A New Online Bank Targets Asian-Americans with High Savings Rate

There are hundreds of banking choices today and it’s enough to make any person’s head spin. But now, a challenger bank wants to cater to Asian immigrants in the US. Their offer? A high-interest checking account that rewards customers for saving and spending.

OnJuno, a bank based in India, is about to transform the way you save. This cross-border platform aims to give its customers a world-class high-yield account so they can grow their savings fast. The bank’s unique approach lies in working towards creating a global banking system for everyone, regardless of their income or location.

OnJuno Tiers

The bank recently opened an office in San Francisco to help target immigrants in the US even more. They have joined the ranks of Tomo, Majority, and Stilt. 

To open an account with OnJuno, all you need is a state identification and a social security number. OnJuno offers two tiers for its customers. The “basic” tier does not come with any monthly fee and pays a 2.15 percent bonus rate on balances up to $5,000. It also offers a 5 percent cashback for customers who spend around $500 annually at eligible merchants such as Walmart, Amazon, and Target, Uber, Lyft, and Netflix, among many others.  

The “metal” tier charges customers $9.99 per month. It yields the same amount of balances up to $30,000 annually and pays the same rate of cashback for customers spending $3,000 annually as the basic tier. Metal tier users get a physical card.

A Bank for Asian Americans

Varun said that the account features mirror the tendencies of Asian immigrants to value long-term savings, as well as the ability to send remittances. He also added that these customers are more likely to use debit over credit. 

Although charging monthly fees is unique for challenger banks, CEO Varun Deshpande said this is only because they are targeting premium clients. Tester clients averaged between $8,000 to 10,000 deposits. 

This makes sense considering Asian households have an annual household income of $73,000, and Indian Americans have a median household income of $100,000. 

The bank can afford to pay its high bonus rate because it pays lower human resource costs in Asia. This January, they are rolling out a low-cost remittance feature.