Porte has a strong checking and savings account with unique features like cash back, a debt management tool, and donations to charities. But you must open a checking account to be eligible for the savings account, and you can still earn better rates with the best high-yield savings accounts.
Overall Bank Rating
| Feature | Personal Finance Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Savings | 4 |
| Checking | 4.25 |
| Trustworthiness | 4 |
| Total: | 4 |
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|
|
Checking
$9.95 monthly service fee
None
None
Pros
Cons
- Free access to 32,000 MoneyPass ATMs
- True Debt Calculator helps you understand and manage your debt
- Choose a charity (AdoptAClassroom.org, American Red Cross, Homes For Our Troops, The Humane Society of the United States, and National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc) and Porte will donate to it by matching a percentage of your purchases
- Earn cash back at select retailers
- Contactless pay through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Tap to Pay
- Turn overdrafts on and off — when on, you'll pay a fee if you overdraft; when off, a purchase that would overdraw will be denied
- FDIC insured through MetaBank
The Porte Account is a checking account with no minimum opening deposit. It does have monthly service fees if you can't meet the direct deposit requirements.
You can turn overdrafts on and off in your app. If the overdraft feature is on, you'll pay a $20 fee when you overdraw. If you turn it off, any transaction that would overdraw your account is denied. This helps you avoid overdraft fees, but you can also opt into overdrafts if you're in a bind and need to make a purchase.
You'll earn cash back at participating retailers with Porte. You can see the businesses in your Porte app, and the offers refresh every 30 to 45 days.
You can also choose a charity to support through Porte. Porte offers several difference charities to choose from. 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.
Savings
no monthly service fee
0.20% to 3.00%
None
Pros
Cons
- Earn 3.00% APY on balances up to $15,000, and 0.20% APY on balances over $15,000
- Interest compounded quarterly, paid quarterly
- FDIC insured through MetaBank
Porte Savings Account pays a high interest rate. You'll earn 3.00% on balances up to $15,000, then 0.50% on higher balances.
The downside is that Porte only compounds interest quarterly, whereas many online banks compound daily. The more often a bank compounds interest, the more you'll earn. However, you'll still earn more at a 0.20% to 3.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) rate compounded less often than with a bank that pays less but compounds more frequently.
How Porte Works
Porte is an online banking platform with a checking and high-yield savings account. To be eligible for the savings account, you must first have a checking account and set up direct deposits into checking.
You can earn cash back, use the True Debt Calculator to track and manage your debt, and earn a high savings APY. Porte matches 0.05% of your purchases and donates that money to charity.
You have free access to 32,000 MoneyPass ATMs nationwide. Porte charges a $2.50 fee when you use an out-of-network ATM, and the ATM provider may charge an additional fee.
The mobile app has 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple store, and 4.7 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store.
Speak to a live customer service representative by calling Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. CT, or weekends from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CT.
Your deposits are FDIC insured for up to $250,000 through Porte's partner bank, Pathward. Porte does not currently offer joint accounts.
Is Porte Trustworthy?
Porte's partner bank is Pathward. The Better Business Bureau gives Pathward an NR rating. The highest possible rating is an A+, and Pathward does not have a rating because it is responding to previously closed complaints.
Neither Porte nor Pathward have any recent public controversies.
How Porte Compares
We've compared Porte to other companies that give money to charity: Amalgamated Bank and Climate First Bank.
Porte vs. Amalgamated Bank
Amalgamated Bank gives to numerous causes. You can read the bank's stances on various social issues on its website. So you may prefer Amalgamated to Porte if you're passionate about gun safety, for example. You can choose from six charities, and Amalgamated will donate the equivalent of half the interest you earn to the cause.
You might like Amalgamated if you want a combination of online and in-person banking. There are branches in California, New York, and Washington, DC.
Amalgamated doesn't have some of the perks Porte offers, though, like cash back, debt management tools, or early direct deposit.
Porte vs. Climate First Bank
Both Porte and Climate First Bank offer checking accounts with charity-related perks. Which one you'll prefer will depend on what method you prefer for giving to charity.
The Porte Account gives a small amount over time, which could add up, especially if it's your main checking account. Climate First Bank Pride Banking and the Climate First Bank Regeneration Checking Account both give a $100 lump sum to charity when you open a new account and meet the qualifications. The Climate First Bank Regeneration Checking Account also gives all the interest you earn in the account to charity, but that means you won't earn that interest.
If you don't want to pay a monthly service fee, you'll likely prefer one of Climate First Bank's accounts. Neither charges monthly service fees, while the Porte Account charges $9.95 monthly service fee in monthly service fees if you don't have at least $1,000 in direct deposits.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Porte
We rate bank accounts on a scale from one to five stars. For Porte's checking and savings accounts, we used Personal Finance Insider's bank account ratings methodology. The exact factors we evaluate vary depending on the type of account — for example, we look at overdraft fees for checking accounts and interest rates for savings accounts.
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.
