Insider’s experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). In some cases, we receive a commission from our our partners, however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.
Many of us grew up making the journey to a brick-and-mortar bank to hand a paper check to a teller — but this isn’t necessarily the norm anymore. Thanks to online banks, you can now bank without leaving your home.
Compare today’s saving rates
Below, you’ll find our best online bank picks right now. We know “best” means something different for everyone, so we’ve listed each bank’s strengths, as well as its limitations.
Best online banks
Editor’s rating
Editor’s rating
Editor’s rating
Competitive interest rates
Editor’s rating
Editor’s rating
Ally
Ally High Yield Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
2.35%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Ally High Yield Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
2.35%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
2.35%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: Ally doesn’t have minimum opening deposits for any of its accounts, so you can get started with any amount.
The Ally High Yield Savings Account makes it especially easy for you to save. You can set up separate savings buckets for different goals, such as Emergency Savings or Travel Fund. The Surprise Savings feature assesses your checking account balance three times per week to determine how much you can afford to save, then transfers money into your savings account.
You can contact Ally customer support 24/7, either over the phone or via live online chat.
What to look out for: The Ally Interest Checking Account is a solid account, but it doesn’t come with any special features, such as cash back or a competitive interest rate. If you want a rewards checking account, you may want to go with one of the other banks on this list.
Capital One 360
Capital One 360 Performance Savings™
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Capital One 360 Performance Savings™
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: Capital One ranks as No. 1 on the J.D. Power US National Banking Satisfaction Survey. This study evaluates customers’ experiences with banks and measures factors such as trust, handling problems and complaints, and saving time and money.
Capital One doesn’t require any minimum opening deposits. It also has branches and Capital One cafes sprinkled around the US, so it’s a good option if you like online banking but want the option to speak with a banker face-to-face.
What to look out for: You can use your debit card at over 39,000 ATMs nationwide for free, but unlike many online banks, Capital One doesn’t reimburse any fees charged by out-of-network ATM providers.
Discover Bank
Discover Cashback Debit Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
None
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Discover Cashback Debit Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
None
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
None
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: Discover is a good option for people who want to do all their banking, investing, and borrowing with one institution. It offers a wide range of products, including credit cards. It also has a strong cash back checking account that lets you earn 1% back on up to $3,000 of purchases each month.
What to look out for: While you don’t need to place an initial deposit for a checking or savings account, you’ll need at least $2,500 to open a money market account or CD. Some of our other options do not require a minimum opening deposit.
LendingClub
LendingClub High-Yield Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.12%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$100
LendingClub High-Yield Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.12%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$100
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.12%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$100
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: You’ll earn a much higher interest rate on a LendingClub High-Yield Savings Account or LendingClub Certificate of Deposit than with the average savings account or CD.
LendingClub also has a strong checking account. The LendingClub Rewards Checking Account has no monthly services fees and access to over 325,000 surcharge-free ATMs worldwide through NYCE, SUM, and MoneyPass ATM networks. You can also receive your paycheck two days early.
If you maintain at least $2,500 in your account, you can earn 0.10% APY and score 1% cash back on unlimited purchases. If you want to earn the highest APY, you’ll need to have an account balance of $100,000 or higher.
What to look out for: You’ll need a minimum of $100 to open a checking or savings account, and at least $2,500 for an initial deposit on a CD. If you’d like to open a bank account with a low minimum opening deposit, you might lean more toward one of our other top picks.
SoFi
SoFi Checking and Savings
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
1.20% to 2.50%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
SoFi Checking and Savings
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
1.20% to 2.50%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
1.20% to 2.50%
Rates as of 9/30/22
Show more
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: If you’d like to manage your money in one account, SoFi Checking and Savings is a great option. It’s a hybrid bank account that combines checking and savings features.
You can earn a competitive interest rate that’s higher than what many traditional and high-yield savings accounts pay if you set up direct deposits. It also offers a $250 cash bonus through January 31, 2022 if you meet certain requirements.
SoFi Checking and Savings is also a strong choice if you don’t want to deal with monthly service fees, overdraft fees, or out-of-network ATM fees. It also comes with a debit card.
What to look out for: The account is a hybrid savings/checking account, so you’ll need to keep that in mind to get the most out of the account. If you deposit cash, you also might need to pay a fee.
Online banks that didn’t make the cut and why
- Chime (Deposits are FDIC insured): Chime has good free checking and savings accounts, but other online banks offer higher interest rates on savings accounts right now. Chime also doesn’t let you open a joint bank account or a savings account by itself.
- Axos Bank (Member FDIC): This online bank offer a wide range of account types, but you can find higher interest rates on high-yield savings and checking accounts at other online banks.
- American Express (Member FDIC): American Express pays a competitive APY on savings account balances. Its checking account is currently only available to Consumer Card Members who have had a card account for at least three months.
- Barclays (Member FDIC): Barclays offers solid interest rates on savings accounts but doesn’t provide a checking account.
- Bank5 Connect (Member FDIC): Bank5 Connect has decent checking and savings account. But it doesn’t have a money market account, and you can find higher interest rates at other online banks.
- CIBC Bank USA (Member FDIC): This online bank offers a variety of checking and savings accounts, but most require a minimum opening deposit or charge a fee if your balance falls below a certain amount. The checking account is also only available to residents in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, or Washington.
- Salem Five Direct(Member FDIC): Salem Five Direct pays a competitive interest rate on a savings account, but its CDs have high minimum opening deposits.
- HSBC Bank(Member FDIC): HSBC might be appealing if you qualify for a premier bank account. You might like HSBC if you can keep $75,000 in bank/investment accounts, receive $5,000 in direct deposits each month, or take out a mortgage of at least $500,000.
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs (Member FDIC): Even though Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a good online bank overall, it doesn’t offer a checking account.
- Quontic Bank (Member FDIC): You have plenty of bank account options to choose from with Quontic Bank — but you need to make 15 debit card transactions per month to earn the competitive APY on its high-yield checking account.
- TIAA Bank (Member FDIC): TIAA Bank offers respectable rates, but our top picks have more impressive features such as higher interest rates or robust savings tools.
- Vio Bank (Member FDIC): This online bank pays one of the highest savings rates in the industry (which is always subject to change), but it doesn’t offer a checking account.
- CIT Bank (Member FDIC): This is a solid online bank, but you’ll need between $100 and $1,000 to open bank accounts, and it doesn’t have an ATM network.
- Synchrony Bank (Member FDIC): This online bank pays a competitive rate with no minimum balance on savings accounts, but you can’t open a checking account.
- NBKC Bank (Member FDIC): NBKC is a good bank overall, but you can find higher interest rates at other banks.
- FNBO Direct(Member FDIC): This is a respectable online bank, but its overdraft fees are pretty steep.
- BrioDirect (Member FDIC): Although BrioDirect doesn’t have some of the advanced features of our top picks, it is a strong online bank overall. It refunds up to $20 per month in out-of-network ATM fees.
- USAA Bank (Member FDIC): This could be a good online bank for military members and families, and new recruits can get paid a day early; however, USAA’s rates are low.
- Charles Schwab (Member FDIC): Charles Schwab provides unlimited out-of-network ATM fee reimbursements and doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, but its rates are low.
Why trust our recommendations?
Personal Finance Insider’s mission is to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. We understand that “best” is often subjective, so in addition to highlighting the clear benefits of a financial product or account — a high APY, for example — we outline the limitations, too. We spent hours comparing and contrasting the features and fine print of various products so you don’t have to.
Methodology: How did we chose the best online banks?
There are a lot of online banks out there. Through our research, we’ve found that the best online banks offer a wide range of products, high bank account rates, low fees, and effective customer service.
While interest rates are an important aspect of any online bank account, several offer the same annual percentage yields (APYs). To differentiate between them, we considered how much you’ll need to open an account, balance requirements, fees, ATM access, mobile apps, and other standout features.
We also took customer service into account, because with an online bank, you don’t have the option of walking into a branch to speak with a representative.
We reviewed over two dozen institutions to identify the strongest options. We also cross-referenced our list against popular comparison sites like Bankrate and NerdWallet to make sure we didn’t miss a thing.
Bank trustworthiness and BBB ratings
None of our top picks have any recent public scandals.
Here are the Better Business Bureau scores for all the banks on our list:
The Better Business Bureau measures businesses by examining responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency about business practices.
The BBB cites the number of customer complaints on the BBB site for Ally’s C- grade and Capital One 360’s A- grade.
Something to keep in mind is that a good BBB rating won’t guarantee that your interactions with the bank will be great. Consider speaking to current customers or reading online customer reviews to see if one of these banks may be suitable for you.
Caipital One, LendingClub, and SoFi have been involved in recent public controversies.
In 2020, The Office of the Comptroller of Currency required Capital One to pay $80 million in a settlement that said the bank had inefficient security practices, which comprised personal information of bank credit cardholders.
In July 2021, LendingClub Corporation paid $18 million in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission when accused of deceptive lending practices that charged consumers hidden fees and told them they were approved for a loan even when they weren’t.
In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission ordered SoFi to stop running advertisements that falsely stated customers could save more money by refinancing than they actually could.
Frequently asked questions
Personal Finance Insider’s mission is to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. We understand that “best” is often subjective, so in addition to highlighting the clear benefits of a financial product or account — a high APY, for example — we outline the limitations, too. We spent hours comparing and contrasting the features and fine print of various products so you don’t have to.
What is an online bank?
Many brick-and-mortar banks allow you to bank online — but an online bank has you bank primarily or exclusively online. Some online banks do have a couple physical locations, but they still operate digitally for the most part.
Why choose an online bank over a brick-and-mortar bank?
There are a few downsides to choosing an online bank over a brick-and-mortar bank. For example, you may miss being able to speak with a banker face-to-face. And if you need to deposit cash regularly, you’re out of luck with an online bank.
However, because online banks don’t have to pay for physical branch locations, they typically pay higher rates and charge fewer fees. This means you can earn more and spend less with your bank.
The experts’ advice on choosing the best savings account for you
Insider
To learn more about what makes a good online bank and how to choose the best fit, four experts weighed in:
We’re focusing on what will make an online bank most useful, including customer service, fees, rates, and more. Here’s what they had to say about banking online. (Some text may be lightly edited for clarity.)
How can someone determine whether a bank is the right fit for them?
Tania Brown, CFP:
“Obviously, you want to make sure it’s FDIC insured. Also, your banking experience — do you like walking into a bank? Well, then you need someone local. Do you just not care if you ever see your bank? Then you’re okay online. Do you write checks? Do you not write checks? So it’s thinking through how your experience with it is going to be before you make that decision.”
Laura Grace Tarpley, Personal Finance Insider:
“I would look for the bank that charges you the least in fees. This means either no monthly fees, or you qualify to waive the monthly fees. If you never overdraw from your account, then a bank’s overdraft fees won’t matter much to you. But if you occasionally overdraw, then I’d look at the fees or overdraft protection options.”
What should someone look for in an online bank?
Tania Brown, CFP:
“With an online bank, absolutely online customer service, because you do not have the advantage of walking inside and talking to a human being. How often are you able to get them? What are their hours?”
Roger Ma, CFP:
“How onerous the transfer process is, transferring money in and transferring money out. Is it same day, next day? Is it pretty easy to sync a brick-and-mortar checking account to this particular high-yield savings account?”
Mykail James, CFEI:
“When it comes to online banks, you want to be a little bit more strict about what type of interest rates they’re providing. That’s the biggest thing, because online banks are supposed to have the higher interest rate because they don’t have the overhead of the brick-and-mortar. You want to make sure that it’s well above the national average. What type of securities do they provide? Do they have two-factor identification? If it’s an online bank, they should definitely have — at the bare minimum — two-factor authentication in how easy it is to change your passwords and things like that, because you want to be a little more hypersensitive about the cyber security for a strictly online bank.”
Top Offers From Our Partners
Related Post
Insider’s experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). In some cases, we receive a commission from our our partners, however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.
Many of us grew up making the journey to a brick-and-mortar bank to hand a paper check to a teller — but this isn’t necessarily the norm anymore. Thanks to online banks, you can now bank without leaving your home.
Compare today’s saving rates
Below, you’ll find our best online bank picks right now. We know “best” means something different for everyone, so we’ve listed each bank’s strengths, as well as its limitations.
Best online banks
Editor’s rating
Editor’s rating
Editor’s rating
Competitive interest rates
Editor’s rating
Editor’s rating
Ally
Ally High Yield Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
2.35%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Ally High Yield Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
2.35%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
2.35%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: Ally doesn’t have minimum opening deposits for any of its accounts, so you can get started with any amount.
The Ally High Yield Savings Account makes it especially easy for you to save. You can set up separate savings buckets for different goals, such as Emergency Savings or Travel Fund. The Surprise Savings feature assesses your checking account balance three times per week to determine how much you can afford to save, then transfers money into your savings account.
You can contact Ally customer support 24/7, either over the phone or via live online chat.
What to look out for: The Ally Interest Checking Account is a solid account, but it doesn’t come with any special features, such as cash back or a competitive interest rate. If you want a rewards checking account, you may want to go with one of the other banks on this list.
Capital One 360
Capital One 360 Performance Savings™
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Capital One 360 Performance Savings™
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: Capital One ranks as No. 1 on the J.D. Power US National Banking Satisfaction Survey. This study evaluates customers’ experiences with banks and measures factors such as trust, handling problems and complaints, and saving time and money.
Capital One doesn’t require any minimum opening deposits. It also has branches and Capital One cafes sprinkled around the US, so it’s a good option if you like online banking but want the option to speak with a banker face-to-face.
What to look out for: You can use your debit card at over 39,000 ATMs nationwide for free, but unlike many online banks, Capital One doesn’t reimburse any fees charged by out-of-network ATM providers.
Discover Bank
Discover Cashback Debit Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
None
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Discover Cashback Debit Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
None
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
None
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: Discover is a good option for people who want to do all their banking, investing, and borrowing with one institution. It offers a wide range of products, including credit cards. It also has a strong cash back checking account that lets you earn 1% back on up to $3,000 of purchases each month.
What to look out for: While you don’t need to place an initial deposit for a checking or savings account, you’ll need at least $2,500 to open a money market account or CD. Some of our other options do not require a minimum opening deposit.
LendingClub
LendingClub High-Yield Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.12%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$100
LendingClub High-Yield Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.12%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$100
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.12%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$100
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: You’ll earn a much higher interest rate on a LendingClub High-Yield Savings Account or LendingClub Certificate of Deposit than with the average savings account or CD.
LendingClub also has a strong checking account. The LendingClub Rewards Checking Account has no monthly services fees and access to over 325,000 surcharge-free ATMs worldwide through NYCE, SUM, and MoneyPass ATM networks. You can also receive your paycheck two days early.
If you maintain at least $2,500 in your account, you can earn 0.10% APY and score 1% cash back on unlimited purchases. If you want to earn the highest APY, you’ll need to have an account balance of $100,000 or higher.
What to look out for: You’ll need a minimum of $100 to open a checking or savings account, and at least $2,500 for an initial deposit on a CD. If you’d like to open a bank account with a low minimum opening deposit, you might lean more toward one of our other top picks.
SoFi
SoFi Checking and Savings
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
1.20% to 2.50%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
SoFi Checking and Savings
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
1.20% to 2.50%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
1.20% to 2.50%
Rates as of 9/30/22
Show more
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Why it stands out: If you’d like to manage your money in one account, SoFi Checking and Savings is a great option. It’s a hybrid bank account that combines checking and savings features.
You can earn a competitive interest rate that’s higher than what many traditional and high-yield savings accounts pay if you set up direct deposits. It also offers a $250 cash bonus through January 31, 2022 if you meet certain requirements.
SoFi Checking and Savings is also a strong choice if you don’t want to deal with monthly service fees, overdraft fees, or out-of-network ATM fees. It also comes with a debit card.
What to look out for: The account is a hybrid savings/checking account, so you’ll need to keep that in mind to get the most out of the account. If you deposit cash, you also might need to pay a fee.
Online banks that didn’t make the cut and why
- Chime (Deposits are FDIC insured): Chime has good free checking and savings accounts, but other online banks offer higher interest rates on savings accounts right now. Chime also doesn’t let you open a joint bank account or a savings account by itself.
- Axos Bank (Member FDIC): This online bank offer a wide range of account types, but you can find higher interest rates on high-yield savings and checking accounts at other online banks.
- American Express (Member FDIC): American Express pays a competitive APY on savings account balances. Its checking account is currently only available to Consumer Card Members who have had a card account for at least three months.
- Barclays (Member FDIC): Barclays offers solid interest rates on savings accounts but doesn’t provide a checking account.
- Bank5 Connect (Member FDIC): Bank5 Connect has decent checking and savings account. But it doesn’t have a money market account, and you can find higher interest rates at other online banks.
- CIBC Bank USA (Member FDIC): This online bank offers a variety of checking and savings accounts, but most require a minimum opening deposit or charge a fee if your balance falls below a certain amount. The checking account is also only available to residents in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, or Washington.
- Salem Five Direct(Member FDIC): Salem Five Direct pays a competitive interest rate on a savings account, but its CDs have high minimum opening deposits.
- HSBC Bank(Member FDIC): HSBC might be appealing if you qualify for a premier bank account. You might like HSBC if you can keep $75,000 in bank/investment accounts, receive $5,000 in direct deposits each month, or take out a mortgage of at least $500,000.
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs (Member FDIC): Even though Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a good online bank overall, it doesn’t offer a checking account.
- Quontic Bank (Member FDIC): You have plenty of bank account options to choose from with Quontic Bank — but you need to make 15 debit card transactions per month to earn the competitive APY on its high-yield checking account.
- TIAA Bank (Member FDIC): TIAA Bank offers respectable rates, but our top picks have more impressive features such as higher interest rates or robust savings tools.
- Vio Bank (Member FDIC): This online bank pays one of the highest savings rates in the industry (which is always subject to change), but it doesn’t offer a checking account.
- CIT Bank (Member FDIC): This is a solid online bank, but you’ll need between $100 and $1,000 to open bank accounts, and it doesn’t have an ATM network.
- Synchrony Bank (Member FDIC): This online bank pays a competitive rate with no minimum balance on savings accounts, but you can’t open a checking account.
- NBKC Bank (Member FDIC): NBKC is a good bank overall, but you can find higher interest rates at other banks.
- FNBO Direct(Member FDIC): This is a respectable online bank, but its overdraft fees are pretty steep.
- BrioDirect (Member FDIC): Although BrioDirect doesn’t have some of the advanced features of our top picks, it is a strong online bank overall. It refunds up to $20 per month in out-of-network ATM fees.
- USAA Bank (Member FDIC): This could be a good online bank for military members and families, and new recruits can get paid a day early; however, USAA’s rates are low.
- Charles Schwab (Member FDIC): Charles Schwab provides unlimited out-of-network ATM fee reimbursements and doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, but its rates are low.
Why trust our recommendations?
Personal Finance Insider’s mission is to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. We understand that “best” is often subjective, so in addition to highlighting the clear benefits of a financial product or account — a high APY, for example — we outline the limitations, too. We spent hours comparing and contrasting the features and fine print of various products so you don’t have to.
Methodology: How did we chose the best online banks?
There are a lot of online banks out there. Through our research, we’ve found that the best online banks offer a wide range of products, high bank account rates, low fees, and effective customer service.
While interest rates are an important aspect of any online bank account, several offer the same annual percentage yields (APYs). To differentiate between them, we considered how much you’ll need to open an account, balance requirements, fees, ATM access, mobile apps, and other standout features.
We also took customer service into account, because with an online bank, you don’t have the option of walking into a branch to speak with a representative.
We reviewed over two dozen institutions to identify the strongest options. We also cross-referenced our list against popular comparison sites like Bankrate and NerdWallet to make sure we didn’t miss a thing.
Bank trustworthiness and BBB ratings
None of our top picks have any recent public scandals.
Here are the Better Business Bureau scores for all the banks on our list:
The Better Business Bureau measures businesses by examining responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency about business practices.
The BBB cites the number of customer complaints on the BBB site for Ally’s C- grade and Capital One 360’s A- grade.
Something to keep in mind is that a good BBB rating won’t guarantee that your interactions with the bank will be great. Consider speaking to current customers or reading online customer reviews to see if one of these banks may be suitable for you.
Caipital One, LendingClub, and SoFi have been involved in recent public controversies.
In 2020, The Office of the Comptroller of Currency required Capital One to pay $80 million in a settlement that said the bank had inefficient security practices, which comprised personal information of bank credit cardholders.
In July 2021, LendingClub Corporation paid $18 million in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission when accused of deceptive lending practices that charged consumers hidden fees and told them they were approved for a loan even when they weren’t.
In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission ordered SoFi to stop running advertisements that falsely stated customers could save more money by refinancing than they actually could.
Frequently asked questions
Personal Finance Insider’s mission is to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. We understand that “best” is often subjective, so in addition to highlighting the clear benefits of a financial product or account — a high APY, for example — we outline the limitations, too. We spent hours comparing and contrasting the features and fine print of various products so you don’t have to.
What is an online bank?
Many brick-and-mortar banks allow you to bank online — but an online bank has you bank primarily or exclusively online. Some online banks do have a couple physical locations, but they still operate digitally for the most part.
Why choose an online bank over a brick-and-mortar bank?
There are a few downsides to choosing an online bank over a brick-and-mortar bank. For example, you may miss being able to speak with a banker face-to-face. And if you need to deposit cash regularly, you’re out of luck with an online bank.
However, because online banks don’t have to pay for physical branch locations, they typically pay higher rates and charge fewer fees. This means you can earn more and spend less with your bank.
The experts’ advice on choosing the best savings account for you
Insider
To learn more about what makes a good online bank and how to choose the best fit, four experts weighed in:
We’re focusing on what will make an online bank most useful, including customer service, fees, rates, and more. Here’s what they had to say about banking online. (Some text may be lightly edited for clarity.)
How can someone determine whether a bank is the right fit for them?
Tania Brown, CFP:
“Obviously, you want to make sure it’s FDIC insured. Also, your banking experience — do you like walking into a bank? Well, then you need someone local. Do you just not care if you ever see your bank? Then you’re okay online. Do you write checks? Do you not write checks? So it’s thinking through how your experience with it is going to be before you make that decision.”
Laura Grace Tarpley, Personal Finance Insider:
“I would look for the bank that charges you the least in fees. This means either no monthly fees, or you qualify to waive the monthly fees. If you never overdraw from your account, then a bank’s overdraft fees won’t matter much to you. But if you occasionally overdraw, then I’d look at the fees or overdraft protection options.”
What should someone look for in an online bank?
Tania Brown, CFP:
“With an online bank, absolutely online customer service, because you do not have the advantage of walking inside and talking to a human being. How often are you able to get them? What are their hours?”
Roger Ma, CFP:
“How onerous the transfer process is, transferring money in and transferring money out. Is it same day, next day? Is it pretty easy to sync a brick-and-mortar checking account to this particular high-yield savings account?”
Mykail James, CFEI:
“When it comes to online banks, you want to be a little bit more strict about what type of interest rates they’re providing. That’s the biggest thing, because online banks are supposed to have the higher interest rate because they don’t have the overhead of the brick-and-mortar. You want to make sure that it’s well above the national average. What type of securities do they provide? Do they have two-factor identification? If it’s an online bank, they should definitely have — at the bare minimum — two-factor authentication in how easy it is to change your passwords and things like that, because you want to be a little more hypersensitive about the cyber security for a strictly online bank.”
