[ad_1] The post Lili Review | Banking for Freelancers and Independent Contractors appeared first on Millennial Money. Freelancers and independent contractors need to be smart about which bank they use. Freelancing is tough enough without having to worry about minimum balance requirements or monthly banking fees. Lili is an online financial institution that provides nearly free banking services for freelancers. But is it a bank you should get involved with, or is it better to stick with a brick-and-mortar branch? Lili Overall Rating 8 Bottom Line Lili Banking is an online financial institution that provides nearly free banking services for freelancers and independent contractors. Pros Flexible Mobile Banking Free ATM Access Tax Tools Referral Program No Account Fees Cons $500 Daily Withdrawal Limit Limit of $6,000/month for Mobile Check Deposit (higher for Lili Pro users) Daily Spending Limit of $3,000 (higher for Lili Pro users) Must use Social Security number User Friendliness 7.5 Customer Support 8.0 Tools and Features 8.5 Pricing 8.0 Let’s take a closer look at Lili banking! What is Lili? Lili is a fintech company that provides online banking accounts to entrepreneurs and freelancers. The company recently raised $80 million in funding, making it an up-and-comer in the finance world. Lili has a mission to empower freelancers by giving them the tools and services to improve their work and life balance at a low cost. Lili offers bank accounts and business debit cards for independent contractors (e.g., home improvement specialists, social influencers, freelance chefs, bloggers, or anyone who operates as a sole proprietor). Lili Lili Banking is an online financial institution that provides nearly free banking services for freelancers and independent contractors. Sign Up with Lili How does Lili Banking work? Lili is a bit different from traditional business banks in that it’s online-only. There are no in-person kiosks or locations to visit if you need assistance or want to meet with someone face-to-face. It’s also important to note that Lili doesn’t actually store funds for customers. The bank partners with Choice Financial Group, which also administers their debit cards (more on that below). Other than that, Lili is a standard fintech provider offering a mobile app interface that’s easy for the tech-savvy to use. Top Lili Banking features Lili’s accounts are online-only, and its app is loaded with different tools to try out and explore. Granted, you’re not going to find the same level of options you might expect to find in a more established bank, but Lili Bank holds its own against competitors in terms of functionality. Here’s a breakdown of what customers can expect to receive when banking with Lili. Mobile banking and web browser Lili’s mobile banking platform is available on both Android and iOS devices. The mobile app enables users to perform a variety of tasks like paying bills, reviewing recent transactions, accessing account information, generating expense reports, and even depositing checks. While customers may open an account using the website on their web browser, everything else is done strictly through the mobile app. Lili Debit Card Lili Bank offers a Visa Business debit card that can be used to make purchases wherever a Visa debit card is accepted. You can also take out cash, fee-free, at over 32,000 MoneyPass ATMs across the United States. This is a step up from many online banks, which often don’t come with debit card access and require users to transfer money to third-party accounts. Due to Lili’s partnership with the MoneyPass ATM Network, customers can more easily take out cash. You can now also receive cashback rewards when you sign up for Lili Pro, Lili’s premier banking service. That said, you can’t make cash deposits via an ATM using Lili Bank. You can take money out via ATM, but you can’t put money in. To make a cash deposit into Lili, visit a participating retailer like Walmart or CVS. Head to the register and ask to make a cash deposit to your debit card. Simply swipe the card, give the clerk the cash, pay a retailer’s fee if applicable (maximum is $4.95), and wait for the money to appear in your account. According to Lili Bank, the money should arrive in minutes. You can add up to $1,000 per day and $9,000 per month in total. Tax tools Lili Bank’s goal is to make life easier for freelancers at tax time. The app provides tools for tracking expenses and claiming deductions. What’s more, it has a tax bucket, which automatically sets aside a percentage of income to ensure that you save enough to pay the government when tax time rolls around. Even better, the app offers expense reports, something that differentiates it from competitors. This not only eliminates the need to fill out spreadsheets, which can reduce preparation costs and streamline reporting, but it saves actual money on tax deductions. Get paid early Freelancers often have to wait weeks or months to get paid, making it difficult to make ends meet. It’s not like working a regular job and getting paid at set intervals (but maybe it should be). Lili Bank eases the burden by offering freelancers access to their direct deposits up to two business days earlier than traditional banks. It’s a way to get money into your account faster than you could with a conventional bank. FDIC insured Lili is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) at the standard rate of up to $250,000. So if something happens to the bank, account holders won’t have to worry about losing money. Integrations Lili is designed to make small business owners’ lives easier. In that light, there are numerous integrations with popular business products including Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, Apple Pay, and more. Lili pricing The standard Lili account is free. Lili Pro requires a $4.99 monthly subscription fee. The bank also doesn’t have any minimum balance requirements. So you can have a Lili Bank account whether you have $5 in your bank account or $50,000. It doesn’t matter—you won’t face any penalties!
