Finch Review: Auto-Invest Your Cash Back

You might agree that investing is important for your financial future, but sometimes, the act of actually investing is easier said than done. 

What if you could start investing without constantly having to manually transfer money into your brokerage account? Finch offers an opportunity to build your investments by auto-investing the cash back you earn through the Finch rewards card. 

We take a closer look at how this rewards card is opening the door to painless investing. 

What Is Finch?

Finch is a platform that offers an opportunity to build an investment portfolio through the use of cash back. If you struggle to get into investing on your own, Finch is removing some of the barriers. 

You won’t have to make regular transfers from your checking or savings account. Instead, the platform rewards you with cashback for using your Finch rewards card. That cashback will be funneled into an investment account.

What Does It Offer?

Here’s what makes Finch stand out. 

Finch Rewards Card

When you sign up for the Finch Rewards card, there’s no need to switch up your checking account. Instead, you’ll just link your current checking account to the Finch Rewards card. 

As you spend with your new card, Finch will pay itself back with money from your linked checking account. Importantly, you’ll only be able to spend however much was in your linked bank account as of the last update. 

The amount of cashback you will earn with your spending varies based on the subscription level you choose. For those

• The basic level earns 1.5% cash back on all of your purchases.
• For the premium level, you’ll earn 5% cash back on the first $500 in purchases each month.
• After that, it’s 2% cash back on the rest of your purchases. 

Auto Invest

As you build up your cashback, those funds will be automatically invested into a portfolio designed to help you meet your goals. You can choose from five different portfolio types to match your risk tolerance and return goals. 

The five options include: 

• Conservative
• Starter
• Classic
• Classic plus
• Advanced

With this curated selection of ETFs, getting started with investing is easy. 

If you want to invest more, you can make one-time transfers or set up a recurring transfer. 

Build Credit (Coming Soon)

As of November 2022, the ability to build credit with Finch isn’t available yet. But this opportunity is on the horizon. When Finch officially launches this feature, the platform will report all of your purchases as on-time payments to all three credit bureaus. 

Since a history of on-time payments is the most important factor in your FICO score, this is likely to help you improve your credit score. Plus, there’s no possibility of getting into debt because Finch will only let you spend what you have available.

Are There Any Fees?

Yes, Finch operates on a monthly subscription basis. As a user, you’ll have the option to choose a Basic or Premium subscription level. 

• The Basic level costs $5 per month and get 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

• The Premium level costs $15 per month. You’ll get 5% cash back on your first $500 in purchases each month and 2% cash back on all other purchases.

How Do I Contact Finch?

You can ask for support via email at hello@finchmoney.com. If you want another option, you can connect on Twitter and LinkedIn @Finchapp.

Although there are less than 100 reviews on the Apple App Store, Finch has earned 3.8 out of 5 stars so far. Based on the reviews, it seems like there are a few bugs that the developers are working out.

How Does Finch Compare?

Finch isn’t the only platform that offers an automated investment option. 

For example, Stash is another platform that will round up your purchases to invest. Stash also offers the Stock-Back option, which will reward you with fractional shares for each purchase you make.

Acorns offers another painless way to invest by rounding up your purchases and investing the difference. Both Stash and Acorns offer a monthly plan starting at $3. But neither offers a credit-building feature. 

There’s also Betterment, which offers an easy-to-use automated investment platform in the robo-advisor space. 

How Do I Open An Account?

If you want to sign up for a Finch account, the process starts by downloading the app from the Apple App Store. From there, be prepared to provide the following:

• Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number
• U.S. residential address
• Proof of U.S. citizenship, Green card, or U.S. visa

You’ll also provide the account details to a Plaid-enabled bank account. In order to finalize the account setup, you’ll need to share a picture of your photo ID and take a selfie. 

Is It Safe And Secure?

Information about Finch’s security practices is hard to come by. It seems like the platform works with Plaid to handle your financial information with care. But there isn’t a detailed description of any encryption practices on the part of the company. 

However, Finch does say that the investments made through their partner are FIRNA and SIPC insured. With that, the funds are protected at market value in the event that the company folds. 

Is It Worth It?

If you are looking for a way to tackle both credit building and investing through the use of one straightforward Rewards card, Finch may be a useful option for you. 

Since the cashback is automatically invested, you may be more inclined to allow your investment portfolio to grow without interference. Plus, the forthcoming credit-building opportunity will make a nice addition for Finch users. 

However, you’ll have to pay at least $5 per month to get started. Consider running the numbers on your spending to determine whether your cashback earnings would outpace this monthly fee. If not, then you might want to find a different investment route.

Finch Features