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Varo Believe Secured Credit Card review

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

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Our verdict

Varo Believe is a secured card for adults building a file from poor credit, and it charges an annual fee of $0. Interest runs at an APR of 0%, foreign purchases at a currency conversion fee of 0%, and the reward is cashback tied to merchant offers.

Key facts

Best for
Adults in the US with poor credit who want a secured card with an annual fee of $0 that reports to the credit bureaus.
Annual fee
$0↗
APR
0%↗
Currency conversion fee
0%↗
Rewards type
Cashback↗
Rewards rate
Offer-based, varies by merchant offer; up to $750 per calendar month↗
Credit needed
Poor↗
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↗
Card kind
Credit↗
Legal entity
Varo Bank, National Association↗
Headquarters
United States↗
Founded
2015↗
Support channels
Email, Chat, Phone, Help-centre↗
Pricing model
No annual fee
Features
Rewards, Secured
Official website
varomoney.com

Debit cards

Monthly fee
$0↗
Card type
Debit↗
Card network
Visa↗

Facts checked September 26, 2026, 7 sources

Apps and profiles

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

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Applying needs no credit check, and the card asks for no minimum security deposit, so the cardholder sets the spending limit instead (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply).
  • Balances report to the credit bureaus and free credit score tracking sits in the Varo app (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply), which suits a thin file.
  • Support covers email, chat and phone, so a phone line and live chat sit alongside email and a help centre.
  • The account behind the card charges a monthly fee of $0, and Allpoint ATM access comes at no extra cost (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply).

Cons

  • The cashback is tied to merchant offers rather than paid on every purchase, so the return moves with where the card is used.
  • The spending limit is set by the cardholder rather than by a lender (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply), which caps how much can be carried at once.
  • The card is aimed at poor credit and reports to the credit bureaus (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply), so it suits an early file more than a strong rating would.
Varo Believe Secured Credit Card

Ready to try Varo Believe Secured Credit Card?

Scored 9.1 / 10 by SumCue.

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Who it suits

  • Adults in the US whose credit file is thin, since the card targets poor credit and applying needs no credit check (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply).
  • Anyone willing to set their own spending limit and follow their score in the app, since free score tracking and self-set limits both sit in the perk list (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply).
  • US customers who want a visa card from the same bank as the account, given the account's monthly fee of $0.

Who should look elsewhere

  • Wise, whose card annual fee is £0, for anyone whose priority is a low-cost card to spend from rather than a secured card that reports to the credit bureaus (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply).
  • bunq, whose personal plans carry an annual fee of €0, for readers who want a bank account first and a credit card only later.
  • Starling Personal Account Debit Card, whose annual fee is £0, for a debit card rather than a credit card that builds a file.

Who regulates it

Varo Believe is issued by a US bank under the supervision of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the regulator named in its licences. The bank's listing reads FDIC cert 59190, and the deposit protection entry carries the same identifier as 59190. That pairing is the useful check for readers who want to confirm the institution standing behind the card rather than a reseller of someone else's balance, and it costs nothing to read: the fee on the card is $0.

Deposit protection

The money side of this card rests on the deposit protection scheme in the licence, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Varo's protection listing reads 59190, and the certificate the bank is registered under is FDIC cert 59190, so a single identifier ties the regulator to the deposit record. Readers weighing how exposed a balance is start with that certificate, since the card sits on the strength of the bank holding the money rather than on the card network itself.

Rewards and perks

The reward here is cashback rather than points or miles, and the rate is not fixed: it depends on the merchant offer attached to the purchase, with a monthly ceiling on what can be earned in total. The perk list carries more weight day to day: reporting to the credit bureaus, free credit score tracking in the Varo app, no credit check to apply, no minimum security deposit with the cardholder setting the spending limit, cashback offers at select merchants, and free Allpoint ATM access out of network. For a thin credit file the reporting and the score tracking do the work, and the cashback follows the offer rather than the statement.

The company behind it

The issuer is Varo Bank, National Association, based in the United States and founded in 2015. The same entity runs the bank account and issues the card, and it is the entity named in the licences, with the certificate recorded as FDIC cert 59190 and the protection listing as 59190. Support runs on email, chat and phone, so a cardholder can reach a person by phone or live chat as well as by email or through the help centre. That mix matters for a card aimed at people who may be new to credit, where a blocked card is the first problem to solve.

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 it cost to hold the Varo Believe Secured Credit Card?+

The annual fee is $0 and the APR is 0%, so holding the card costs nothing and carried balances cost no interest. The bank account behind it charges a monthly fee of $0. Because this is a credit card, what you pay depends on the balance rather than on keeping the card open.

Do I need a credit check to get it?+

No credit check is needed to apply, and the card asks for no minimum security deposit either, which is unusual for a secured card. The cardholder sets their own spending limit instead, and both points sit in the perk list (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply). The card is aimed squarely at poor credit.

Is my money protected?+

The bank behind the card is registered under FDIC cert 59190, and the deposit protection listing reads 59190. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is the scheme named in the licence, so it is the first item to weigh when judging how exposed a balance is, and the certificate is the reference to keep.

How does the cashback work?+

The card pays cashback rather than points or miles, and the rate depends on the merchant offer attached to the purchase, with a monthly ceiling on the total. Cashback offers sit with select merchants, so the return follows the offer rather than every purchase, which makes this weaker as an everyday spend card than as a credit-building one.

Can I use the card abroad?+

The card runs on the visa network and the currency conversion fee is 0%, so overseas spending adds little on the issuer's side. The product is aimed at poor credit rather than at travel, and the perk list is built around credit building, cashback offers at select merchants and free Allpoint ATM access.

Who runs the company behind the card?+

The issuer is Varo Bank, National Association, a bank founded in 2015 and based in the United States. It holds a certificate recorded as FDIC cert 59190, and the same entity runs the account and issues the card, so the balance and the credit line sit with one institution rather than two.

How do I get help if the card is blocked?+

Support covers email, chat and phone, which means a phone line and live chat as well as email and a help centre. That mix matters for a card aimed at poor credit, where a declined or frozen card needs a person on the other end rather than a form, and the perk list also keeps score tracking inside the app.

How does it differ from a plain debit card?+

A debit card leaves no credit history, while this credit card reports to the credit bureaus and tracks your score in the app (Reports to all three credit bureaus, Free credit score tracking in the Varo app and No credit check to apply). The price is not the difference: Starling Personal Account Debit Card carries an annual fee of £0 and bunq's personal plans carry an annual fee of €0.

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

Adults in the US with poor credit who want a secured card with an annual fee of $0 that reports to the credit bureaus.

9.1/10See alternatives