Online banks offer low fees, exceptional interest rates and 24/7 mobile access. Whether you’re looking to take your banking suite completely virtual, or just want your savings to earn the best online rate, we’ve got you covered with these top picks. We chose them based on a methodology that prioritized low fees, high APYs and a great digital experience. We determined Ally Bank is the best online bank for checking and/or savings accounts.
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Why it stands out |
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- High APYs on savings and checking
- Large fee-free ATM network plus ATM fee rebates nationwide
- No maintenance or overdraft fees
- Highly rated mobile apps
- Multiple savings tools
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- High APY on savings
- Highly rated mobile apps
- No maintenance fees or required minimum deposit
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- Highest APY we saw on savings and checking
- No maintenance fees
- Highly rated mobile apps
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- No maintenance fees or required minimum deposit
- No foreign transaction fees
- Unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide
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| Bank |
Why it stands out |
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- High APY
- No maintenance fees
- Highly rated mobile apps
- Multiple savings tools
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- No maintenance or overdraft fees
- 24/7 customer service by phone
- Highly rated mobile apps
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- High APY
- No wire transfer fees
- No maintenance fees or required minimum deposit
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- High APY
- No maintenance fees
- Nationwide ATM fee reimbursement
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| Bank |
Why it stands out |
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- High APY
- Large fee-free ATM network plus ATM fee rebates nationwide
- No maintenance or overdraft fees
- Highly rated mobile apps
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- Highest APY we saw for checking
- No maintenance fees
- Highly rated mobile apps
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- No maintenance fees or required minimum deposit
- No foreign transaction fees
- Unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide
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- Highly rated mobile apps
- No maintenance fees or minimum deposit
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Best online banks for checking and savings accounts
1. Ally Bank
When considering both its checking and savings account offerings,
Ally Bank tops the list. For starters, you’ll earn interest in both accounts. Plus, Ally doesn’t charge monthly maintenance or overdraft fees and doesn’t have minimum balance requirements.
Ally’s Interest Checking Account stands out for its:
- 0.10% APY on a daily balance under $15,000 and 0.25% APY on a daily balance of $15,000 or more (both are significantly higher than the average checking account rate of 0.04%, as of late 2022)
- Daily compounded interest
- 43,000+ fee-free ATMs
- A “round up” feature to help you save money every time you spend
Ally’s Online Savings Account stands out for its:
- 3.60% APY (one of today’s highest savings account interest rates) on all balances in savings, IRA savings and money market accounts
- Virtual savings tools
- “Buckets” allow you to designate up to 10 funds for a specific purpose, such as “Disneyland Vacation”
- “Boosters” establish recurring transfers, roundups and surprise savings — pulling money out of temptation’s way and into your savings
2. Transportation Alliance Bank (TAB)
With roots in the trucking industry, TAB Bank is a veteran player in online banking. TAB’s High-Yield Savings Account features 4.06% APY on all balances, which is compounded daily.
TAB Flow is a new feature from TAB Bank instead of a standard checking account. The debit card account, which has no minimum balance to open, gives the card owner fractional stock rewards of up to 1% on eligible purchases.
Both feature:
- No minimum opening deposit
- A minimum daily balance of $1 or less
- No earning caps
- No monthly maintenance fees
3. Axos Bank (tied)
Axos Bank’s high-yield savings offers the highest APY we found, 0.61%, on balances below $25,000. Its Rewards Checking offers up to 3.30% APY on balances up to $50,000, which is practically unheard of for savings accounts, let alone checking. (However, there are a lot of requirements — see below.) Both accounts have no monthly fees.
Axos’ High-Yield Savings Account features:
- No daily minimum balance requirements, although it does require a minimum deposit of $250 to open an account
- Daily compounded interest
- An ATM card
- A tiered APY system: 0.61% APY for balances under $25,000; 0.25% APY for balances between $25,000 and $99,999; 0.15% APY for balances of $100,000+
Axo’s Rewards Checking Account offers up to 3.30% APY. To kickstart your account and earn 0.40% APY, you must deposit $50 and set up monthly direct deposit(s) of $1,500 or more. Then you have these options:
- To add 0.30% APY: Use your account debit card for 10 transactions a month ($3 each at minimum) or sign up for the free Personal Finance Manager tool
- To add 0.10% APY: Make at least one automatically deducted loan payment from your account, such as a payment for a car loan, mortgage or personal loan
- To add 0.10% APY: Maintain an average daily balance of $2,500 per month in an Axos Invest Managed Portfolios Account
- To add 0.10% APY: Maintain an average daily balance of $2,500 per month in an Axos Invest Self Directed Trading Account
3. Charles Schwab Bank (tied)
To open a
Schwab Bank account, you must also open a Schwab brokerage account, but all three account types — Schwab’s brokerage, checking and savings accounts —- have no minimum deposit and no monthly fee.
The Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking account offers:
- A platinum debit card
- 0.45% APY on all balances
- No service fees
- Unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide and no foreign transaction fees, making it a great choice for international travelers
The Schwab High Yield Investor Savings account offers a slightly higher APY, 0.48%, on all balances.
Best online banks for savings accounts
1. Ally Bank
Ally tops our list for both checking and savings — see above for all the details.
2. Discover Bank
Discover Bank’s Online Savings Account features no fees for almost everything, including insufficient funds and expedited check delivery. (The only noted exception is a fee for outgoing wire transfers.) Discover Bank offers a checking account as well, although it didn’t make our list.
Discover Bank’s Online Savings Account stands out in these ways:
- 3.60% APY on all balances (significantly better than the national average savings account rate of 0.17%, as of late 2022)
- No minimum balance requirement
- Daily compounded interest
- 24/7 customer service
- Very high mobile app ratings by both Apple and Android users
3. Marcus by Goldman Sachs (tied)
The online division of Goldman Sachs, Marcus’ High-Yield Savings Account is tailored for people who prefer digital banking. It allows same-day transfers of up to $100,000 to and from the account. If you need to speak to someone, the contact center is available seven days a week.
The Marcus high-yield savings account offers:
- 3.90% APY on balances up to $3 million (one of the highest savings APY rates available today)
- Daily compounded interest
- No minimum deposit requirement
- No maintenance fees
- No-fee wire transfers
3. First Foundation Bank (tied)
First Foundation Bank’s Online Savings Account stood out with an easy-to-navigate website, well-rated mobile apps and the following features:
- 4.50% APY on balances up to $5 million (one of the highest savings APY rates available today)
- Daily compounded interest
- An ATM card and nationwide ATM fee reimbursement
- No maintenance fees
- No minimum balance, but you need at least a $1,000 deposit to open
Best online banks for checking accounts
By our third category, we’ve already reviewed each of these winners, but here are the winners for the best online bank checking account:
- Ally Bank ranked as the best online bank for both checking and savings accounts.
- In second place, we had a three-way tie: Axos Bank, Charles Schwab Bank and TAB Bank. They all have great online checking accounts according to our methodology.
Methodology: How we chose the best online bank for multiple categories
To determine the best online banks, MagnifyMoney carefully reviewed 20 of the most popular financial institutions with digital banking products. Each online bank had to be available nationwide and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC insures up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank and per ownership category. We then assessed each online bank’s savings and checking account offerings to determine whether it made our list and how it’s ranked.
When judging the best online banks for savings accounts, we ranked higher those with:
- More savings account types
- Higher annual percentage yields (APYs)
- Lower opening deposit requirements
- More debit card and ATM access
- Fewer fees
When judging the best online banks for checking accounts, we ranked higher those with:
- Better digital experience
- Higher APYs or greater cash back
- More fee-free ATM access
- Fewer fees
Jenn Jones
