Quontic Bank Review [2024]: Is It Worth Signing Up?

Quontic is a digital bank that doesn’t have in-person branches but offers competitive annual percentage yields (APYs) compared to traditional bank accounts. It also offers checking accounts that give you rewards in the form of cash back or bitcoin.

Quontic bank accounts are likely best if you want low-risk, FDIC-insured banking options with competitive rates. Quontic might not make sense if you prefer extensive customer service options, including in-person consultations.

Check out our Quontic Bank review to see details on Quontic bank accounts, including what accounts are available and if they come with fees.

Quontic Bank overview

Quontic, known as the adaptive digital bank, was founded as a community bank in 2009 but has grown to become a digital bank that offers its services nationwide. It was the first bank to offer a bitcoin rewards checking account. It’s headquartered in New York City with George Lazaridis as its interim CEO.

Quontic is designated as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which means it provides financial services to people who generally lack access to financing. Quontic’s financial services include checking accounts, savings accounts, and mortgage loans.

Quontic locations and rewards

You can’t go visit a Quontic bank in person unless you’re going to one of its five East Coast loan offices. Otherwise, Quontic has online-only services through its website or mobile app. But despite this modern approach, Quontic is still a legitimate, FDIC-insured bank.

Part of what sets Quontic apart from other online banks is its competitive rates and innovative approach to banking. This innovation can be seen in its Bitcoin Rewards Checking account that offers bitcoin as a reward for eligible debit card purchases.

Another Quontic innovation you might not see anywhere else is the Quontic Pay Ring. It’s a wearable ring available for free to Quontic checking account customers that you can use in place of your debit card wherever you see the contactless pay symbol.

Additionally, Quontic offers the usual digital payment solutions:

• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• Samsung Pay
• Zelle

Quontic High Interest Checking details

Annual percentage yield (APY)	1.10% (as of Mar. 27, 2024)4
Minimum balance for APY	None
Required transactions for APY	10 qualifying debit card transactions of $10 or more per statement cycle
Minimum deposit to open account	$100
Monthly maintenance fees	None
ATM access	Yes, at over 90,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide
Transaction limits	Up to $500 in withdrawals per day from ATMs Up to $1,000 per day in debit card purchases
FDIC insured	Yes

Quontic High Yield Savings details

APY	4.50% (as of Mar. 27, 2024)1
Minimum balance for APY	None
Minimum deposit to open account	$100
Monthly maintenance fees	None
ATM access	Yes, if you request an ATM card
Transactions per month	Up to 6 ($10 fee per additional transaction)
FDIC insured	Yes

What we like about Quontic

• Competitive APY rates: Quontic offers much higher APY rates than traditional bank accounts, making it a better option if you want to earn money on your savings.
• No minimum balance for APY: There’s no minimum balance requirement for Quontic’s interest-bearing accounts to earn interest. So even if you have to pull some money out of your account for an emergency, any funds still in the account will earn interest.
• No monthly maintenance or overdraft fees: Quontic advertises no monthly maintenance or overdraft fees.
• Mobile banking solutions: Quontic is a digital financial institution that backs up its online-only approach with web browser and mobile access. If you have an iPhone or Android, download the Quontic mobile app from the App Store or Google Play.
• FDIC insurance: Eligible Quontic accounts receive FDIC insurance of up to $250,000. This means if an insured bank fails, your money is insured up to the coverage amount. This isn’t to be confused with SIPC insurance, which typically covers specific investments, such as stocks and bonds of SIPC members.
• Free ATM access: Avoid fees at over 90,000 ATMs, including participating AllPoint, MoneyPass, SUM, and other ATMs.

What Quontic could improve

• Debit card transaction requirements: High Interest Checking accounts require at least 10 eligible debit card transactions of $10 or more each statement cycle for your account to qualify for the highest APY amount.
• Customer service availability: As a digital bank, Quontic has no in-person branches. You can’t quickly chat with a banker at a brick-and-mortar location. It also has no weekend customer support at all and no live chat feature.
• Android app: Quontic advertises its innovation and digital-first mindset, but its Android app on Google Play seems to be lacking. With at least 100 reviews and thousands of downloads, Quontic Bank Mobile has an average 3.2 out of 5 rating. Users are unhappy with the interface and overall lack of features.

Who is Quontic best for?

Quontic is best for people who prefer an online banking experience. As a digital bank, Quontic doesn’t have in-person branches. Also, its overall customer support experience is pared down, with no customer support hours on weekends and no access to a live chat feature.

But similar to many online banks that have lower overhead costs, Quontic provides competitive rates on its interest-bearing accounts. This typically means higher dividends for you compared to what traditional banks offer.

Quontic could be a good option if you prefer online banking and want to earn interest at competitive rates on checking and savings accounts.

Compare a Quontic High Yield Savings account vs. a traditional savings account

The Quontic High Yield Savings Account offers an APY of 4.50% (as of Mar. 27, 2024), which is significantly higher than the current average APY of 0.47% (as of Feb. 8, 2024) for a traditional savings account. While it might not seem like that much of a difference, opening a high-yield savings account can add up to significant earnings over time.

Let's see how a traditional savings account compares to a hypothetical high-yield savings account. Note that we start with a $5,000 balance on both accounts, and interest is set to compound daily. There are no additional deposits factored into these calculations. The traditional savings account APY was pulled from the FDIC National Rates and Rate Caps.

The high-yield savings account easily outperforms a traditional savings account, with the interest-earning gap getting much larger over time.

For low-risk investments, it’s easy to see why a high-yield checking or savings account can be so convenient. Simply put your money into the account and watch it grow over time — all with the protection of FDIC insurance (typically on up to $250,000).

How to open an account with Quontic

Follow these steps to open an account with Quontic:

1. Navigate to the Quontic website and select a bank account option from the “Banking” dropdown menu. For this example, we selected the High Interest Checking account.

2. Click the “Get Started” button.

3. Fill out all required information including your name, email address, and phone number. You will also be asked to provide your home address, date of birth, and Social Security number.

4. You will be asked to confirm your email address by typing in a confirmation code you should have received in your provided email.

5. Fund, submit, and create your account.

Note that the minimum opening deposit requirements vary depending on the Quontic bank account you want to open. For the High Interest Checking account, it’s $100.

You can typically fund your Quontic bank account by:

• Transferring money from an existing Quontic account
• Doing an ACH transfer from an external bank account
• Using Plaid

How to withdraw money from an account with Quontic

You can withdraw money from an account with Quontic by:

• Transferring money to another bank account
• Using an ATM
• Writing a check (not applicable to High Yield Savings accounts)
• Making a debit card purchase

Other Quontic fees

Overdraft fee	$0
Stop payment fee	$20
ACH transfers	$0
Incoming wire	$0
Outgoing wire	$25 domestic, $35 foreign

Quontic customer service

You won’t find any in-person Quontic branches, other than some loan offices in Astoria, New York, and Florida. For the most part, Quontic is an online-only bank. But you can email the Quontic customer support team at info@quonticbank.com.

You can also call a customer service member at these phone numbers:

• Digital banking support: 1-800-908-6600
• Mortgage loan support: 1-800-756-2671
• Mortgage loan servicing: 1-833-756-2671

The customer service team is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.

Quontic doesn’t offer a live chat function, but you can use the help section on its website to find information. This page includes links to FAQs, an ATM locator, loan servicing information, a loan officer directory, and the contact us page.

More banking products from Quontic

Apart from its High Interest Checking and High Yield Savings accounts, Quontic also offers:

• Bitcoin Rewards Checking
• Cash Rewards Checking
• Money Market Account
• Certificates of Deposit

Bitcoin Rewards Checking

Bitcoin Rewards Checking is a non-interest-bearing checking account that rewards account holders in bitcoin for qualifying debit card transactions.

Here’s what the bitcoin checking account offers:

• Offers 1.5% bitcoin rewards rate for qualifying transactions
• Doesn’t earn interest
• Requires a $500 minimum deposit
• No minimum daily balance requirement to earn rewards
• No monthly service fees
• Offers access to over 90,000 ATMs
• Money in your checking account is FDIC-insured, but bitcoin isn’t FDIC-insured

The Bitcoin Rewards Checking account is currently available in every state except Hawaii and North Carolina. It’s also available in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The 1.5% bitcoin rewards rate for qualifying transactions works like this:

1. You make any qualifying point of sale (POS) purchase with your Quontic debit card. This is basically any purchase you make where debit cards are accepted. Pending purchases don’t count as “qualifying purchases.”
2. You earn 1.5% back from your purchase in U.S. dollars.
3. The total cash back you earn each day is then used to buy bitcoin the following business day at 4 p.m. local time in London.
4. Your daily bitcoin purchase is added to your NYDIG account balance and you can choose when or how you want to redeem it.

Cash Rewards Checking

Cash Rewards Checking is a non-interest-bearing checking account that rewards account holders in cash back for qualifying debit card transactions.

Here’s how the rewards checking account works:

• Offers 1.5% cash back for qualifying transactions (cash back is deposited into your checking account at the beginning of each statement cycle)
• Doesn’t earn interest
• Requires a $100 minimum deposit
• Has no minimum daily balance requirement to earn rewards
• Has no monthly service fees
• Offers access to over 90,000 ATMs
• Is FDIC insured

Money Market Account

Quontic Bank Money Market Account is a savings account that comes with a debit card and offers checks.

Here’s how the money market account works:

• Offers 5.00% (as of Mar. 27, 2024) APY
• Requires a $100 minimum deposit
• Limited to six monthly withdrawals (then costs $10 per additional withdrawal)
• Offers a debit card with ATM access
• Offers check-writing privileges
• Has no monthly or overdraft fees
• Has no minimum balance for APY
• Is FDIC-insured

Certificates of Deposit

Quontic Bank CDs are savings accounts that lock in APY rates for a specific amount of time. If you withdraw before the time is up — called the maturity date — you could be charged an early withdrawal penalty fee.

Here’s how Quontic CDs work:

• Offers up to 5.05% (as of Mar. 27, 2024) APY
• Requires a $500 minimum deposit
• Offers 6-month to 60-month CD terms
• Charges penalties of up to two years of interest on withdrawals before the maturity date
  
• Doesn’t allow you to add additional funds once a CD has been opened

FAQs about Quontic

Bottom line

Quontic is a digital bank, which means it has no traditional, in-person branches. This cuts down on overhead costs and makes room for additional benefits, including no monthly maintenance or overdraft fees and higher interest rates compared to traditional banks. Quontic offers competitive features and benefits compared to other online-only banks.

If Quontic doesn’t seem like the right fit for your banking needs, check out our list of the best banks for our top bank account recommendations.