Aspiration is a so-called green alternative to traditional bank accounts. With Aspiration, you can save money and help save the planet by planting trees and not investing in fossil fuel projects.
However, Aspiration is a fintech company and not an actual bank. For that reason, it uses a traditional bank to issue your debit cards and have your funds FDIC insured.
Aspiration has partnered with Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC. This bank is issuing Aspiration’s debit cards, and it’s this bank’s name that you should use when setting up direct deposits.
How to Set up Direct Deposits With Aspiration
People usually need the above-mentioned bank information for setting up direct deposits. To do that, there are two ways – via form or online.
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To download a direct deposit form, complete with a voided check, go to the Aspiration app or to their website. Here are all the steps needed:
- Navigate to the “Manage” menu
- Tap “Direct Deposit”
- Enter your details
- Tap “Create Deposit Form” to see a preview of the form
- Tap “Download Deposit Form” to download the form to your device
To find your account and routing numbers, do the following:
- Login to your Aspiration account
- Go to your Settings
- Tap “Account Info”
Although the form already has populated the bank name and address, you can use the following for a reference:
Coastal Community Bank
Bank Address: PO Box 2103 Everett, WA 98213
Now that you have the bank name and address, in addition to routing and account numbers, you can fill out the direct deposit form and hand it over or send it via email or post to your employer or payer.
Additionally, your account is a checking account if someone’s asking for that info.
Here’s an overview of all the information you need to fill in on the form:
- Your name and address
- Your employer or depositor’s name
- Your employee ID or account number with depositor
- Your checking account number
- Bank’s routing number
- Net pay or flat amount
- Signature and date
READ ALSO: 30 Biggest Digital Banks (Customers and Valuation)
How to Change Direct Deposit With Clickswitch?
Another way of setting up or changing direct deposit is to use Clickswitch. You can use it to switch over all direct deposits that aren’t related to government benefits. For those, you will have to do the manual process.
To use Clickswitch, do the following:
- Go to the Manage menu
- Tap on “Direct Deposit”
- Tap “Set up Direct Deposit”
- Enter your employer and where you want your funds deposited
- Depending on your employer, you might need to enter a few other details
Once you fill out all the details, you can review all the information you’ve entered and then submit it.
After that, the Aspiration team will start working on switching your direct deposit over and notify you when there are updates to your status.
If you want to check your status, you can do so anytime by clicking the link in the email you got from Clickswitch.
About Coastal Community Bank
Coastal Community Bank was founded in 1997 with one “office” and five employees. The bank was run from Lee Pintar’s kitchen table until they opened their first location on Colby Avenue in downtown Everett, WA, in about half a year.
In 2018, the bank created a Fintech division, CCBX, to deliver Banking as a Service (BaaS) to fintech companies like Aspiration. Other clients include One, Greenwood, Sable, Cheese, Till, Possible, and Movocash.
The same year, the bank went public on Nasdaq under the ticker “CCB” to raise capital for further development. That was a great move, as in 2020, the bank surpassed $2 billion in assets under management.
What’s The Difference Between The Bank Routing Number And Account Number?
People are often confused as to what exactly routing and account numbers are and what they do. You mostly need them to set up direct deposits.
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In simple terms, these numbers help establish a connection between your own bank and an external bank in order to achieve the transfer of funds between the two parties.
Both the bank routing number and the account number are critical in assuring that the money is deposited or withdrawn to and from the correct account.
Routing numbers tell us what bank your account is in, and account numbers tell us your individual and distinctive identifiers at that financial institution.
Each account you hold in a financial institution has its own unique account number. That means that checking and savings accounts at the same bank have distinct account numbers, but they would have only one routing number.
When do You Need The Bank’s Routing Number?
As you’re already aware, your bank’s routing number is an essential piece of info that you will need in numerous situations. Here are just some of them:
- To set up direct deposit
- To receive a direct deposit from:
- Your government benefits
- Tax refund
- Stimulus check
- To send or receive a wire transfer
- To pay some bills online
- To send and receive electronic payments via mobile banking apps
When Does The Direct Deposit Kick-In?
Although most financial and money tasks are now done electronically and online, direct deposits don’t start working from your next paycheck, unfortunately.
On the opposite, direct deposits only take effect in around two pay cycles. This mostly depends on your employer or payer, so you have to check with them, and not Aspiration, as to what the expected times for conducting direct deposits are.
Are Your Aspiration Funds Insured?
Most banks, digital or traditional, insure your funds up to the government mandated $250,000. However, Aspiration went above and beyond and insured your funds in eight FDIC-insured depository institutions for up to $2,000,000 ($250,000 each).
The banks that hold your funds are:
- Coastal Community Bank
- ProgressBank
- Amalgamated Bank
- EagleBank
- Manufacturers Bank
- C3Bank, NA
- The Freedom Bank of Virginia
- Bridgewater Bank
Two more banks (Centier Bank and Ponce Bank) will also be added to the list.
You can contact Aspiration for the Priority List that’s specific to your account. You can also notify them if there’s a bank you’d like excluded from this list. You can’t exclude Coastal Community Bank.
Conclusion
Coastal Community Bank is the traditional bank Aspiration works with. They are the ones actually issuing Aspiration’s debit cards, and it is this bank’s name that you need to use for setting up direct deposits.
The good thing about setting up direct deposits with Aspiration is that the bank’s name and full address are pre-populated in the PDF form that you have to fill out.
