In this Juno review (formally OnJuno), I’ll highlight the key features offered by this fast-growing fintech company. Is it a great deal or is there some type of hidden risk?
Juno is an online banking platform that offers integrated checking and crypto management. As a standalone, low-fee/high-yield checking account, Juno offers many best-in-class features, including 5% on deposits up to $25,000. On the crypto side, Juno allows you to convert dollars to USDC and several other crypto assets, including BTC and ETH. Overall, the platform has a lot to offer those looking for a more seamless and cost-effective transfer between fiat and crypto.
- Earn 5% on your checking account balance up to $25,000, and 4% on balances between $25,000 and $250,000.
- Quickly transfer between USD and USDC with no fees.
- Holdings in U.S. dollars are FDIC-insured.
- Only 35 cryptocurrencies are available.
- No option to earn interest on Bitcoin and Ethereum through lending or staking.
Juno At a Glance
Juno is a financial technology company founded in 2019, with offices in Singapore, San Francisco and Bengaluru (India). It was formerly called OnJuno, but changed its name in Juno 2022.
What makes Juno unique is that account holders can receive, hold, and spend U.S. dollars and cryptocurrencies rather seamlessly and without excessive costs.
As is the case with many fintech startups, Juno is not a bank itself. Instead, it’s a tech platform with banking features provided through a partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust.
In 2023, Juno switched crypto partners from Wyre to Zero Hash after Wyre experienced what Juno referred to as “operational uncertainty.” This “uncertainty” caused Juno to temporarily suspend cryptocurrency purchases and auto-convert stablecoins into USD, while also encouraging clients to withdraw their holdings or transfer them to self-custody wallets.
The platform resumed normal operations on February 7th, 2023.
U.S. dollar deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000.
How Juno Works
To use Juno, you must create an account and fund it with an electronic bank transfer (ACH) or a wire transfer. You can also transfer in one of the cryptocurrencies Juno allows you to trade. Juno provides your wallet address immediately after account approval.
To get approved, you’ll need to submit your Social Security number, along with either a driver’s license or another approved form of ID. When I signed up, the process took less than five minutes. Then, it took another two minutes for my account to be approved.
Once approved, you can access Juno’s array of features, including:
- A high-yield checking account that comes with a debit card that allows you to make purchases in either dollars or USDC.
- Up to 5% cash-back rewards on debit card purchases at specific retailers.
- Transfers between dollars and crypto (including USDC, BTC and ETH).
- The option to have a portion of your direct deposits automatically invested in crypto.
Juno’s High-Yield Checking Account
Juno offers a high-yield checking account, with FDIC-insurance for cash deposits. This account is currently only available as an individual account, though the company plans to enable joint accounts in the future.
Juno currently pays 5% on balances up to $25,000, and 4% on balances up to $250,000. No bonus is issued for funds over $250,000. The bonus rate is compounded monthly, and the bonus is paid out at the end of each month.
As with most standard checking accounts, you can use Juno to hold, send, receive and spend U.S. dollars. But Juno’s high-yield checking account also comes with a few other tools, which vary depending on your membership level.
Juno offers two checking accounts, known as Basic and Metal. To qualify for the Metal account, you need to set up a direct deposit of $250 or more. Alternatively, you can connect your wallet address, where Juno will confirm your existing on-chain activity. If choosing the later, Juno doesn’t give strict guidelines as to who they will accept.
Differences between the Basic and Metal memberships include:
| Basic | Metal | |
| Card type: | Plastic | Stainless Steel |
| Yearly max cash-back: | $25 | $300 |
| Daily funding limit: | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| Daily crypto purchases: | $5,000 | $40,000 |
| Daily crypto sells: | $5,000 | $40,000 |
| Crypto withdrawals to external wallets: | $1,000 | $40,000 |
Both account tiers come with a debit card that can be used for purchases or to withdraw cash with zero ATM fees at the 85,000+ locations in the Allpoint and MoneyPass networks.
Account holders automatically get a virtual debit card that is compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. Both Basic and Metal account holders can also get a physical debit card, but these are only issued upon request.
While previously you could spend your crypto using the debit card, that feature has been suspended.
Another key feature of the Juno debit card is the company’s cash-back rewards program.
With your Juno debit card, you can earn cash-back on purchases made at partners like Amazon, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Airbnb and Home Depot. You can choose 10 merchants and earn 5% at each of these merchants.
The maximum total cash-back you can earn with a Basic checking account is $25 per year. The maximum cash-back for Metal checking members is $300 per year.
You’re allowed to change your cash-back brands only once per month.
Cash to Crypto Transfers
Juno’s crypto trading platform allows you to buy and sell the following cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- US Dollar Coin (USDC)
- LINK (Chainlink)
- MUSDC (Polygon USDC)
- Avalanche (AVAX)
You can store, buy and sell crypto directly starting from as low as $1.
Juno’s crypto trading terminal is straightforward to navigate and use. It’s similar to the “Instant Buy” feature found on exchanges like Coinbase, except it’s integrated with your checking balance to enable quick cash-to-crypto conversions.
Juno really stands out as a crypto investment platform because of its 0% transaction fees on your first to $250,000 in crypto trades. Considering that some exchanges charge a flat fee plus a percentage-based fee (often, as high as a few percentage points), this feature is unique within the industry and makes it an excellent crypto micro-investment platform.
Getting Paid In Crypto
Juno allows you to quickly convert your paycheck into crypto.
Employees who work for companies that use certain payroll processing providers, like ADP and Zenefits, can use Juno to automatically convert all or part of their earnings into Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDC.
Seeing that you can trade for free on Juno, what this process does is eliminate the step of money being deposited first to USD and then having to manually convert it to crypto.
You can decide how much of your paycheck you want to allocate to each of these three cryptocurrencies, and how much you want to receive as cash.
Juno lets you deposit your crypto into either your Juno wallet or any other third-party non-custodial wallet, such as MetaMask. (Keep in mind that you’ll pay network fees to deposit your crypto to a non-custodial wallet.)
Juno Coin (JCOIN)
Juno rewards verified account holders for their engagement with the platform. The rewards come in the form of loyalty tokens that are called Juno Coin and listed as JCOIN.
JCOIN is an ERC-20 token listed on the Ethereum blockchain.
Tokens are distributed for participating in specific activities on the Juno platform. Currently, you can earn Juno Coin for referring friends, setting up direct deposit, and using your debit card.
Tokens can be used to purchase gift cards and boost your cash-back rates.
Juno Fees and Limits
Checking Account Fees
There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements for checking accounts at Juno.
All ACH deposits and withdrawals to and from your checking account are fee-free. However, if you fund your account with a credit card or external debit card, the following fees apply:
- Credit card: $0.30 + 3.5%.
- Debit card: $0.30 + 2%.
Non-U.S. credit and debit card transfers incur an additional 1% fee.
Debit Card Fees
The Juno debit card is free to use for purchases. There are no foreign transaction fees or overdraft fees.
You get one free out-of-network ATM withdrawal per month on your debit card if you have a Basic account, and three free out-of-network ATM withdrawals if you have a Metal account. The out-of-network ATM fee is $4 per withdrawal if you exceed these limits. All in-network ATM withdrawals are fee-free.
Crypto Trading Fees
There are no trading fees on Juno, however, Juno may earn a portion of the spread between the buy and sell prices.
Juno does not charge extra fees for sending crypto to an external wallet. The blockchain/network charges a fee for processing transactions, which is paid directly to the network
Juno Security and Insurance
All U.S. dollar deposits on the platform are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000. However, there is no FDIC insurance on crypto assets.
Similar to having your own private wallet, you must secure your account to secure your crypto. To prevent unauthorized access and transactions, Juno uses a two-fold approach.
- Log-in via username and password, or via facial recognition on smartphone.
- A four-digit pin is required any time you make a transfer.
Juno FAQ
No, there is no savings account option available from Juno. However, the Juno online checking account pays interest in excess of most savings accounts offered by banks.
Juno, which isn’t a bank but a financial technology company, refers to its interest rate as a “bonus rate” and not APY (annual percentage yield) because this interest is provided by Juno directly, not by Evolve Bank (its partnered banking services provider). Any interest rate that Evolve provides for account holders is called an APY.
You cannot deposit paper checks with Juno. You need to first cash your check at another bank that accepts physical checks, then transfer those funds to your Juno account. Here’s an article with a list of places to cash a check, many of which do not require you to be an account holder.
Yes, you can use our link, and if you buy or deposit $50 worth of crypto, you’ll get a $10 bonus added to your checking account.
Juno is only available in the U.S. to citizens and residents who have a valid Social Security number. Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are not accepted for identity verification with Juno, so it’s not a viable option for many temporary residents.
The short answer is yes, you fully own your crypto with Juno.
Juno lets you buy, sell and hold crypto with your account. You can send any of the platform’s supported cryptocurrencies to an external wallet from your Juno wallet. Additionally, you can deposit cryptocurrencies to your Juno account.
But keep in mind that any crypto you keep in your Juno wallet is held by BitGo, Juno’s custodial partner. While you technically own your coins and can withdraw them to an external wallet, you don’t have control over your private keys while your coins are in your Juno account.
Is Juno Right For You?
Juno is an innovative fintech company that offers an array of features for people seeking a single platform for their banking and crypto investing needs.
There are many benefits to Juno, including its high-yield checking feature and beginner-friendly crypto investing fees. Juno also offers high-yield accounts for USDC holdings and allows you to convert your direct deposit paycheck into crypto without transferring to another brokerage.
But there are downsides to Juno, as well. Crypto is still in a very speculative stage and placing significant short-term funds — i.e., those that you use for everyday spending — in crypto investments carries substantial risk.
If you’re just looking to dip your toes into the waters of the crypto world, these issues may not matter and Juno could be a good place to get started.
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If I transfer money to my account after opening it. How do I get the money out?
Hi Pam,
You can transfer it to a traditional external bank account if it’s cash.
Would i get charged to transfer money from a conventional account into Juno?
Can I accept Zelle payments on this account?
And what about online transfers to other accounts? Like wire transfers to family abroad.
There are no charges to transfer from a traditional checking account. Juno doesn’t work with Zelle, but it does work with Cash App and Venmo. Wire transactions are currently disabled on the platform. According to support, this is a temporary restriction and will be back soon.
I opened a Juno account and funded it from my bank account; then converted some of the US dollars into USDC. All of this went as expected. However now I want to transfer USDC to an external wallet and there is an extra step that I have not encountered before and there is nothing about it in the Help files.
I have used the chat feature to send my question to the support staff but I have not gotten an answer, in spite of waiting ten days and asking more than once.
I see that there is a support telephone number, which I found on a blog, not on the Juno site but when called, it says phone support is suspended. Apparently the only way to reach support is through the chat. This is concerning and makes me wonder how stable the company is. Do you have any more information about this support issue?
You’re right; Juno doesn’t have a phone support option. Not sure what blog you got the number from, however.
Sorry about your struggles. Any luck with getting the issue resolved?
Is it possible to transfer money from JUNO to your Cashapp account ?
Yes, you’d be able to transfer BTC/USD only.
It would have been better to mention what do they earn on the buy and sell prices. I have Juno and they take a chunk of a percentage for selling and buying crypto from my perspective. They don’t charge a fee but they do charge a high transaction percentage.
I have a Juno account and would like to send bitcoin to a relative’s bitcoin wallet. Can I do that with Juno?
Yes, you can make transfers to a private wallet.