SoFi Smart Card: 5% Grocery Cashback at $10/Month

SoFi launched a new credit card Thursday called the SoFi Smart Card. The product offers unlimited 5% cash back on grocery store purchases. It costs $10 a month.

The $10 fee is the catch. A household spending $500 a month on groceries would earn $25 in rewards. The net gain after the fee is $15. Anyone spending less than $200 a month on groceries would lose money on the deal.

The card is aimed at SoFi's existing banking and lending customers. The company has been pushing deeper into consumer finance, bundling checking, loans, and now credit cards under one app. The Smart Card replaces SoFi's earlier 2%-unlimited card, which had no monthly fee.

Grocery cashback cards are a crowded category. The American Express Blue Cash Preferred offers 6% on groceries up to $6,000 a year, with a $95 annual fee. Citi's Custom Cash gives 5% on the top spending category, no fee. SoFi's $10 monthly charge amounts to $120 a year, making it one of the pricier options unless users already hold SoFi accounts for other services.

SoFi is betting that the unlimited structure and the app ecosystem will keep users from switching. The card also ties into SoFi's rewards marketplace, where points can be redeemed for stock, crypto, or loan payments. For someone already using SoFi for direct deposit and investing, the fee may feel like part of a bundled subscription.

The card will be available to new applicants starting Monday. SoFi did not disclose projected sign-up numbers.