10 Money Making Apps That Don't Require A Bank Account

Written by Jason Michaels Last Updated: May 8, 2024

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There are a lot of amazing apps available for Android and IOS users that let you make money easily and often for free.

But sometimes a bank account is required which can really put a damper on which apps you can use. Everyone might not have a bank account.

Or maybe you just don’t feel confident in the security of linking your bank account with an app.

Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. The 10 apps listed below don’t require you to have a bank account in order to get paid. So go ahead and start earning money today!

Table of Contents

1. Ibotta

Registration Bonus: $10 after you claim your first offer
Join Ibotta

Ibotta is a great app that is easy and fun to use. Ibotta is essentially the new-age version of couponing, except way better and more efficient, plus sustainable too.

Ibotta works by giving you cashback when you select rebates on specific items at your grocery or general store. This means you can shop at places like Walmart, Target and Wholefoods and earn cashback.

Ibotta is not only for those weekly grocery store hauls, but it also works with some of your favorite online stores too, like Sephora and Amazon.

To sign up with Ibotta is free and you earn a $10 bonus when you sign-up and scan your first receipt. From there you only need to earn $10 more in order to reach the cashout minimum of $20.

If you shop regularly it can be pretty easy to reach $20 as Ibotta’s rebates can range from as low as $.40 to as high as $10.

On average you can expect to earn between $.50 – $2.00 in rebates for the basic items you buy.

The money you earn with Ibotta can be redeemed to your linked Paypal or Venmo account.

While you do need to link a bank account with PayPal, you don’t necessarily need to do that with Venmo unless your account is empty and you are trying to send funds.

As another option you can choose to redeem your earnings as a gift card to one of the many retailers associated with Ibotta. Some popular gift cards include Starbucks, Amazon, or even a Visa prepaid gift card.

2. Pinecone Research

Registration Bonus: None
Join Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is one of my favorite survey apps to use to make quick and easy cash.

I find their surveys to be interesting and I love that with each survey completed, I am guaranteed to earn 300 points or $3. The length of the survey doesn’t matter.

Pinecone Research also occasionally sends items for you to test out which is cool too.

The first step in getting started with Pinecone Research is to sign up here to see if you qualify. Once qualified, you can start earning money by taking the surveys they send you. Yes, it’s that easy.

Surveys can take about 10 to 20 minutes of your time. Most surveys are multiple choice responses and can cover a range of topics.

You can expect to receive an email for a survey at least once or twice a week. I luck out sometimes with 3 surveys and earn $12 for my efforts.

My favorite part about Pinecone Research is that there is no minimum requirement to cashout. If you earn $3 from a completed survey, you can choose to redeem your money right away.

You don’t need a bank account to operate Pinecone Research. One option to redeem your cash is in the form of a gift card to retailers like Amazon and Macy’s.

The other payout options are cash deposited in your PayPal account, a prepaid Visa, or a check in the mail.

Keep in mind that a check is typically the slowest option. I received my first check after about two weeks of waiting.

Now, I personally opt to use Paypal and so far my funds have shown up instantly upon cashing out my points.

3. Shopkick

Registration Bonus: 250 Kicks
Join Shopkick

The basic rundown of Shopkick is that you earn points (kicks) when you shop. This can make spending money more enjoyable since you know you’ll have a little cashback coming your way.

You can earn kicks by walking in stores, scanning receipts, scanning barcodes of select products, watching videos and a lot of other different ways. Shopkick makes earning cash easy.

Most rewards are 250 kicks per dollar. After earning a certain amount of kicks, you can then redeem those kicks for a wide selection of gift cards.

Their site claims that most people can earn enough kicks to earn a gift card in a week. And best of all you don’t need a bank account to reap the benefits of your rewards.

You need a minimum of 500 kicks in order to redeem the lowest gift card. Some gift cards require as much as 5,000 kicks. It all depends on what you want.

4. Fetch Rewards

Registration Bonus: $1.50 with promo HH3MN
Join Fetch Rewards

The Fetch Rewards app allows you to earn points simply by scanning your grocery store receipt. You can then redeem those points for cash.

Right up front, you know this app is for anyone who shops at a grocery store (so basically all of us).

What makes Fetch Rewards different than something like Ibotta mentioned above? Fetch Rewards rewards you for any grocery store receipt scanned no matter where you go.

Plus you don’t really need to preselect any rebates beforehand.

Unlike Ibotta which earns you cash, Fetch Rewards allows you to earn points. Points earned can range from 250 to 2,000 points with 1,000 points being the equivalent of $1.

In order to cash out for one of their gift cards, you will need a minimum of 3,000 points. Thankfully you’re already halfway there with the promo code HH3MN which will give you a $1.50 sign up bonus.

After you’ve reached your 3,000 points you can select a gift card of your choosing to popular retailers like Amazon, Target or Starbucks.

After scanning your receipt you’ll see your points credited to your account instantly. When you go to redeem your points, payout is also instantaneous.

5. TopCashback

Registration Bonus: Currently none
Join TopCashback

TopCashback is a cashback app that pays you when you shop. The cool thing about TopCashback is their high percentage of cashback options.

TopCashback is partnered with thousands of retailers and merchants so that you can get the best deals and cashback opportunities available.

Another great perk of TopCashback is that they don’t require a minimum payout, so you can collect your cash whenever you get it.

While you can choose to have your earnings directly deposited into your bank account, other payout options include PayPal, American Express Rewards Card, and giftcards to some top retailers.

6. BeFrugal

Registration Bonus: $10
Join BeFrugal

Like TopCashback, BeFrugal is another app that pays you to shop. Similarly, they are affiliated with several retailers and work to offer you some really great cashback rates.

Once you join, you can begin shopping and earning money. The more you shop, the more you can expect to earn.

Keep in mind that BeFrugal does require a minimum of $25 before you can cash out via direct deposit or check.

But, you don’t need to meet that minimum if you choose to cash out via PayPal or for an eGift card.

7. Trunow

Registration Bonus: $2 bonus when you scan your first receipt using promo code TO1F19
Join Trunow

Trunow is a rewards app that allows users to save money at the pump. It is the only app currently that gives you cashback on gas station purchases.

We can all admit that saving at the grocery store is great. Even better is saving money at the gas station and that’s where Trunow shines.

For each receipt you scan, you automatically get 2% cashback for gas from partnered retailers and 1% from non-partnered retailers.

While you are earning cashback, keep in mind that Trunow does operate on a points system, but consider each point worth the price of a penny.

Plus, it doesn’t matter where you fill up, just remember to hit “yes” when it comes to printing your receipt.

When getting paid with Trunow, you can choose to use the rewards you have accumulated to purchase gas or items from a partnered retailer.

Or you can opt for instant rewards in the form of PayPal. PayPal is great, but there is a fee of 50% and you will only receive half of your money.

8. Swagbucks

Registration Bonus: $10
Join Swagbucks

SwagBucks is one of the more popular money apps available on the market. It allows you to earn cash or Swagbucks (SB) from taking surveys, shopping online, watching videos or playing games.

These SB can later be redeemed for gift cards to some of your favorite stores like Amazon and BestBuy or as cash directly deposited into your PayPal account.

The smallest gift card available costs 300 SB or $3. $3 may not seem like much but it covers a small cup of coffee from Starbucks…for FREE.

Every 100 SB earned is the equivalent of $1. If you sign up now, they are currently offering a $10 sign-up bonus.

There is a minimum payout of 2500 SB or $25 for the PayPal cash payout. This is a bit high, but once you do meet the minimum, you receive your money quickly.

I personally find it to be a far better option to redeem my SB for gift cards, because then I only need a few hundred SB to qualify.

9. Receipt Hog

Registration Bonus: Get 5 FREE hog slot spins with code zuss1319
Join Receipt Hog

Head to a store, any store, buy something, scan your receipt and earn rewards. Receipt Hog is really that simple.

When scanning receipts doesn’t seem like enough, you also can take advantage of hog slot spins or take paid surveys.

You can earn more spins when you upload more receipts. These spins give you a chance to earn more spins and even cash prizes and other rewards.

The payout for Receipt Hog isn’t very high. You need 1000 points to cash out via PayPal, which equals to $5.

An Amazon gift card payout will be easier to earn at a faster rate since the minimum is significantly less.

10. Checkout 51

Registration Bonus: None
Join Checkout 51

If you want a grocery specific, receipt scanning app then Checkout51 is the one for you. Unlike Ibotta, it doesn’t matter where you make the purchase as long as you’re buying a qualifying item.

New offers come out every week at midnight on Wednesday, giving you ample opportunity to find products to purchase and upload your receipt.

You could earn as little as $.25 or as much as $4 from scanning a single receipt. Plus you can scan several receipts a week if you want to.

You need a minimum of $20 in your Checkout 51 account in order to request a check. Or you can choose to cash out via PayPal or choose a gift card from a favorite vendor.