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Varo Believe Secured Credit Card review

Updated September 28, 2026 · DebitCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026

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Our verdict

Varo Believe Secured Credit Card suits anyone with poor credit who wants a credit card and a bank account without annual or interest charges. Its annual fee is $0 and its APR is 0%, so nothing is owed for keeping it open, and the spending limit stays under the cardholder's control.

Key facts

Best for
Building a credit record with a secured card that costs nothing to hold or borrow on.
Annual fee
$0 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
APR
0% (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Currency conversion fee
0% (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Rewards type
Cashback (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Rewards rate
Offer-based, varies by merchant offer; up to $750 per calendar month (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Credit needed
Poor (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Perks
Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app, No credit check to apply, No minimum security deposit; cardholder sets own spending limit, Cashback offers at select merchants with the card, Free out-of-network-free Allpoint ATM access (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Card kind
Credit (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Legal entity
Varo Bank, National Association (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Headquarters
United States (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Founded
2015 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Support channels
Email, Chat, Phone, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Pricing model
No annual fee
Features
Rewards, Secured
Official website
varomoney.com

Debit cards

Monthly fee
$0 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Currency conversion fee
0% (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Card type
Debit (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Card network
Visa (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Legal entity
Varo Bank, National Association (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Headquarters
United States (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Founded
2015 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Support channels
Email, Chat, Phone, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Features
Rewards, Secured

Apps and profiles

Get the app
App StoreGoogle Play
Elsewhere
WikidataWikipediaLinkedInXbanks.data.fdic.gov

Pros and cons

Pros

  • The annual fee is $0 and the APR is 0%, so a card built for poor credit carries no holding or interest cost.
  • There is no credit check to apply, and there is no minimum security deposit because the cardholder sets the spending limit.
  • The card reports to all credit bureaus, with free credit score tracking in the Varo app.
  • Cashback offers sit at select merchants, alongside free out-of-network Allpoint ATM access and a $0 monthly fee on the bank account.

Cons

  • The cashback rate is offer-based and moves with the merchant offer, so the return cannot be planned as a flat rate.
  • The 0% and $0 figures are for the secured credit card, while the debit card and the bank account carry their own terms.
Varo Believe Secured Credit Card

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Scored 9.1 / 10 by DebitCue.

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Who it suits

  • Anyone with poor credit who wants a credit card without a deposit or a credit check.
  • People who want free out-of-network Allpoint ATM access and a visa card from the same bank.
  • Customers who want their card payments reported to all credit bureaus with score tracking in the app.

Who should look elsewhere

  • Wise, for anyone who mainly wants an everyday card rather than a credit-building one; its annual fee is £0.
  • Starling Personal Account Debit Card, for a plain debit card with an annual fee of £0 and no secured credit record to build.
  • AXI Card Tarjeta y Credito, for readers who prefer a combined debit and credit card; its annual fee is €0.

Regulation and registers

The regulators listed for this US product are the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The register entry held for the issuer is 59190, and the same licence is recorded as FDIC cert 59190. The bank behind the card is Varo Bank, National Association, headquarted in the US. Those registers name the regulator and the licence, but they do not set out what any protection scheme covers, so the issuer's own terms are the place to read about cover.

Rewards and perks

Rewards are paid as cashback, but the rate is not fixed. It depends on which merchant offer is active, and the amount available in a calendar month is capped, so the return follows the offers rather than all spending. The perk list adds cashback offers at select merchants with the card, free credit score tracking in the Varo app, no credit check to apply, no minimum security deposit because the cardholder sets the spending limit, and free out-of-network Allpoint ATM access.

Where it sits among rivals

Among the brands DebitCue ranks, this card sits at 1 of 301 on annual fee, 1 of 133 on APR and 1 of 181 on currency conversion. That top placing on each of the three measures is a tie rather than a gap: rivals charge an annual fee of £0, £0 and €0. What separates this card is the purpose behind the cost, building a credit record.

Using it day to day

The everyday side of the account is a debit card that runs on the visa network, so it is accepted wherever that network is taken rather than only at the bank's own points of sale. It sits alongside the secured credit card instead of replacing it: the credit card builds the record, the debit card moves the money. Support runs on email, chat and phone, so a query about a purchase, a declined payment or a limit can go down several routes, and the banking entity behind both is Varo Bank, National Association.

Fees and currency costs

The secured credit card carries an annual fee of $0, an APR of 0% and a currency conversion fee of 0%. Both the holding cost and the borrowing cost are listed at nothing, so keeping the card open and clearing a balance in full carry no fees, and a purchase in another currency adds no conversion charge. The bank account in the same setup has a monthly fee of $0, so the account that holds the money costs nothing to run either.

How Varo Believe Secured Credit Card compares

Where Varo Believe Secured Credit Card is available

Available
United States
Licence in United States
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), checked September 26, 2026
Licence in United States
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (59190), checked September 26, 2026
Licence in United States
FDIC (FDIC cert 59190), checked September 26, 2026

Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 26, 2026)

Frequently asked questions

What does the Varo Believe Secured Credit Card cost to hold?+

The secured credit card carries an annual fee of $0 and an APR of 0%, which means no interest on a balance that is repaid in full. The bank account in the same setup has a monthly fee of $0. No deposit is tied up either, since the cardholder sets the spending limit, so opening the account costs nothing in fees.

Is there a currency conversion fee on the Varo card?+

The currency conversion fee listed for the secured credit card is 0%, so a purchase in another currency does not add a conversion charge on the card. DebitCue places it at 1 of 181 brands on that measure, putting it in the cheapest group among the cards compared.

Does the card require a credit check to apply?+

There is no credit check to apply, and the product is aimed at applicants with poor credit. No deposit is demanded either, since the cardholder sets the spending limit rather than locking cash away. It is a credit account, so paying it off each month is the whole point of holding it.

How much has to be deposited as a security deposit?+

There is no minimum security deposit, and the cardholder sets the spending limit instead, so no cash is tied up to open the account. Support runs on email, chat and phone for anyone who wants the limit explained before applying. The annual fee of $0 means opening it adds nothing in cost.

Who regulates Varo and what protection applies?+

The US regulators listed for this product are the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The register entry for the issuer is 59190, also recorded as FDIC cert 59190, and the bank behind the card is Varo Bank, National Association. Those registers do not set out what any scheme covers, so the issuer's own terms are the place to read about cover.

Will this card help rebuild a credit history?+

The card reports to all credit bureaus, and the app tracks a credit score at no charge, so consistent paying shows up on the file over time. Applying does not add another check to that file either, because there is no credit check to apply. The product is aimed at applicants with poor credit.

Can I withdraw cash without paying a fee?+

Perks include free out-of-network Allpoint ATM access, so cash can be taken outside the bank's own network at no charge. The everyday card is a debit card on the visa network, and support runs on email, chat and phone for questions about a withdrawal or a declined payment.

How much cashback does the Varo card earn?+

The rewards type is cashback, but the rate is not a flat percentage. It depends on the merchant offer that is running, and the amount available in a calendar month is capped. Offers sit with selected merchants, so the return depends on where the card is used rather than on everything that is spent.

Sources

  • banks.data.fdic.gov/bankfind-suite/bankfind/details/59190 checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Headquarters, Legal entity, Licences

    “CERT=59190; NAME=Varo Bank, National Association; WEBADDR=www.varomoney.com; ACTIVE=1”

  • support.varomoney.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000334946-How-... checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Support channels

    “Live, in-app support; Call 1-877-377-8276; Visit varomoney.com/support”

  • varomoney.com/about-us checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Founded

    “We were founded in 2015 in San Francisco, California by Colin Walsh”

  • varomoney.com/bank-account checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Monthly fee

    “KEEP MORE OF YOUR MONEY WITH A FREE BANK ACCOUNT. No minimum balance, maintenance, overdraft, or account fees”

  • varomoney.com/cashback checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Features, Rewards rate, Rewards type

    “Varo Believe is a secured credit card designed to help you build credit”

  • varomoney.com/credit-builder checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Annual fee, APR, Card kind, Credit needed, Currency conversion fee, Pricing model, Perks

    “No interest, annual fees, or security deposit”

  • varomoney.com/debit-card checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Card type, Card network

    “VARO VISA DEBIT CARD. NO WEIRD FEES”

Compiled from 7 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.

Varo Believe Secured Credit Card

Varo Believe Secured Credit Card

Building a credit record with a secured card that costs nothing to hold or borrow on.

9.1/10See alternatives