SoFi bug: cannot manually link bank account using routing number & account number except through the Invest side of things, NOT the Banking side of things!

[ElectricRCAircraftGuy]

Summary

THE PROBLEM: I want to manually link my bank account to SoFi Banking withOUT Plaid.

It is possible to do this in SoFi Invest: https://support.sofi.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408300216845-How-do-I-manually-connect-my-bank-account-to-my-SoFi-Invest-account-without-Plaid-

Please add a feature to allow us to do it in SoFi Banking.

These instructions are BROKEN! There is no "Add account manually" link nor button! It DOES NOT EXIST!

Your existing instructions are broken. They do not work. They are found here: https://support.sofi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038730052-Linking-Bank-Accounts-to-SoFi-Money

The circled part in this image indicates that there is a way to connect a bank account manually to "SoFi Money" (banking), when, in fact, there is not. Also, all your screenshots/images of the steps in these instructions are broken links, as you can see:

Details

This is really flippin' annoying. I've wasted my time chatting with SoFi and calling them, as well as trying on a PC in the Chrome browser, in the Firefox browser, and in the phone app.

SoFi, please fix this.

I'd like you to re-enable your manual bank account linking feature where instead of using Plaid to link my bank account, I can manually type in my bank account number and routing number and you will do 2 verification deposits < $1 each over the next couple days, which I have to verify to prove I own the account.

Please re-enable this feature of manual bank verification for people like me who don't want to give you my bank account login information through Plaid.

Problem

I don't trust Plaid. It requires my login info. to another bank. That's dumb. I just want to manually link the account with the routing number, account number, and some trial deposits, like every other bank has allowed for decades.

BUT, you can ONLY bypass Plaid and manually add a bank account via a routing number and account number if you do it through the Invest side of SoFi, NOT through the Banking side of SoFi, leaving one no way to link a bank account to your SoFi checking account from within the SoFi online system.

The Banking chatbot, found here under "Banking support" (https://www.sofi.com/dashboard/contact --> Banking support --> "Chat with banking support"), does NOT provide correct instructions. These instructions do NOT work:

Searchable text and clickable links from the chat above:

manually add account

It seems like you have a question about linking a bank account. Please select the topic you are inquiring about: Was this helpful?

Linking External Bank Accounts to Checking and Savings

You can link a bank account to your Checking and Savings account in one of two ways. Please select which you would like to know more about: 1:04 pm Was this helpful?

Connect a Bank Account Manually

1. Click the following link, then from the 'Manage your connected bank accounts' section select 'Connect a new bank':

1:04 pm

Link a Bank Account to Checking and Savings

2. Select the 'Connect a New Bank' to enter your account and routing numbers
3. Then click 'Add account manually'
4. Enter all applicable information and click 'Next'
5. The account will need to be confirmed with micro-deposits (A message will be displayed with instructions to keep an eye out for two small deposits)

Desired behavior

One should be able to manually add a bank account withOUT Plaid, by manually using a routing number and account number.

Steps to duplicate

Do on a computer, in Google Chrome.

1. [BROKEN here] proof it doesn't work through the banking side:

1. Log in to SoFi via sofi.com. Click "Banking" at the top, then the "More" button with 3 dots in a circle at the right. You'll now see this:
2. Click "Connected bank accounts" --> "Connect a new account". It brings up the Plaid PoS (not "point of sale", but rather: "piece of s***"):
3. Now, no matter what you do, and no matter what the SoFi reps tell you, you can NOT get to any page from here to manually add a bank account, PERIOD. That's not good. Please fix it.

2. [WORKS HERE, but I can't move it to checking or savings!] To add it through the investing side:

1. Log in to SoFi via sofi.com. Click "Invest" at the top, then go through any prompts required to sign up in case you haven't before. Once done, you'll end up on the main "Invest" page.
2. Click the "Add cash" circle button on the right with a dollar sign ($) in it --> click "Additional transfer options". It now says "Connect a bank account to SoFi invest". Click "View other transfer options" --> "Connect a bank" --> "Next". That brings you to the Plaid page, but it looks slightly different! It has a "Continue" button instead of the "Get started" button we saw before!:
3. Click "Continue" --> you'll see this:
4. Click the "X" to close it. NOW, UNLIKE BEFORE FROM THE BANKING PAGE, YOU'LL GET THIS OPTION TO "Connect via your bank's routing and account number"!:
5. Click "Connect via your bank's routing and account number" --> now you'll see this:
6. Enter the information for your bank, and click "Next" --> you'll end up back on the "How much would you like to add?" page. Enter a dollar amount where it shows a huge "$0". Choose a frequency and choose the account you just added from the dropdown menu under the "From" section. Then, click "Review" --> review the amount, from, to, and frquency fields, and click "Add Money".
7. Click "Done" to exit. I added $1, as shown here:

But..that doesn't solve the problem at all! I can't move that money anywhere. Back to square 1. I can't transfer that money now in the investment to the SoFi checking...which is all I want to do!

[ElectricRCAircraftGuy]

Also, Andy, if you're reading this, I'm sorry for being rude in the chat. I should not have said what I said. I gotta go take a breather.

Sincerely, Gabriel.

[ElectricRCAircraftGuy]

Temporary work-around to get cash from an external account to SoFi banking by routing it through SoFi Invest

Summary

1. Manually add the external bank account to SoFi Invest.
2. Transfer funds from external account to SoFi Invest. Wait a few days for it to complete.
3. Transfer funds from SoFi Invest to SoFi banking using the "Withdraw cash" button.

Details

Update: here is a multi-step work-around, meanwhile, while SoFi's manual adding system is broken on the banking side:

Manually adding the external account to the Invest side of SoFi does work to be able to bring money into the Banking side! However, it's a 2-step process, and SoFi still has the bug to fix.

Here's how it works:

1. Log in to sofi.com and click "Invest" at the top.
2. Assuming you've already followed the step described above "To add it through the investing side", click the "Add cash" button on the right.
3. Choose your transfer settings. In the big grey "$0" box at the top, type a dollar amount. Choose your external account you previously added in the "From" dropdown menu, and choose your "Individual" investing account in the "To" dropdown menu. Click "Review" and complete the transfer. Wait a few days for the transfer to complete.
4. Once it's complete after a few days, you'll have that cash in your "Individual" investment account, as withdrawable cash. Log in to Sofi.com --> click "Invest" at the top --> under the "Individual" "Active Investing" account box on that page, click "View Account". From here, you'll see an "Available funds" section. Look for the dollar amount under the "Available now" column of the "Withdrawable funds" row. That dollar amount is the cash amount you can transfer to your SoFi checking.
5. Click the "Withdraw cash" button, type in the dollar amount in the "$0" field, and choose your "SoFi Checking" or "SoFi Savings" account, as desired. Click the "Withdraw cash" button to move the money from your SoFi investment account to your SoFi banking account.
6. Done!

[ElectricRCAircraftGuy]

This information was given verbally to a "William", as well, on 18 May 2022 11:25-11:39am. He called me from 1-833-279-7634 after I clicked the "Contact the Office of the CEO" button here (https://www.sofi.com/dashboard/contact) to report the information above.

From https://www.sofi.com/dashboard/contact:

Direct link that button goes to: https://www.sofi.com/contact-oceo

[ElectricRCAircraftGuy]

This is the answer: you have to wait long enough to get the feature activated on your account

Update: SoFi emailed me some really important information on 23 May 2022 (emphasis added):

Please follow the next steps listed below:

1. We understand you have had some difficulty linking your external bank account to your SoFi Checking account using the manual linking option. Manual linking is not available for every SoFi account, and having access to the option depends on a variety of factors, including length of account history.
2. If you have a manual linking option available to you in the SoFi app, you will be able to access it by clicking on the Banking tab >> Transfer >> Connect New Account, and in Plaid, before fully typing your bank name into the search bar, (or type "abcdefghijk" etc to pull up the option) click 'Don't see your bank? Exit.' If you see the option to 'Add Account Manually' follow the prompts presented and you can link your bank using routing and account numbers.
3. If you do not see this option, do not be concerned-it may become available as your account history grows. Alternatively, you may link your SoFi Checking account on your external bank's end using your SoFi routing and account numbers.

In other words, once you are an active SoFi member long enough, the feature comes. And, sure enough, it did! I now have access to the feature. I don't know how long it took exactly, but it was perhaps 1 month or so.

So, now I can manually add an account to the Banking side of things too, bypassing Plaid!

See also my SoFi annoying-as-heck cannot-manually-add-a-bank-account problem section and screenshots here: https://github.com/ElectricRCAircraftGuy/ElectricRCAircraftGuy.github.io/issues/95#issuecomment-1842122766

Recommendation to SoFi:

1. Please add this critically-important information to your instructions here: https://support.sofi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038730052-Linking-Bank-Accounts-to-SoFi-Money
2. ...and also to your instructions provided by your customer service reps and provided by your robot chat bot.

[ElectricRCAircraftGuy]

I will close this issue once SoFi follows my recommendations just above, which may never happen :frowning_face: , so we shall see.