Your cookie choices

We use necessary cookies to make this site work. With your permission, analytics cookies help us understand usage and marketing cookies support advertising.

You can reject non-essential cookies and still use the site. Change your choices anytime in Cookie settings.

Cookie settingsCookie policy

Step review

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

We earn a commission when you sign up through links on this site. Partner status can affect where a brand appears in our rankings. Partners with a live offer in your country come first, then every other brand by score.

Our verdict

Step suits US households who want a debit card, a savings balance and cashback in a single app. Cashback can reach 10% on everyday spend, and the account is easy access, though the headline savings rate sits behind a status requirement, so the draw is the card and rewards rather than the rate.

Key facts

Best for
Free-to-run debit and savings in a single app, with cashback on everyday spend.
Monthly fee
$0↗
Card type
Debit↗
Cashback rate
10%↗
Card network
Visa↗
Legal entity
Step Mobile, Inc.↗
Headquarters
United States↗
Founded
2020↗
Support channels
Email, Help-centre↗
Features
Virtual card
Audience
Kids
Official website
step.com

Savings

Headline rate
3%↗
Rate type
Variable↗
Minimum deposit
$0↗
Deposit protection
FDIC up to USD 250,000↗
Access terms
No savings minimums; 3.00% on savings requires Step Black status, earned by spending $500 with the Step Card or $300 in qualifying direct deposits each calendar month↗
Account kind
Easy access↗
Pricing model
No monthly fee

Credit cards

Rewards type
Cashback↗
Rewards rate
1% to 10%↗
Perks
No monthly fees or minimums, Credit building with every purchase, Mobile app with money management tools↗
Cashback rate
1% to 10%↗
Card kind
Credit↗

Facts checked September 26, 2026, 7 sources

Apps and profiles

Get the app
App StoreGoogle Play
Elsewhere
LinkedInXinstagram.com

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Deposit protection of FDIC up to USD 250,000 on savings balances.
  • Cashback paid as cashback, with the app listing 1% to 10% across eligible spend.
  • A debit card on the visa network, with a virtual card for online shopping.
  • The app adds money management tools to the card and savings side, part of the perks listed in No monthly fees or minimums, Credit building with every purchase and Mobile app with money management tools.

Cons

  • Support runs on email and help centre only, with no phone line for urgent payment problems.
  • Savings pay a variable rate, so there is no fixed return for a set term.
  • The headline savings rate of 3% needs Step Black status, earned by monthly card spending or qualifying direct deposits each calendar month.
Step

Ready to try Step?

Scored 8.8 / 10 by SumCue.

See alternatives

Who it suits

  • Families with kids, which is the audience Step designs for.
  • Savers who want no minimums and easy access to their money, with a minimum deposit of $0 and an easy access account.
  • Households in US that already spend on the card each month, since Step Black status is earned that way and lifts the cashback rate.

Who should look elsewhere

  • Wise, for a multi-currency account rather than a family savings pot with cashback.
  • Starling Personal Account Debit Card, for a plain personal debit card at a monthly fee of £0 without the credit building and rewards.
  • bunq, priced in euros at a monthly fee of €0, which suits euro-area banking rather than a US family account.

Rates and card terms

Savings pay a variable rate, so the headline of 3% moves with the base rate instead of being locked for a term. Reaching that headline means holding Step Black status, which is earned through monthly spending on the card or a qualifying direct deposit each calendar month. Read the figure as a status-linked rate rather than one every saver receives.

How Step compares

Where Step is available

Available
United States

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

Frequently asked questions

Does Step charge a monthly fee?+

The account runs on a no monthly fee pricing model, with a monthly fee of $0 on the standard account. Step lists no monthly fees or minimums among its perks, so the everyday cost sits on the card and savings side of the offer rather than on account upkeep.

Is there a minimum balance to open the savings account?+

There is no minimum balance to hold: the minimum deposit is $0 and the savings account is easy access. You can add money as it comes in, which suits building a pot gradually rather than committing a lump sum to a fixed product.

Is my money protected?+

Deposits are covered by FDIC up to USD 250,000, and Step is a US business run by Step Mobile, Inc.. That protection sits with the savings side of the app, so keep larger balances within the published limit and read the terms for how the account is held.

What card comes with the account?+

The main card is a debit card on the visa network, with a virtual card also available for online payments. Spending on the card also builds credit, so the account handles everyday payments and a credit history in the same place.

How much cashback do I get?+

Rewards are paid as cashback, with the app listing 1% to 10% depending on your status. The higher end of that range comes with Step Black status, so a new account starts at the lower end until monthly card spending or qualifying direct deposits lift the rate.

How do I get help if something goes wrong?+

Support is available on email and help centre. That means email and a help centre rather than a phone line, so it suits people who are comfortable sorting most questions in writing, and is less suitable if you want to talk a blocked payment through with a person.

Who is Step aimed at?+

Step is built around families and kids, and it operates in the United States as Step Mobile, Inc., founded in 2020. The money management tools in the mobile app and that family focus point to households rather than single savers or traders.

Can I use Step outside the US?+

Step is a US service, so the account and the visa card are built for that market. If you bank in several currencies, a multi-currency account such as Wise fits that pattern better than a card-led savings pot.

Sources

  • play.google.com/store/apps/details checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Cashback rate, Rewards rate

    “at least 1% cashback on every card purchase and up to 10% at rotating merchants”

  • step.com checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Card kind, Card type, Rewards type

    “Step Visa Card”

  • step.com/about checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Founded, Headquarters, Perks

    “Founded in 2020”

  • step.com/families checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Audience

    “THE FREE, SAFE, AND EASY WAY TO BUILD CREDIT FOR TEENS”

  • step.com/faq checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Features, Pricing model

    “You will receive your Virtual Step Card instantly - Step Visa Card”

  • step.com/policies/terms checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Legal entity

    “By mail: Step Mobile, Inc., 120 Hawthorne Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301”

  • step.com/rewards checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Cashback rate, Monthly fee

    “get up to 10% cashback on groceries, essentials, entertainment and more - Step Black”

  • step.com/save checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Access terms, Account kind, Deposit protection, Headline rate, Minimum deposit, Rate type

    “To start earning 3.00% on your savings, you need to earn Step Black! Spend $500 with your Step Card or receive $300 in qualifying direct deposits each calendar month”

  • step.com/security checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Card network, Support channels

    “The Step Visa Card is protected by VISA Zero Liability guarantee”

Compiled from 9 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.

Not confirmed yet: Currency conversion fee, Free ATM withdrawals, Protection.

Step

Step

Free-to-run debit and savings in a single app, with cashback on everyday spend.

8.8/10See alternatives