So, you’re looking to open a business account…No doubt SoFi® has come up on your radar, especially if you already have a personal account with them. Maybe you’re launching a new company or you’ve been operating awhile and need financial products.
Either way, you’re here because you wanna know what business services you can get. Well, SoFi® doesn’t offer traditional business checking or savings accounts, but they do have a cool product called SoFi at Work®. And, they offer business funding — Let’s talk about both.
This is what’s in store:
- What is SoFi®?
- SoFi at Work® Features
- SoFi® Small Business Funding
- Frequently Asked Questions?
- Final Takeaway
Now, let’s get poppin!
What is SoFi®?
SoFi® is a bank known for its personal checking, savings, and loans. With personal loans ranging from $5,000 to $100,000 and fixed rates from 8.99% APR to 29.49% APR, members can consolidate high-rate debt or fund projects. But, the institution offers a much wider variety of financial products.
SoFi® personal loans come with no fees—no origination fees, late fees, or prepayment penalties—and flexible repayment terms from 2 to 7 years. Plus, with options for student loan refinancing, private student loans, mortgages, investments, insurance, and more, SoFi® provides broad solutions to meet a spectrum of financial needs.
Today, we’re going to focus on their business offers: SoFi at Work® and small business funding.
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Company Overview
Before we explore how you can leverage SoFi® as a business owner. Let’s learn a bit more about the company itself.
SoFi®, aka Social Finance, Inc., is a San Francisco-based, public, for-profit company with headquarters scattered across the U.S. The company was founded in 2011 by Mike Cagney, Dan Macklin, James Finnigan, and Ian Brady. At the time, these guys were graduate students at Stanford.
The current CEO of SoFi® is Anthony Noto, who served as the Chief Operations Officer of Twitter until 2018. Before that, he was the Co-Head of Global TMT Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs—The man is experienced in the right ways.
According to Glassdoor, a majority of employees are satisfied with the company. 62% of employees would recommend them to a friend, and 77% approve of Noto as the CEO. While this isn’t the most enthusiastic rating I’ve seen on Glassdoor, at 3.6 stars, the team seems to have a generally positive experience in-house…this says a lot.
SoFi® is verified with a 4.6-star rating on Trustpilot, which is impressive for a financial offer. 82% of the more than 8,104 reviewers give the bank 5 stars. According to this, account holders are even more satisfied with the platform than staff, which is everything.
Some loyal members will go so far as to say the only people leaving negative reviews of SoFi® are those who may be doing shady trade with their account. But, one legitimate potential downside is that it’s an online-only bank, which usually infers limits on cash deposits. In sum, even Redditors have nice things to say.
Now, depending on how ethically-conscious you are, you may want to know that SoFi® filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education in March 2023. According to NASFAA, Their stance was that the Biden administration’s extended pause on student loan repayment was unlawful and caused harm to their business. However, they withdrew the lawsuit when the bipartisan ceiling debt deal was signed into place and a clear timeline for payment reopening was presented.
All in all, I think SoFi® appears to be a great bank for personal financial products. But, I always recommend you do your due diligence before you sign-on to any offer. Now, let’s explore exactly what they can offer small business owners.
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SoFi at Work® Features
Again, SoFi® doesn’t offer business checking or savings accounts (yet). However, this may change in the future—one Reddit moderator for the company said that business banking is a common request and insinuated that the company might be mulling over the idea…But, they do offer something called SoFi at Work®.
In a nutshell, SoFi at Work® is an employee benefits platform from SoFi®.
As a business owner, SoFi at Work® can be a valuable resource for your employees’ financial well-being. With this program, you can provide a range of perks to support your team in managing their finances.
For starters, your employees can access various financial products like:
- 529 college savings
- Emergency savings
- Retirement products
- Student loans
- Personal loans
- Home loans
Moreover, SoFi at Work®, offers financial education resources and access to financial planners, giving your employees the tools they need to achieve financial freedom and reduce stress. The program also includes contribution benefits like student loan and 529 contributions, which can serve as attractive incentives.
And, they do it all in one dashboard — you can make it easier for your staff to save for education, plan for retirement, get financing, or prepare for unexpected expenses.
By offering financial benefits, you can demonstrate your commitment to supporting your employees’ financial well-being, which can lead to workplace satisfaction and loyalty within your team.
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1. Student Loan Verification & Repayment
In mid 2023, SoFi at Work® rolled out a cool new thing called Student Loan Verification (SLV) to help you and your employees tackle student loan debt while still saving up for retirement. Basically, Congress passed SECURE 2.0 in 2022, which lets employers match student loan payments with contributions to retirement plans.
So, SLV makes it super easy for you to link up those matching contributions with your employees’ loan repayments. It’s all about dealing with the impact of student loan debt on retirement savings, which has been a big issue lately.
By teaming up with financial groups and record keepers, SoFi at Work® handles the nitty-gritty to make sure eligible loan payments are verified and retirement contributions are sorted.
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2. 529 College Savings Program
The SoFi at Work 529 College Savings Program offers a tax-advantaged investment opportunity for employees, demonstrating your commitment to supporting their families’ financial futures—By investing in a 529 plan, staff can potentially see greater gains over time while enjoying the benefit of federal tax-free earnings.
The program provides a low-cost and hassle-free way for employees to save, with automatic payroll deductions and no extra administrative burden for you as the employer. With SoFi at Work handling the setup and management, including plan design and reporting, your team can easily link and contribute to existing 529 plans.
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3. Emergency Vault™ Savings
The SoFi at Work® Emergency Vault™ is a comprehensive emergency savings program designed to alleviate financial stress for both you and your employees. It provides powerful financial tools, knowledge, and support to help employees build emergency savings effectively.
With easy setup, automated processes, and stress-free administration managed by SoFi at Work, the Emergency Vault ensures a resilient workforce with reduced financial stress and improved mental well-being. Additionally, the program includes activity reporting for program evaluation and active engagement to enhance employee benefit awareness.
4. Education Assistance Benefits
The education assistance benefits platform by SoFi at Work ® offers a comprehensive solution for employers who want to support their employees’ educational needs. This platform consolidates various educational benefit and contribution programs into one user-friendly interface—this grants streamlined access for both employers and employees.
With a focus on speed, cost-effectiveness, and compliance, the platform offers:
- End-to-end education assistance
- Digital plan design
Account administration
You can leverage SoFi at Work® to provide low-cost solutions for funding student debt, tuition expenses, and future education investments.
SoFi® Small Business Funding
As a small business owner, SoFi’s® small business loans marketplace offers you a streamlined and efficient way to access the capital you might need to grow your business—You can easily see personalized loan offers without worrying about impacting your credit score, which allows you to explore your options freely.
They provide convenient access to loans up to $2 million with same-day approval potential. Terms and fees will vary based on the lender(s) you’re matched with.
Business loan offers include:
- Equipment loans
- Working capital
- Payroll financing
- Startup financing
- Expansion loans
With this type of loan, you typically pay a factor rate in place of an interest rate – these loans are typically much more expensive than traditional business loans in the long run.
However, they are convenient. You can sometimes pay back factored loans as a percentage of daily sales.
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Application Requirements
When you apply for a loan through the SoFi® marketplace, the platform will ask for some basic contact information before they prequalify you (which should have no impact on your credit score).
There will be a soft pull to your personal credit report during the application process. SoFi doesn’t seem to check business credit.
Gather the following info before you apply:
- Name, address and contact info
- Business name, address, and info
- Type of business (sole proprietorship, LLC, etc.)
- Business industry info
- Credit score range
You will need to provide permission for access to your credit report, but this should be a soft pull. Once you’re matched with a lender, you’ll still have to apply (think of Credit Karma’s® referral program, but with business loan offers). And, this is when your actual FICO credit score will likely be pulled.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is my money safe in SoFi Bank®?
Yes, your money is safe with SoFi Bank®—as safe as in any other bank. It’s FDIC-insured, offering protection for your deposits up to the maximum amount allowed by law.
What bank is SoFi® associated with?
SoFi® was granted a national bank charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in January 2022. In February 2022, SoFi® acquired Golden Pacific Bancorp, the parent company of Golden Pacific Bank®.
Does SoFi® have a business account?
Yes, SoFi offers business accounts tailored for small business owners via SoFi at Work® (an employee benefits platform) and their business funding platform, Relay.™ They do not offer business checking or savings accounts.
What is the downside of SoFi®?
While SoFi® offers competitive rates and features, it may have a narrower range of products compared to traditional banks, and eligibility requirements for some services can be stricter. Plus, they currently have no business banking.
Does SoFi® have a business card?
No, SoFi® does not have a business credit card. They do provide a personal credit card with cashback and travel rewards, no annual fees, and expense tracking tools.
Final Takeaway
While SoFi doesn’t offer traditional business checking or savings accounts, it provides financial products for business owners through SoFi at Work® and its small business funding platform.
SoFi at Work® offers a range of financial products and educational resources to support employee financial well-being. It could be pretty cool for the right company.
The small business funding platform provides streamlined access to loans of up to $2 million with possible same-day approval. However, the loans are likely to come with factor rates instead of interest rates, which can make them more expensive in the long run.
While SoFi® may have a narrower range of products compared to traditional banks, its innovative approach and generally high consumer opinion make me think the company is reliable overall.
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