Fierce Finance Review: Features, Pros & Cons, & Pricing

Fierce is a financial app that aims to be a financial app for all your money needs, including banking, stock market investing, cryptocurrency investing, and card payments. 

With so many features under one login, it’s a compelling package for anyone looking to manage all of their money needs in one place with one app. But does it live up to the hype?

Here’s a detailed look at what Fierce has to offer, what Fierce is missing, and if it makes sense for your finances.

About Fierce

Fierce is a financial app that aims to make earning, saving, spending, and investing more accessible. The company was founded in 2021 by Robert Cornish, the former CTO at Gemini, and currently operates out of New York.

This investing app also advertises features for all of your financial needs, including the ability to “fund, invest, spend, and earn.” That’s an ambitious goal. The app is well on the way. However, it still falls short in a few key areas.

The banking, stock market investing, crypto investing, and debit card products are active and available to Fierce customers. The credit card is listed as “coming soon.” The upcoming credit card is advertised as having a 1.5% cash back rate, redeemable in several ways through the company’s app. But so far, that hasn’t come to fruition.

Perhaps more importantly, there’s no web login or Android app. Only iPhone users can create an account and get started. As less than half of U.S. smartphone users have an iPhone, according to Statista data, that’s a big gap. The Android app is also advertised as “coming soon.”

If you don’t have an iPhone or only want to sign up because of the integrated credit card, you can stop reading now and return later for an update. If you're an iPerson and want to learn more about how Fierce handles banking and investments, keep reading for a more detailed Fierce review.

Fierce Features

Fierce currently offers banking and investment features that could appeal to a wide variety of users. The main features include:

Fierce Cash

Fierce Cash is the banking product in the Fierce app. Accounts are operated through a partnership with tech-friendly Cross River Bank, which includes FDIC insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Currently, FDIC coverage protects your deposits up to $250,000 per depositor per institution.

The account includes an impressive 5.25% APY at the time of writing, which is one of the better interest rates you’ll find on a savings account these days. 

The cash account is a hybrid checking and savings account, a common setup for online banking and investing platforms. You can instantly transfer cash between Fierce accounts, namely Fierce Cash and Fierce Invest.

Fierce Debit Card

The Fierce Debit card is a payment card with no monthly fees. The debit card is connected to the Cross River Bank checking account described above. You can use the card for standard credit or debit card purchases, as well as ATM withdrawals.

Fierce debit cards can be used fee-free at more than 55,000 Allpoint ATMs. If you use the card at other ATMs, Fierce doesn’t charge any fees, but you may have to pay fees imposed by the ATM owner.

Fierce debit cards are only available for a single account holder. Joint debit cards are not supported. It’s generally a competitive debit card that won’t cost anything for regular activities other than out-of-network ATM visits.

Fierce Invest–Stocks

Fierce Invest is technically a separate investment account, but it’s accessed through the same app and login as other Fierce financial accounts. Fierce Invest supports stock market trades, giving you access to most U.S. stocks and ETFs.

Fierce Stock accounts are SIPC insured, which protects your cash balance and account assets, but doesn’t protect you from a decline in investment value. Behind the scenes, FIN2, a registered investment broker-dealer and member of FINRA, handles stock trades.

Trades are executed through a partnership with DriveWealth. While FIN2 and DriveWealth are mostly invisible to customers, it’s good to know who’s handling your money and investments.

Fierce Invest customers can invest with as little as $1. Only taxable individual investment accounts are offered, with a limited margin feature. And while you might not be subject to trading fees, FIN2 may earn money from selling your trades to a third party, known as payment for order flow.

This is a common but somewhat controversial practice, as it could lead to trades executing at a less favorable price for customers like you.

Fierce Invest–Crypto

Cryptocurrency accounts are managed through a relationship with Paxos Trust Company, a large, regulated cryptocurrency brokerage platform. Paxos works as a backend platform for many reputable financial apps in cryptocurrency, including PayPal and InteractiveBrokers.

Paxos is noteworthy to individual crypto investors for innovative products, including Paxos Gold and Pax Dollar. Available cryptocurrencies supported include:

• Aave
• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Chainlink
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Paxos Dollar
• Pax Gold
• Polygon
• Solana

While there are no recurring fees for holding crypto, you’ll pay $1.49 for trades valued at up to $100 US and 1.49% for larger transactions.

Inside the Fierce Invest crypto section, the investment experience is seamless with other Fierce banking and investment accounts. However, if you just want to invest in crypto and want lower fees and more crypto features, you're better off with a major exchange like Binance.

Fierce Pricing & Fees

For most Fierce customers, banking and investment products are fee-free. And cryptocurrency costs are limited to $1.49 per trade under $100 or 1.49% for trades over $100.

Fierce partners Cross River Bank and Paxos are responsible for most fees you’ll pay. The only common fee most people may encounter outside of crypto trading fees are fees charged by other banks’ ATMs.

One of the biggest money makers for Fierce is from selling customer order flow in its stock investing section.

FIN2, a captive broker-dealer owned by Fierce, doesn’t charge any investment fees but can be added in the future, according to the customer agreement. The only fees currently assessed for stock trades are the SEC and TAF fees charged by all stock investment firms and passed on to regulators.

Fierce Alternatives

Fierce is in a fiercely competitive industry. Here are some similar apps offering a combination of banking, investing, and crypto:

• SoFi: SoFi offers everything you can get from Fierce and more. That includes credit cards, retirement investment accounts, joint accounts, robo-advising accounts, home loans, personal loans, student loans, and other financial products and services.
• Ally: Ally Bank features a top-tier bank account for low costs and competitive interest rates. Ally Invest offers no-cost and low-cost stock, ETF, bond, mutual fund, and cryptocurrency investments. Retirement accounts and foreign exchange (FOREX) are also part of Ally's offerings. For lending, it features car loans and home loans. Larger accounts qualify for robo-advising, called managed investment accounts, for a fee.
• Robinhood: The disruptor who first brought no-commission stock traders to the marketplace also offers banking and cryptocurrency investments. It’s run into a few controversies over the years.
• Invstr: This platform includes banking, investing, crypto, and insurance products. It’s focused on the education side of money, which makes it attractive to newer investors and young professionals.

Of course, you can also explore more crypto-focused savings products if you're mostly interested in generating yield or trading. Our article on the best crypto savings accounts is the perfect place to start your research.

Account Opening Process

Opening an account starts with the iOS app. Download it from the Apple App Store to begin your signup. If you’ve ever signed up for bank or investment accounts in the past, you’ll likely find a familiar experience.

In addition to account login and personal contact information, Fierce must verify customer identities through a know your customer (KYC) program. 

Required personal information to open an account includes your:

• Name
• Email address
• Text-enabled mobile phone number
• Street address
• Zip code
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Government-issued form of identification

Safety & Security

Fierce is a safe platform if you follow online security best practices, such as using a unique password on every website and app you use. While there’s always a slight risk of hacking, Fierce has a good history of keeping customer information and assets safe.

Fierce only runs the platform, not the underlying financial accounts, so you’ll want to investigate those providers to understand who controls your money and investments. Platform partners include Cross River Bank, FIN2, DriveWealth, and Paxos.

Customer Service

Fierce offers 24/7 live customer support via phone, email, and chat. You can also use a chatbot on Fierce's website to ask questions and get assistance.

Just know that Fierce customer reviews online are scant, so it’s hard to judge platform quality and customer service from past users. It doesn’t appear on platforms like TrustPilot or the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

The Bottom Line

Fierce is a versatile platform that has a competitive cash account and numerous other features that help you save, invest, and spend your money more wisely.

That said, this new, all-in-one finance app has a way to go before we give it a top-level review. Being iOS-only and only having basic cryptocurrency features are the two main drawbacks at the moment. However, Fierce could be worth it if you want to take advantage of the 5.25% APY on its cash account.

If you have an iPhone and want to try it out, you can do so with almost no risk before depositing real money. 

However, you're locked out if you’re a computer or Android user. And with a credit card advertised but not yet available, Fierce is still dealing with startup issues that could prevent you from fully enjoying what the platform has planned for the future.