There is a new buzzword in the town – neo banks (not to be confused with new banks!).
Neo Banks are completely digital banks that have all their services available via the Internet, resulting in no physical offices or ATMs. The heavy reliance on technology ensures that their systems are designed to be very well-performing and redundant.
I have been using multiple Neo Banks for my own finances. My favorite part about Neo Banks is that I never had to step out to open a bank. Instant account opening via apps and everything thereafter happening via phone.
No more standing in lines or navigating through the poorly designed UI of conventional banks like ICICI.
Read through the article to find the perks of this digital banking platform. Moreover, discover how Neo Banks can help you become intelligent account holders in this era of new-age banking. I prefer to use Neo Banks as they help me to maintain a work-life balance.
Best Neo Banks in India
Jupiter
Jupiter is my favorite Neo Bank in India, powered by the Federal Bank. The bank has a built-in option for the piggy bank, which automatically saves money for my financial goals.
It was the first bank I tried, and holy smokes, it has the best app interface. ICICI, Axis, HDFC, and SBI all feel old compared to Jupiter’s simple, easy-to-use, and powerful UI.
I liked how the bank gave me insights into my spending by providing a quick and organized view of my transactions with timely notifications.
Also, on top of their high-grade security system, I have insurance of up to five lakh rupees from DICGC, an RBI-entered corporation. According to my review, the reliability of the Federal Bank and the safety of DICGC make Jupiter a reliable Neo Bank.
Jupiter offered me a virtual debit card. In partnership with Visa, it offers Edge Federal Bank credit cards with 2% cashback on your travel, dining, or shopping spending.
Features
- ATM withdrawal: Domestic ATM withdrawal is not charged for up to five transactions at other banks’ ATMs, while every international ATM transaction is charged.
- Rewards: You can earn up to 5x rewards on the purchases. The jewels earned as a reward can be redeemed as cash and put straight into the account or as gold.
- Mutual Funds: A portfolio analyzer can easily track your mutual funds. The bank has a policy of zero charges penalty for missed SIPs.
- Jupiter community: You can access exclusive financial updates, developers’ files, investment clubs, and many more, all in one place to learn more about the finance world.
- Customer care: Has a 24*7 available customer support system known as Jiffy. You can even reach Jupiter through a helpline number or email ID.
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Fi.Money
Fi.Money is the best Neo Bank for #WorkingProfessionals and partnered with Federal Bank. I was surprised to see that it is exclusive to only working professionals.
This is a bummer since the quality of service offered by Fi.Money is the best, but you cannot open general-purpose savings accounts.
It has other partnerships with Visa, Epifi Wealth, SEBI, and NPCI. I prefer to use the money management tools offered by Fi to help you manage your money and organize your funds. Fi provides me the facility to connect other bank accounts in one place and see all the transactions and balances on its platform.
This digital bank has 100s investment options, including mutual funds, stocks, and fixed deposits, and allows you to follow FIT rules to invest in them. I suggest using the FIT rules to enable automatic savings. For instance, you can save a fixed amount of money whenever your partner orders food from Swiggy. 
Features:
- Cards: Fi.Money offers three kinds of credit cards: AMPLIFI, SIMPLIFI, and MAGNIFI. Amplifi is the most rewarding card with welcome benefits and travel offers.
- Rewards: I got rewards not only by shopping but also by saving. This Neo Bank has exciting offers on brands like Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins, Swiggy, and Amazon.
- FIT rules: These rules allow me to autosave, auto-invest, and autopay without any procrastination.
- Salary program: Under this program, I got health insurance, free lifetime debit cards, and instant salary deposits, irrespective of the day, with no obligation to maintain my account balance.
- Customer care: The account holders can easily connect with Fi through the in-app chat option, customer care helpline number, and email ID.
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NiyoX
NiyoX is the #Best2-in-1 Bank, which offers savings and investment account facilities in one place. It is in partnership with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank and Equitas.
It has an additional wealth account powered by Niyo Money. NiyoX insures up to 5 lakhs of rupees for its account holders. This bank offers special tourist visas for Indians at the lowest e-visa prices.
One can easily apply for a travel visa at Niyo by following simple steps. Customers can enjoy up to 3-5% savings on a Zero Forex Card with NiyoX.
I suggest that international students use the Student cards offered by NiyoX to save money on international expenditures.
Despite being a Neo Bank, I could withdraw cash from an ATM accepting Visa cards. The daily transaction limit is up to Rs. 30,000.
Features:
- Niyo Global Card: The card does not charge any forex fees. One can get a zero-annual free credit card to avoid visa exchange rates.
- Rewards: It offers exciting cashback and exclusive offers on leading brands like Myntra and Amazon. You can earn Equinox Reward Points on fund transfers.
- Investing Done Right: I started a systemic investment plan even at Rs. 100. You don’t have to pay any commission on mutual fund investment.
- Customer care: 24*7 available in-app chat option. One can contact NiyoX via the 24-hour available helpline number.
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Freo Money
One of my favorite online banking platforms is Freo Money, which is associated with Yes Bank, RBL Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Life. It has partnerships with TapStart, SMFG India credit, Equifax, and Lendbox to ease the banking facilities.
This Neo Bank offered me a better savings option with an interest rate of 8% on personal savings. I am intrigued by shopping now and paying later at Freo, as it allows customers to avoid missing great deals. This scheme directly credits an amount of Rs. 15,000, which is interest-free for up to 30 days.
My only complaint with Freo was the waitlist. You must apply and wait extensive periods before being accepted into their program.
Unlike other banks, I can open an FD starting from just Rs. 1000, which is quite ideal for lower-income individuals.
Features
- Cards: It offers credit cards associated with Visa, RuPay, and Mastercard. Yes Bank credit cards are high-yielding cards with 1% unlimited cashback.
- Rewards: Freo credit cards offer rewards like a 1% fuel surcharge waiver and reward points on transactions using them, such as earning 2000 reward points on spends after 30 days of card activation.
- Free facilities: Virtual debit card, one checkbook per quarter, credit card joining, and account maintenance.
- Customer care: Customer support can be reached by clicking on ‘Need Help’ in the Freo app. Also, Freo can be reached by email.
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Kotak 811
Kotak 811 is a #DigitalBank account offered by Kotak Mahindra Bank.
It has four variants: 811 Limited KYC, 811 Lite, 811 Full KYC Account, and 811 Edge, with 811 Edge being the most premium account.
I won’t go into much detail as they have very limited differences.
Overall, it offers a decent interest rate of 4% p.a. on your savings account balance.
But you know my favorite part? It’s the sweep-in facility. This option permits the customer to set up a specific debit and credit amount, eventually converted into a fixed deposit. Moreover, this facility is flexible, as the funds can be directly transferred into a savings account when required.
Neo Bank has both virtual and physical debit cards. Also, it has various credit cards like the Kotak 811 credit card, the Kotak UPI RuPay credit card, the Myntra Kotak credit card, and many more. I didn’t get to try them, but surely they would be nice as well.
Features:
- Rewards: This platform has different debit and credit cards with various offers on Whirpool, Voltas, and IFB. It has unique travel, food, and shopping cards, offering up to a 25% discount on multiple brands.
- Loans: Home loans offered at this bank have significant features like a 50% discount on processing fees, less documentation, interest rates linked to the RBI, and a customizable repayment tenure of up to 25 years.
- Customer care: Customer support at 811 can be connected through a number with a working window of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Monday to Saturday, excluding bank holidays) and an email address.
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RazorpayX
Small and Medium scale businesses, this one is for you. Razorpay is a Neo Bank designed exclusively for businesses.
RazorpayX is the best #NeoBankforBusinesses with an advanced option of extraordinary current accounts built for all kinds of businesses, like startups and enterprises, whether small or large. ICICI Bank, RBL Bank, and Yes Bank power the current account.
I found the current account of this Neo Bank quite impressive, as it integrates all the finances of a business and replaces the manual financial operations with totally automated ones.
Small businesses can partner with RazorpayX to find business solutions and grow their revenue and expertise in the business world.
Features:
- Cards: It has unique business Visa cards with exclusive business discounts and international transactions at the lowest forex fee. The team can use this card, which can be customized per role.
- Integrations: RazorpayX has integrated accounting and business tools like Tolly, Zoho, Slack, Shopify, and ERP software, which save time and decrease manual errors.
- Rewards: It has various offers, namely, 40% off on the annual subscription to Google Worksheet, an instant discount of up to Rs 2000 on MakeMyTrip, three months of XPayroll Pro at no cost, and many more.
- Customer care: Contact RazorpayX through calls, live chat, and support tickets. It has a premium support unit with a dedicated relationship manager.
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Yono by SBI
Yono By SBI is the best Neo Bank associated with the State Bank of India.
I trust Yono as it is presented by the country’s most trusted governmental bank. It allows me to instantly withdraw money from any SBI Merchant POS terminal, Customer Service Points, or SBI ATMs without any form or physical card.
I was able to quickly pay utility bills and transfer funds using Yono Pay, which has an in-built BHIM UPI option for convenient transactions.
Further, you can open savings and digital loans, which are offered at an interest rate of 11.25% p.a. on personal loans and can be applied with just one click from the comfort of your home.
Features:
- Cards: Yono offers beneficial credit cards like Kisan for farmers’ convenience. Also, a regular SBI credit card can be linked to Yono anytime and anywhere.
- ATM withdrawal: Cash can be withdrawn from a SBI ATM by clicking on YONO Cash in the app and entering the Transaction Reference Number and YONO Cash Pin in the ATM.
- Rewards: At Yono, you can earn reward points through various transactions, such as booking tickets on IRCTC through Yono or from bill payments. Here, one reward point is equal to 25 paise.
- Free facilities: Consolidated account statement, first ten cheque leaves for a financial year, account, maintenance, and net banking.
- Mutual funds: This platform offers more than 40 mutual fund schemes in which you can invest instantly without any requirement for initial investments.
- Customer care: You can contact customer support via toll-free numbers, SMS services, and email addresses.
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Fam Pay
Fam Pay, also called FamApp, is the #BestBankForTeens. This digital platform is associated with IDFC First Bank.
Everyone aged 11 and older can create an account. You can transfer money directly to your child’s Fam Pay account without a linked bank account.
Also, the child can do transactions easily without using the bank’s debit or credit cards.
This Neo Bank enables its customers to be creative with QR codes, cards, and UPI. The customized UPI ID can be used anywhere for payment purposes.
Not only this, but tasks like online shopping, recharge, and utility bill payments can also be done using this app. I found it exciting that you can win significant gifts through spinners and giveaways organized by Fam Pay.
It offers unique FamX cards in three forms, namely, classic, higher limit, and ultra, with ultra being the most premium and rewarding one.
Features:
- ATM withdrawal: Money can be withdrawn by transferring cash to the IDFC account through net banking. Another way to use FamX cards is where transactions are chargeable for classic and higher limits.
- Rewards: FamX offers a variety of perks, like cashback and FamCoins, for everyday purchases. The FamCoins earned after transactions act as coupons, which can be used to avail discounts and money.
- Teen account: This bank has a particular account for teenagers where it teaches things like savings, investments, earning, and spending.
- Customer care: It has a 24*7 hour dedicated team that can reached via phone or in-app chat. It also has an email facility.
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Mahila Money
Mahila Money is the best online banking platform focused on women’s empowerment. It partners with Capital Trade Links, a non-banking financial company, and Rupee Circle, a peer-to-peer lending platform.
This platform helps women entrepreneurs establish their businesses by providing economic security.
This Neo Bank offers exquisite financial services, including investments and loans, which can help you achieve your financial goals.
I found its exclusive business loans for women, offering up to Rs. 25 lakhs for three years, to be quite rewarding for the female customers.
Features:
- Cards: This bank provides prepaid cards in partnership with Visa, specially designed for business purposes.
- Rewards: In collaboration with Visa, Mahila Money offers incentives, additional bonuses, and cashback on using prepaid cards.
- Free facilities: Prepaid cards, collateral-free loans, account maintenance, and free business learning sessions known as events.
- Aditi Investments: The Aditi Investment plan is an investment option where you can earn a 9% interest rate annually.
- Customer care: You can connect with Mahila Money’s support team through email, WhatsApp, and phone.
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Revolut
Revolut is the best international Neo Bank with headquarters in London. It is associated with Tiger Global and Softbank. Since it is a global bank, it also allows international online transactions.
This platform is perfect for exchanging and sending money from/to India. Moreover, currency exchange is fast and has cheap rates.
It offers four plans: standard, plus, premium, metal, and ultra, with ultra being the most rewarding plan. It also offers accounts for customers under 18; however, it is under the guidance of parents and guardians.
It offers stocks from 2000+ companies, including well-known associations like Apple and Tesla. 
Features:
- Cards: Multi-purpose debit cards are offered in association with Visa. I found Revoult’s disposal debit cards to be better concerning environmental issues.
- Rewards: Using its debit cards, you can get free RevPoints, where every 1 point is worth 100 rupees. These points can be used as rewards for stay discounts and air miles.
- Investments: Its commodity investments in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are highly secure and rewarding.
- Customer care: Revoult’s customer care can be reached via a helpline number, email, or the 24*7 available in-app chat option.
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How to choose the right Neo Bank for your financial needs?
- RBI authorization: It’s essential to keep your hard-earned money safe, so make sure before using any bank scheme that it has RBI authorization with the guarantee of getting the desired payback.
- Robust platform: The digital bank should be easy to operate, have an intelligent dashboard, and have detailed access to transactions to keep track of the flow of money.
- Facilities: The online bank should offer various rewards, cashback, discounts, giveaways, and accessible facilities so that you can spend and save simultaneously.
- Customer-friendly: The bank should have a customer-centered approach, making banking simple. Since in-person interaction is rare on digital banks, the support team should actively answer customers’ queries as soon as possible.
- Interest rates: The Neo Bank offers high interest rates on your savings, investments, and FDs to make savings exciting.
How to create an account in a Neo Bank?
You have to follow a few simple steps to open an account in a digital bank:
- After selecting a bank, download the app from Google Playstore/Apple Store or visit the bank’s website.
- Then, you must Sign up with a valid number to receive OTP.
- Once the OTP verification is done, you can fill in your personal and bank-specific details.
- For identification, you need to submit an online copy of government-authorized documents.
- Finally, the bank can video call you for online KYC verification.
FAQs
Conclusion
Neo Banks is the best alternative if you are a working professional and have no time to visit banks in person. This bank will help you to do all your banking work in a fraction of a second just by sitting at your workplace. Moreover, along with banking facilities, it offers several transaction rewards and benefits, which can help you increase your savings. Neo Banks are the best banking option for the fast-moving generation in this digital world.
| Best Neo Bank | Unique facility |
| Jupiter | In-built savings option. |
| Fi.Money | A better option is to invest in mutual funds. |
| Mahila Money | Has special business accounts for women customers. |
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