With the mission of helping people reach financial independence to realize their ambitions, SoFi – Social Finance, Inc. was founded in Aug 2011 by Stanford business school students. SoFi is an FDIC-insured nationally chartered bank. It primarily offers SoFi checking and savings.
Quick insights
Review on the academic journey of SoFi
- SoFi was founded in August 2011 by Stanford Business School students.
- In 2012, SoFi introduced student loan refinancing thereby becoming the first company to refinance federal and private student loans.
- 2014 was the year when SoFi launched mortgages.
- In 2015, SoFi started lending personal loans and soon after that, it has become the first U.S.-based fintech company to receive $1 billion in funding.
- The SoFi at Work program was launched in 2016 with the aim of offering employee benefits such as student loan contributions and refinancing.
- 2017 was the year when SoFi introduced student loan refinancing products for medical residents and fellows.
- SoFi launched SoFi Money and SoFi Invest in 2019.
- In 2020, SoFi reached 1,000,000 members.
Products & Services offered
SoFi offers numerous products. They are,
| Student loan refinancing | Medical / Dental resident refinancing | Parent Plus refinancing |
| Medical professional refinancing | Law & MBA refinancing | Private student loans |
| Undergraduate student loans | Graduate student loans | Law school loans |
| MBA loans | Health professions loans | Parent student loans |
| Personal loans | Credit card consolidation loans | Home improvement loans |
| Family planning loans | Travel loans | Wedding loans |
| Mortgage loans | Mortgage refinance | Auto loan refinance |
| SoFi Invest | IPO Investing | Crypto partner hub |
| Fractional shares | Active investing | ETFs |
| SoFi protect | Renters Insurance | Homeowners Insurance |
| Auto Insurance | Life Insurance | Cyber Insurance |
| Estate planning | SoFi Credit card | SoFi checking and savings |
| Financial insights | SoFi at work | Small business financing |
Review on product offerings
SoFi offers a range of products tailored to the customers’ needs and special services and discounts. It also offers competitive interest rates and high-yield checking and savings accounts without charging fees and expects minimum balance requirements from its customers.
SoFi checking and savings
SoFi offers impressive features for checking and savings account holders.
- Set up a direct deposit account and wait for 2-4 weeks to get it hit to your account. A cash bonus of $50 to $300 is given depending on the deposit amount.
- Direct deposit members earn 4.6% APY on their savings.
- No fee on overdraft coverage.
- Additional FDIC insurance offered.
Personal loans
SoFi has made its members pay off over $26 B in debt with its personal loan.
- Funds are transferred as soon as the loan is availed mostly the same day.
- SoFi offers personalized loan offers and schedules the availability of the funds according to the needs of the customers.
- Funds are provided with low interest rates and without processing fees.
SoFi invest
SoFi Invest includes all the other investment opportunities in one place.
- Active investing – Allows members to trade on equities and ETFs with no commissions and enables them to participate in IPO offerings.
- Financial planners – Provide investment advice on the demand of the customers as complimentary.
- Automated investing – A tailor-made auto-managed diversified portfolio is created according to the risk tolerance and goals of the customers. No advisory fees are collected for this.
- Retirement accounts – Automated traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs give access to a broad range of investment options and member services.
Home loans
SoFi has a nationwide membership of 8.8M with funded mortgage loans at more than $7.5B. SoFi has more than 130K homebuyers with rewards earned at 2.3M. Applying for SoFi mortgage loan is very easy with the simple steps below.
- Set a budget for your loan
- Review your credit score and select a loan option
- Determine your down payment
- Improve your DTI (Debt-To-Income ratio)
- Prepare your paper trail
Student loan refinancing
Following are the reasons why SoFi is preferred for student loan refinancing.
- A competitive fixed and variable loan rate availability
- A shorter-term facility that enabling to pay off the loan faster
- Option to consolidate all the student loans into one easy payment
SoFi insights
SoFi believes that knowing your credit score is the first step toward financial well-being.
- Easy to connect and view your accounts in one place
- Budgeting is more simplified now
- Rest easy with multifactor authentication
SoFi’s financial insights consist of the services,
- Credit score monitoring
- Budgeting and spending
- Property tracking
- Investment portfolio summary
- Debt summary
Private student loans
SoFi provides attractive interest rates for private student loans.
- Easy and simple online application process
- No origination or late fees
- Rewards and bonus
- Easy repayment and discounts
Sofi protect
SoFi teamed up with top companies to help customers find the right insurance and facilitates cyber insurance well. The insurance variations include Auto, life, home, and renters insurance. SoFi also offers estate plans and for a limited time, it offers 20% off a trust, will, or guardianship through trust & will.
Review on loan interest rates
SoFi takes different interests for various loans that are issued. A 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction is offered on automatic deduction (ACH) from the customers’ savings account.
| Loan types | Fixed Interest rates | Variable Interest rates |
|---|---|---|
| Student loan Refinancing | 5.24% APR to 9.99% APR | Up to 10yr term rates capped at 8.95% APR 20yr terms capped at – 9.95% APR |
| Parents PLUS Refinancing | 5.24% APR to 8.09% APR | Up to 10yr term rates capped at 8.95% APR 20yr terms capped at – 9.95% APR |
| Undergraduate Student Loans | 3.99% APR to 14.83% APR Variable rates from 5.74% to 15.86% | 5.74% APR to 15.86% APR Capped at 17.95% |
| Graduate Student Loans | 3.99% APR to 14.83% APR | 5.74% APR to 15.86% APR Capped at 17.95% |
| MBA & Law Student Loans | 3.99% APR to 14.83% APR | 5.74% APR to 15.86% APR Capped at 17.95% |
| Parent Student Loans | 6.25% APR to 14.83% APR | Capped at 17.95% |
| Personal Loans | 8.99% APR to 29.49% APR |
Review on member benefits
SoFi provides exclusive member benefits such as financial planning at no cost. It has member benefits programs such as offers and discounts.
Member rate discount
According to the eligibility criteria and other applicable terms on certain loan types, SoFi offers Member rate discounts without notice. This discount rate is usually 0.125% of the member’s first personal loan, private student loan, or student loan refinance.
Member referral programs
SoFi’s referral program is open to all individuals who reside outside of Vermont. According to the terms and conditions and abide by the federal, state, or local taxes funds disbursements are made.
Member rewards
All the terms and conditions applicable to the use of SoFi member rewards apply. Rewards points are distributed to the members on transactions, purchases, etc. Points can be redeemed at a rate of 1 cent per every point.
Privacy policies
- SoFi bank takes a member-centric approach to its financial services and ensures its customers feel safe and secure.
- SoFi secures customer privacy and protects customer information per the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The U.S. Consumer Privacy Notice also applies to SoFi’s consumers.
- SoFi’s online Privacy Policy applies to everyone who visits the SoFi website or mobile application on how it collects and uses their personal information.
- SoFi’s Employee Applicant Privacy Notice details SoFi’s privacy policies on how it collects and uses the candidates’ personal information.
- SoFi has disclosed all its third parties with whom the personal information of its customers is disclosed.
SoFi contact information
- SoFi’s help center provides clarification on all the services domain-wise.
- Chat services are availed through intelligent virtual assistants 24/7 to support identifying and fixing customer problems. On requirement, an agent is connected during working hours.
- SoFi customer care can be contacted by telephone at (855) 456-SOFI (7634).
- Tweet@SoFisupport is the alternate social media support contact.
Conclusion
Ever since its foundation in 2011, SoFi Bank has been on a steady development by introducing new products and services year after year. Our reviews for SoFi bank remain positive as it enables its customers to get their money right by following 4 principles namely, attack debt with a plan, always have a safety net, put your money to work, and save for retirement.
Pro Tip
Open a checking/savings account with SoFi and enjoy the benefits of lower interests and member programs with our trusted forex brokers. Explore other investment opportunities such as banking, forex, cryptos, and CFDs to enhance your financial journey.
