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Note: Due to issues with its banking service provider, Juno isn't currently letting people create new accounts. As of May 15, 2024, it also stopped offering interest and cash back on its accounts.
The Juno Basic Checking Account is a solid non-traditional checking option with no minimum opening deposit and no monthly service fee. But it recently stopped offering interest and cash back on its accounts, so if this is a priority for you, the best high-yield checking accounts are a better fit.
Pros and Cons
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About Juno
Juno is a digital banking platform that was previously known as OnJuno. It is currently going through disruptions due to issues between its partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust, and Synapse.
Juno has two types of checking accounts. Juno Basic Checking Account is its free version, and Juno Metal Checking Account is its premium version that you must maintain a qualifying direct deposit of $250 per month for.
Juno does not provide joint checking accounts.
You can use 85,000 Allpoint and MoneyPass ATMs nationwide for free. Juno doesn't charge you for using an out-of-network ATM, but the ATM provider might. In this case, Juno refunds one fee per month on a Basic account and three per month for a Metal account.
There are no overdraft fees, but you also don't have the option to overdraw. If a purchase would overdraw your account, Juno denies the transaction.
Juno does not have a phone line for customer support. It lists that its customer support is available through a live chat from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT every day. However, when we reached out to Juno, we found that it took over three hours to get in touch with a customer service representative through its live chat feature. This delay might be related to Juno's recent issues, and it might respond faster to customers, but it's important to keep in mind that there might be significant delays when trying to reach out to a customer service representative.
Your deposits are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000 through Juno's partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust.
Is Juno Trustworthy?
The Better Business Bureau gives Juno's partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust, an A rating. The BBB measures trustworthiness by assessing a company's responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency about business practices. The BBB gives Evolve Bank & Trust an A due to government action against the bank.
In 2022, the U.S. Justice Department announced that Evolve Bank & Trust would pay $1.3 million in a settlement to reimburse borrowers. According to the allegations, the bank engaged in discrimination based on sex, race, and national origin when reviewing mortgage applications between 2014 and 2019.
In addition, starting May 2024, Juno started experiencing disruptions due to Evolve Bank & Trust freezing customer's accounts. This is because Evolve's partner company, Synapse, recently filed for bankruptcy. Customers have been unable to receive direct deposits, initiate ACH transfers, and withdraw money from ATMs, among other issues.
Juno Checking Accounts
no monthly service fee
None
$0
- No minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fees
- Virtual debit card and access to Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay
- No out-of-network ATM fees
- Refunds 1 fee charged by an out-of-network ATM provider per month
- No overdraft fees
- No option to overdraw
- No joint accounts
- 85,000 free ATMs nationwide
- Can also buy and sell cryptocurrency through Juno
- FDIC insured through partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust
Juno Basic Checking Account has no minimum opening deposit or monthly maintenance fees, and the account lets you buy and sell crypto. You can also deposit and withdraw crypto into and from your account.
Recently, Juno announced that it was facing difficulties with its partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust. Evolve Bank & Trust started freezing bank accounts after its financial technology partner, Synapse, filed for bankruptcy. Since Juno used Evolve Bank & Trust as its bank, that means that Juno's customers also experienced disruptions to adding or removing money from their Juno accounts.
Alongside this disruption, Juno announced that, going forward, its accounts would not earn interest and its debit card would no longer offer cash-back starting May 15, 2024. Juno is not currently allowing new customers to make Juno accounts, and it's unclear what form those accounts will take in the future.
no monthly service fee
None
$0
- Virtual debit card, physical debit card, and access to Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay
- No out-of-network ATM fees
- Refunds 3 fees charged by out-of-network ATM providers per month
- No overdraft fees
- No option to overdraw
- No joint accounts
- 85,000 free ATMs nationwide
- Must have a qualifying direct deposit of $100 or more per month to be eligible for a Juno Metal Card
- Can also buy and sell cryptocurrency through Juno
- FDIC insured through partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust
Due to the recent disruptions and changes to Juno accounts, it's unclear what the future of the Juno Metal Checking Account is. Currently, the website states that you will receive more refunds for any out-of-network ATM fees with the Metal account than with the Basic account; three per month for the Metal account, and one per month for the Basic account. You'll also receive a debit card made out of metal if you qualify for the Metal account.
The downside is that Juno Metal Checking Account requires that you maintain a qualifying direct deposit of $100 or more per month to stay with the metal account status.
How Juno Compares
Juno Review vs. Robinhood Cash Card Review
Juno and Robinhood are similar, in that they are investing and cryptocurrency apps with banking features. The Robinhood Cash Card is a prepaid debit card that, like Juno, doesn't let you earn interest. However, unlike Juno, the Robinhood Cash Card does have cash-back through its Cash Card Offers. It also offers other spending-based tools, such as round-ups. Round-ups let you round up each of your purchases, putting the extra money towards cryptocurrency, stocks, or ETFs of your choice.
Juno has the edge if you're looking for banks that avoid ATM fees, though. Both Juno and Robinhood have large national ATM networks, Juno provides refunds on one to three out-of-network ATM transactions per month, depending on your plan. The Robinhood Cash Card does not offer any out-of-network ATM fee refunds.
Juno Review vs. Porte Review
You may prefer Porte if you want to open both a checking and savings account. Porte doesn't pay interest on checking balances, but it does pay 0.20% to 3.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on savings. Porte offers good cash back perks, but the offers change every 30 to 45 days.
Porte is a good option if you want to support a charity, though. Select to help the Humane Society of the United States, Save the Children, or GLAAD (an LGTBQ+ advocacy group). Supporting a charity won't cost you anything. Porte matches 0.05% of every purchase you make and gives that money to the organization. You can track how much has gone to the cause in your app.
If you want an account that lets you connect to cryptocurrency, Juno might be a better choice for you. Juno lets you buy and sell crypto from your account. It also lets you deposit crypto directly into your account, and withdraw crypto from your account.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Juno
At Business Insider, we use our bank account methodology guidelines to review all banking products, including checking accounts. When reviewing checking accounts, we consider an account's ethics, security, miscellaneous features, minimum opening deposit, monthly service fees, overdraft protection, ATM fees, customer support, and mobile app ratings when we're rating.
We assign each category a rating between 0 and 5, and star ratings can be anywhere from one to five stars. We use a weighted average to get our star rating, which means we weigh certain features, like interest rates and fees, at a higher weight percentage than others. We understand that these areas can more heavily impact a person's overall banking experience.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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