Which is the Best Online Debit Card for 2022?

There are several debit cards available currently from different issuers. With such a diverse range of debit cards, it may be not easy to choose which one is the best one to use.

This article compares the debit cards from Robinhood, CashApp, PayPal, Venmo and Chase bank. The debit cards are compared in ATMs, interest rates, fees, rewards and coupons, trustworthiness and insurance, and other features.

1. ATMs

Robinhood has over 75,000 ATMs that are free to use. It utilizes the Allpoint and MoneyPass networks that make it easier for users to access a Robinhood ATM near them.

While Robinhood offers free ATM services, CashApp contrastingly charges a $2 fee. However, CashApp reimburses this fee if the client makes a $300 or more direct deposit each month. Another debt card that charges a withdrawal fee from its ATMs is Venmo. Venmo's fee is a little pricier than CashApp coming in at $2.50.

Like Robinhood, PayPal also uses the MoneyPass network and thus provides over 61,000 ATMs in the U.S. that users can access services for free. Clients who do not use the MoneyPass network to withdraw from PayPal ATMs are charged $1.95.

Kevin, the Financial Tutor, uses chase bank to compare against the other online debit cards. Chase bank has 16,000 ATMs in the U.S. and charges a $2.50 fee for users using their ATMs outside the network.

The best debit card in terms of ATMs is Robinhood. The second best is CashApp and PayPal, and at the bottom is Venmo, with no free ATMs in the network.

2. Interest Rates

It is very uncommon to find debit cards that pay customer interest. Of all the debit cards compared, only Robinhood pays its holders an interest of 0.3% annually. Despite being the only online debit card paying interest, Robinhood's rate is significantly lower than competitor banks such as Eli Bank, which pays 0.5%, and Capital One Bank pays 0.5%.

3. Fees

It is very cost-saving for a debit cardholder to avoid transaction fees. There are no initiation fees, annual fees or monthly fees for most online debit cards.

In this category, only Chase bank charges a $12 monthly fee; however, a user can avoid the fee if they have a minimum of $1,500 in their checking account or $5,000 in their auto Chase accounts.

In terms of transaction fees, the best debit card is Robinhood, followed by CashApp, Venmo and PayPal, and finally Chase.

4. Rewards and Coupons

Some online debit card issuers offer customers rewards and coupons for having simply having their cards. Robinhood does not offer any rewards or coupons. CashApp offers a limited amount, with only 21 coupons available for using their debit card.

Venmo has the best range of rewards and coupons for debit cards. From the Venmo app, it is possible to identify the variety of stores to earn a reward when they pay with Venmo.

PayPal also offers rewards for using its debit cards in a wide range of stores. However, Kevin mentions how a deeper dive into PayPal offers reveals quite poor rewards. Chase bank also offers rewards but are quite limited with very unpopular stores.

In the rewards and coupons category, Venmo is leading, followed by CashApp, then PayPal and Chase bank.

5. Trustworthy and Insurance

In terms of trustworthiness and insurance, the Chase debit card is the gold standard compared to the other. Chase bank has existed for more than 100 years, and its debit card is FDIC insured by up to $250,000.

Similarly, the Robinhood debit card is also FDIC insured. Additionally, the Robinhood debit card has insured $250,000 per program bank for a maximum of 5 banks, making its total maximum insurance to be $1.25 million.

The PayPal, Venmo and CashApp debit cards are not FDIC insured. If these issuers go bankrupt or face any other challenge that halts their operations, clients will lose all their funds.

In the trustworthiness category, the Chase debit cards top the list because of being FDIC insured and their length of existence. The Robinhood debit card then follows its FDIC insurance of up to $1.25 million.

6. Other Features

Additional features are worth considering in choosing between the debit cards apart from the ones already mentioned. For instance, PayPal and Venmo debit cardholders cannot invest in stocks. Also, the CashApp debit card only allows investing in blue stocks but not the riskier small companies stocks.

Users can send money using all the other debit cards except Robinhood. In terms of depositing cash or cheques, only the PayPal and Chase debit cards allow their users to do so.

Chase and Venmo debit cards do not allow trading or buying cryptocurrencies.

Chase bank tops the list when it comes to customer support. It is easier to contact Robinhood customer support only via email and social media. Venmo and PayPal, on the other hand, can be reached via call and emails. Getting a hold of CashApp's customer support is quite difficult. Users can only reach them via email or physical mail.

PayPal and Chase debit cards top the list in the other features’ category, followed by CashApp. Robinhood and Venmo are at the bottom of the list.

The Best Online Debit Card of 2022

Having reviewed the features category by category, Kevin finally combined the score to reveal the winner. The best online debit card of 2022 is Robinhood from the average scores. Chase debit card takes second place, followed by PayPal at third place, CashApp at fourth and finally Venmo at fifth place.

Despite Robinhood emerging as the winner, Kevin emphasizes how it would be impossible to hold a Robinhood online debit card alone. Instead, combining it is a traditional bank debit card such as Chase bank would complement the card for where Robinhood runs short.

If you prefer to watch the review in video format, please click the video below!