Here’s a guide on how to meet the Direct Deposit requirements for opening bank accounts, for the purpose of earning bank bonuses and promotions.
While there are a few bank bonus offers that don’t require Direct Deposit, most of the higher value promotions do.
The terms and conditions of most bonuses state that a Direct Deposit must be an “electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government“.
If you have no trouble sticking with those guidelines, then it’s smooth sailing to receive your bonus money. However, there are many people who don’t have the option of getting their paycheck directly deposited by their employer, and many more who don’t qualify for governments benefits.
So, what then are your options? I’ll go over some below.
*Another reason to learn about Direct Deposit alternatives is because many of today’s Checking accounts require Direct Deposit in order to avoid some monthly fees.
Best Alternatives To Trigger A Direct Deposit For Bank Accounts:
**IMPORTANT** One of the things I can’t stress enough is that one singular method is not GUARANTEED to work for everyone. All of the alternatives below are Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV).
First, The Options:
*Amazon Payments is no longer an option, so I’ve removed it from the list here.
• ACH Transfers. Automated Clearing House (ACH) Transfers/Push are available through all banks, because it’s a free way to transfer money between financial institutions. It’s also quick, taking typically 2 business days for transfers. This is the most popular alternative to meet Direct Deposit requirements. People often try to do an ACH transfer from a different bank account they own into the new one.
• Capital One 360 Online Checking. This is an online checking product that allows for ACH transfers and Person2Person payments (a way to send money to anyone using their email – similar to Chase Quickpay). It’s a popular option to fulfill Direct Deposit requirements because you control everything online and it avoids all the monthly fees that traditional banks require. Another plus is you can earn up to $1,000 in bonus money with referrals. Read about the Capital One 360 Bonus here.
• Paypal. You’ll find limited success using this currently. Basically, you simply add your new bank account to your PayPal profile and then withdraw the balance from your PayPal account into your bank account.
**MUST READ TIPS**
- Because none of the above alternatives will work with ALL bank bonuses for sure, I recommend using a combination of the above options.
- The good thing is, you’re basically just shifting your own money with really no risk of additional fees.
- If you’re planning on signing up for a good number of new bank promotions, prepare by setting up those above options first.
Meeting Direct Deposit Requirements For Specific Banks
Based on personal reports from popular finance forums, I’ve compiled a list of banks that often offer bonuses and which Direct Deposit alternatives have(or haven’t) worked. Please comment below with any personal experiences you might have.
Disclaimer: *This information is forever changing, so there is no guarantee these other methods of meeting Direct Deposit requirements for bonuses will always work.
*YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)
If a bank/financial institution’s name is listed, that means using ACH through them was reported as successful.
DD = Direct Deposit
Bank | Reportedly Triggers DD | Doesn’t Trigger DD | Promo |
American Express Bluebird |
Amazon payments | ||
American Express Serve |
Ally, Paypal, CapitalOne360, Santander ACH push | ||
Anchor Bank |
Discover ACH | ||
Associated Bank |
Ally, NFCU ACH | Promo | |
Avidia Bank |
Capital One 360 ACH | ||
BancorpSouth |
Unknown | Unknown | Promo |
Bank of America |
Emigrant, E*Trade, Fidelity Money Line, HSBC, Capital One 360 | ACH Transfer, Ally ACH, Paypal, BofA user to user transfers | Promo |
Bank of New York |
HSBC, ACH | ||
Bank Of The West |
Emigrant, Capital One 360, Paypal, Schwab ACH | Promo | |
BBVA Bank |
Capital One 360 | Promo | |
BMO |
Alliant ACH, Discover ACH, Schwab Transfer | Capital One 360, Paypal | Promo |
Capital One |
Capital One 360 | Promo | |
Capital One 360 |
Alliant, ACH, Discover, Capital One 360 | Promo | |
Charter One |
Capital One 360, ACH | Paypal | |
Chase |
E*Trade ACH, Amex Serve, Amex Bluebird, Citibank | Paypal, Capital One 360, KeyBank ACH, Bank of America ACH (*previously acceptable) | Promo |
Chime |
Amex Serve | ||
Citibank |
ACH, Amazon payments, Emigrant direct, Fidelity ACH, Capital One 360 | Paypal, Schwab Brokerage money link transfers | Promo |
Citizens Bank |
ACH, Capital One 360 | Promo | |
Columbia Bank |
Paypal | ||
Commerce Bank |
Paypal, Capital One 360 | ||
Community West Credit Union |
ACH | ||
Discover |
Ally, Amazon Payments, Bank of America Business ACH, Capital One 360, Fidelity, Paypal, Serve, TD Ameritrade | Promo | |
E*Trade |
Capital One 360, ACH | Promo | |
Fifth Third Bank |
Capital One, Discover ACH, Huntington, USAA ACH, Capital One 360, Paypal, Amex Serve, Tax Refund | Promo | |
First Mark Credit Union |
ACH, Alliant ACH, Ally ACH | ||
First Niagara Bank |
Alliant ACH, Ally ACH, Amex FSB ACH, Bank of America ACH, Capital One ACH, Capital One 360 ACH, Chase ACH, Discover, HSBC ACH, Paypal, State Farm ACH | Promo | |
First Tennessee Bank |
ACH, Alliant, Ally, Capital One, Capital One 360, Capital One Savings, Charles Schwab, Chase, Discover, Paypal, Santander, Schwab Brokerage, USAA, Venmo | Promo | |
First Trade Union Bank (FTUB) |
Capital One 360 | Ally Bank ACH, Chase ACH | |
Great Lakes Credit Union |
ACH, Chase | ||
HomeStreet Bank |
Citibank, Paypal, Provident Credit Union | Promo | |
HSBC |
Capital One 360, Paypal, ACH | Promo | |
Huntington Bank |
Amazon Payments, ACH Transfers, Bluebird, Capital One, Paypal | Promo | |
KeyBank |
Paypal, ACH, Discover, Schwab Brokerage | Promo | |
Lake Michigan Credit Union |
ACH | ||
LaSalle |
ACH | ||
M&T Bank |
ACH, Ally, Ameritrade, Barclays Savings, Capital One ACH trial deposits, Capital One 360, Chase trial deposits, Chase ACH, Citi ACH trial deposits, Discover, HSBC, Paypal, Paypal trial deposits, PNC test deposits, Schwab, USAA, Venmo | Promo | |
Mango |
Alliant, Amazon Payments, Bluebird, Fidelity, Capital One 360, Paypal | ||
Meadows Credit Union |
ACH | ||
Nationwide Bank |
Amex Serve, Capital One 360 ACH, Fidelity, Paypal | Ally ACH, Random ACH | Promo |
Northshore Bank |
ACH | ||
NorthWest Savings Bank |
ACH, Schwab One | ||
NuVision Federal |
Amazon Payments, Ameritrade, Schwab Brokerage | ||
Old National Bank |
PNC ACH | Promo | |
Orange County CU |
Unknown | Promo | |
PeoplesBank |
PNC ACH | ||
Pinnacle Titans Bank |
Paypal, Discover | ||
PNC |
ACH, Alliant, Amex Serve, Amex Redbird, Capital One 360, Discover ACH, Fidelity, Paypal, Fidelity | Ally ACH, E*Trade | Promo |
Popular Bank |
Capital One 360, Chase ACH | Promo | |
Principal Bank |
Capital On 360, HSBC | ||
Regions Bank |
ACH, Capital On 360 | Promo | |
Salem Bank |
E*Trade, ACH | Paypal | |
Santander Bank |
ACH | ACH coded as P2P such as Ally, Citi, Nationwide, PNC, US Bank will not work | Promo |
SchoolsFirstCU |
Capital One 360 | ||
Security Service FCU |
Paypal | ||
SunTrust |
Ally ACH, ACH, Discover, Paypal, ING, TCF, Capital One 360 | Promo | |
TD Bank |
ACH | Promo | |
Tech CU |
Ally, Capital One 360, Charles Schwab, Citi, Discover, PNC, Schwab, Synchrony | ||
TruMark Financial |
Paypal | ||
UFBDirect |
ACH | Promo | |
US Bank |
ACH, Alliant, Paypal | Promo | |
USAA |
Capital One 360 | ACH, Paypal | Promo |
Valley Bank |
Capital One 360 | ||
Wells Fargo |
Capital One 360(maybe), Ally, Charles Schwab Money Link | Mixed reports (YMMV) | Promo |
Helpful pages for Bank Promotions:
- Bank Promotions List
- Best Chase Bank Promotions
- Soft Vs. Hard Pull When Opening Bank Accounts
- Banks That Allow Credit Card Funding The Opening Deposit
- Banks With Lowest Foreign ATM Fees
READ MORE: SEE THE BEST BANK BONUSES HERE AND THE BEST INVESTING BONUSES HERE.
Trending Deals
We are pleased to share with you the current trending financial deals and promotions featured on our blog.
For HSBC, depositing money from PayPal balance to HSBC, does that qualify as an ACH? Or will that meet the terms for the promo?
New $100 BONUS from Varo Bank, it is not on your website yet.
Opens a Varo Bank Account and receives a direct deposit of $200+ within 45 days of opening their account, both referrer and referee will get $100.
This is my referal link to the bonus: http://refer.varomoney.com/D7TlW
Thank You
i did ACH from Ally Bank to Chase. It did NOT qualify as Direct Deposit
You write some very useful and awesome articles. Thanks a lot. Appreciate that
Does Robinhood works for HSBC ?
On 5/6/19, a transfer from Discover Bank into a Keybank Privilege checking account was shown on the Key statement as “direct deposit” and immediately triggered payment of the $300 bonus. I’m going to try the same thing into Bank of America.
When opening an account with a direct deposit requirement, check first with Social Security to see how much lead time you need for redirecting your direct deposit. On 6/28/19, I opened a Bank of America account requiring $4000 of direct deposits in 90 days. SSA won’t deposit into it before September and since no one gets $4000 in benefits in one month, it looks like I will miss out on the bonus since it will take about 118 days to cross the $4000 deposit threshold. It’s possible the date you request the SSA change of bank could make the difference in whether you make the deadline or not.
Something peculiar I’ve noticed with Capital One 360, is if you do a one-time deposit, it will show up as ACH, but if you schedule a recurring futgure transfers (say weeky or monthly transfer $250), it is processed as a direct deposit. Something to consider trying.
FWIW, I have done several bank account bonuses over the years, as has my wife. ACH pushes from Alliant Credit Union have been successful everytime except for one, I believe, which was Bank of America(basic checking account, I was even targeted).
Jeffrey,
Thanks for that data point. That’s awesome.
Chase will accept Etrade ACH as direct deposit? Is it Etrade bank or Etrade brokerage? Is there a limit on amount for doing this way as direct deposit? Is it still true as of today?
any update on this regarding Etrade ACH as direct deposit into Chase? Anybody opened Chase acct online recently using Etrade bank or brokerage as dd?
I just opened a savings account with BMO Harris because I did not want to waste my gas driving for nothing, because the lady that attended to me said that the direct deposit I receive from lyft as a driver does not count and will not make me to qualify for any bonus because lyft form of payment is ACH, even at that am I not qualify?
Thanks for the information.
if it says just ‘ACH’ , ACH from any bank will work to get the bonus
for citizens bank it just says ACH, does it mean ach from any bank works
Any update on these ?
When you these bonus how often can you them?