In this Qapital review, we will cover everything you need to know about how this app helps you track your spending, save money, and why you should be using it.
Putting money aside for the rainy days is an essential component of a sound financial plan. Yet, a Federal Reserve study of U.S households found that a substantial number of adults were so financially vulnerable that they either could not pay their current month’s bill in full or would struggle to do so if faced with an emergency expense of $400.
It has become a truism in America that people find it difficult to save money. That’s true even if their income is significantly higher than average or if they just got a raise. A strong consumerist culture, an increase in the cost of living, and stagnant wages may have contributed to this phenomenon.
But what if there was a bank that could help you manage your money efficiently — so efficiently that you start to save for those unforeseen emergency expenses?
The Qapital app, which is the subject of this review, can help you put your finances in order. Qapital members save an average of $5,000 annually. We are going to tell you all about how you can start doing the same in this Qapital review.
What Is Qapital?
Qapital is a personal finance app that is designed to motivate users to save money easily. Founded in 2013 by ex-bankers George Friedman and Katherine Salisbury, the company first operated in Sweden. In 2015, the company opened its US-based office.
Qapital is a savings, investment, and money management app. Users can manage most of their financial affairs within the app.
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What Does Qapital Do?
Qapital is a financial services app that lets you save, spend, and invest seamlessly without leaving the app. Qapital has three types of accounts: Saving Goals Account, Spending Account, and Investment Account. Here’s how the three accounts operate.
Qapital Savings Goals
Qapital Savings Goals account is similar to a savings account you would open with a traditional bank. However, there are a few differences because Qapital Savings Goals account is not necessarily a bank. It is a tool designed to assist you in your financial planning and decision making.
All you need to do is:
- Connect your external funding account to your Qapital Goals account
- Set up goals towards which you would like to save
- Apply the rules to automatically deposit money into your goals account
The funds in your goals account are FDIC insured and are maintained with a Qapital partnered bank.
Qapital Saving Rules
Many people find Qapital to be effective because of its Saving Rules. These are pre-determined rules that are designed to help you save money automatically and painlessly. Here are the rules:
- The Round-up Rule – This is the most popular of all the rules, and for good reason. It helps members save $44 a month on average. Here’s how it works. Whenever you make a purchase something using your Qapital debit card, Qapital rounds the purchase up to the nearest dollar and saves the change. For example, if you make a purchase for $29.35, Qapital will round-up the purchase to $30 and save the remainder $0.65 for you.
- The Spend Less Rule – This rule lets you set a spending cap. If you spend less than your spending cap, Qapital saves the difference.
- The Guilty Pleasure Rule -This rule lets you save every time you fulfill a guilty pleasure. For example, every time you make a purchase at Starbucks, you automatically save $10. The more you fulfill your guilty pleasure, the more you save.
- Set and Forget – This rule lets you set the Qapital app to automatically deposit money into your Qapital savings account weekly starting with just $10.
- The 52 Week Rule – This rule lets you save a certain amount every week. You can start with $1 a week and then scale it up as the weeks go by.
- Freelancer Rule – The Freelancer rule lets you automatically save a percentage of your income any time you make $100 or more. This is good for putting money aside for taxes and other unforeseen expenses.
- IFTTT(If This Then That) – This is a conditional rule that lets you save whenever you meet a certain condition. For example, automatically save $1 whenever you make a Facebook post.
- Moves – Moves ties your personal fitness goals to your financial goals. It lets you reward yourself with a few dollars of savings every time you workout.
- Payday – The payday rule lets you save a certain percentage of your income on payday. This rule is simple and straightforward.
Qapital Spending Account
The Qapital spending is a checking account that comes equipped with a Qapital branded Visa debit card. As Qapital is not a bank, your funds are held– in your name– with Qapital’s partner bank.
You can use your debit card as you would with debit cards from any traditional bank. However, Qapital Visa debit card has unique features that helps you effectively manage your finances.
With the Qapital Spending account, you can do the following:
- Track your weekly spending
- Make unlimited transfers between your spending and goals account
- Set up direct deposit
- Transfer money from another bank to your Qapital Spending account
- Pay bills
- Send checks to creditors
- In-app temporary card lock
- Instant notifications of all transactions
Qapital Investment Account
If stock market investing is important to you, Qapital got you covered. With a Qapital account, not only can you have a checking and savings account of sorts, but you can also open an investment account.
You can use your Qapital investment account to invest in various stocks. Here’s how it is done:
- You set up an investment goal
- Answer an questionnaire to determine your risk tolerance levels
- Start investing
Qapital places your money in a diversified portfolio of stock, bonds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s). Qapital takes your risk tolerance levels into consideration when planning your portfolio. They will structure you portfolio in a manner with which you are comfortable.
Stock market investing gives you the benefit of compound interest. The earlier you start, the more opportunity you’ll have for long-term growth.
How Qapital Structures Your Portfolio
Qapital has five pre-built portfolios from which an investors can choose. The portfolios range from very conservative to very aggressive.
The very conservative portfolio comprises of 90% fixed income and 10% equity. The very aggressive portfolio, on the other hand, comprises just 10% fixed income and 90% equity.
| Kind Of Investor | Fixed Income | Equity |
| Very Conservative | 90% | 10% |
| Conservative | 70% | 30% |
| Balanced | 50% | 50% |
| Aggressive | 30% | 70% |
| Very Aggressive | 10% | 90% |
As you can see, Qapital’s portfolios are diversified over a wide range of assets, with a small percentage invested in emerging market stocks.
Qapital investment approach is based on the Modern Investment Theory which was made popular by Nobel Price winner Harry Markowitz. The theory seeks to show how risk-averse investors can construct portfolios that will maximize their returns.
Qapital uses an intuitive software to monitor your account, reinvest the dividends, and rebalance your portfolio based on changing market conditions.
How To Open A Qapital Investment Account
You don’t get a Qapital Investment account automatically when you have a Qapital goals or spending account. However, you will need to have a Qapital spending account to open a Qapital Investment account.
If you have a Qapital spending account and want to open an investment account, you will be prompted to select from portfolio of investments, the one that best fits your investment goals and risk tolerance levels. You will also need a minimum required investment of $10, which will get transferred from your spending to your investment account, usually in 5 to 7 business days.
Once you investment account is set up, you can go in and increase your investment over time.
Who Can Open A Qapital Account?
To open a Qapital Account, you’ll have to be at least 18 years old and a US resident. Currently, Qapital is not opened to people who are not US residents.
Qapital Fees
Qapital has three tiers of service: basic, complete, and master. There is a $3 monthly service charge for basic, $6 for complete, and $12 for master. While the basic membership comes with a savings goals account, it does not come with a Qapital Visa debit card. To get the debit card, you’ll have to upgrade to the complete or master membership. That’s perhaps biggest downer for Qapital.
Why Qapital?
There are several reasons to use Qapital. Below are just a few:
- It automates the saving process. You can save money for the rainy days without thinking about it
- It makes budgeting easy. You can set up a weekly budget to more efficiently manage your money.
- It lets you track your spending. With the spending tracker, you will see how you’re spending your money and areas in which you need to adjust your spending.
- Checking account without the monthly bank fees. With Qapital, you get a full checking account equipped with a debit card but not the bank fees.
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Qapital Review – The Bottom Line
Qapital offers a trifecta of savings account, checking account, and investment accounts. It is an excellent financial services tool for people who are serious about reigning in their finances. The tool helps you save money automatically. It also lets you invest in the stock market.
The down side to Qapital is the monthly membership fees you have to pay–starting from $3 to $12 a month.
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