|
|
You might be using an unsupported or outdated browser. To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website. |
SCROLL TO CURRENT LIST
Online banks typically offer low fees, high APYs and intuitive digital banking tools. But the best online bank for you is the one that meets your financial needs, whether that’s a single savings account or a full-service bank. When shopping for the best banking relationship for you and your family, keep in mind what you need most from an online bank.
We’ve compared the products and services of 60 nationally available online banks to find some of the best options available. See below to learn more about why we picked each account, the pros and cons, and to access individual bank reviews.
Account details and annual percentage yields (APYs) are accurate as of June 29, 2021.
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No overdraft or monthly, some ATM
91,000+ ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No overdraft or monthly, some ATM
91,000+ ATMs nationwide
Axos Bank checks all of the boxes. It keeps its fees low and its APYs high. The minimum deposit requirements are reasonable. And customers have access to approximately 91,000 ATMs throughout the U.S., with unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements for out-of-network ATM use.
Plus, Axos offers 24/7 customer service (including Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day) via phone and secure online messaging. The site also has a live chat feature available during regular business hours.
Axos does well on the mobile banking front, too. The bank’s app is well-rated on the App Store and Google Play and allows users to take care of basic banking needs on the go.
Read our full Axos Bank review.
Details
Axos offers five different checking accounts, one savings account, one money market account and CDs with terms that range from three months to five years. Its mobile app gets 4.7 stars out of 5 on the App Store and 3.8 stars out of 5 on Google Play.
Savings, Checking
No overdraft or monthly, some ATM
55,000+ ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking
No overdraft or monthly, some ATM
55,000+ ATMs nationwide
Varo Bank offers one of the highest rates available on a savings account. It pays 0.20% APY on all balances, and savers who meet specific requirements each qualifying period can earn up to 3.00% APY.
This bank has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements for its checking or savings products. Customers have access to an extensive ATM network and automatic savings tools. You may even receive your paycheck up to two days early with direct deposit.
Varo gets solid customer service ratings and mobile app reviews. Customer service representatives are available by phone or email seven days a week.
Read our full Varo Bank review.
Details
Varo Bank offers a checking account (the Varo Bank Account) and a savings account (the Varo Savings Account). It charges a $2.50 out-of-network ATM fee. Varo offers two versions of its mobile app, one for existing customers and one for new customers, both of which are well rated:
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly, overdraft or ATM
34,000+ ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly, overdraft or ATM
34,000+ ATMs nationwide
nbkc bank’s Everything Account is an interest-bearing checking and savings account combined into one. You can spend, save and pay bills from a single account. It comes with an extensive ATM network and reimburses up to $12 per month for out-of-network ATM fees.
Overall, nbkc bank is a full-service bank that keeps fees to an absolute minimum. There are no monthly maintenance fees, overdraft fees, minimum balance fees or foreign transaction fees. Incoming domestic wire transfers are free as well.
Customer service is available by live chat, phone or email. And you can access your accounts on the go with the bank’s mobile app.
Read our full nbkc bank review.
Details
nbkc bank offers a combined checking and savings account, a money market account and CD terms from three months to five years. It also has an add-on CD that has a term of one year. The mobile app gets 4.4 stars out of 5 on the App Store and 3.8 stars out of 5 on Google Play.
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly, overdraft or ATM
43,000+ ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly, overdraft or ATM
43,000+ ATMs nationwide
Ally Bank earns high customer satisfaction scores, with a customer service department that’s available 24/7 by phone. You can also get your questions answered via live chat, email and regular mail.
Ally’s mobile app, available on iOS and Android, gets high scores in the App Store and Google Play.
And Ally offers consistently competitive rates on its products with low fees and no monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements. It has an extensive ATM network and it reimburses up to $10 per statement cycle for fees charged out-of-network ATMs.
Read our full Ally Bank review.
Details
Ally Bank offers a savings account, interest-checking account, money market account and CD terms from three months to five years. It also offers a raise your rate CD with terms of two and four years and a no-penalty CD with a term of 11 months. The mobile app gets 4.7 stars out of 5 on the App Store and 3.7 stars out of 5 on Google Play.
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly or ATM, $35 overdraft
90,000+ ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly or ATM, $35 overdraft
90,000+ ATMs nationwide
Quontic Bank offers a cash rewards checking account that pays up to 1.50% cash back on qualifying debit card transactions each statement cycle. The bank also offers a separate high interest checking account that pays 1.01% APY so long as certain monthly requirements are met.
Quontic offers competitive APYs across its other products, along with low minimum deposit requirements and access to 90,000+ surcharge-free ATMs throughout the U.S. Quontic customers get all the features you may expect from a digital bank, including 24/7 access to online banking and a highly rated mobile app.
Customer service is available via live chat, email and phone.
Read our full Quontic Bank review.
Details
Quontic Bank offers one savings account, two checking accounts, a money market account and four CDs with terms ranging from six months to three years. Quontic also is launching its Bitcoin Rewards Checking, only available in select states so far. The mobile app gets 4.5 stars out of 5 on the App Store and 3.4 stars out of 5 on Google Play.
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly, overdraft or ATM
60,000+ ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly, overdraft or ATM
60,000+ ATMs nationwide
Discover keeps its fees to an absolute minimum. It doesn’t charge monthly maintenance fees, insufficient funds fees or fees for using out-of-network ATMs. There’s also no fee for stop payment orders, returned items or excessive withdrawals.
The bank’s checking account earns 1% cash back on up to $3,000 of qualifying debit card purchases each month. And customers have access to an extensive ATM network. The savings account pays a competitive rate and Discover offers a suite of other products and services.
Discover also offers mobile banking—the app gets high scores on the App Store and Google Play.
Read our full Discover Bank review.
Details
Discover Bank offers a cash back checking account, a high-yield checking account, a money market account and CDs with terms from three months to 10 years. The mobile app gets 4.8 stars out of 5 on the App Store and 4.6 stars out of 5 on Google Play
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly or ATM, $30 overdraft/day
55,000+ ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking, MMA, CDs
No monthly or ATM, $30 overdraft/day
55,000+ ATMs nationwide
All of iGObanking’s traditional products (CDs, savings, checking and money market accounts) offer competitive APYs and low fees, making it a good place to stash cash for near-term financial goals.
The bank’s CDs stand out from the pack, paying relatively high APYs on all five available terms—and vying with yields on some of the top savings accounts. This makes iGObanking an attractive place to build a CD ladder. Savers could put cash into multiple CDs with varying maturity dates and potentially earn more interest than they would with a high-yield savings account.
iGOBanking also offers access to an extensive fee-free ATM network, and it rebates up to $15 per month in domestic ATM fees that other banks charge.
All of the bank’s accounts are accessible online and through its mobile app, available for iOS and Android. Customer service is available seven days a week by phone or email.
Read our full iGObanking review.
Details
iGObanking offers a checking account, a savings account, a money market account and traditional CDs with terms of six, 12, 18, 36 and 48 months. It also offers the GiftsforBanking CD, which offers a gift of your choice when opening a two-, three- or five-year CD with a deposit of $25,000 or more. The mobile app receives 3.9 stars out of 5 on the App Store and 3.3 stars out of 5 on Google Play.
Savings, Checking
No overdraft or monthly, some ATM
38,000+ ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking
No overdraft or monthly, some ATM
38,000+ ATMs nationwide
Customers of Chime get access to tools that can help make saving automatic. The Save When You Spend feature allows you to save small amounts every time you make a transaction by automatically rounding the purchase up to the nearest dollar and transferring the difference to your Savings Account. The Save When I Get Paid feature provides the option to set up a recurring transfer of 10% of your direct deposit paycheck to your Savings Account each time you get paid.
In addition to its budgeting tools, Chime offers competitive rates on savings, limited fees and no minimum requirements. It also has an attractive mobile app (one that’s highly rated by its users) and it offers fee-free access to an extensive ATM network.
Customer service is available seven days a week by email or phone.
Read our full Chime review.
Details
Chime offers a spending (checking) account and a high-yield savings account. Banking services through Chime are provided by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A. For ATM transactions outside of the Chime network, the charge is $2.50. The mobile app gets 4.8 stars out of 5 on the App Store and 4.5 stars out of 5 on Google Play.
A Note on Chime Products
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC.
Savings, Checking, CDs
No monthly or ATM, $35 overdraft
55,000+ ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking, CDs
No monthly or ATM, $35 overdraft
55,000+ ATMs nationwide
Salem Five Direct insures balances without limitation through a combination of insurance safeguards. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures each depositor, per ownership category, up to $250,000. All deposits above that amount are covered by the Massachusetts Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF). This differs from many other banks, which generally limit deposit insurance to the FDIC maximum.
Salem Five Direct doesn’t charge monthly fees or out-of-network ATM fees. It also reimburses fees that other banks charge up to $15 per statement cycle.
Like the other online banks on this list, Salem Five Direct’s mobile app is highly rated. Customer service is available via live chat, online messaging, email and phone.
Read our full Salem Five Direct review.
Details
Salem Five Direct offers a checking account, a savings account and CDs with terms from 12 months to 36 months. The mobile app gets 4.7 stars out of 5 on the App Store and 4.2 stars out of 5 on Google Play.
Savings, Checking, CDs
No monthly or ATM, $15 overdraft
Thousands of ATMs nationwide
Savings, Checking, CDs
No monthly or ATM, $15 overdraft
Thousands of ATMs nationwide
Along with paying 0.20% APY on balances of $100 and over, Bank5 Connect’s checking product offers Purchase Rewards. This no-cost program lets you earn cash back when you use your Bank5 Connect debit card at participating retailers and restaurants. It’s relatively rare to find a checking account that offers both interest and cash back.
Generally, Bank5 Connect offers a winning combination of attractive rates and low minimum deposit requirements across its products. It requires only $10 to open a savings or checking account and a relatively easy-to-meet $500 minimum deposit requirement to open a CD. There are no monthly maintenance fees on any of its accounts.
The bank requires that you maintain a balance of $100 to earn interest on savings or checking. But regardless of your balance—whether it’s $1 or $1 million—it insures all of your deposits. On top of the usual $250,000 of FDIC insurance, it offers coverage through the Massachusetts Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF), and there are no limits, in the event of a bank failure. Coverage is automatic and free and there are no residency requirements.
Customers of the bank get access to thousands of surcharge-free ATMs through the SUM Network. Plus, Bank5 Connect never charges for using an out-of-network ATM. It even reimburses up to $15 per statement cycle for ATM surcharges from other banks.
Read our full Bank5 Connect review.
Details
Bank5 Connect offers a checking account, savings account and CDs with terms from six months to 36 months. The mobile app gets 5 stars out of 5 on the App Store (notably, it only has 27 total ratings) and 4.3 out of 5 stars on Google Play (183 ratings). Residents of Massachusetts and Rhode Island are not eligible to open an account at Bank5 Connect, but they are eligible to open an eAccess Checking account, eAccess Savings account and CDs—which all have the same minimum requirements—with BankFive, the community bank based in Massachusetts. Rates at BankFive may be higher or lower than rates at Bank5 Connect, depending on the product you choose.
With the Purchase Rewards program, the more you use your debit card, the more offers you are likely to receive—offers are matched to your spending habits. Cash-back offers are available for limited time frames and you must activate them within the app before using your connected card to redeem the offer. You’re enrolled in the program automatically when you open a checking account.
Online banks don’t have the costs associated with traditional brick-and-mortar institutions. As such, they tend to pass those savings on to customers in the form of lower fees, higher rates and intuitive digital banking products. But not all online banks are the same, and some offer better products and experiences than others.
Here are some other things to consider when choosing an online bank:
To create this list, Forbes Advisor analyzed the products and services of 60 online banks, including a mix of large and small online banks and neobanks. We ranked each bank on 11 data points within the categories of product offerings, fees, APY, minimum requirements, customer experience, digital banking experience, ATM network and availability.
Here’s the weighting assigned to each category:
Online banks offering the highest APYs and lowest fees across its products rose to the top of the list, as did those with a low minimum deposit and balance requirements and a broad ATM network. Banks with high customer satisfaction and an intuitive digital banking experience also earned higher scores. To appear on this list, the bank must be an online bank with national availability.
Online banks—also known as virtual banks or internet banks—are financial institutions that operate primarily on the internet. These institutions allow you to manage your accounts from a computer or mobile device from anywhere at any time. Branch access is often nonexistent or limited at online banks, while some online divisions of brick-and-mortar banks or hybrid banks still offer the option to step into a branch location.
Because they generally don’t incur the costs to open and operate a network of branches, online banks tend to offer higher rates on deposit accounts and lower fees. Keep in mind that this trade-off means you often can’t walk into a branch if there’s a problem. Instead, you’ll be communicating over the phone, via email or online chat to resolve any issues.
The best online banks are those that meet your needs. If you’re happy with your current banking relationship but want to earn more interest on your savings, consider finding an online bank with a competitive high-yield savings account.
If you’re looking to replace your current bank, focus on the overall package. Look for an online bank that keeps fees and minimum requirements low, offers high APYs and provides easy access to your money via ATMs and mobile apps. Seek out a bank with excellent customer service as well.
Generally, online banks are safe. Look for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure your accounts. Online banks come with the same protections as banks with branches.
In many ways, online accounts are safer than traditional bank accounts because of online statements and the focus on digital transactions instead of paper checks. Avoiding paper statements and checks eliminates an opportunity for fraud that many thieves take advantage of
The FDIC insures many online banks. Other online banks are affiliated with brick-and-mortar banks that are FDIC insured. And some offer additional insurance protections through organizations like the Massachusetts Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF).
FDIC-insured accounts are covered up to $250,000 per depositor, for each ownership category, in the event of a bank failure. Before opening a bank account, confirm that the financial institution is FDIC insured. Look for the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) to insure nationally chartered, and many state-chartered, credit unions.
Customers of online banks can initiate transactions online, through a mobile app, by phone or by mail. They also can link online bank accounts with accounts they have at traditional banks, credit unions or other online banks.
Online banking products and services vary by institution. Generally, online banks offer the ability to open accounts, pay bills, transfer funds, deposit checks, view statements and carry out other typical banking tasks. Many also offer access to fee-free ATM networks.
