Top Online Banks: Savings or Checking Accounts
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The key to finding the best online savings account at the best online bank comes down to interest rates. The bells and whistles are nice but ultimately it’s about the money and the bank with the highest interest rates will win. That’s why we’ve included a table of the best interest savings account rates followed by a review of some of the more popular online banks. The best online bank for you may depend on a lot of factors outside of the interest rate, which is why minimum balances, fee, and other details are included in the table. One thing is clear, online savings accounts always pay more than a regular brick and mortar.
This is brief review of the best online banks, specifically those with a high interest savings account and high yield savings accounts available (high interest refers to the interest rate). Given the recent economic uncertainty, interest rates have come down from their earlier highs and so “high yield” is more a relative term than an absolute one. Gone are the days of 5% and 6% APYs, today the best ones are in the 1-2% range. While not incredible, they are certainly better than the 0% your local bank is likely giving you on your savings accounts nowadays. In this post, EverBank, Ally Bank, E*Trade, HSBC Direct and WTDirect are given brief looks to see how strong they are in the current rate environment.
When there are dozens of online banks offering all manner of savings and checking accounts it’s hard to sort the good from the bad right? Some banks you’ve heard of before and some you’ve never heard of, makes you wonder what the best online bank is huh? Here’s my short list of the best online bank savings accounts with high interest rates.
Best High Interest Savings Accounts
EverBank
EverBank is a bank that has never disappointed me. Their current interest rate is 0.76%, a respectable rate, but they have so many deposit options unavailable elsewhere. EverBank is FDIC insured, has been since 1998 (FDIC Cert. #34775), and one that deserves a close look.
You may not have heard of EverBank before but they’ve been around for quite some time. They were named “Best of the Breed” by Money Magazine, “Best Checking Account” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance with a yield that is 10 times the average account, and was even named “Best of the Web” by Forbes.com five years in a row. This isn’t a bank that popped up in the middle of the night, they have been around the block and proven themselves to be a reliable place to store your money (and a great place to earn above average interest).
Ally Bank
Ally Bank is a “new” bank that is a unit of GMAC Financial Services, though they’ve been FDIC insured since August 2nd, 2004 under FDIC Certificate 57803. With a great APY yield on the savings account, no minimum balance, no monthly fees, and daily compounded interest, it’s quickly becoming one of the more popular banks. One of the really innovative products they offer is a “no-penalty CD” where you can close the CD before the maturity date without penalties. It’s definitely worth a look, especially with such an attractive interest rate on their deposit accounts.
Click to apply for an Ally Bank account today!
ING Direct
If you had to pick one online bank to play the role of Grandpa Smurf, ING Direct would be it. They are the online banking division of ING Group and quite possible the oldest online bank in existence, having been FDIC insured since August of 2000 (FDIC certificate #35489). Their online account access features are probably the best of the bunch on this list and they’d be ranked higher if their online savings account rates were higher (their CD rates, however, are quite competitive).
Click to apply for an ING Direct account today!
WTDirect
WTDirect is the online high yield savings account offering from Wilmington Trust FSB (FDIC #33911), headquartered out of Baltimore, MD and in operation since 1994. They offer a 1.51% APY savings account. There are no monthly fees, no minimums, 0% liability guarantee for unauthorized transactions, and no checking account requirement. One thing that separates WTDirect from other banks is that they allow you to have an unlimited number of linked external accounts, whereas others limit you to at most three.
Click to apply for an WTDirect account today!
Closing Thoughts
Before you ever deal with any bank of any kind, online or in person, be sure to double check that they have FDIC insurance (lookup) and that they’re a legitimate bank. That being said, all of the banks on this list are legitimate, have FDIC insurance, and have been in the business of banking for a few years. These aren’t no-names but their names may not be familiar to you (if you read a lot of personal finance, all of these names will be recognizable) and they’re all banks that I’ve dealt with personally or talked extensively with someone who has dealt with them personally. (oddly enough, these high yield savings accounts tend to pepper the lower end of the best CD rates)
One thing you always need to be aware of when dealing with high yield savings accounts is whether or not the bank has any hidden fees or gotchas. The ones on this list don’t, but there are some banks out there that will offer you a high interest rate because they know they can sneak a few fees in there on the back end to make up for it. Always keep an eye out for those sorts of games, especially when there are so many banks out there vying for your business.
There you have it, my list of top online banks (though one was brokerage first and several of them have brick & mortar presences) according to my experience with them or my research of them. Please feel free to share your opinion and vote for which of these banks (or ones I left off the list) you think makes for the best online bank. (If you’re interested, here is more discussion about the best interest rate banks.)
I second the #1 ranking for ING Direct. I was a late adopter myself, but have really enjoyed the service since opening a couple month ago. I love the “interest accumulate this month” feature for helping to explain to my kids how compound interest works. They are always amused to see the number go up every day.
Hey frugal dad where does he say ING is #1 other than ease ofuse? It looks like EverBank is rated #1.
I have a ING account and it is easy to use but my rate has fallen to 1.40% which is noteven close to #1.
I started my ING acount with 3.75% and in less than 6 months it dropped to less than 1. So it is far from #1.
I have had terrible experiences with ING bank and have recently closed an account and have even taken out a premature cd. They have terrible customer service, their representatives either don’t know what they are talking about or lie, and they don’t explain their policies to you. Just a warning- don’t use ING.
Excellent resource, thanks for putting this data together. I’ve been looking into signing up for a savings account with a decent interest rate so this was quite helpful. Take care!
Ben
The recommendation for ING direct is spot on.
On the other hand, I would not touch Washington mutual with a ten foot pole. That company used to be great back in 2002, but recently they’ve been having some serious customer service and management issues. Their free checking account looks like its good from its advertising, but their actual operations don’t deliver. Similarly, their mortgage servicing and other consumer products leave a LOT to be desired.
I mean it, really, until WaMu cleans up its act, don’t bank with them.
Best,
James
While not related to interest bearing accounts I would like to echo this comment regarding WaMu mortgage customer service. Our loan had been with WaMu for several years with no problems. Subsequently on 5/24 we received an insurance cancellation notice as our insurance was due on 5/1 and WaMu had failed to pay. I advise this was untenable and the next day borrowed funds to pay off the WaMu mortgage. On a lighter note, when we see a WaMu sign now we never hesitate to give it the 1 finger salute!
Paul
Good post, but you didn’t mention the two main reasons that I personally went with HSBC over ING:
1) Free ATM withdrawals at any ATM, anywhere. ING, I believe, is limited to their network. The freedom of being able to withdraw from any ATM I come across is really excellent.
2) Multiple checking accounts. Unless they’ve changed their policy, ING said they didn’t allow multiple checking accounts under the same account.
Not to worry. I have ING and I can use ANY ATM. As well, I have more than one checking account under the same name, so the guess above is wrong.
Gia, this is completely false. ING withdrawals are free only from AllPoint ATMs, and you can only have one checking (Electric Orange) account.
Gia stated more than one checking account under the same name.
You CAN have more than 1 checking account with ING – I do.
Electric Orange accounts yes – and you can have more than 1.
But it is true about the Allpoint free ATM’s but they will reimburse you up to $15. I think it depends on when you opened your account also.
WaMus free checking earns no interest. When you sign up you can add an online savings account which earns the 3.3% rate. They do have instant transfers between the two, but only 3 free transfers out of savings per month.
I’m a fan of whoever has the highest rates. I also like igobanking (3.28%). i’m not an ING fan because of the rates other than the signup bonus. don’t care about ease of use or interface, because they all are once you use them, so i don’t weight that as a high factor for me when choosing an online account.
You didn’t mention countrywide, it has a 4% interest rate, which is almost 1% higher than any of those you mentioned.
Countrywide HAD 4%, but now it is down to 1.75% if you have $100k in it. Not good anymore, so I am here looking to move my savings.
I love my ING Direct account… BUT… I just opened a Bank of Little Rock account paying 5%. We’ll see how well it lives up to their ads.
@Jon @ The Money Mythos
Isn’t the HSBC ATM free withdrawal only for ATMs in their network? Am I missing something?
I am also a huge fan of ING Direct. I opened an account several months ago to save money for a travel fund, and it has been excellent. Great customer service, and simple and easy-to-use interface. My only complaint is that transfers to and from ING accounts and other bank accounts can take a while. But it’s been really nice to have a high-yield savings account somewhere other than my bank — I have an automatic deposit set up, so every week $15 from my Bank of America checking goes into my ING savings account. I hardly even notice it trickle out, but over the last few months, in addition to several other contributions a few times a month, it’s grown a ton. Especially since I don’t look at it every day along with my Bank of America accounts — I’m less tempted to spend it.
You may also want to consider AmTrust. Until recently they paid a higher rate than most. Unfortunately, it has fell to 2.75%.
Best Wishes,
D4L
I saw online before visiting your site that E*Trade & HSBC were offering 5.05%.
Why are your facts different? Who is correct?
Rates change so the information posted in one document could end up outdated by evening because of market fluctuations.
Online banks haven’t been offering those rates in many months. You can click through to the banks and see the rates yourself.
I currently have an Emigrant Direct savings account and I used to have an ING account. Although ING has a much fancier site, there was a period where ING was lagging behind Emigrant over the last 2 years. (Not anymore, I guess.) One of the reasons we stick with Emigrant is they have a cash back credit card that pays 1.4% on all purchases if you have an average balance of $10k. (It drops to 0.7% if you go below $10k.)
I’m hoping that Emigrant increases their rate as the first $75 (0.75% on $10k) of my cash cash back makes up for the interest rate differential.
Just called HSBC, only their own ATM fees are rebated if you use a non-HSBC ATM.
I think i’ll be moving my emergency fund into an ING account, since CD rates are down the tubes as of late.
Check out http://www.provident-direct.com/
It’s a B&M bank with a 3.5% online saving account.
I can’t believe you missed Everbank, which was voted #1 by Kiplingers for several years in a row.
Their free checking account guarantees to pay an interest rate in the top 5% of all interest-bearing checking accounts nationwide…something that, to the best of my knowledge, no other online bank offers. They also refund ATM fees, have outstanding 24/7 customer service (which doesn’t cost a penny extra), and they offer a host of other services (mortgages, investing services, ect.) with industry leading rates. In fact, when I hear other people saying that they actually have to pay a monthly fee to have a checking account at their bank, or they have to pay a fee to talk with a human, I just shake my head and laugh that – in 2008 -anyone would be stupid enough to still bank at such a place. The bank should be paying YOU! Not the other way around!
Check out Everbank. I carefully researched all online banks when making a choice a few years ago, and to this day, no other bank offers as much as Everbank. (And yes, Everbank is a FDIC-insured bank.)
I work for HSBC, and just to get some facts straight:
HSBC Direct’s Online Savings Account and Online Payment Account are a variable rate, which can change at any time, as with rates anywhere else, so at times we were above an APY of 5%.
We will rebate 3 non-HSBC ATM fees at the beginning of each month.
The Online Savings Account is 9 times the national average.
Visit hsbcdirect.com
I have an HSBCdirect account and love it. I hope they do extend the 3.5% period and keep up with the competitors.
As Teisha says, atm fees are rebated. I’ve never been charged an ATM fee inside or outside the US. Although you may not notice because it can take a while to get this back as it comes at the beginning of the next month.
Everbank is a really sweet deal. Unfortunately, they’re running about a week behind to just open the account.
Protip – higher rate means the bank needs the deposits more. Eg, in a financial crisis, you want the bank with the *lower* rate, assuming you care more about reducing the risk of having to deal with an FDIC takeover of your bank, than an extra percent or two of return.
@Kurtosis – I don’t think that’s necessarily accurate, a bank might be increasing rates for any number of reasons – though one of them could be because they are having liquidity problems. None of the banks listed above have abnormally high interest rates.
I also like ING, but decided to close when I learned that they do not allow you to add a beneficiary to the online savings account. All my other online banks allow beneficiary to be added.
I am also thinking of closing my ING direct after being told of this absolutely ridiculous fact.
Also in order to add a joint owner she needs to have an account in another institution first.
People please do not overlook these often ignored nitty gritty details.
They can come back to haunt you.
Just wanted to mention I also closed my WaMu accounts because of very poor customer service (in person). Some of the representatives did not even try to help you and knew very little about online banking, etc.
I am now ghoing to look at EverBank.
Just wanted to mention I also closed my WaMu accounts because of very poor customer service (in person). Some of the representatives did not even try to help you and knew very little about online banking, etc.
I am now ghoing to look at EverBank, even though they are supposed to take a long time to open accounts.
I’ve had online savings with Emigrant Direct and ING for over a year. Recently opened an account with Dollar Savings Direct a part of Emigrant that requires a $1000 minimum but is paying 4% vs Emigrant 2.75%. I’m going to be moving money from ING which is only paying 2.50%. Both Emigrant and ING make transfers easy to/from your bank’s checking account.
Has anyone done any investigating on Emigrant Direct or Dollar Savings Direct, which both have one star ranking/rating?
We also had some money in ING but withdrew it all because ING said they do not let customers add a Beneficiary. Therefore, if you die, all money goes to the State (I believe).
If you have an account at ING you should consider this fact.
You can have a secondary account holder, I’ve place an inquiry about possibility of designating a beneficiary.
Hi
I have a joint account with my husband at ING.
If I pass away, he gets it.
So if there is one person in mind you would like your assets to go to, make it a joint account.
Josie
Their response: At this time, ING DIRECT offers personal and business accounts. You may title an account in your own name, or in the name of yourself and a joint holder. You may also choose to register your deposit account as a living trust account. We do not offer beneficiary, payable on death, custodial, or health savings accounts. Additionally, we do not offer credit cards.
Has anyone done any investigating on GMAC Online Savings? They offer 3.25%
Are you serious? The money does not go to the state! I have an ING account and have personally dealt with this issue. If you die, your family sends in your death certificate, the proper paper work designating the executor and how the money is to be handled, and it is done. It’s really not that big of a deal. Not that beneficiaries wouldn’t be nice – but get real!
Regarding Pam’s post…
Why should I place my money with ING if they do not allow a beneficiary? It may not be a “big deal” to you, but it is to me, since all the other banks allow a beneficiary to be added. Why not ING? I just choose not to put my money with ING; if you want to, go right ahead.
This is what I am referring to: “Every year money goes unclaimed and is turned over to the state treasury for the right owner to claim. Unclaimed money comes from many different sources.
Did you know the state can legally take money from your bank account or the contents of your safe deposit box and add it to the state treasury? No, I’m not talking about the state hijacking the assets of a drug runner or other criminal. I’m talking about the state seizing your money.
Each state has abandoned property laws, often called escheatment laws, which allow them to claim abandoned property such as bank accounts, stocks, bonds, safe deposit box holdings and more. Property is classified as abandoned or unclaimed when a customer’s account goes dormant for an extended period of time – sometimes as little as a year, but usually 3 to 5 years.”
This is supposing your heirs did not know you had this bank account.
If I am not mistaken, Dollar Savings dropped it’s 4% rate to 3.50% and Venture dropped from 3.50% to 3.30%. Guess we will see more to follow…
Does anyone have an account with CNB Bank Direct? Or any comments?
I have had an ING account for three years and like the ease and service – until now.
I opened a equity line of credit two years ago and used it off and on. I received a letter in the mail that said I hadn’t used my equity line in a while and that they were going to close it unless I called a long distance number between 8:30-5:00 M-F within the next 10 days. I called and have left two messages and received one message back that I still have to call and return.
I don’t the way the are handling this and may switch.
When will rates stop dropping? It seems as soon as I find a bank with a fairly good rate of interest, a few days later the rate drops. I then have to start a new search for another online bank with a fairly good rate of interest.
Wonder when this ever will stop?
They’ll probably keep falling, the only way to lock in a rate is to open a CD.
Does anyone bank at Doral Bank Direct? 3.50% at the moment (but guess that will be dropping soon).
If you do bank with them, how do you like the service, etc.?
With all the trouble that some of are banks are having I am trying to find a bank that I can put my SSDI money every month in and know that it is safe. I would like to find a bank other then Wells, B of A or Citi, that I could get a checking, savings and a “FREE” debit, Visa or MasterCard with the account. Currently I have in the range of $1900 to $2300 per month and want a bank that is big enough that I know they will be around and yet small enough that I am more then a number. Does anyone know of such a bank that can or would service me if I live in either California or another State.
Thanks for your help,
Jason
Hi Jim,
Great site. I finally “woke up” to the fact that my local bank BB&T isn’t paying me much of anything for the money I have deposited there (0% for checking, .1% for savings – seriously).
So here I am researching where to move my checking and short-term savings (emergency funds).
Looking at every bank mentioned here and in the comments, it looks like GMAC has the highest yield for online savings as of today March 5th 2009, at 2.75% with no games played about introductory rates or minimums.
But I am confused on online checking accounts. Everbank is the only one mentioned that seems to offer an actual “checking” type account – one that I can write paper checks against as well as pay bills online. They offer 1.01% as of today (not counting intro rates).
HSBC Direct offers something that looks promising at 1.75%, but they claim it is a “new type of account” (uh oh). After carefully reading everything they have up at the site, I don’t see anything about being able to write physical checks, something I still need with regularity.
So! It looks like Everbank is the only one mentioned that both has all the properties of a checking account and pays interest on that money. Is this true?
How about a follow-up article that rounds up the choices out there for online checking accounts? Unless it’s already here and I missed it…
Thanks again, and keep up the excellent writing!
Doug
Doug,
I’m checking out Charles Schwab high yield interest checking…they send you free paper checks (single & duplicate), plus they’ll refund your atm surcharges up to $9/month…I believe their checking is currently 1 percent and their savings is 2 percent……Good Luck!
Look over reviews first. I just spoke to a CSR and was notified that a hard pull is performed for each acct., brokerage, savings, checking, each one. Also, I have read several about people having their acct closed for “business reasons.” I asked the CSR about that and she said that it wasn’t uncommon if you didn’t have a retirement account with them. Even if you do have an IRA and carry a low balance they may close your account. Straight from the horses mouth. Opening the account and transferring between accounts can take up to a month as well, also warned by CSR about this. I was so excited about the company too, I was just about to switch.
I have Wamu for my current checking but ever since Chase bought them out the savings rate continued to drop. From a high of 4% APY it is now 1%. The only reason I still have it is the free checks, hoping that Chase won’t get rid of them. I see GMAC apparently has the best rate with no minimums and actually give you a card and an initial 50 free checks. 6 withdrawal limit without fees per month but why would you need to withdraw more?
I too have been with WaMu for years and now that chase has taken over everything is changing. I have always been able to download to my money tracking program with WAMU no charge today I discover that chase is going to charge me $9.95 per month to allow me to do this unless i down load to quicken. I have been looking for a new bank since i heard chase was taking over. I am just not sure which banks are secure and self sustaining enough. I want my accounts available and want to be able to track what I spend without chase taking more of my money and their intrest rates on checking and savings really are pretty much NONE.
GMAC Bank currently has a 2.50% interest rate on savings accounts. No minimum and also FDIC insured. They just dropped the rate down a couple days ago from 2.65%.
GMAC seems to have quite a few fees associated with their accounts. Might not be a bad option for some but a couple of fees could easily knock out any potential gains from higher interest rates.
Just be savvy guys…the more desperate a bank is, the better offers it will give you. I’ve been reading up a lot in this lately and when a bank is in desperation, they will offer almost anything….I have hear very good things about Charles Schwab’s online checking account…..
I have heard good stuff about the Charles Schwab online checking accounts also.
I myself like and have this account checking account at Farmbureaubank.com
It is paying .70% right now but was paying 2% last fall on there checking accounts.All u have to do to get there highest rate is take your statements online. They also reimburse u for 5 ATM’s a month from anywhere u get cash. U get free bill pay with this also and 1 free box of checks.
The other online bank I like is Century bank Direct and it is paying 1.45 on checking right now. is was up over 2.5% a couple months back.
There is no min balance ,get ur statement online and u get 5 ATM’s reimbursed nationwide also each month, free online bill pay, and postage paid by mail.
Hope this helps anyone looking for a online bank for checking and no fees etc…..
The only problem I have with ING is you are limited to three external accounts. For me, this is a real problem as I have over 10 bank accounts.
Do you really need to link them all?
The limit of 3 seems to be a fairly standard limit.
wow. 10 is a lot. you use all of them or just have them linked in case. how do you keep track? excel?
saladdin
I vote for ING as best online bank.
Everbank has recently changed the terms of their bill pay option. To have free online bill pay, you must maintain an average monthly balance of $5,000- up from $1,500. Otherwise, the monthly fee is $8.95 – up from $4.95. The interest they currently pay on the $5K is about $6.95 (1.65% as of today’s date).
I just opened a No Penalty CD with Ally Bank. It pays 2.5% and you can withdraw your money plus interest at any point with no penalty. Pretty good deal since I get a high interest rate but was not sure I wanted to lock up the money in a CD right now.
Im glad you didnt include ING direct I am a customer and I am moving the account! You know exactly what you’re doing and I dont support the people that state you should have them on your list.
Here is why:
ING direct does not allow you to have beneficiaries nor does it allow you to have a TOD (Transfer on Death) on your account. Your family must get a court order through the will/probate process in order for one to get their money! That isn’t worth it AT ALL!