Axos Bank Review: A Full Service Banking Experience

Axos Bank is an online bank, but unlike many of its competitors, it’s a full-service bank.

Not only does it provide several interest-bearing deposit accounts, but it also offers no-fee checking accounts, as well as mortgages, auto loans, and personal loans.

If you have a small business, they also provide business and commercial banking. It’s one online bank that can enable you to kiss your local bank goodbye forever.

Let’s take a look at what they have to offer in this Axos Bank review.

Who is Axos Bank?

Axos Bank is a $9.5 billion bank based in San Diego, California. 

It’s an online bank with just three branches including San Diego, Las Vegas, and Columbus, Ohio. Not only does it provide checking and savings accounts, as well as other deposit accounts, but it also offers commercial and small business banking.

The bank was founded in 1999 as The Bank of Internet USA. It is also the owner of Axos Invest, a robo-advisor that provides full investment management free of charge. Late in 2018, Axos Bank acquired 40,000 customers, including $3 billion in deposits, from Nationwide Bank.

Axos Bank Features

Accounts available. Checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit, mortgages, car loans, and personal loans; IRAs; business and commercial banking.

Online Bill Pay. This feature is offered on all checking accounts, enabling you to pay your bills through the Axos Bank dashboard.

Axos Bank Mobile App. Available for download on Google Play for Android devices 5.0 and up, and at the App Store for iOS devices, including iPhone and iPad. Includes mobile check deposit, where you can take photos of the front and back of a check, and upload it to your account from your mobile device.

Customer support. Available by phone, live chat, or email. For personal banking, live support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day being the only days it’s not available.

Account security. All Axos Bank accounts are FDIC insured for up to $250,000 per depositor.

The bank uses the following measures to ensure the security of your account:

• Two-step authentication, where they send a security code to your registered mobile device to access your account.
• 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to ensure your data remains private and secure.
• Anti-virus and malware protection.
• Automatic logout.
• Account monitoring for potential fraud.
• Usernames and passwords are not shared with third parties.

Debit card limits. Cash withdrawal is limited to $510 per day, and point-of-sale transactions, $500 per day. Using a Visa Debit Card, the limits are $1,010 per day for cash withdrawals and $2,500 per day for point-of-sale transactions.

Axos Bank Deposit Accounts

The Bank offers several checking accounts, as well as high-yield savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs).

Axos Bank Checking Accounts

Axos Bank offers its customers no fewer than five checking accounts, each with its own specializations:

1. Axos Bank Essential Checking

This is a truly free checking account. Not only does it not require monthly maintenance fees, but there are also no overdraft or non-sufficient funds fees. There is no minimum account balance required, and it comes with unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements for fees charged by other banks ATM’s.

2. Axos Bank Rewards Checking

Rewards Checking is an interest-bearing checking account, with tiered rates that are determined by the activity in your account. It pays up to 1.25% APY, based on the following criteria:

1. Earn 0.40% APY if you receive direct deposits totaling $1,500 or more.

2. Earn 0.30% if you use your Axos Visa Debit Card for a total of 10 transactions per month (min $3 per transaction) or sign up for PFM.

3. Earn 0.20% if you maintain an average daily balance of $2,500 per month in an SDT account.

4. Earn 0.20% if you maintain an average daily balance of $2,500 per month in an MP account.

5. Earn 0.15% if you use your Rewards Checking account to make your full monthly Axos bank consumer loan payment.

   = 1.25% APY.

Rewards Checking pays you higher rates based not on the size of your account, but the activity in it.

It also comes with no monthly maintenance fees, or overdraft or non-sufficient funds fees. There are unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements. And though there is a $50 minimum initial deposit, there is no ongoing minimum balance requirement.

3. Axos Bank First Checking

This checking account is designed specifically for teenagers, between the ages of 13 and 17. It’s a no-fee checking account, that’s a joint account between you and your minor child. It earns 0.10% APY, and like other Axos Bank checking accounts, it comes with no maintenance, overdraft or non-sufficient funds fees. A minimum of $50 is required to open the account.

To keep your teenager from getting carried away, the account does come with transaction limits. That includes $100 per day in cash and $500 per day on the attached debit card.

4. Axos Bank CashBack Checking

Imagine earning cashback rewards for transactions made through your checking account? Only a few banks offer this benefit, and Axos Bank is one of them. You can earn up to 1% cashback on all transactions involving signature-based purchases. You can earn as much as $2,000 per month in cashback rewards. That’s $2,000 per month in cashback rewards, not 1% of $2,000 in spending. Are you imagining the possibilities here?

The account also has unlimited check writing privileges and unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements. There are also no monthly fees.

Though only $50 is required to open the account, to earn the full 1% cashback, you must maintain a minimum average daily collected balance of $1,500. If you don’t maintain that minimum, the cashback rewards rate drops to 0.50%, which is still not a bad deal.

5. Axos Bank Golden Checking

This is the Axos Bank checking account for customers age 55 and older. It pays 0.10% APY on all balances and requires no minimum monthly balance level. There are no overdraft or insufficient funds fees, and you can be reimbursed for up to $8 per month in domestic ATM fees. The account requires a minimum of $250 to open.

Axos High Yield Savings Account

The High Yield Savings Account is currently paying a rate of up to 0.61% APY for balances under $25,000, offers 0.25% APY for balances between $25,000 to $99,999.99, and then 0.15% for balances greater than $100,000. It requires no minimum balance to open the account. The rate may not be as high as some other online banks, but it’s worth remembering that Axos Bank is a full-service bank, offering virtually all banking services. It’s also many times higher than what’s being offered by the vast majority of local banks.

There are no monthly maintenance fees, and no minimum balance requirements once the account is open. You can also get a free ATM card on request.

Axos High Yield Money Market

The money market account pays 0.25% APY. It requires a minimum of $1,000 to open the account, but there is no ongoing minimum balance requirement. The account comes with check writing privileges and debit card access and has no monthly maintenance fees.

Axos IRA Savings Account And IRA CDs

Axos Bank offers IRA versions of its savings account and CDs. But the returns on these instruments are admittedly disappointing. For example, the IRA Savings Account is currently paying just 0.15% APY on balances below $1,000, and only 0.70% APY on higher balances. It requires a minimum opening deposit of $250.

The Axos Bank IRA CD pays 0.75% APY with a 36-month term and has a required minimum investment of $1,000.

Axos Certificates Of Deposit (CDs)

Axos Bank offers several different CDs with progressively higher rates based on longer terms. Each requires a minimum of $1,000 to open and requires no fees. Terms range from three months to 60 months, with interest compounding daily. CDs will be automatically be renewed with a 10-day grace period.

Interest rates on Axos Bank CDs as of June 7th, 2019, are as follows:

Early withdrawal penalties on Axos Bank CDs are as follows:

• CD term of three through five months, 1 ½ months loss of interest.
• Six months through 11 months, three months’ loss of interest.
• 12 months through 23 months, six months’ loss of interest.
• 24 months through 35 months, 12 months loss of interest.
• 36 months through 47 months, 18 months loss of interest.
• 48 months or greater, 24 months loss of interest.

Axos Bank Fees

Axos Bank doesn’t charge maintenance fees, overdraft fees, or non-sufficient funds fees on any of their accounts. However, there are fees charged for less typical transactions, including:

• Visa Debit Card foreign currency conversion rate: 1%
• IRA closing or transfer fee: $35
• Domestic wire fees: free for incoming and outgoing
• International wire fees: free for incoming, $45 for outgoing
• Deposited checks returned: $10
• Excess transaction or withdrawal fee: $10
• Stop payment fee: $10 if requested online, $35 with live assistance

Axos Bank Lending

Axos Bank offers mortgages, personal loans, and auto loans.

Mortgage Loans

Axos Bank provides conventional mortgages, FHA/VA loans, Jumbo and super-jumbo loans, non-conforming loans. They also provide financing for investment properties with five or more units, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit (HELOCs).

Axos Bank charges a lender fee of $995, which can be waived or reduced for the following:

1. You have an Axos Bank checking account during the loan application process, AND
2. The new mortgage is $250,000 or more, OR
3. If the new mortgage loan is less than $250,000, the fee will be reduced by $200 if you open a new checking account during the loan application process.

Personal Loans

You can get an unsecured personal loan with the following terms:

• Loan amounts from $5,000 to $35,000.
• Terms of 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months.
• Funding within two days of acceptance of the final loan offer, with funds deposited directly into your checking or savings account.
• Make a preliminary application without affecting your credit score.
• No prepayment penalties.

Auto Loans

Auto loans are available for either purchase or refinance, in amounts ranging from $10,000 to $90,000. Terms are up to 84 months and there are no prepayment penalties. Auto loan decisions are typically made within 24 hours. The bank is currently advertising auto loan rates as low as 4.45% APR.

Axos Bank Business Banking

Business and commercial banking are two of the qualities that make Axos Bank unique among online banks. It’s a perfect arrangement if you’re self-employed, and need business banking services, in addition to personal banking.

Small business banking offers checking, money markets, savings accounts, and CDs. Commercial banking comes with analyze business checking, treasury management, third-party payment processors, and merchant services, among other services. Axos Bank also offers commercial lines of credit, commercial term loans, equipment financing, factoring, commercial real estate and bridge loans, and lender finance arrangements.

How To Open An Account With Axos

The Axos Bank application process takes place entirely online. To start, you’ll need to supply your name, email address, and mobile phone number, and then create a username and password. To be eligible to apply, the following is required:

• You must be at least 18 years old
• You must supply a valid Social Security number
• A valid form of ID, typically either a US-issued driver’s license or state ID
• A valid US address (a P.O. Box is in an eligible address)
• You must be a US citizen or resident alien

Axos Bank Pros And Cons

Pros:

• Axos Bank is a full-service online bank, offering not only deposit products but also a full range of banking services, even enabling you to sever your relationship with your local bank.
• The bank offers mortgages, personal loans, and auto loans, as well as small business and commercial banking.
• Checking accounts offer paper checks, which are fast disappearing with online banks.
• Checking accounts come with no maintenance, overdraft, or non-sufficient funds fees.
• The UFB Direct High Yield Savings Account is currently paying a great rate (with a $10,000 balance)
• You can earn up to $2,000 per month in cashback with the Axos Bank Cash Back Checking Account for signature debit card purchases.

Cons:

• The rate being paid on the High Yield Savings Account is lower than what is being offered on savings accounts by competing online banks. If you have over $10,000, however, you can get a much higher rate from UFB Direct from Axos.
• You have to meet three conditions to get the full rate on Essential Checking.
• The interest paid on Axos Bank IRA savings and CDs isn’t competitive.
• Axos Bank does not offer credit cards.

Should You Open an Account with Axos Bank?

Axos Bank is almost unusual among online banks, in that it offers nearly all banking services. That includes various types of loans and business banking services, in addition to the usual lineup of checking and deposit accounts. In fact, they offer enough services that you may be able to end your banking relationship with your current brick-and-mortar bank.

Their checking accounts are particularly attractive. Though not all pay interest, none charge any ongoing fees. And they also offer paper checks, which is fairly unusual for online banks.

Perhaps most interesting among the checking accounts offered is the Cash Back Checking Account. It may be worth opening this account alone, even if you don’t use any of the other services offered by the bank. You can earn 1% cashback on signature purchases using your debit card of up to $2,000 per month. In theory, at least, you can earn up to $24,000 per year using this account.

But Axos Bank may be of special interest to you if you’re self-employed. Since they offer both business and commercial services, it’s an opportunity to run your business and personal banking through the same institution. It’s another combination that makes Axos Bank unique among online banks.

If you’d like more information, or if you’d like to open an account, check out the Axos Bank website.