【Updated 2022.8】Many users have now received emails saying this service is shutting down. After August 15, purchases will no longer earn cashback. After September 10, this card can no longer be used for transactions. On November 10, the account will be forcibly closed. Deposits on this card are protected by FDIC insurance, so they should be safe, but we still recommend withdrawing your money as soon as possible.
I just got an email that Cheese is closing up business, no more cashback after August 15th and by September 10th no more transactions.I’m writing to inform you that we are sunsetting the Cheese Debit Mastercard program by November 10, 2022 .
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About the Cheese Debit Card
Overview
Cheese is the first mobile banking app designed specifically for new immigrants in the US. You can open an account in as little as five minutes and start using it right away. Cheese is a no-fee debit card product — app + physical card — that offers cashback, savings rewards, and more. The bilingual app also helps users avoid the confusion of unfamiliar traditional banking terms and processes. As of now, it has been officially live for about a month and a half.
Cheese’s biggest feature is its Card Linked cashback. Simply put, all you need to do is use your Cheese card for in-store purchases or online payments, and Cheese will automatically give you up to 15% cashback based on the merchant. Bonus cashback merchants include popular places for Chinese users such as Weee!, Yamibuy, 99 Ranch, Chowbus, and H Mart, as well as Adidas, Lyft, Costco, Starbucks, Skinstore, Converse, Lacoste, and more. Coverage is fairly broad.
In addition, Cheese also offers 0.3% APY on your card balance, which is still a bit higher than what traditional banks pay.
Security and Legitimacy
First, the Cheese debit card is issued by Coastal Community Bank, and that bank itself is an FDIC member. FDIC insurance covers up to $250,000 in funds in the account. A product issued by a specific bank like this is much safer than a black-box setup like the earlier beam. In fact, Cheese is essentially an operating team that adds extra cashback promotions on top of a standard debit product.
BANKING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED BY COASTAL COMMUNITY BANK, MEMBER FDIC. CHEESE ACCOUNTS ARE FDIC-INSURED UP TO $250,000 PER DEPOSITOR THROUGH COASTAL COMMUNITY BANK, MEMBER FDIC. THE CHEESE DEBIT CARD IS ISSUED BY COASTAL COMMUNITY BANK, PURSUANT TO LICENSE BY MASTERCARD INTERNATIONAL.
In addition, you can fund this card by ACH transfer, and linked accounts use the Plaid platform, which is widely used by major apps today, so there is a reasonable level of security.
Application
The Cheese team provided this site with an extra signup bonus. Right now, if you sign up for Cheese through our link, your account balance can earn 3% APY for 1 month. That works out to a total savings bonus of 0.25%. The monthly interest bonus will be paid on the 1st of the following month. After that, the APY returns to the standard 0.3%.
- Cheese signup link (must be opened on a phone; currently iOS only)
Or scan the code,
Or download the app and enter promo code USCC101 during signup.
A few things to note:
- At the moment, Cheese only has an iOS app version. The Android version was expected to launch in late June.
- Because this is a US debit card, you must provide a valid US SSN for identity verification. If automatic review does not go through, you may need to submit additional supporting documents.
- They were also beta testing a no-SSN application option, expected to launch in late May. This would be very friendly for international students without an SSN.
Features
Banking Features
As a bank debit card, it does have the basic functions. The biggest highlights are no fees and no minimum balance requirement. In addition, there are no fees at Money Pass ATMs nationwide.
Of course, standard Mastercard features and FDIC insurance are also included. One-tap freeze and Chinese-language support are both quite useful.
Also, once you sign up, you are essentially opening a checking account and the corresponding debit card. The checking account provides a checking number and routine number, so it can be linked to other banks for transfers. It can also be used for payroll direct deposit. In addition, you can receive domestic and international transfers (wire), or link a bank account and make ACH transfer.
The first wire transfer each year is eligible for a fee reimbursement.
One important thing to note is that it does not have full checking account functionality. Of course, if you are mainly using this card for extra cashback, those limitations are not especially important.
- It currently does not provide checks, and you also cannot create your own checks to make payments.
- You cannot send outbound wire transfers (money can only be moved out through ACH to a linked bank or by spending it).
- There is currently no bill pay feature.
- You cannot deposit a check or cashier check.
In addition, Cheese pays some interest on your balance. When there is no promotion, it is 0.3% (2021.4). If you register through the referral link above, the first month is 3%. Still, we do not especially recommend keeping a large amount of money here. Just keep enough for everyday spending and cashback, since this is still a relatively new app.
Cashback
This is the card’s most distinctive feature and is worth covering in detail. There are two types of offers. The first type is exclusive offers, which are promotions Cheese negotiated directly with merchants and tend to focus more on spending categories popular with Chinese users. These are basically card linked offers, meaning you just need to use this card for the purchase, without going through any special link. Even more conveniently, these offers are automatically added to the card, so there is no activation required.
- Groceries: Target, hmart, 99 Ranch 2%
- Phone service: AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, sprint 5%
- Delivery: Weee, Yamibuy, Instacart, Uber Eats 2%
The other category leans more toward American brands. This portion was added through Cheese’s partnership with the Dosh APP. Merchants include Costco, Walmart+, Blue Apron, Finish Line, Lyft, and others. The extra $20 on a Costco membership is pretty nice. However, it appears that you need to enter through the button below and then check out with this Cheese debit card in order for it to track. See each merchant’s description for details.
Note that some merchants have a daily cashback cap of $10. If you plan to spend more, check the daily limit, or if possible, split your payments across multiple days or multiple transactions.
How Cashback Is Used
Cashback earned from card purchases is automatically stored in the Cheese app and can be used automatically when you make purchases with the debit card.
My Take
This card is pretty good if you want easy cashback through card-linked offers. The main downside is that you need to transfer money into it before you can spend. Although it pays 0.3% interest on deposits, my personal suggestion is not to move too much money into it yet — just wait and see how well it works first. In terms of merchant coverage and cashback rates, it was one of the best apps for Chinese users at the time, and hopefully it could continue for the long term and add more commonly used merchants. From a security perspective, I personally do not think there is much problem, since the debit card itself is a product of a legitimate bank. Cheese’s focus is on cashback rather than savings.
At this point, the target user base is still somewhat limited. After all, people who already have an SSN are not especially likely to apply for another debit card just for cashback. If a no-SSN application route becomes available in the future, that would be quite good for international students, since most credit cards are hard for them to get. If a dual-currency card from back home gets compromised, that can also be troublesome, and ordinary bank debit cards generally do not offer cashback. Of course, you can also apply for Deserve Edu without an SSN. It offers 1% cashback and can also help build credit history.
Signup Link
You need to open it on an iPhone, or download the app and enter promo code USCC101 during registration.
- Cheese signup link (3% savings APY for the first 30 days after opening the account, equal to a 0.25% bonus; currently iOS only)
Or scan the code