MagnifyMoney 
Money market accounts work much like savings accounts, but they typically have better interest rates and allow check writing. The best money market account rate we found is 4.50% APY on all balances at Merchants Bank of Indiana.
Why trust us: MagnifyMoney is an independent outlet covering deposit accounts and other banking topics. Our team of experts has dozens of years of combined experience covering the financial space, and our work has been featured in prominent publications nationwide. Read our methodology for choosing the best money market accounts and rates.
| Best for | Account | APY | Minimum deposit to open an account |
|---|---|---|---|
| APY on $1,000 balance | Merchants Bank of Indiana Money Market | 4.50% on all balances | $50 |
| APY on $10,000 balance | Merchants Bank of Indiana Money Market | 4.50% on all balances | $50 |
| APY on $100,000 balance | Merchants Bank of Indiana Money Market | 4.50% on all balances | $50 |
| Debit card and ATM use | TIAA Bank Yield Pledge Money Market | 1.70% – 3.55% depending on balance | $500 |
| Low account fees | nbkc Personal Money Market | 2.00% on all balances | $0 |
| Online banking | Vio Bank Cornerstone Money Market | 4.50% on all balances | $100 |
Best for APY on $1,000 balance: Merchants Bank of Indiana Money Market |
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APY: 4.50% on all balances Minimum deposit to open an account: $50 Merchants Bank of Indiana is a subsidiary of Merchant Bancorp and is headquartered in Carmel, Ind. It offers a variety of banking and lending products and was recognized as the best-performing bank in the U.S. on the 2021 S&P Global Market Intelligence Ranking. This account is available nationwide and comes with the highest money market rate out there as of October 2022. The account doesn’t require a minimum balance to earn interest and has no monthly fee. Note that this account doesn’t offer an ATM/debit card, online bill pay or online transfers. If those are important to you, there are plenty of other money market accounts with competitive rates and features. |
Best for APY on $10,000 balance: Merchants Bank of Indiana Money Market |
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APY: 4.50% on all balances Minimum deposit to open an account: $50 Read more about Merchants Bank above. |
Best for APY on $100,000 balance: Merchants Bank of Indiana Money Market |
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APY: 4.50% on all balances Minimum deposit to open an account: $50 Read more about Merchants Bank above. |
Best for debit card and ATM use: TIAA Bank Yield Pledge Money Market |
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APY: 1.70% on balances below $50,000; 3.20% on balances $50,000–$99,999; 3.55% on balances $100,000 and up Minimum deposit to open an account: $500 TIAA Bank’s money market account is branded as a “Yield Pledge” account — meaning that they assess competitor APYs weekly and ensure that their rate is in the top 5% of money market accounts. Their 1.70% – 3.55% APY rates are solid. There are no monthly fees. Where this account really shines is for ATM use: TIAA’s network has over 80,000 fee-free ATMs, and they also offer some of the best available rebates for out-of-network ATM use. All accounts receive up to $15 per month in ATM rebates, but there are unlimited rebates for accounts that have a balance of over $5,000. |
Best for low account fees: nbkc Personal Money Market |
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APY: 2.00% on all balances Minimum deposit to open an account: $0 The nbkc Personal Money Market account has a relatively low APY compared to others on this list, but if your top priority is to avoid possible banking fees, nbkc helps minimize them as well as anyone. This account has no minimum balance requirements and no fees for monthly maintenance, overdrafts, returned items, cashier’s checks, money orders, stop payments, or phone transfers. The only fees that may apply are outgoing domestic wire transfers ($5) and international wire transfers ($45). nbkc offers out-of-network ATM fee rebates as well. |
Best for online banking: Vio Bank Cornerstone Money Market |
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APY: 4.50% on all balances Minimum deposit to open an account: $100 Vio Bank is an online bank owned by MidFirst Bank, the largest privately owned bank in the U.S. Vio offers competitive interest rates for most deposits, and the bank compounds interest daily on this account. Vio has a strong mobile platform: their app has a 4.6 star rating on the App Store. There’s no monthly maintenance fee on this account unless you opt for paper statements, which will cost you $5. Read our full Vio Bank review. |
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Generally better interest rates than savings accounts | Typically higher balance requirements than savings accounts |
| Typically offers check writing | Subject to withdrawal limits |
| Sometimes offers ATM access | APYs are sometimes tier-based |
A December 2021 MagnifyMoney survey found that just 4% of Americans keep their savings in a money market account, compared to 53% who keep that money in a savings account. Both account types are very similar, but if you’re willing to maintain a higher minimum balance, a money market account could provide you with a better interest rate.
Unlike savings accounts, money market accounts allow you to write checks on the account balance and sometimes offer debit card access for ATM deposits and withdrawals. However, most people use money market accounts to hold their savings and instead use a checking account for everyday banking transactions.
Both types of accounts are subject to the Federal Reserve Regulation D, which restricts the amount of transactions from certain kinds of deposit accounts. While that regulation is still waived in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may come back in the future, and financial institutions may still choose to enforce it in the meantime.
Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably, but they’re different types of accounts. Money market accounts are deposit accounts that receive bank or credit union insurance, whereas money market funds are mutual fund investments that carry market risk. Both are tied to the money market — the exchange of deposits between banks and the government — but money market accounts are risk-free deposit accounts, unlike money market funds.
It’s a special type of savings account with a bank or credit union. You can deposit cash into the account, where it earns a variable annual percentage yield (APY).
They’re a good choice if you have a big deposit you’d like to keep safe and growing at a high interest rate. Then, when you need to access that money, you can often easily do so with an ATM or debit card or by writing a check.
No. Unlike money market funds, which are securities that aren’t backed by government insurance and can therefore lose value over time, money market accounts work much like a savings account and carry insurance on the deposit’s value.
If a bank is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) — or if a credit union is insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) — they will provide deposit insurance on their money market accounts. All accounts on our list are FDIC- or NCUA-insured.
Yes, you can deposit funds whenever you want, unlike a certificate of deposit (CD), which is a timed deposit account that only lets you deposit funds once at the time of account opening.
In order to determine the best money market accounts and rates, MagnifyMoney used information from the DepositAccounts database to find accounts that were available nationwide from financial institutions with FDIC or NCUA insurance. Accounts with a minimum opening deposit of $10,000 or more were not considered.
Alex Cook
