My bank deposits $15 in my checking account every month, and the way I make it happen is so simple anybody can do it.
As you can see here, they also refund ATM fees (up to $25 per month).
You’re thinking that I must have a big balance or that I have to jump through a bunch of hoops, right? Nope.
The requirements are simple:
- Make 12 purchases with your debit card (that total at least $150)
- Opt in for paperless statements
- Get an ACH deposit of $250 or more
That’s it!
The first requirement is super easy. Who doesn’t use their debit card at least 12 times in a month to spend at least $150? It doesn’t matter if it’s a pin, tap, or signature transaction. They all count.
The second one is what I think 99% of people already do in 2025. I mean, I don’t have anything were I get statements mailed to me, so just click once to opt-in to paperless monthly statements and you’re all set there.
The last one may be slightly trickier, but if you’ve got regular paycheck coming in, you can just send at least $250 of that to this account, or if you already have an account at a different bank, you can do an online transfer (ACH, not Zelle or Venmo or Cash App) of $250 or more to move money into this account. You could litterally move it into the account and then move it back out. It doesn’t have to stay there, but you do need to spend $150 on the debit card, so you’ll probably just leave it in there to spend.
At the end of the month, $15 will just magically appear in your account… plus the refunded ATM fees.
And, actually, you don’t have to spend $150. It’s technically 10% back for your first $150 of spending, so if you only spend $75, you’d get $7.50, but why wouldn’t you go for the the whole $15?
There are no monthly fees, regardless of whether you meet the 3 requirements listed above. If you don’t do those three things, you just don’t get the $15 or the ATM rebates.
What other things do you need to know?
— The minimum opening deposit is just $5.
— You’ll need to join the credit union. That requires putting $5 in a savings account that you can’t withdrawl until you close all your accounts. — It’s a technical thing that separates a “bank” and a “credit union”. Basically, both banks and credit unions offer checking accounts, savings accounts, loans, and so forth, but a bank is typically owned by a corporation and a credit union is owned by people who have accounts with it. That $5 in the savings account gives you a tiny bit of ownership in the credit union.
— The credit union does use Zelle, so you can send and receive money in minutes.
You can also open a savings account where you can add and remove money, if you’d like, that pays an interest rate of 2.96% (as of when I’m writing this) on balances up to $250,000, when you meet the requirements listed above. It’s called “Performance Savings” and it’ll be offered as part of the signup process. It, too, has no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirement.
I think that covers everything, so make sure you’ve got the following handy:
Head over to Affinity Federal Credit Union – Cash Back Plus to start getting $15 cash back every month spending money like you already do!