Lili Bank Review: Fee-Free Banking App Built For Freelancers

Overall Ranking

4/5

Overview

Fees

4/5

Ease of Use

3/5

Mobile Access

4/5

Features

4.5/5

Customer Service

4/5

You work hard as a freelancer and it’s only right that your bank should work hard for you. That’s the main idea behind Lili, a banking app designed specifically for freelancers.

Clint Proctor

Editor's Note

You can trust the integrity of our balanced, independent financial advice. We may, however, receive compensation from the issuers of some products mentioned in this article. Opinions are the author's alone. This content has not been provided by, reviewed, approved or endorsed by any advertiser, unless otherwise noted below.

Freelancers, like myself, often have a lot of plates to juggle. We may wear the hats of CEO, marketer, accountant, and IT technician all within the same workday.

You work hard as a freelancer and it’s only right that your bank should work hard for you. That’s the main idea behind Lili, a banking app designed specifically for freelancers. Lili Bank offers a virtually fee-free banking experience with lots of built-in tools to save you time and money.

In this article, we’ll review Lili Bank in detail, so you can decide if it’s a good option for you. Here’s what you need to know.

What Is Lili?

Lili is a new mobile bank that launched in 2019 with the mission to “empower freelancers with tools and services designed to improve their work, their life, and their balance.” Its co-founders are CEO Lilac Bar David and CTO Liran Zelkha.

Not long after Lili was formed, the pandemic hit and caused many people who lost their day jobs to turn to freelance. And this shift benefited Lili in a major way. The bank has already passed 100,000 opened accounts and transactions are up 700% since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.

Lili had already raised $10 million in its seed round. But on October 22, 2020, it was announced that it had secured an additional $15 million in Series A funding. And its CEO Lilac Bar David was also named in October as one of Entrepreneur’s 100 most powerful female founders of 2020.

Lili Bank Key Features

Lili’s checking accounts don’t earn interest or offer rewards. So what value is Lili offering freelancers that is allowing it to experience so much growth in such a short period of time? Below we break down its most notable features.

Mobile Banking

Lili isn’t a bank that happens to have an app. Instead, its mobile app (available on iOS and Android) sits at the core of its customer experience.

New customers are required to download the app to complete the account opening process after submitting their applications. Once you’re inside, the app can handle all your banking needs including:

Accessing account and routing numbers
Initiating online deposits and transfers
Paying bills
Categorizing transactions
Depositing paper checks
Reviewing transaction history
Modifying debit card usage settings
Generating expense reports
Finding local ATMs

In my own experience with the app, I found it to be well-designed and easy to use. It should be noted, however, that currently there is no way for a customer to access his or her account from a computer.

Related: Best Mobile Banking Apps

Visa Business Debit Card

As soon as you’ve opened your business checking account with Lili, it will send a Visa debit card to you in the mail. Lili says that the card should arrive within 10 business days and its shipping status can be tracked inside the app.

Thankfully, you don’t have to wait until your physical card arrives in the mailbox to begin using it. Lili will provide your card number immediately so you can begin making online purchases. Plus, the card can be linked to several third-party payment apps, including Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.

Lili customers can spend up to $5,000 per day with their Visa business debit card. The card can also be temporarily deactivated at any time from inside the app.

Related:

Helpful Tax Tools

Lili offers a variety of tax features setting it apart from other online banking apps. For one, it can automatically set aside a portion of each deposit for taxes so that you don’t accidentally spend money that you owe to Uncle Sam.

One of the coolest features is its expense categorization tool. As you spend money with your Visa debit card and the transactions appear in your account, you can simply swipe left or right to categorize them as personal or business expenses.

Then, at tax-filing time, Lili can use your expense data to help you file your taxes accurately and to claim the business deductions that you deserve. That not only saves you time but also money if you can reduce your tax preparation cost.

Related: Taxes for Freelancers

Online Deposits and Transfers

As with other checking accounts, you can accept direct deposits from your clients as a Lili customer. But unlike some other bank accounts, Lili offers Early Payments. With this feature, customers can receive their direct deposit payments up to two days earlier than they would arrive at a traditional bank.

In addition to direct deposits, Lili customers can transfer money from a few external bank accounts. Currently, the following banks are supported:

Bank of America
BB&T
Capital One Financial
Charles Schwab
Citigroup
Citizens Financial Group
Fidelity
JP Morgan Chase and Co
Navy Federal
PNC Financial
Services Group
SunTrust Banks
TD Bank
U.S. Bancorp
USAA
Wells Fargo

It should be noted that there are daily and monthly limits for transfers between accounts. The current limits are $1,000 per day and $5,000 per month.

ATM Access

Lili offers fee-free ATM access at the over 32,000 ATMs that are part of the MoneyPass network. Cash withdrawal limits are set at $500 per day.

To find an ATM near you, simply navigate to the ATM locator inside the app and search for the nearest one to your location.

Cash deposits are also convenient and affordable. To deposit cash, simply visit a participating Green Dot location. Lili provides a link to find a deposit location near you and additional details regarding deposits here. While Lili doesn’t charge any fees for cash deposits, retailer fees can vary with a maximum charge of $4.95.

Related: Best ATM Locator Apps

Promotions

You can earn some easy cash by recommending Lili to your friends and family. Each time someone you refer opens an account and spends at least $250 with their Lili card during the first 45 days, you’ll both earn a $50 reward. You can take advantage of this promotion up to 10 times, for a total potential value of $500.

Resource: Best New Bank Promotions & Offers

Lili Bank Pricing and Fees

Lili’s terms and fees are consumer-friendly. There is no minimum deposit and no monthly maintenance fee regardless of your account balance.

Additionally, you won’t be charged any of the following fees with Lili:

Overdraft fee
Returned item fee
Stop payment fee
Deposit item returned fee
Inactive account fee
Funds transfer fee

All of the fees that Lili does charge can be avoided. These include:

Deposited check return fee: $25
Express mail fee: $20
Card replacement fee: $5 after the first replacement

Additionally, customers will incur a $2.50 fee for using a domestic out-of-network ATM and a $5 fee for international ATM withdrawals.

Opening an Account

Lili says that new accounts can be opened within 3 minutes. In my own test, I found their estimate to be fairly spot-on.

To open an account, simply navigate to the Lili website and click “Get started.” First off, you’ll be asked to provide your email address.

Next, you’ll need to give your name and phone number and create a password before confirming your identity with your Social Security number and birthdate. Note that your SSN is only used for identity verification purposes and your credit score will not be impacted.

Next, you’ll need to select the kind of freelance work that you do from a drop-down menu.

Then simply click continue to submit your application! And that’s it! Within seconds your account should be created. Finally, Lili will text you a link to download the app so that you can finish the account setup process and begin using your card online.

Lili Bank Security

When it comes to deposit-protection, Lili customers receive full FDIC insurance through its sponsor bank, Choice Financial Group. That means $250,000 in deposits (which is also the maximum account balance) will be federally protected.

Lili has also taken measures to protect its customers’ data privacy. It says it uses industry-leading encryption and uses multiple layers of security. Customers can also use biometric authentication, such as fingerprint, face, or iris scanning.

Related:

Best Business Liability Insurance Companies
Best Insurance for Small Businesses

Lili Customer Service

Customers can contact support in multiple ways. For written support, you can submit a request inside the “Help Center” or send an email to support@lili.co. Phone support is also available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (EST) at 1-855-545-4380.

What Others Are Saying

As of article writing, Lili has a 4.8/5-star rating from 978 ratings on the Apple Store and a 4.4/5 rating on the Google Play store out of 1,118 customer reviews.

Positive reviews praised Lili for the app’s ease of use and for how quickly the debit card arrived in the mail. Another reviewer noted that she had reached out to a developer about a problem and it was resolved within hours.

However, one negative reviewer complained of inaccurate account balance and transaction information. And another reviewer (while noting the app’s potential) was disappointed to find they couldn’t transfer money to their previous bank account as it wasn’t one of the banks that Lili currently supports.

How We Tested the Product

Factors we considered during our test of Lili included:

Fees: Includes monthly maintenance fees as well as account activity fees.
Features: Includes mobile accessibility and account management, deposit and transfer options, access to cash, third-party software integration, and more.
Ease of Use: Includes the application process, website and app design and functionality, and access to local branches and ATMs.
Customer Service: Includes phone and messaging support as well as in-person support at brick-and-mortar locations.

Lili was given an editorial rating of 1 to 10 in each of these categories based on how it compared to other top business bank accounts.

Honest Recommendation

In my first-hand experience, I found that Lili’s application process couldn’t have been easier. The app was also thoughtfully designed. All of the most important information and tasks were easy to find, without having to wade through multiple sets of menus.

I also loved that it was truly as easy as Lili promised to categorize transactions, set up direct deposit, and pay bills. And as someone who currently exports my bank transactions to a third-party software provider for expense categorization, I could easily see the benefits of being able to cut out this extra step and cost.

The lack of earned interest or rewards wouldn’t be a problem for me as I could continue to use my savings account for that while using Lili for day-to-day transactions. The lack of desktop account access or physical branches also wouldn’t bother me as I also already do nearly all of my banking from my phone and cash deposits are still an option at 90,000 Green Dot locations.

I’m also fortunate in that my main bank is one of the 16 that are currently supported by Lili. However, I could see myself periodically running into frustrations with the $1,000 (daily) and $5,000 (monthly) external bank transfer limits.

Lili Bank Pros & Cons

Low fees — With Lili, you’ll never pay a wide variety of fees including monthly maintenance fees, overdraft fees, or fund transfer fees. 
Tax tools — You can automatically save for taxes and categorize your expenses as work or personal without ever leaving the Lili app.
Fast direct deposit — Receive your direct deposit funds up to two days earlier with Lili’s Early Payments feature. 
Attractive referral program — You can receive a maximum of 10 referral rewards of $25 (up to $250) for each of your friends or family who open an account and spend at least $250 on their debit card. 
Large fee-free ATM network — Withdraw cash for free at over 38,000 MoneyPass network ATMs.

No interest or rewards — Lili pays no interest on deposited funds and there is no cashback rewards program for its debit card. 
Bank transfer limits — You won’t be able to transfer more than $1,000 per day or $5,000 per month from another bank into your Lili account.

Alternatives to Lili

Not sure that Lili is the right business banking option for you? Here are a few alternatives.

Novo is another one of the top choices in the business banking space. Its business checking accounts come with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. However, a $50 minimum deposit is required to open an account.

Where Novo really shines is in the number of third-party business software services that it’s able to integrate with. Freelancers who need to transfer funds overseas will love that Novo is able to connect with TransferWise. Other notable integrations include QuickBooks, Slack, Xero, and Stripe.

Impressively, Novo refunds all ATM fees for its customers. And bank-to-bank electronic transfers are always free too. Check out our complete review of Novo.

NorthOne offers several benefits for freelancers and business owners. It makes it easy to create sub-accounts for things like your taxes, payroll, and rent. And it works with a large number of third-party services including Quickbooks, Freshbooks, Gusto, Wave, Xero, and more.

But for some freelancers, the one feature that could tip the scales in NorthOne’s favor is it can accept cash deposits for free. Customers can deposit or withdraw fee-free from any NYCE or MoneyPass ATM nationwide.

NorthOne’s pricing falls a bit short, however. All customers are charged a monthly maintenance fee of $10. Other fees include an overdraft fee ($5), non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee ($25), wire transfer fee ($10), and international wire transfer fee ($25).

Bluevine stands out from the crowd by being one of the few business bank accounts to pay interest on its customers’ deposits. Customers earn a solid interest rate of 2.0% on balances up to $250,000 - Eligibility requirements apply.

Bluevine also offers all the other perks that you’d expect from a top business bank. There are no monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements. And customers get fee-free access to cash withdrawals at over 38,000 ATMs.

Other perks of Bluevine include the ability to schedule vendor payments for free, unlimited monthly transactions, and two free checkbooks. In addition to its Business Checking product, Bluevine also offers Paycheck Protection loans and business lines of credit. Read our full review of Bluevine.

Related:

For more Lili alternatives, see our Best Business Checking Accounts For Freelancers and Entrepreneurs.

Is Lili Right for You?

If you’re looking for a business checking account that pays interest or offers rewards, Lili won’t be the right bank for you. It also won’t be a good fit for freelancers who want the convenience of local branches or make a lot of cash deposits.

But if you’re a freelancer who’s comfortable with doing all your banking from your phone, Lili could be a solid choice. With Lili, you could speed up your direct deposit delivery by up to two days and simplify your tax prep, all while paying no monthly fees.