Crypto Paychecks and Cashback for All

Decentralized finance (DeFi) has higher returns and interest rates than typical banks and savings accounts. When lending on platforms like Aave and Yearn.Finance, users may earn 5, 10, or even 15% higher rates than their traditional savings account counterparts. While these are fantastic options, the reality is that DeFi is inaccessible to many.

OnJuno, is attempting to address that complexity. But they’re not stopping at lending. OnJuno is an entire banking services app for managing your crypto and cash. And it even allows you to earn your paycheck in digital assets. This review will discuss OnJuno’s various features and how the platform holds up in the overall financial ecosystem.

OnJuno has an ambitious vision to power the next wave of billion crypto users by helping them invest, earn and save cryptocurrencies right from the safety of an FDIC-insured checking account. OnJuno’s core feature, “get paid in crypto”, is currently backed by Sequoia, Polychain, Consensys and #Hashed. The team built the Nuo protocol, one of the earliest lending platforms in DeFi. Nuo was the first to introduce contract wallets and meta transactions to simplify the user experience. Nuo had processed over $100 million in margin loans and was one of the top five protocols on DeFi pulse in early 2019. Today, the same team is passionately building 

OnJuno - an app used and loved by employees from Apple, Google, Amazon, and crypto natives alike. By seamlessly converting paycheck to crypto and enabling crypto spending in the real world, OnJuno gives its members the financial freedom they deserve.

High-Yield Earnings

First and foremost, it’s essential to understand that OnJuno is online only. The online only banking service trend has gained popularity in the past few years, though you’d be hard-pressed to find one as feature-filled as OnJuno.

The platform offers two high-yield checking accounts, each paying 1.20% in annual interest on balances up to $5,000. From there, OnJuno offers 0.25% on balances over $5,000 and up to $100,000, which is still a higher rate than the traditional bank average of 0.03%. Otherwise, OnJuno has partnered with various companies to offer 5% cashback on up to $500 spending per year. 

OnJuno doesn’t charge overdraft fees, costs exactly $0 per month, and doesn’t require a minimum deposit to open an account, making it easy for even lower-income citizens and immigrants to get involved. All that’s needed is a social security number and passport.

In terms of accessibility, there are 85,000 MoneyPass and Allpoint ATMs that also support OnJuno. These can all be used fee-free, and OnJuno even supports one refund per month if you do use an out-of-network machine. 

There’s also a Metal tier for users that direct deposit $250 or more. Metal tier provides you with a physical metal debit card, alongside 5% cashback on up to $3000 in spending at their selected merchants.

Now for the crypto benefits.

Crypto Versatility

While OnJuno is making banking services more accessible than ever, it also offers some helpful crypto options for customers who utilize fiat and digital assets. 

For example, users can set up direct deposit and earn their paychecks in crypto instead of fiat. The process doesn’t have any additional fees, and users can withdraw to whichever wallet they’d like — ideal for users interested in various DeFi applications.

OnJuno also offers fee-free buying, storing, and selling cryptocurrencies with no minimum payments required, and provides 4% yearly interest on USDC savings. Cryptocurrencies are held in cold storage via BitGo, a licensed crypto custodian.

Not only this but OnJuno users can onramp directly from their bank accounts to Layer-2 Ethereum solutions such as Polygon and Avalanche without converting to Ether first. The same goes for offramping, with users able to convert their Polygon and Avalanche assets into their OnJuno checking account. In this same vein, users will also enjoy instant cashout through USDC. The second USDC is in their account, users can spend with their card without requiring an ACH transfer.

The platform appears to be a win-win for crypto and fiat enthusiasts, though it’s worth noting that it isn’t perfect.

For one, OnJuno doesn’t offer any type of joint account or wire transfer capabilities at this time. That and there is only a checking account. You can’t open up a savings or other type of account. Also, interest with OnJuno compounds on a monthly basis. Despite their lower interest rates, traditional bank accounts compound on a daily basis.

All of this said, OnJuno is a reasonably reliable platform for users both new and experienced in the crypto sphere or those simply looking for a higher-yield checking account than the one offered by their local bank.