What Counts as a Direct Deposit for a Bank Bonus?

For most checking bonuses, a direct deposit means an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits, sent by ACH from your employer or the government. Deposits you make yourself usually don't count: mobile check deposits, branch or ATM deposits, Zelle and other person-to-person payments, and transfers between your own accounts. Each bank writes its own definition, so the terms of the specific offer are what count.

The free Direct Deposit Planner shows which of your paydays land inside a bonus's window, and the smallest part of each paycheck to send.

How banks define it

Here's how several current offers in the SuperChurn catalog define a qualifying deposit, each checked against the bank's own terms:

• Chase Total Checking: "an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government." Checks, Zelle and other person-to-person payments, micro-deposits, and transfers from other bank, brokerage or investment accounts don't count.
• Wells Fargo Everyday Checking: broader. It accepts an ACH direct deposit, an instant payment over the RTP or FedNow networks, or an electronic credit through Visa or Mastercard. Transfers between accounts, mobile deposits, Zelle, and branch or ATM deposits don't count. Early Pay Day deposits count once they post.
• Capital One 360 Checking: "a regular periodic payment, such as salary, pension, government payments… or other monthly income", sent by ACH or real-time payment from an employer or outside entity. Wires and transfers you start from Capital One's own site or app don't count.
• KeyBank Smart Checking: ACH deposits such as payroll, Social Security, pensions and government benefits.

The common thread: income paid to you electronically by someone else. The differences are in the edges, such as whether instant payments count or whether a transfer from your own brokerage can qualify.

Amount, count and timing rules

Read the requirement closely. Offers differ in three ways that trip people up.

A total vs. a number of deposits.

• Some want a total: Chase Total Checking wants $1,000 in total within 90 days of offer enrollment, so several smaller paychecks can add up.
• Some want a count and a size: Capital One 360 Checking wants two deposits of $500 or more each within 75 days. One $1,000 deposit is only one, and two $400 deposits don't count.
• Some want both: Citi Regular Checking wants at least two deposits totaling $3,000 or more within 90 days of opening.

When the clock starts.

• Many offers count from account opening.
• Chase counts from offer enrollment, the day you enroll through the offer page.
• SoFi is unusual. It counts the deposits received in the 25 days after your first one, so plan for your biggest paychecks to land in that window.

Monthly requirements. BMO Smart Advantage Checking pays $100 for each month (up to 6) that $1,000 or more in direct deposits posts, so you need a deposit every month, not just once.

How to meet the requirement

1. Change where your paycheck goes, or split it. Most payroll systems let you send part of each paycheck to a second account. Send just enough to meet the requirement, and leave the rest where it is.
2. Line up the timing. Check that enough paydays fall inside the window, counting from the right start date. Paydays that land on weekends or holidays can post a day early or late.
3. Watch the first deposit. A new account's routing and account numbers can take a pay cycle to take effect in payroll.
4. Keep proof. Save a pay stub or deposit confirmation in case you need to ask the bank to check.

What about transfers from other banks?

This is the most-asked question. Some banks can't tell a payroll deposit from an ACH transfer started at another bank (an "ACH push"), and readers regularly report which banks and brokerages have worked. Doctor of Credit keeps a long-running list of these reports.

Treat those reports as possibilities, not rules:

• Many of the terms above explicitly exclude transfers, so a push that works for one person can fail for you, and a bank can change how it codes deposits at any time.
• The deposits the terms promise will count are payroll, pension and government benefits.
• If you rely on a push and it doesn't count, you may run out of time to fix it.

FAQ

Does a mobile check deposit count as a direct deposit? No. A deposit you make yourself isn't a direct deposit. Chase and Wells Fargo exclude mobile, branch and ATM deposits by name, and the other offers above only count electronic income from a payer.

Does Zelle or Venmo count? No. Chase and Wells Fargo exclude Zelle and person-to-person payments by name, and none of the offers above list them as qualifying.

Do government benefits count? Yes, in these offers. Social Security and other government benefits paid electronically are named as qualifying.

Can I split my paycheck? Yes. Sending part of each paycheck is common and counts, as long as each deposit meets any minimum size in the terms.

Sources

• Offer terms for each linked account, as shown on its SuperChurn page (checked against the bank's own terms).
• Doctor of Credit, List Of Methods Banks Count As Direct Deposits (reader-reported data points): https://www.doctorofcredit.com/knowledge-base/list-methods-banks-count-direct-deposits/

SuperChurn isn't owned by or endorsed by any bank. Definitions change, so confirm with the bank's current terms before relying on a deposit method.