Wells Fargo, Citi, East West Bank, others) and maintains its own sub-ledger independently. The company updated its customer disclosures after Synapse, making the deposit-routing structure clearer. Rates are competitive at 5.00%+ as of May 2026.

Notably absent: any neobank that uses a BaaS middleware platform without naming its partner banks explicitly.