Is Monifi Legit? All You Need to Know About the Banking App

New names in the digital banking space can be difficult to trust. How do you know if a fledgling app is safe, secure, and worth downloading? Banking app Monifi poses these questions and more.

Here’s what you need to know about Monifi, including whether it’s legit enough for you to manage your money, spending, and savings in one app.

Monifi is a digital banking app that offers four broad categories of features:

1. Account funding (directly deposit checks, transfer money, and wire funds for easy friend-to-friend payments)

2. Money management (no overdrafts or fees)

3. Spend and save (earn interest, access 55,000 Allpoint ATMs nationwide, use Apple Pay, pay bills, and more)

4. Detailed transactions and Ask Monifi (after a night out with friends, just ask the app how much you spent last night)

According to a Nerdwallet survey, 79 percent of Americans use mobile payment apps. With so many folks—especially millennials—integrating their lives with digital apps that manage their money in some way, it’s only natural to want options.

Monifi is fee-free and offers banking and saving. It also prioritizes social banking, which means that you can coordinate your spending with friends and family. It integrates with money-sending platform Zelle, which makes it easier to send money to people in your life. You can also use it with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay, and Garmin Pay.

Monifi is FDIC insured, which means that your assets within the app are protected. This is the bare minimum for any bank (digital or otherwise). Since Monifi is tied to MidFirst Bank, its legitimacy goes up a notch.

Aside from being FDIC insured, Monifi has other smart features. One of these is card locking, which allows you to lock your Monifi card until you find it. Additional security features include biometric authentication and security profiles.

Because Monifi doesn’t allow overdrafts, it doesn’t participate in the practice of predatory overdraft fees. For many people, only being able to spend what you have is a perk.

Considering safety, security, and overall legitimacy, Monifi has got it. It’s association with MidFirst Bank and plethora of security-minded features make it a solid choice for anyone looking for a social-friendly banking app.

Like all financial products, Monifi isn't perfect. While some people might view no overdrafts as good protection, others might want the option to overdraft.

Also, Monifi is an all-digital banking solution. Usually, this isn't a problem for people, but some might want access to in-person banks. Despite Monifi having a parent bank, MidFirst Bank, its customers can't use those branch locations for service.

Another downside of Monifi's digital stance is that it doesn’t offer cash deposits. For people who deal with cash, this might be a deal-breaker.

While Monifi advertises as fee-free, this is one fee that it can institute—a $15 charge for bounced checks or transfers due to insufficient funds.

Overall, Monifi is legitimate—but it has its nuances and customers should make sure that it’s a good fit before diving in.