Digit is an application that is designed to help you seamlessly save money without having to think about it. The application analyses how you spend money, and then will automatically determine how much you should be saving—and can afford to save & will save the ideal amount for you each day.
This will give you one less thing to worry about while still letting you save up for your future or goals. So far, Digit has helped users save more than $1 billion.
Read on as we delve into Digit in our complete review.
Who Can Use Digit?
Digit is currently only available within the United States. The company does have plans for future international expansion, but this has not yet happened. At the moment, Digit supports more than 25,000 credit unions and banks within the United States.
If Digit does not support your bank, you can fill out a request form. Digit will then add it to the list once they add support for your bank. You can also contact Digit before signing up if you want to confirm support for your bank. Digit supports Mint as well. If you plan to connect using Mint, you can find Digit in your Mint “Accounts” page.
You can use Digit with a credit card as well as a bank account. The only key is that you must connect the checking account that you use to pay that credit card’s bills. The only difference is that Digit will not see each individual transaction, so it cannot get as much detailed information. Even so, Digit works great for credit card users.
Digit does not support prepaid accounts, but you can fill out a bank request form. The team will then let you know when this option becomes available. Similarly, there is currently no support for PayPal, but you can request it and receive notifications upon availability.
How Do You Start Using Digit?
To sign up for Digit, you will need to enter your email address and phone number, then connect a checking account. Keep in mind that Digit currently only supports one checking account at a time. They are looking into increasing the number of checking accounts you can connect in the future. This means that Digit suggests connecting the checking account that you use most often.
Digit will take care of most of the setup for you in addition to the automatic savings. You should likely start seeing Digit save for you within two or three days. To make the most of your Digit account, set your checking account minimum. Do this by clicking on the conversation bubble on the app’s home screen and typing “Minimum” into the text box. Digit suggests you set it to at least $200 since bank transfers require a day to clear. You can also set up a Maximum Daily Save limit for each goal.
You do not have to do anything to enable auto-savings from Digit when you first sign up. The application will take care of this automatically and start saving based on your account, typically two to three days after your sign-up. You can pause Digit’s auto-savings at any point as well.
Can You Change the Checking Account You Link to Digit?
Although you can only have one checking account linked to Digit at a time, you can easily change the account anytime. Go into the application and access your account settings by clicking the icon in the upper left corner with your initials. Click “Change” next to the connected checking account.
Remember, if you change the checking account you connect to Digit, you must withdraw any funds you have in Digit into the account. After you change accounts, you can then re-add any funds you want manually. If funds are pending to be added to your Digit account, they will be returned to you as soon as your bank reconciles and makes them available. This can take three business days.
If the original account is closed, you will have to withdraw the funds via check. You will need to go to a link for disconnecting your checking account and select “Checking account closed?” You will then receive a check in the mail.
What Goals Can You Save For?
With Digit, you can save for any goal that you want to. You just let the application know what you are saving for and let it analyse your spending. From there, the application will budget for you, automatically saving. Your goal can be anything from paying off your credit card debt to saving money for an emergency fund to going on a vacation. Best of all, you can save for multiple goals at once.
The Rainy Day Fund was the original default fund that Digit offered clients who wanted to start saving. This is still a default fund that Digit makes for you so that you have money for emergencies or surprises.
How Do You Set Goals with Digit?
To set a savings goal with Digit, you just click on “Try adding a personal goal” while in the application. From there, you can either create your own goal or choose one of the suggested goals from Digit. You can add as much information as you want. For example, the amount you want to save, when you want to have the funds by, a description, and even an emoji. Do this for as many goals as you want, and Digit will automatically distribute the funds it automatically saves.
When you open the Digit application, you will be able to see how much you have saved for your goals so far. This includes figures for that day (or recently if no savings were made that day). That figure includes a breakdown of how much was saved for each goal. You can also click on a goal to see the savings transactions for it in detail.
At any time, you can change or cancel your goal. To edit or delete it, tap on the goal you want to edit. Click the three dots found in the upper right corner. Select “Edit,” which will take you to the various things you can change or the option to “Delete Goal.” If you delete a goal, any remaining balance in it will go automatically to your checking account the following business day.
How Does Digit Determine What to Save?
A great thing about Digit is that you do not need to put in an effort to determine what you can save. The application has its own sophisticated algorithms that will learn your spending habits. The application knows things like your current checking balance, your upcoming bills, your expected purchases, and your minimum balance for your checking account. From there, it calculates what you can afford to save that day and divides it appropriately among your goals.
Digit’s algorithms for automatic savings are influenced by these main factors: your checking account balance, upcoming income, upcoming bills, and recent spending. Based on those four factors, Digit will determine a small quantity of money to save every weekday. The algorithm was specifically designed to save an amount of money that you do not need and will not feel based on recent spending. Digit then automatically transfers that money to your Digit account.
Digit automatically figures out those four pieces of information based on what is available to the algorithm. It will figure out the cadence associated with your regular paydays, regardless of how frequently it is. If you currently have no, or irregular, pay, Digit places more emphasis on your spending habits to save at the right time. To figure out your bills, Digit will analyse your transaction history and search for recurring bills, then analyse them for average amount and frequency.
The frequency with which Digit transfers savings for you will vary based on your spending and financial situation. The frequency is also influenced by your goals. For Rainy Day Funds, for example, most people will see two to three transfers each week, around $10 to $30. This varies fully by person, day, and financial situation.
Can You Save Manually with Digit?
Digit also offers the option to save manually with the application. If you want to add to your savings goals, go to the specific goal you want to fund. Select “Add Money” and choose the amount you want to transfer.
What Are Some Other Key Features of Digit?
In addition to the automated savings, Digit offers the ability to set unlimited savings goals, and it will automatically manage all of them. There are also unlimited withdrawals so you can get your money out of Digit whenever you need it to.
There are financial benefits of Digit, including a 1 percent savings bonus that you get paid for every three months that you save with Digit. The application has no minimum account, so you can save as much or as little as you want with it.
Some people compare Digit to a recurring transfer to your bank savings account, but the two have one key difference. With Digit, you do not have to figure out how much to transfer. Instead, Digit will take care of this for you and adapt to your spending and income. That way, you save the appropriate amount without any thought or effort on your part.
It is also important to note that you do not need a savings account to use Digit. Instead, you get a Digit account that holds your Digit savings until you choose to withdraw those savings. All those funds are FDIC insured for up to $250,000.
What Is That Savings Bonus?
As mentioned, Digit gives you a Savings Bonus when you save with the platform for three months in a row. This is a 1 percent annualised Savings Bonus that Digit automatically deposits right into your Digit account. The bonus is 1 percent annually and paid quarterly, so you receive 0.25 percent each time.
This Savings Bonus is Digit’s alternative to offering interest. That is because Digit is not a bank and as such, it cannot pay interest. The Savings Bonus depends on your average daily balance over the past three months. It includes savings for goals, Rainy Day, and bills. It is also possible to disable this feature if it conflicts with your religious practices. You can also view your next upcoming bonus by opening the app and visiting the bonus section.
Does Digit Offer Any Other Bonuses?
You can also get a bonus from Digit for referring a friend. You have your own personal referral link, which you can find on your profile either on the app or the website. When your friends sign up using this link, you earn $5.
How Can You Save for Credit Card Debt?
Digit Pay is another highly convenient feature. When you activate it, you can use your Digit funds to automatically make payments for any major credit card company. To activate it, just go to the goals section and select “Credit card debt.”
Go to the Digit app and tap on “Pay off a credit card” to create a goal of savings towards your credit card debt. You will select “Create this goal” and answer some quick questions before connecting your credit card.
How Do You Withdraw Funds from Digit?
There are no limits on the frequency or amounts that you can withdraw from Digit, nor are there any withdrawal fees. To withdraw, go to the Digit app and select the goal or fund from which you want to withdraw. Select “Withdraw”, then enter the amount you want to withdraw. You will also see an estimated arrival date.
The amount of time a withdrawal takes to arrive at your checking account depends on when you create the transfer and your bank. Transfers usually arrive the following business day if done before 4 p.m. PST and in two business days if they are after this time. Wells Fargo and Chase accounts have same-business-day transfers before 4 p.m. PST.
Digit also offers the ability to set up automatic transfers from accrued savings from a goal to your checking account monthly. Do this by selecting the goal in question and clicking the three dots in the upper right corner. Select “Auto Withdraw” and select the day and amount. You can edit or turn off these automatic withdrawals in the future.
Will Digit Accidentally Lead to an Overdraft Charge?
Digit makes careful calculations so that you never get overdrawn on your checking account. There is also low balance protection. If your checking account gets too low, it will automatically transfer the necessary funds back over and pause your savings until things are back under control.
Thanks to those processes, it is unlikely that you will overdraw your checking account by using Digit. Even if Digit does automatically save too much, they will take responsibility for it and pay any fees you are charged. They will do this twice without any concerns.
Is Digit Safe?
Yes, Digit takes multiple measures to ensure that your information, as well as your funds, are safe. The application uses state-of-the-art encryption, so your data always remains safe. All your funds with Digit are held at banks with FDIC insurance. This means that you get protection of up to $250,000.
Additionally, your data is secure with Digit since it uses 256-bit encryption. This is the same security level that the military uses, so you can count on it.
Digit Fees
Digit costs $2.99 per month without any hidden fees. There is a free 30-day trial to check whether it is right for you and if you feel the price is worth it.
What Platforms Can You Use Digit With?
You can log into your Digit account via the platform’s website. Alternatively, you can download the application for either Android or Apple. Both applications are fully-featured, so you will not miss out on anything by using the Digit application. There is also support for the Digit chatbot.
What Is the Digit Chatbot?
Those who have been aware of Digit for a while may remember that it began as a chatbot that you used with SMS. You can still use that same functionality within the current Digit app, but it is now unnecessary. The interface on the application includes essentially all the information you got with the chatbot.
Even so, Digit does still offer the chatbot within the application for those who prefer to use this method. If you choose this, view a full breakdown of commands for the chatbot with descriptions within the help centre of Digit’s website.
Digit savings account commands include Savings, Save, Minimum, Withdraw, Today, and Refer. Digit goals commands include New Goal, Change Goal, Withdraw Goal, and Cancel Goal. For Digit savings account control, you can use Pause or Unpause / Resume.
Checking account commands include Checking, Recent, and More. Account settings commands include Notifications, Timezone, and Nickname. Finally, miscellaneous commands include Commands, Help, Stop / Start, and Vcard.
Conclusion
Digit is an application and online platform that lets you automatically save money towards any of your goals. You can sign up for an account in minutes and connect your checking account. Digit then analyses your income and spending and uses its algorithms to determine how much and when to save.
The application will then automatically save money for you in a way that does not impact your daily life. You can set specific goals and are able to withdraw from Digit at any time.
Digit works well if your spending habits are consistent and will help you save some extra money for larger purchases, holidays or a “rainy day” fund. It’s not intended as an investments app so you will not be earning high amounts of interest or growing your investment with higher-risk apps and investment plans.
Some downsides to Digit are the lack of instant customer support, Digit uses an email system for this and doesn’t offer live chat or phone support. Another downside is the fact you are limited to the app for transactions – you are not able to do these via the website.
Digit works in a similar way to Acorns, so take a look at our review of that app also.
In summary, Digit is a neat savings app which will help you build some savings automatically in a way that you will not notice. It’s a great way to get started saving and will help you build a nice nest egg for something along the road.
Digit
Pros
- Automatically Save Money
- Attractive App
- Easy way to start saving
- Easy to Use
Cons
- Monthly Fee
- Cant use website for transactions
- No Instant Customer Support
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