Here you can find out how to meet the Direct Deposit Requirements to earn bonuses and promotions from new bank accounts.
While there are banks promotions that do not require direct deposit, larger bonuses often require direct deposit.
Banks and Credit Unions use cash bonuses to lure in customers in hopes of keeping them long term. By requiring a direct deposit, which is defined as an “electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government“, they hope to keep you locked in.
While it is very simple to meet this requirement by switching an existing direct deposit to the new account, some people do not have the luxury of receiving direct deposit or government benefits.
Thus we compiled a list of alternatives to meet Direct Deposit Requirements.
When you are able to meet the Direct Deposit Requirements, you are on your way to earn bonuses, waive monthly service fees, and earn higher rates.
Table of Contents
- 1 Best Alternatives To Trigger A Direct Deposit For Bank Accounts
- 2 Meeting Direct Deposit Requirements For Specific Banks
- 3 What Banks Count As Direct Deposits
- 3.1 1st Source Bank
- 3.2 3Rivers Federal Credit Union
- 3.3 Adventure Credit Union
- 3.4 Amalgamated Bank
- 3.5 American Express Bluebird
- 3.6 American Express Serve
- 3.7 Ameris Bank
- 3.8 Anchor Bank
- 3.9 Andigo Credit Union
- 3.10 Aspiration
- 3.11 Associated Bank
- 3.12 Avidia Bank
- 3.13 Bank & Trust
- 3.14 Bank of America
- 3.15 Bank of New York
- 3.16 Bank of the West
- 3.17 BankWell
- 3.18 BB&T
- 3.19 BBVA
- 3.20 Blue Federal Credit Union
- 3.21 Blue Hills Bank
- 3.22 BMI Federal Credit Union
- 3.23 BMO Harris Bank
- 3.24 BOK Financial
- 3.25 Bridgeview Bank Group
- 3.26 Camden National Bank
- 3.27 Capital Bank
- 3.28 Capital One
- 3.29 Capital One 360
- 3.30 Charles Schwab
- 3.31 Charter One
- 3.32 Chase
- 3.33 Chime
- 3.34 CIBC US
- 3.35 Citibank
- 3.36 Citizens Bank
- 3.37 Clearview Federal Credit Union
- 3.38 Columbia Bank
- 3.39 Columbia Bank
- 3.40 Commerce Bank
- 3.41 Compass Bank
- 3.42 Connexus Credit Union
- 3.43 Consumers Credit Union
- 3.44 Credit Union One
- 3.45 Discover Bank
- 3.46 Dollar Bank
- 3.47 Elements Financial
- 3.48 E*Trade
- 3.49 Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union
- 3.50 Fifth Third Bank
- 3.51 First American Bank
- 3.52 FirstBank
- 3.53 Firstmark Credit Union
- 3.54 First Merchants Bank
- 3.55 First National Bank
- 3.56 First National Bank
- 3.57 First Niagara Bank
- 3.58 First Tennessee Bank
- 3.59 First Trade Union Bank
- 3.60 First United Bank
- 3.61 Five Star Bank
- 3.62 Florence Bank
- 3.63 Flushing Bank
- 3.64 Fulton Bank
- 3.65 GoBank
- 3.66 Great Lakes Credit Union
- 3.67 Hancock Whitney
- 3.68 HomeStreet Bank
- 3.69 Horizon Bank
- 3.70 Huntington Bank
- 3.71 IC Federal Credit Union
- 3.72 Incredible Bank
- 3.73 Investor Bank
- 3.74 JSC Federal Credit Union
- 3.75 Key Bank
- 3.76 Lake Michigan Credit Union
- 3.77 LegacyTexas
- 3.78 Liberty Bank
- 3.79 Mango
- 3.80 M&T Bank
- 3.81 MB Financial Bank
- 3.82 Memory Bank
- 3.83 MidFirst Bank
- 3.84 My Banking Direct
- 3.85 Nationwide Bank
- 3.86 NorthWest Savings Bank
- 3.87 NuVision Federal Credit Union
- 3.88 NYCB Family Of Banks
- 3.89 Old Missouri Bank
- 3.90 Old National Bank
- 3.91 Old Second Bank
- 3.92 OneWest Bank
- 3.93 PNC
- 3.94 PeoplesBank
- 3.95 People’s United Bank
- 3.96 Pinnacle Titans Bank
- 3.97 Popular Community Bank
- 3.98 Presidential Bank
- 3.99 Principal Bank
- 3.100 Regions Bank
- 3.101 Salem Bank
- 3.102 Salem Five
- 3.103 Santander Bank
- 3.104 Sandy Spring Bank
- 3.105 SchoolsFirst FCU
- 3.106 Seacoast Bank
- 3.107 Security Service Federal Credit Union
- 3.108 Stoneham Bank
- 3.109 SunTrust
- 3.110 Synovus Bank
- 3.111 Talmer Bank & Trust
- 3.112 TCF Bank
- 3.113 TD Bank
- 3.114 Tech CU
- 3.115 Thrivent Federal Credit Union
- 3.116 TIAA Direct
- 3.117 Town Bank
- 3.118 TruMark Financial
- 3.119 TruStone Financial
- 3.120 TruWest Credit Union
- 3.121 Unify Financial Credit Union
- 3.122 Union Bank & Trust
- 3.123 USAA
- 3.124 US Bank
- 3.125 Valley National Bank
- 3.126 VantageWest
- 3.127 Varo Money
- 3.128 Vista Bank
- 3.129 Wells Fargo
- 3.130 Wesbanco
Best Alternatives To Trigger A Direct Deposit For Bank Accounts
*It is important to know that your experience may end up entirely differently than someone else. In fact, one singular method is NOT guaranteed to work for everyone. Thus we ask that you leave a comment below letting us know about your experience.
- ACH Transfers: Most if not all bank accounts have Automated Clearing House (ACH) Transfers which is a free way to transfer money between financial institutions. You’ll find this method to be the most popular, usually within 2 business days, to do an ACH transfers to meet direct deposit requirement.
- Capital One 360 Online Checking: This Online Checking account allows you to make ACH Transfers and Person2Person payments (a way to send money to anyone using your email – much like Chase Quickpay). This is also a very popular alternative because you are able to manage your money from anywhere and you avoid traditional hassles such as monthly service fees. Furthermore, you can earn up to $1,000 a year referring new members. Find out more about the Capital One 360 Bonus here.
- Paypal: You will find limited success with this method but you simply link your new bank account to your Paypal and transfer the balance requirement from Paypal to the account.
Tips Before You Get Started:
- Because there is no guarantee that no single method will work for you, we recommend trying a combination of the options above.
- If you plan on applying for several promotions, it is best to have all the options set up first.
- There are is no risk for additional fees because you are transferring your own money across multiple banks.
Meeting Direct Deposit Requirements For Specific Banks
Based on the reported experiences of the many consumers online from sites such as FicoForums, Slickdeals, CreditBoards, Flyertalk, etc, we’ll put together the most extensive list of Banks (alphabetically) on alternative method of direct deposit to trigger a bank bonus.
*However, this information is constantly changing, and there is no guarantee these other methods to meet Direct Deposit Requirements will work.
What Banks Count As Direct Deposits
Disclaimer: We make no promise the information below is 100% correct since banks can change what count as direct deposit often.
If a bank/financial institution’s name is listed, that means using ACH through them was reported as successful.
Bank | Reportedly Triggers Direct Deposit | Doesn't Trigger Direct Deposit |
---|---|---|
1st Source Bank | Charles Schwab, Chase | |
3Rivers Federal Credit Union | Keybank | |
Adventure Credit Union | Capital One 360 | |
Amalgamated Bank | BMO Harris | |
American Express Bluebird | Amazon Payment | |
American Express Serve | Ally, Paypal, CapitalOne 360, Santander ACH push | |
Ameris Bank | Chase | |
Anchor Bank | Discover ACH | |
Andigo Credit Union | Amex Bluebird, Charles Schwab brokerage, Fidelity | Capital One |
Aspiration | Amex Serve | |
Associated Bank | Ally, PNC ACH | |
Avidia Bank | Capital One 360 ACH | |
Bank & Trust | Alliant, Ally, American Express Serve, Capital One, Charles Schwab Checking, Chase | |
Bank of America | Amex Serve, Baxter Credit Union, Connexus, Emigrant, E*Trade, PurePoint Financial, Robinhood, Sofi | Ally, Amazon, Bluebird, Capital One, Chase, Charles Schwab, Discover, Fidelity, HSBC, Paypal, PurePoint Financial, Vanguard |
Bank of New York | HSBC | |
Bank of the West | BMO Harris, Capital One 360, Discover, Emigrant, Paypal, Schwab, USAA, Venmo | |
BankWell | Charles Schwab | |
BB&T | Ally, Charles Schwab Brokeage | PayPal, PNC |
BBVA | Capital One 360, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, First Tech Federal Credit Union, Merrill Edge, Paypal, Provident Credit Union, TD Ameritrade | Ally, Chase, Robinhood |
Blue Federal Credit Union | BMO Harris | |
Blue Hills Bank | Discover Checking | Discover Savings |
BMI Federal Credit Union | Amex Bluebird | |
BMO Harris Bank | Ally, Chase Biz Checking, Discover, Robinhood, Schwab, UFCU | Ally, Amex Bluebird, Amex Serve, Capital One 360, Charles Shawab, Fidelity, JP Morgan, Paypal, Taxes, USAA, Vanguard |
BOK Financial | Capital One 360, Chase, Charles Schwab | |
Bridgeview Bank Group | Ally, Gusto | Charles Schwab, Capital One 360 |
Camden National Bank | Capital One | |
Capital Bank | Alliant, Ally, Capital One, Charles Schwab, Chase, Discover, Fidelity, Paypal | Charles Schwab, Chase |
Capital One | Capital One 360 | |
Capital One 360 | Alliant, Ally, Charles Schwab, Clearview, E*Trade, Fidelity, Fifth Third Bank, First Tennessee, Goldman Sachs, PNC, Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, Vanguard | Ally, Chase, Discover, Elements, Santander, Stripe, TIAA Direct, Wells Fargo, USAA |
Charles Schwab | Wells Fargo Business | |
Charter One | Capital One 360 | |
Chase | Acorns, AirBnB, Amazon Payments, American Express Redcard, Ameritrade, BeFrugal, Barclays, CardCash, Cash app, CBC Federal Credit Union, CCUIL, Chime, Chrome River, Circle Pay, CIT Bank, Connexus FCU, Consumers Credit Union, Discover Savings, DoorDash, Dosh, Dwolla, Elements, E*Trade, Fidelity EFT, First Green Bank, First Technology Credit Union, Freshbooks WePay, Goldman Sachs, Google Adsense, Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union, Gusto, Keesler Federal, MarketForce Payroll, Merrill Edge, M1Finance, Motif Investing, Mountain America Credit Union, M&T Bank, M1 Finance, Northern Bank, Payooner, Poshmark, Provident Credit Union, SchoolFirst, Santander, Standford FCU, TD Ameritrade Tech Credit Union, T-Mobile Money, Transferwise, Uber, University Federal Credit Union, Upwork, Vanguard Brokerage, Wealthfront, Wisebanyan | Alliant, Ally, American Express Savings, Apply Pay Cash, Barclay Savings, Bank of America, Boeing Employees Credit Union, Capital One, Capital One 360, Cardcash, Charlies Schwab, Citi ACH, DoorDash, Discover, FNBO, Hancock Whitney, Investor Bank, IRS, Keybank, Marcus Bank, NFCU, Paypal, PNC, Quorum FCU, Raise, Santander, Square Cash.me, Tax refund, TD Ameritrade, TD Bank, Thrivent, U.S. Bank, USAA, VantageWest, Venmo, Wells Fargo |
Chime | American Express Serve, Charles Schwab, Chase, Circle Pay, Discover, Wells Fargo, USAA | |
CIBC US | Venmo | |
Citibank | Amazon Payment, Chase, Discover, Emigrant Direct, Fidelity, INGdirect, Paypal | Barclays, Google Pay, Paypal, Schwab, TD Ameritrade, USAA |
Citizens Bank | ACH, Alliant, Ally, Amex Savings, Bank of Guam, Capital One 360, CardCash, Charles Schwab, Chase, Discover, Fidelity, Huntington Bank, IRS refund, Paypal, Santander, TD Bank, Topcashback, Wells Fargo, Vanguard, Venmo | Capital One 360 |
Clearview Federal Credit Union | Discover Trial Deposits | |
Columbia Bank(NJ) | Capital One 360, Chase, Citizens Bank, Discover, Fidelity, Robinhood, TD Bank, Vanguard, & Venmo | |
Columbia Bank(WA, OR, ID) | Chase | |
Commerce Bank(MA) | Paypal, ING | |
Compass Bank | Capital One 360 | |
Connexus Credit Union | Ally, BMO Harris | |
Consumers Credit Union | BMO Harris, Chase, NFCU | |
Credit Union One | Chase, Discover, PayPal | |
Discover Bank | Ally, Amazon Seller Disbursements, Bank of America Business ACH, Capital One 360, Fidelity, Paypal, Serve, TD Ameritrade | |
Dollar Bank | Wells Fargo | |
Elements Financial | Alliant, Ally, American Express Serve, Capital One 360, Discover, Goldman Sachs savings, Incredible Bank, Vanguard, Wealthfront, Wells Fargo | Charles Schwab |
E*Trade | Capital One 360 | |
Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union | Alliant, Initial CC Funding, Chase, Wells Fargo | |
Fifth Third Bank | Ally, American Express Serve, Bank of America, Capital One 360, Chase, Chase business, Citizens, Discover, Huntington, PayPal, Serve, USAA | Alliant, Huntington Bank, PNC |
First American Bank | MyPay | |
FirstBank | American Express Serve, First Tech Federal Credit Union, TD Ameritrade | Capital One 360 |
Firstmark Credit Union | ACH, Alliant, Ally | |
First Merchants Bank | Ally, Amex Bluebird, Goldman Sachs | |
First National Bank(FNB) | Chase | |
First National Bank(NE) | Charles Schwab Trial Deposits | |
First Niagara Bank | Alliant, Ally, AmEx Savings, Bank of America, Capital One, Capital One, Charlese Schwab, 360, Chase, Discover, HSBC, Paypal, State Farm | |
First Tennessee Bank | ACH, Alliant, Capital One, Capital One 360, Capital One Savings, Charles Schwab, Discover, First Citizens Bank, Paypal, Santander, Schwab Brokerage, USAA, Wells Fargo, Venmo | Ally, Chase |
First Trade Union Bank(FTUB) | Capital One 360 | Ally, Chase |
First United Bank | KickFurther | |
Five Star Bank | Wells Fargo | |
Florence Bank | Wells Fargo | |
Flushing Bank | Amex Serve, Charles Schwab | |
Fulton Bank | Capital One 360, Citi, Discover, Huntington, Wells Fargo | |
GoBank | Alliant, BMO Harris, Chase | |
Great Lakes Credit Union | ACH, Chase | |
Hancock Whitney | Chase | |
HomeStreet Bank | Citibank, Paypal, Provident Credit Union | |
Horizon Bank | Chase | |
Huntington Bank | ACH Transfers, Alliant, Ally, Amazon Payment, Amex BlueBird, Capital One, Chase, PNC | |
IC Federal Credit Union | Santander | |
Incredible Bank | Charles Schwab, Chase, Wells Fargo | |
Investor Bank | Charles Schwab, Fidelity | Ally |
JSC Federal Credit Union | Fidelity | |
Key Bank | Alliant, Amex Serve, Capital One 360, Chase, Discover, E*Trade, NFCU, Oregon Community Credit Union, Paypal, Santander, Stripe Transfer, TD Ameritrade, USAA, Wells Fargo, Venmo | Ally, Charles Schwab |
Lake Michigan Credit Union | ACH | |
LegacyTexas | Capital One 360 | |
Liberty Bank(CT, MA, RI) | Chase | |
Mango | Alliant, Amazon Payments, Bluebird, Capital One 360, Fidelity, PayPal | |
M&T Bank | ACH trial deposits, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, HSBC, Paypal, Paypal, PNC | |
MB Financial Bank | Capital One, Fidelity | |
Memory Bank | Discover | |
MidFirst Bank | Ally | |
My Banking Direct | Capital One 360, Schwab Brokerage | |
Nationwide Bank | American Express Serve, Capital One 360, Fidelity, Paypal | Ally |
NorthWest Savings Bank | ACH, Ally, Capital One, Discover, Paypal, PNC, Schwab, USAA | |
NuVision Federal Credit Union | Amazon Payments, Ameritrade, Schwab Brokerage | |
NYCB Family Of Banks | BMO Harris | |
Old Missouri Bank | BMO Harris | Ally |
Old National Bank | Initial credit card funding, Fidelity, PNC, Wells Fargo | |
Old Second Bank | Capital One, Venmo | |
OneWest Bank | Chase | |
PNC | Alliant, Ally, AmEx Serve, AmEx Redbird, Bank of America, Barclays, BB&T, Capital One 360, Charles Schwab, Chase, Chase Business, Discover ACH, FCB South County Bank, Fidelity Cash management, Fifth Third, Huntington, M&T, Navy Federal, Paypal, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Schwab, Transferwise, USAA, Vanguard, Venmo, Wells Fargo | Ally, Amex Savings, Capital One 360, Charles Schwab, Tech CU |
PeoplesBank(MD & PA) | Ally, Charles Schwab, PNC, Wells Fargo | |
People’s United Bank | Alliant, Amex Bluebird | Fidelity |
Pinnacle Titans Bank | Discover, PayPal | |
Popular Community Bank | Capital One 360, Chase, Citibank, Discover, Wells Fargo | |
Presidential Bank | ACH | |
Principal Bank | Capital One 360, HSBC | |
Regions Bank | ACH, Ally, Amazon payments, American Express Serve, Ally, Bank of America, Capital One 360, Charles Schwab, Chase, First Tennessee, PenFed | |
Salem Bank | E*Trade | |
Salem Five | Alliant, Capital One | |
Santander Bank | Alliant, Amex Bluebird, Amex Serve, BMO Harris, Chase, Charles Schwab brokerage, Fidelity, Wells Fargo, Venmo | Capital One 360, Charles Schwab Checking, Discover, TD Ameritrade, USAA |
Sandy Spring Bank | American Express Serve | |
SchoolsFirst FCU | Capital One 360 | |
Seacoast Bank | American Express Serve, Discover | |
Security Service Federal Credit Union | Paypal | |
Stoneham Bank | Capital One 360, Wells Fargo | |
SunTrust | ADP, Ally ACH, Alliant, Adventure Credit, Capital One 360, Charles Schwab, Chase, Discover, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Navy Federal Credit Union, TCF, Wells Fargo | PayPal, PNC |
Synovus Bank | Capital One, Chase | |
Talmer Bank & Trust | Capital One, Chase, Venmo | |
TCF Bank | Alliant, Ally, Capital One 360, Chase, First Tech, Discover Savings, Fidelity | |
TD Bank | ACH, Ally, Alliant, American Express Savings, Bank of America, Barclays Saving, Capital One, Charles Schwab, Chase, Discover Savings, E*Trade, Fidelity, Paypal, PNC, Tax refund, Vanguard, & Wells Fargo | |
Tech CU | Ally, Capital One 360, Charles Schwab, Chase, Citi, Discover, PNC, Schwab, Synchrony | |
Thrivent Federal Credit Union | American Express Bluebird, Discover | |
TIAA Direct | Capital One, Capital One 360, Chase, Chase business, Discover, Fidelity, Fidelity CMA | |
Town Bank | Capital One | |
TruMark Financial | PayPal | |
TruStone Financial | American Express Serve | |
TruWest Credit Union | Vanguard | |
Unify Financial Credit Union | Alliant, Capital One, Charles Schwab, Chase, Discover checking, Fidelity, Ticketmaster | |
Union Bank & Trust | Alliant, Ally, American Express Business Plus, Capital One 360, Charles Schwab, Chase, Discover, Merrill Edge | |
USAA | Capital One 360, Navy Federal ACH | ACH, Paypal |
US Bank | ACH, Alliant, Ally, Amex Serve, Capital One, Charles Schwab, Chase, Fidelity, Paypal, Tech CU, USAA, Venmo | |
Valley National Bank | Capital One, Chase, NFCU | |
VantageWest | PayPal, Wells Fargo | |
Varo Money | Alliant, Ally, Bank of America, Capital One, Charles Schwab, Chase, Discover, Santander, Square cash, USAA | Goldman Sachs, Vanguard |
Vista Bank | Charles Schwab | Chase |
Wells Fargo | Amex Serve, Bank of America, BECU, Citibank, Dwolla, E-Trade, Fidelity, HSBC, Huntington, KeyBank, PenFed Trial Deposits, PNC, Robinhood, Santander, Schwab, USAA | Alliant, Ally, Capital One 360, Charles Schwab, Chase, Discover, PayPal, Wealthfront |
Wesbanco | Keybank | PayPal |

from my experience draft kings and other gambling sites, as well as investment apps/websites such as Robinhood and crypto.com meet the requirements as direct deposits for all banks. just deposit ur money and transfer it to the new bank card
btw, I saw Great Lakes CU on the list above. Had a horrifying/drawn out experience with them from just opening and promotional CD and closing it…Took year and a half to fix a credit report issue. (ya credit report from a CD, crzy)…
Transferred Schwab bank to BMO Harris Bank. Not sure if it counts as DD. Kind of worry that it won’t because the transaction is showing “Web Schwab Bank P2P.” Usually p2p means money transfer between peers or friends. Will post more update or do share if you know something. Thanks!
ya I would try another jic. Ally?
Just tried an ACH push transfer from Chase to Citizens Bank. It said RTP Credit. I didn’t realize there were two options. (Standard and Real Time Payment). I’m guessing the code RTP Credit does not count as Direct Deposit. I’ll try the standard transfer later. Any help?
Did the RTP work? Or did you have to ACH push for the bonus?
Would PayPal, Venmo, Charles Schwabb count for a direct deposit to the Atlantic Union Bank?
US Bank did not accept my DDs from Chase as counting towards the SUB.
FYI- For the First Horizon $400 bank bonus- ACH transfers from Capital One 360 qualified as direct deposits.
Neither PayPal, nor Venmo coded as direct deposit at PNC for me today. Pls update grid for the sake of others. Tku for making this info available, Anthony.