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Banks That Pay Two Days Early

Your direct deposits could hit your account early with these bank accounts.

The ability to receive direct deposits early is an increasingly common benefit among digital banks, with brick-and-mortar banks also beginning to offer this feature. Banks that offer early payday or early direct deposits typically don’t require manually signing up for the service. In most cases, this perk is automatic when you set up direct deposit and doesn’t require a separate enrollment.

28 banks that offer direct deposit up to two days early

Bank accountsEarly direct deposit speedLearn more
Editor’s Pick: SoFi® Checking and SavingsUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Axos ONE accountUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Chase Secure Checking accountUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Chime Checking AccountUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Discover® Bank checking, savings and money market accountsUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Fifth Third Momentum CheckingUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Found business accountUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Lili business bankingUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
One CashUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
PayPal Debit CardUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Varo Bank AccountUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Wealthfront CashUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Wisely prepaid cardUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Cash App CardUp to 2 days earlyGo to site
Ally Spending AccountUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
Axos Bank Essential Checking accountUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
Capital One’s checking accountsUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
Citizens Bank checking, savings and money market accountsUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
Huntington Bank checking accountsUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
LendingClub checking accountsUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
PenFed Credit UnionUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
Regions Bank checking, savings, money market accounts and prepaid Now CardUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
Revolut personal accountUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
Wells Fargo checking and savings accountsUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
Venmo debit cardUp to 2 days earlyRead Review
GO2bankUp to 2 days early, or up to 4 days early for government benefits
Charlie BankingUp to 3 to 5 days early for Social Security

How early direct deposit works

Normally, banks will hold on to your paycheck to process it before releasing the funds to you. But banks that include early direct deposit will deposit your money into your account before they’ve finished processing the funds from the sender, with no extra fees or effort on your part.

In short, early direct deposit allows you to get paid early because the bank provides the funds as soon as the payor gives the deposit information instead of waiting for the transfer to clear.

Typically, you don’t need to enroll in early direct deposit, either. If the bank offers it and you’ve set up direct deposit, it’s almost always an automatic perk without an extra enrollment step.

How long does direct deposit take?

Direct deposit can take one to three days to clear. In nearly all cases, direct deposits don’t go through on weekends or holidays. Instead, the deposit will either be delivered the business day before the weekend or holiday or the following business day.

Do all banks offer early direct deposit?

Surprisingly, many large traditional banks such as Bank of America, PNC Bank and U.S. Bank still don’t offer early direct deposit. Local credit unions tend to lack this perk as well. If a brick-and-mortar bank offers early direct deposit, it may only be available for select accounts. For example, Chase Bank offers early direct deposit only on its Secure Checking account.

You are more likely to find early direct deposit with online banks such as Axos, SoFi and Varo or fintechs like Chime and Current.

Are there any banks that pay three days early?

If you want your pay sooner than two days early, you’re probably out of luck. Nearly all accounts with early direct deposit can only send payroll up to two days early, with a few exceptions like Charlie Banking, which can send Social Security payments three to five days early.

Benefits of early direct deposits

There aren’t really cons to setting up early direct deposit. Here are the main benefits:

  • Early access. When your paycheck lands in your account early, you can access the funds immediately.
  • No fees. Early paycheck arrival doesn’t come with any fees, as it’s a complimentary service for setting up direct deposit.
  • More than paychecks. In addition to getting paychecks early, tax refunds and stimulus payments might also arrive ahead of time.
  • Save a little more. The sooner you can access your money, the quicker you can move some into a savings account to earn interest.
  • No APR. Unlike payday loans and pay advance apps, early direct deposits don’t involve loans of any sort, so there’s never any interest.

3 alternatives to bank accounts offering early direct deposits

If you like the idea of getting paid early but don’t want to switch banks, there are other ways to get early access to your paycheck:

  • Prepaid debit cards. Most prepaid cards, like the Netspend All-Access Account and the Flare Account, offer early direct deposits.
  • Cash management accounts. Cash management accounts, or CMAs, offer a combination of banking and investing services, and some, such as the Wealthfront Cash Account, support early direct deposits.
  • Payday advance apps. Cash advance apps such as Brigit, Dave and EarnIn can help you get your hands on some cash before your payday. But this isn’t a preferred alternative, as they have monthly fees and strict limitations regarding how much money you can access.

Bottom line

Early direct deposits are growing in popularity, and for good reason. This benefit has almost no drawbacks, as it can help you save or spend money on essentials sooner. But if none of these options support your needs, explore other bank accounts.

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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Holly Jennings as part of our fact-checking process.
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Written by

Editor, Banking

Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto. Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt. Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others. Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine. See full bio

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