[Update 7/2022] Monifi will shut down on September 21, 2022, and its parent company, MidFirst Bank, will take over. Users can either close their accounts or transfer them to MidFirst Bank. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle, you can simply move your money out and close the account. If you leave the account open, you should be transitioned to MidFirst Bank smoothly. MidFirst is an FDIC member, so your deposits will still be protected.
About Monifi Bank
Monifi is a division of MidFirst Bank. MidFirst Bank is a privately owned financial institution based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is the largest privately owned bank in the United States, with $32.1 billion in assets. Its primary markets include Oklahoma, Denver, Phoenix, and Dallas, and it also has commercial lending offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, New York City, St. Louis, and Southern California. MidFirst Bank also has banking centers in Boulder and Edwards, Colorado. In addition, the bank includes 1st Century Bank of Los Angeles as a division of MidFirst Bank and MidFirst Business Credit in Atlanta as a subsidiary of MidFirst Bank.
MidFirst is an FDIC member, so your deposits are protected.
Sign-Up Bonus
Open a Monifi Checking account by May 31, 2022, and complete two Direct Deposits of more than $1,000 within 90 days to earn a $250 sign-up bonus. The offer link is below:
This account has no geographic restriction. As long as you have an SSN, you can apply online. The application is a soft pull, so it will not affect your credit history. There is no monthly maintenance fee and no early account closure fee. Most banks require you to keep the account open for 6 months or forfeit the bonus, but this account does not have that restriction. In principle, you can close the account after receiving the bonus, though I don’t recommend doing so since there is no monthly fee anyway. This bonus should only be available once, so you likely cannot repeatedly reopen the account to earn it again.
About Direct Deposit
Direct Deposit (DD) is a common way for employers to pay employees. The money is sent directly to your bank account electronically.
If you have payroll, you can simply change your paycheck deposit account to the bank account you need for the bonus requirement. If you do not have payroll, you may be able to use a fake DD method. ACH transfers from banks such as Chase, Capital One, Ally, Wells Fargo, Fidelity, and US Bank may count as DD. In addition, cashback payouts from shopping portals and withdrawals from most brokerage accounts may also count as DD. If you are interested, you can test these methods yourself.
Personal Experience
I made two $1,000 DD deposits on 7/17 and 7/30, and received the $250 sign-up bonus on 8/10. On 7/17, I transferred $100 from the spend checking account to the Savings account, and received the $25 Savings goal bonus on 7/20. Overall, this one was pretty easy: just apply online, and the $250 + $25 bonuses were easy to earn.
One thing to note is that the sign-up bonus counts as income, so you will generally receive a 1099 form at year-end and need to report it when filing taxes.