A lot of bank account sign-up bonuses require a direct deposit, but not all banks have the same view on what counts as a direct deposit. Below I’ll list the best bank sign-up bonuses and what they consider a direct deposit!
What is a Direct Deposit?
Most people think direct deposits are when you electronically deposit your employer’s paycheck or government benefits to your savings or checking account.
While that’s true, you don’t necessarily need to do that when it comes to bank sign-up bonuses. Changing where your paycheck or benefits are deposited can also be time-consuming.
Fortunately, some banks are more flexible on what they count as a direct deposit when it comes to bonuses. Transferring money electronically from one of your existing bank accounts to the new bank account will work in a number of cases.
The list below shows what banks count as a direct deposit simply by transferring funds with an electronics fund transfer (EFT). Just be sure you’re making a push transfer and not a pull transfer – more on this below.
Each bank is different on what counts so be sure to use one that’s listed under the specific bank you’re applying for.
We’ll keep this post as a running list, so bookmark this page as a future reference to see what banks count as a direct deposit when it comes to bank account opening sign up bonuses.
Ninja Note: Looking for the best bank account bonuses? See the entire list on this page.
Difference between a Push and Pull Transfer
You should always do a push transfer and not a pull transfer in order to qualify bank bonuses. What’s the difference between the two?
- Push Transfer: You’re logging on to an existing bank account and transferring money to your new bank account (pushing a deposit)
- Pull Transfer: You’re logging into your new bank account and transferring money to it from another bank account you have (pulling a deposit)
For all other intents and purposes, there really isn’t a difference between the two, but for triggering bank bonuses, banks will only consider push transfers as something that qualifies as a direct deposit.
Final Thoughts on What Counts as a Direct Deposit
If you’re new to bank bonuses, keep in mind banks may change what counts or doesn’t count as a direct deposit at any time. Personally, sometimes I do push transfers from two different banks to increase the chance of success.
Have questions or new data points? Help each other out by commenting on specific bank bonuses on their individual post. Comments here should be more general in nature.
Please note that while this alternative direct deposit method has worked well for many, ultimately the only 100% foolproof way is to do an actual direct deposit (employer or government payment).
List Of Banks (in alphabetical order)
Associated Bank
The following counts as a direct deposit with Associated Bank:
- Ally Bank
- PNC
Axos Bank
Axos Rewards Checking $500 Bonus
The following counts as a direct deposit with Axos Bank:
- Affinity
- Alliant
- Ally
- Brex payroll
- Capital One
- Chase
- Fidelity
- Novo (business checking account – $40 bonus for new users)
- SoFi
- USAA
- T-Mobile
- Vanguard
- Wells Fargo
- Data points to be added (please send in personal data points)
BBVA
The following counts as a direct deposit with BBVA:
- Capital One 360
- Charles Schwab
- Fidelity
- First Tech Credit Union
- Merrill Edge
- PayPal (seems to no longer work as of 2/2020)
- Provident Credit Union
- TD Ameritrade
BMO Harris
The following counts as a direct deposit with BMO Harris:
- Ally
- Robinhood
- Schwab
- UFCU
Capital One 360
The following counts as a direct deposit with Capital One 360:
- Ally
- Charles Schwab
- Clearview
- Discover Savings
- E*Trade
- Fidelity
- Fifth Third
- First Tennessee
- Goldman Sachs
- Robinhood
- TD Ameritrade
- Vanguard
Chase Bank
$600 Checking + Savings Bonus | $300 Checking Bonus |
Ninja Update 6/1/2022: For Chase, most of the transfer methods below have stopped working. If your transfer has the description “PPD ID/ACH Transfer”, most likely that means it’s a valid transfer that will trigger the bonus. Anything with a “P2P” in it will no longer work. The exceptions appears to be TreasuryDirect withdrawals and Novo checking account payments.
The following counts as a direct deposit with Chase Bank:
- Ameritrade
- CBC Federal Credit Union
- Circle Pay
- CIT Bank
- Connexus Federal Credit Union
- Consumers Credit Union
- DoorDash
- Elements Financial
Fidelity Investments(doesn’t seem to be working anymore)- First Technology Credit Union
- Firstrade
- Freshbooks WePay
- Goldman Sachs
- Google Adsense
- Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union
- Gusto
- Keesler Federal
- M1 Finance
- MarketForce Payroll
- Mercari
- M&T Bank
- Northern Bank
- Orion Federal Credit Union
- PenFed
- Provident Credit Union
Robinhood(doesn’t seem to be working anymore)- Santander Bank (mixed reports since 2020)
- SoFi Invest
- SoFi Money
- Stanford Federal Credit Union
- TD Ameritrade
- T-Mobile Money
- Wise (formerly TransferWise)
- Uber
- Uber Eats
- University Federal Credit Union
Vanguard(doesn’t seem to be working anymore)- Wealthfront
- Wisebanyan
Chime
The following counts as a direct deposit with Chime:
- Ally
- American Express Serve
- Apply Pay
- American Express Bluebird
- Cash app
- Charles Schwab
- Chase
- Circle Pay
- Coinbase
- Discover
- Hancock Whitney
- Huntington
- Northwest FCU
- PNC
- TD Bank
- Wells Fargo
- USAA
- U.S. Bank
Citibank
The following counts as a direct deposit with Citibank:
- Zelle
- Data points to be added (please send in personal data points)
Citizens Bank
The following counts as a direct deposit with Citizens Bank:
- ACH
- Alliant
- Ally Bank
- Capital One 360
- Charles Schwab
- Chase Bank
- Fidelity Investments
- Santander Bank
- Vanguard
- Venmo transfers
Current.com
The following counts as a direct deposit with Current:
- Alliant Credit Union
- Brex
- Charles Schwab
- Discover
- Elements Financial
- Northwest FCU
Discover
The following counts as a direct deposit with Discover:
- Amazon Seller Disbursements
- American Express Serve
- Bank of America Business ACH
- Capital One 360
- Fidelity
- Paypal
- TD Ameritrade
Fairwinds Credit Union
The following counts as a direct deposit with Fairwinds:
- American Express Business
- Wealthfront
Fifth Third Bank
The following counts as a direct deposit with Fifth Third Bank:
- Ally
- Alliant
- American Express
- Bank of America
- Capital One
- Charles Schwab
- Chase
- Citizens
- Discover
- eTrade
- Huntington
- USAA
- Capital One 360
- Liberty Financial
- Paypal
- PNC
- Serve
- Wise (formerly TransferWise, enter “Payroll” in the payment reference field)
- Wells Fargo
Go2bank
The following counts as a direct deposit with Go2bank:
- Wise (formerly TransferWise, enter “Payroll” in the payment reference field)
HSBC
The following counts as a direct deposit with HSBC:
- Ally
- American Express Bluebird
- Chase
- Discover
- PNC Checking
- Robinhood
- Santander
- SoFi Money
- Wells Fargo
Juno (formerly OnJuno)
The following counts as a direct deposit with Juno:
- American Express Business checking
- Wise (formerly TransferWise, enter “Payroll” in the payment reference field)
KeyBank
The following counts as a direct deposit with KeyBank:
- ACH
- American Express Serve
- Capital One 360
- Chase (but instant transfers)
- Discover (but not savings)
- E*Trade
- Huntington
- Navy Federal Credit Union
- Novo (business checking account – $40 bonus for new users)
- Paypal
- Stripe Transfer
- TD Ameritrade
- Wise (formerly TransferWise)
- USAA
- Wells Fargo
- Venmo
MoneyLion
The following counts as a direct deposit with MoneyLion:
- Alliant
- Ally
- Capital One
- Charles Schwab
- Chase
- Discover
- Fidelity
- First Bank
- First Tech
- Marcus
- Novo (business checking account – $40 bonus for new users)
- PenFed
- PNC
- Robinhood
- SoFi
- TD Bank
- T-Mobile
- US Bank
- Wise (formerly TransferWise)
- Wells Fargo
PeoplesBank (MD & PA)
The following counts as a direct deposit with PeoplesBank:
- Alliant
- Ally
- Charles Schwab
- PNC
- Wells Fargo
People’s United Bank
The following counts as a direct deposit with People’s United Bank:
- Alliant
- American Express Bluebird
PNC Bank
The following counts as a direct deposit with PNC Bank:
- Alliant
- Ally
- American Express
- Bank of America
- Capital One 360
- Chase
- Fidelity
- Novo (business checking account – $40 bonus for new users)
- PayPal
- PenFed
- Wise (formerly TransferWise)
- Venmo transfers
- Wells Fargo (mixed reports)
Regions Bank
The following counts as a direct deposit with Regions Bank:
- ACH
- Alliant
- Ally
- American Express Serve
- Bank of America
- Capital One 360
- Charles Schwab
- Chase
- First Tennessee
- PenFed
Santander Bank
The following counts as a direct deposit with Santander Bank:
- Alliant
- American Express
Capital One 360(mixed reports, I wouldn’t depend on this method alone)- BMO Harris
- Chase
- Charles Schwab
- Fidelity
PayPal(no longer valid)- Wells Fargo
- Venmo transfers
SoFi
The following counts as a direct deposit for SoFi bonus offers:
- Ally
- Altra
- Astra
- Brex
- eBay (managed payments)
- Gig Payouts (DoorDash, Grubhub, Instacart, Lyft, Uber Eats)
- Novo (business checking account – $40 bonus for new users)
- PNC
- Revolut
- Treasury Direct
- Wise (formerly TransferWise)
SunTrust
The following counts as a direct deposit for SunTrust bonus offers:
- ACH
- Ally
- Alliant
- Adventure Credit
- Capital One 360
- Charles Schwab
- Chase
- Discover
- Fidelity
- Goldman Sachs
- Navy Federal Credit Union
- Vanguard
- Wells Fargo
TD Bank
The following counts as a direct deposit for TD Bank bonus offers:
- ACH
- Ally
- Alliant
- American Express Savings
- Bank of America
- Barclays Savings
- Capital One 360
- Charles Schwab
Chase(doesn’t seem to be working anymore)- E*Trade
- Fidelity
- Marcus
- PNC
- Truist (formerly Suntrust)
- USAA
- Vanguard
- Wells Fargo
Truist
The following counts as a direct deposit for Truist bonus offers:
- Capital One 360
- Charles Schwab
- Chase
- Fidelity
- Public.com
- TD Ameritrade
- Vanguard
- Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
The following counts as a direct deposit for Wells Fargo bonus offers:
- Bank of America
- E*Trade
- Fidelity
- HSBC
- KeyBank
- PayPal
- PNC Bank
- Robinhood
- Santander Bank
- SoFi Money
- USAA
- Venmo transfers
U.S. Bank
$800 Business Checking Account Bonus
The following counts as a direct deposit for U.S. Bank bonus offers:
- ACH
- All America Bank
- Alliant
- Ally Bank
- American Express Serve
- Apple Cash
- Capital One 360
- Cash App
- Charles Schwab
- Chase
- Discover
- DCFU
- Fidelity
- Goldman Sachs
- Marcus
- Novo (business checking account – $40 bonus for new users)
- PayPal
- PNC
- School’s First Credit Union
- Simple
- SoFi Money
- Tech Credit Union
- Unify FCU
- USAA
- Wealthfront
- Wells Fargo
- Western Vista Federal Credit Union
Hello John,
I am looking for South State Bank DP for the bonus, could you please help me with that
Hello John,
Can you please give the updated list as of Aug 2024
It’s updated. I also created a YouTube video on this that I think will be really helpful to you and others who are looking for information around direct deposits: https://youtu.be/lo85TjxvaaQ?si=ZQjlNgBDvnKVOUdK
How can I tell if my transfer from one account triggered the direct deposit requirement for Chime?
Trying to get the credit card, and have a week till my offer runs out.
Hi Mike – you should see the bonus deposited in your account if it worked correctly. Depending on the promotion, this could be a few days or a few weeks’ time.
So, I have 2 questions… 1) For Chime, is CashApp still working & triggering the bonus when using the push transfer? ($200 Direct Deposit)
2) Does it matter If I link the accounts first? So essentially, should I link my accounts, and then do the push transfer? Or, should I do the push transfer from CashApp to Chime without linking the accounts first?
You don’t have to link the accounts, only “push” it from CashApp to Chime. Recent feedback is that it still works.
John
The list for Chase indicates Fidelity is no longer valid. I was successful using Fidelity in February of this year
That’s surprising, but great news. Was this for the Chase Total Checking account?
Does US Bank still count a paypal transfer as a direct deposit for their promo? I just called and asked and they said no… but maybe they don’t want me to know that it’ll work haha. thank you!
Banks will never confirm non-standard Direct Deposit options. These are methods that people have found to have worked, but aren’t counted officially as a DD by the banks.
John Axos accepts Fidelity as a valid ACH deposit for their bonus.
I can confirm that. Currently doing their $300 bonus and a push from Fidelity triggered the bonus.
Thanks guys, it’s updated!
A note on Santander. Their Bonus requires you to go into the branch to open. They said Fidelity would not count as a ACH deposit. From past experience and John’s list I opened anyway, used Fidelity and got the bonus.
Correct. Their current $400 bonus can be opened online and a push from Fidelity will get you the bonus.
John I don’t see Citibank listed here Do we know what counts for their deposits? The refer to Enhanced Deposits but don’t know what that is.
I’d 2 Zelle to the account.
And the money cake about 2 weeks after the second Zelle.
But I also did Wells Fargo and Cap 360 just in case. They both showed ACH but the bonus came the next day so I doubt those factored in.
Thanks. I did two ACH items from Fidelity and received the bonus within 5 days.
In the list of institutions that work for Chime, is Apply Pay referring to Apple Pay (or more accurately, Apple Cash) & is that method still working? Isn’t that the same as simple ACH?
One question reading your guidance “Push Transfer: You’re logging on to an existing bank account and transferring money to your new bank account (pushing a deposit)”
When executing this push transfer, does it matter if I am the owner of the existing bank account i.e. transferring from my existing account to my new account? Or does the bank account have to be owned by someone else e.g. a family member?
It doesn’t have to be owned by someone else. I’ve always done it with accounts I own.
Does anyone know what works with Sofi? Can I execute a ACH push from Chase to Sofi to qualify for bonus?
hello John,
I recently opened a Sofi bank account and did a push from PNC Bank. but it shows a Deposit and PNC-External something in description. I tried from Fidelity as well, but no luck.
I do not think bank will consider as Direct Deposit. Just wanted to highlight, so you can update the article.
Or let me know if I am missing anything
Thanks for the data points, PRS! Our team will research this and revised which banks work for push deposits if necessary.
so doing an ACH transfer from Chase to Capital One 360 will not trigger the bonus, correct?
Chase to PNC showing as a transfer instead of direct deposit.
Shows like below
“JPMORGAN CHASE EXT TRNSFR”
I tried a push deposit from Cashapp to chime to trigger the deposit….it didn’t work. And Coinbase said that it couldn’t connect to the chime account. I don’t have any other of the other accounts except for Apple Pay and i don’t really know how to do that. Any pointers on how to get the chime bonus to trigger? Does it take a few days or?
How much money did you do it for? I think Chime has a $200+ minimum direct deposit amount to trigger the bonus.
General question, if you while doing a push you have to verify the two micro transactions to be able to do an ACH transfer, does it still count as a direct deposit?
In this particular case I am doing a push from chase to chime
It would still be considered a push deposit as long as the transaction is completed.
Hi Ninja,
Thank you for this information! To initiate the ACH push I would first have to link the two accounts, right? Is it better to do this over Plaid or with trial deposits?
Thanks again!
I tried to do that w PayPal setting a pp business account only to find out pp don’t do payroll services but anything else should work as long as it’s ach
John, I am using chase to fund my SoFi account. My question is when funding sofi with a chase push do I use transfer or does it have to be a wire?
Thanks for your help
Sal
I’ve read on HSBC WEBSITE (customers who have a current or past HSBC account in the US on file are not eligible for this offer) so there bonus offer is a one timer for us?
Has anyone tried paying someone from a business account as employee? Why wouldn’t that work? Not necessarily yourself but a family member etc who has a business account. You can set up employees on their and pay them. Does that not work either?
That should work and has worked for me in the past. Previously, I owned an S-Corp and had to do payroll for W-2 employees (those not paid as a contractor on 1099-NEC/1099-MISC).
Thanks for this list. I did a push from Schwab brokerage to PeoplesBank (MD/PA) last week. No indication of direct deposit in the transaction description, but you think it works? Just curious where/when your data points for this bank are from? Haven’t seen much online elsewhere.
Does anyone have any experience getting Chime to work with a PayPal push? Thanks
Thank you for this list!
A push transfer from SoFi Checking also work for Current (or at least it worked for me!)
How much time do you need between deposits for the current US Bank Checking promotion? It’s 2 direct deposits totaling at least 5k, so if i push two 2500 transfers in the same day will that qualify?
Hi Jesse – can you ask this question in the specific post so we all know which post you’re referencing?
Jesse,
I have the same question.. Did you ever get the answer?
Cash app worked for me with chime
How did you make the transfer? Did you link the bank accounts and then transfer?