How much does Ally pay without a direct deposit?

$100. You enroll through someone's referral no later than December 31, 2026, open an eligible account within thirty days, set up a monthly automated recurring transfer of any amount starting within thirty days of opening, and complete it at least once a month for at least three months in a row. Ally pays within thirty days of the third transfer, so the whole route takes about four months.

Does Chime count as a no direct deposit bank bonus?

No. Chime is often listed that way, but its $100 needs one single qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more within 45 days of opening, plus activation of the physical card within 14 days of that deposit. It is the smallest direct deposit bar in our banking set, not an absence of one.

Is there a bank bonus for a large balance instead of payroll?

Two in our set. OnePay unlocks Banking+ and its higher savings rate with $500 or more of direct deposits in the current or previous month or a balance of $5,000 or more at the end of the previous month. Axos Summit Savings pays $50 to each side for $5,000 of new funds plus a monthly average balance of at least $5,000 held for one full 30 day period within the first three months.

What do the no direct deposit routes cost compared with a payroll bonus?

They cost either capital or patience. The balance routes need thousands of dollars sitting still, and Ally's route needs about four months of a standing transfer. A payroll bonus such as Chase's $400 pays more for less waiting, but only if your income can actually be rerouted, which is the whole reason this page exists.

All offers / Bank accounts / Bank bonuses with no direct deposit

Banking deep dive

The bank bonuses that never ask where you get paid.

Q: Can you really get a bank bonus without a direct deposit?

Yes, on a small number of offers. Ally pays a $100 welcome bonus on its savings route for an automated recurring transfer of any amount, completed at least once a month for at least three months in a row, with no direct deposit required. Marcus attaches no deposit test at all because its referral reward is a rate boost, and OnePay accepts a balance of $5,000 or more at the end of the previous month instead of direct deposits.

Examined Jul 25, 2026 4 min read A short list, honestly

The companion piece: what counts as a direct deposit, bank by bank

$100 Ally’s savings route, for a recurring transfer of any amount, three months running. No payroll involved.

Most bank bonuses are gated on payroll, and no cleverness gets around that. This is a short list of the ones that genuinely are not, plus two that only look like they are.

The list, side by side

Ally · savings route	$100 · recurring transfer of any amount, 3 months
OnePay	Shown in app · $5,000 balance, or $500 deposits
Axos Summit Savings	$50 each side · $5,000 balance for 30 days
Marcus	+1.00% APY · a rate boost, no deposit test
Chase Secure Banking	$175 · 10 qualifying transactions in 60 days
Chime	$100 · not really: needs one $200 deposit
Current	$100 · not really: needs recurring wages

Ally: the one that asks for nothing at all

Ally’s welcome bonus has two routes, only one mentioning your employer. The savings route asks for an automated recurring transfer of any amount, once a month, three months running. No minimum, so the transfer can be small enough that you never notice it.

By December 31, 2026 Enroll through someone’s referral.

Within 30 days of enrolling Open an eligible account, using the same email address both times.

Within 30 days of opening Start the monthly automated recurring transfer.

Three months running Complete the transfer at least once a month.

Within 30 days of the third transfer Ally pays the $100.

About four months end to end, and your payroll department never hears about it.

Two things can still kill it. Anyone who has held any type of Ally Bank deposit account since January 1, 2024, including as a non-primary joint owner, is an Excluded Friend, and neither side gets paid. A joint account you forgot about is enough. And the bonus only exists through a referral; we hold no Ally link, so get this one from a friend. Full rules in the Ally guide.

Who this actually fits

Self employed or paid by invoice. Client payments arrive as ordinary transfers, excluded from every bank’s direct deposit definition here.
Retirees with a pension already routed. Pensions do count at most of these banks, but moving one is riskier than it is worth for $100.
Gig workers on instant payouts. Chime excludes on-demand cashouts by name. If early access matters more than the bonus, stop trying to qualify.
Anyone on household payroll they cannot split. That is a payroll department’s decision as often as it is yours.
Anyone who does not want to touch their payroll setup. A reasonable position, and the reason this route exists.

The other doors, and what each one costs

All more expensive than Ally’s route, in idle capital or a smaller reward.

OnePay’s gate is an “or”: $500 of direct deposits, or a $5,000 balance at month end, the most forgiving test here. It is monthly though, so letting it lapse drops the rate again. Details in the OnePay guide.

Axos Summit Savings ignores direct deposit entirely: $5,000 of new funds plus a $5,000 average balance for one full 30-day period within three months. Half of Ally’s reward for ten times the capital. Table in the Axos guide.

Marcus has no deposit test, because it is not a payment. Since July 1, 2026 its referral is a rate boost of one point for three months: roughly $25 on $10,000 held, nothing on an unfunded account. Arithmetic in the Marcus guide.

Chase Secure Banking counts transactions, not income: $175 for 10 qualifying transactions within 60 days, a different account from the $400 payroll offer in our Chase guide.

Two that only look like exceptions

Chime is not a no-direct-deposit bonus. It gets listed as one because $200 sounds small. The terms ask for a single qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more within 45 days, then card activation within 14 days of that deposit. Trap list in the Chime guide.

Current is the same story, plus a condition: its $100 needs $200 of recurring wages within 45 days. A single one-off push, however large, does not clear it. Wording in the Current guide.

What you give up by taking this list

Straight arithmetic. The biggest bonus in our banking set is $400, gated on $1,000 of genuine payroll inside 90 days. The routes here top out at $175, mostly $100: a couple of hundred dollars traded for not touching your income, or for not having capital to park.

The biggest bonus in our banking set, gated on $1,000 of genuine payroll inside 90 days$400
The most any route on this page pays: Chase Secure Banking, on 10 qualifying transactions$175
Ally’s savings route, the one that asks nothing about your income$100

All three figures come from the paragraph above, and each has its own guide behind it.

Ally’s $100 for a standing transfer you barely notice is the one to do first. If your pay can move, read the direct deposit comparison instead; the money there is several times larger.

No direct deposit FAQ

Can you really get a bank bonus without a direct deposit?

Yes, on a few offers. Ally pays $100 for a recurring transfer of any amount. Marcus asks for no deposit at all since its reward is a rate. OnePay accepts a balance instead.

How much does the Ally route pay, and how long does it take?

$100, roughly four months end to end. See the timeline above.

Is Chime a no direct deposit bonus?

No. Smallest bar in the set, but still a bar: one $200 deposit within 45 days, card activated within 14.

Is there a bonus for a large balance instead of payroll?

Two: OnePay’s $5,000 end-of-month balance, and Axos Summit Savings’s $50 each side for $5,000 held for 30 days.

What is the catch on the Ally route?

The lookback. Any Ally Bank deposit account held since January 1, 2024, joint ones included, makes you an Excluded Friend and pays nobody.

The guides behind this page

AllyThe savings route: a recurring transfer of any amount, three months running$100 OnePayA $5,000 end of month balance stands in for payroll entirelyShown in the app AxosSummit Savings tests your balance instead of your paycheck$50 to $100 MarcusNo deposit test at all, but the reward is a rate rather than cash+1.00% APY ChimeOften listed as the no payroll one, and it is not$100 CurrentNeeds recurring wages, so a one off push does not clear it$100

How this page is paid: it is not. We hold no referral link for Ally, Marcus, OnePay, Axos, Chime, Current or Chase, so nothing on this page earns us anything. Ally's bonus only exists when someone enrolls through a referral, so if a friend has a link, use theirs. Nothing here is financial or tax advice.

Read the Ally guideThe savings route, the referrer's side, and the lookback that voids both.

What counts as a direct depositIf your pay can move after all, this is where the bigger money is.

What we found across every offer

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Every one of these is read from the company’s own document and dated. See all 59 questions we have answered.