Best Bank Account Interest Rates - Summary For June 15, 2021

Unfortunately, there was no repeat of the last summary when a major online bank raised its savings account rate. The May 25th rate hike at Synchrony Bank will probably not be repeated anytime soon. For this summary, the only noteworthy rate changes in the last two weeks were rate cuts. One of those rate cuts was at a major online bank. That was Live Oak Bank which lowered its online savings account rate by 5 bps to 0.50%.

For the smaller online banks, three had rate cuts that lowered their rates closer to the average for online savings accounts (0.46%). CFG Bank’s High Yield Money Market remains the most competitive out of the three. The rate only fell 3 bps to 0.59% for balances of at least $25k. BrioDirect Online Money Market Savings rate fell 5 bps to 0.55%, and Prime Alliance Bank Personal Savings Account rate fell 10 bps to 0.50%.

One thing to note about these rate cuts is that most were relatively small. Fewer and smaller rate cuts have been common for the last few months. This can be seen in our Online Savings Account Index which tracks the average rate of 10 well-established online savings accounts.The slowdown has been apparent since December. Just recently, the Index actually had a rate gain, rising from 0.45% on May 3rd to 0.46% on June 1st. As I mentioned above, I doubt we’ll see continued rate gains for future months, but I doubt we’ll see any more large drops like we saw last year.

I’ve listed the most noteworthy rate changes that have occurred in the last two weeks. I created two lists. The first list includes rate changes from the major online banks. The second includes rate changes from past rate leaders which are generally not well-known names. All percentages are APYs:

Rate changes from the major online banks:

• Live Oak Bank High Yield Online Savings (0.55% → 0.50%)

Rate changes from the less well-known CUs & online banks:

• Patelco CU MM Select (up to $2k, 2.00% → 1.00%)
• CFG Bank High Yield MM ($25k+, 0.62% → 0.59%)
• BrioDirect Online Money Market Savings (0.60% → 0.55%)
• Prime Alliance Bank Personal Savings Account (0.60% → 0.50%)
• UmbrellaBank.com Money Market ($25k+, 0.41% → 0.36%)
• BankUnitedDirect Online MM (0.20% → 0.15%)

Current rate leaders

There are still four liquid accounts in the 1% group. These are savings, money market or standard checking accounts that have at least a 1% APY without any small maximum balance limits.

The institution with the highest liquid account in this 1% group is now Advancial Credit Union. Its Premium Money Market continues to offer 1.01% APY for balances of at least $100k. Unfortunately, Advancial’s field of membership doesn’t always include a way for people in any state to join. There have been times in the past when Advancial allowed people from any state to join via an association membership. There have also been times when Advancial did not provide this option. Unfortunately, Advancial is back to not providing this membership option. This is based on recent reports by readers. Please see this blog post for more details.

Last month, Connexus Credit Union lowered the rates on all of its rate tiers by 15 bps, except for the lowest tier ($1k to $10k). That rate fell 25 bps to 0.25%. The top-tier rate for balances of at least $100k is now 1.00% APY, which keeps the account in this 1% group. Lower tiers include 0.85% APY ($50k), 0.60% APY ($20k), 0.45% APY ($10k), and 0.25% APY ($1k). To qualify for these rates, the member must also maintain an active checking account. I have more details about the Connexus Money Market account in this post on finding 1%+ liquid accounts in 2021.

There are two fintechs that partner with banks that continue to offer 1.00% APY on their checking accounts. They have no balance limitations and no activity requirements to qualify for the high rate.

The most recent fintech to be in the 1% group is M1 Finance. This is a brokerage firm and robo-advisor which also offers a checking account called M1 Spend. M1 Finance has partnered with Lincoln Savings Bank which holds the deposits and allows deposits to be FDIC insured. The Spend account has two options: basic and plus. The basic account offers no interest. The plus account offers 1% APY on all balances. The downside with M1 Plus is a $125-per-year maintenance fee that can’t be waived.

The other fintech that is still in the 1% group is T-Mobile Money. Like M1 Finance, T-Mobile Money offers a checking account that earns 1% APY on all balances without any activity requirements. Unlike M1 Finance, T-Mobile Money Checking Account has no monthly service fees. T-Mobile has partnered with BankMobile, which has partnered with Customers Bank, to hold the FDIC-insured deposits (As of January 4, 2021, BankMobile is no longer a division of Customers Bank.) The Checking Account can actually be considered a reward checking account since you can earn 4% APY on up to $3k if activity requirements are met. The requirements to earn 4% APY on up to $3k include: 1) enrolled in a qualifying T-Mobile postpaid wireless plan; 2) registered for perks with your T-Mobile ID; and 3) at least 10 qualifying purchases using your T-Mobile MONEY card (This requirement replaced direct deposit.) The portion of the balance above $3k earns 1.00% APY. Also, the entire balance earns 1.00% APY if the above requirements are not met. Since the 1.00% APY can be earned without meeting any activity requirements, I’ve included the account in the savings/money market category.

The highest rate on a non-promotional and nationally-available liquid account that’s directly available from a bank is the ZYNLO Bank money market account. This account has a rate of 0.80% for all balances, and the minimum opening deposit is only $10. ZYNLO Bank had offered a promotion with a 1.25% APY, but that promotion ended in March. Please refer to my ZYNLO Bank money market review for more details.

Rate guarantees without withdrawal penalties

When rates are falling, the best savings and money market deals are specials that guarantee a rate for a period of time. As you would expect in our current rate environment, these specials have dried up. TIAA Bank was the last one to offer a rate guarantee, but that has ended. TIAA Bank’s Yield Pledge Money Market account no longer has a 1-year intro rate for new customers. There’s now just the ongoing rate which remains at 0.40% for all balances under $10 million.

No-penalty CDs have some of the liquidity of savings and money market accounts, but like CDs, they offer a rate lock which can be useful when rates are falling. No-penalty CDs have become more common at online banks in the last two years, and they are something to consider, especially if you already have a savings account at the bank.

Some banks like Marcus by Goldman Sachs make it easy to open and close the No Penalty CDs. You just lose access to the money in the No Penalty CD for the first six days from account funding. After that, you are free to close the CD without penalty

The main issue now is that their rates have been falling. Many now have rates lower than the bank’s savings account. The only reason to open a no-penalty CD with a rate that’s lower than the savings account rate is if you believe the savings account rate will fall below the no-penalty CD rate. Even if that occurs, you may earn more in the savings account if the rate falls slowly.

There were no rate changes on any of the listed no-penalty CDs over the last two weeks.

CFG Bank’s 13-month Penalty Free CD remains on top with a 0.62% APY.

• 0.62% APY 13-month Penalty Free CD ($500 min) - CFG Bank
• 0.55% APY 15-month No Penalty CD ($1k min) - Rising Bank (May have some penalties due to loss of interest that hasn’t been credited.)
• 0.55% APY 11-month No EWP CD ($500 min) - USALLIANCE Financial CU
• 0.55% APY 8-mo No-Penalty CD for AARP members ($500 min) - Marcus by Goldman Sachs
• 0.50% APY 11-month No Penalty CD (no min) - Ally Bank
• 0.45% APY 11-month No Penalty CD ($1 min) - Continental Bank via SaveBetter.com
• 0.45% APY 7-month No-Penalty CD ($500 min) - Marcus by Goldman Sachs
• 0.45% APY 11-month No Penalty CD ($5k min) - Colorado Federal Savings Bank
• 0.40% APY 11-month Flex Time Deposit ($100k min) - My eBanc
• 0.40% APY 3-month No Penalty CD ($1 min) - Continental Bank via SaveBetter.com
• 0.35% APY 11-month Flex Time Deposit ($10k min) - My eBanc
• 0.35% APY 11-month No-Penalty CD ($500 min) - Marcus by Goldman Sachs
• 0.30% APY 11-month No-Penalty CD ($1k min) - CIT Bank
• 0.30% APY 9-month No Penalty CD ($1 min) - Central Bank of KC via SaveBetter.com
• 0.25% APY 13-month No-Penalty CD ($500 min) - Marcus by Goldman Sachs
• 0.15% APY 6-month No-Penalty CD ($500 min) - Investors eAccess
• 0.15% APY 11-month No-Penalty CD ($10k min) - PurePoint Financial
• 0.10% APY 13-month No-Penalty CD ($10k min) - PurePoint Financial
• 0.10% APY 14-month No-Penalty CD ($10k min) - PurePoint Financial
• 0.05% APY 11-month Liquid CD ($5k min) - Citizens Access

Remember that when talking about no-penalty CDs (that function like Ally’s No Penalty CD), a longer term is always better. Since you can close these types of no-penalty CDs at any time after the first six days, I can’t think of a reason to choose a shorter-term no-penalty CD if the rate is the same.

Money Market Funds

Another option for your cash instead of savings accounts and money market accounts are money market funds from brokerages. These don’t have FDIC coverage, but they can be reasonable alternatives to deposit accounts. Back when the Fed was holding rates near zero from 2008 to 2015, money market funds had yields of around 0.01%. Now that the Fed has cut rates back to zero, money market fund yields have fallen back to 0.01%.

The 7-day yield of both the Fidelity Money Market Fund and the Fidelity Municipal Money Market Fund remains at 0.01%. This has held steady now for the last several months.

The 7-day yield of the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund is now at 0.01%. This had been 0.02% in January. The Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund yield remains at 0.01%.

Reward Checking Accounts

Reward checking account rates have been falling but there haven’t been widespread cuts that we’ve seen with online savings accounts.

The only rate cut in the last two weeks was at Bay State Savings Bank. Its Kasasa Cash top rate fell from 1.00% to 0.75% for balances up to $20k. Also, the companion Kasasa Saver top rate fell from 0.50% to 0.25% for balances up to $50k. These two accounts are more than six years old. Until late last year, the Kasasa Cash yield of 2.01% and the Kasasa Saver yield of 1.00% remained unchanged.

There was also one new addition to the list. The small Nokomis Savings Bank in Central Illinois is currently accepting online applications from people in any state. Its Kasasa Cash top yield is 3.00% for balances up to $25k, and its Kasasa Saver top yield is 1.00% for balances up to $100k.

Overall, reward checking accounts have generally been more resistant to Fed rate cuts than online savings accounts. They’re not immune to cuts. History during the last zero bound period (2008 to 2015) has shown that reward checking accounts can sustain rates significantly higher than online savings account rates during a zero interest rate environment.

Most reward checking accounts have fairly small balance caps and won’t provide much earnings on large balances. However, there are a few nationally available ones in which you can earn high rates on fairly large balances. Below are five of these accounts.Two of the five are combo checking/savings accounts.

In the list below I added the blended APY for a $100k balance. For the combo account, this assumes that the funds are spread between the two accounts to maximize the APY.

• Nokomis Savings Bank Kasasa Cash: 3.00% APY up to $25k and Kasasa Saver: 1.00% APY on up to $100k (1.50% blended APY for $100k balance)
• ECCU Kasasa Cash Checking: 3.00% APY on up to $10k and Kasasa Saver: 1.00% APY on up to $100k (1.20% blended APY for $100k balance)
• Presidential Bank Advantage Checking: 2.25% APY up to $25K, 0.65% on portion above $25k (1.05% blended APY for $100k balance)
• Axos Bank Rewards Checking: 1.25% APY up to $150k (1.25% APY for $100k balance)
• Quontic Bank High Interest Checking: 1.01% APY up to $100k, 0.65% APY $100k+ to $250k, 0.35% APY $250k+ (1.01% APY for $100k balance)

To find the highest reward checking rates and balance caps in your state or nationwide, please refer to our reward checking rate table. If you're new to reward checking, please refer to my blog post, Overview of Reward Checking and Our Reward Checking Table.

Certificate of Deposit Rates

I’m now publishing my CD survey as a separate post. Please refer to my survey of the best CD rates. This recap focuses on liquid accounts.

CD Deals: NASA Federal Credit Union maintained the rates of its three CD Specials for June (the rates had fallen last month when May began.) The 49-month Special continues to have a 1.40% APY for a minimum deposit of $10k. Its shorter-term CD Specials also continue to be good deals (15-month at 0.70% APY and 9-month at 0.65% APY). Please refer to this blog post for more details.

When June began, Advancial Credit Union slightly lowered most of its CD rates. Its 5-year Jumbo CD rate fell 7 bps to 1.84% APY, and its 1-year Jumbo CD rate fell 1 bp to 0.93% APY. The only problem with Advancial is that they don’t always offer an easy membership option (and that seems to be the case now.) Sometimes they allow people in any state to become a member by joining the Connex association.

Consumers Credit Union continues to offer top mid-term CD rates. For a $250k minimum deposit, its 20-month CD has a 1.00% APY. Other rates include 0.90% APY for a $100k minimum deposit and a 0.80% APY for a $250 minimum deposit.

Quontic Bank recently increased the rates on four of its CDs, and all four are now very competitive for online banks. The four CDs are 6-month (0.65% APY), 1-year (0.75% APY), 2-year (0.85% APY), and 3-year (1.00% APY). Minimum deposit is only $500.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs now has the highest short-term CD rate for a major online bank. At the start of June, Marcus raised its 18-month CD rate 15 bps to 0.70%. Minimum deposit is only $500.

Ally Bank continues to offer a 14-month Select CD with a 0.60% APY.

One of the best short-term CD deals continues to be at Veridian Credit Union. It has a 7-month Jumbo CD Special with a 0.85% APY. Minimum deposit is $100k. For a minimum deposit of $1k, the rate falls to 0.75%. Veridian also has very competitive 21-month CD Special rates (0.90% for $100k min and 0.80% for $1k min).

This is my new weekly summary with the Fed review split off on a separate blog post. My weekly summaries will now be focused entirely on deposit rates and deals. Please keep all discussion about the Fed, the economy and politics to my Fed/Economy review blog post.

Rates as of June 15, 2021

Checking/Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• Best Savings Account Rates (Nationwide and by State)
• Best Money Market Rates (Nationwide and by State)
• Best Checking Account Rates (Nationwide and by State)

Reverse Tier Savings/Money Market Accounts/Checking:

Reward Checking Accounts:

• Best Reward Checking Account Rates

• Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:

*New to Summary as of June 15, 2021

Certificates of Deposit:

• Best CD Rates (Nationwide and by State)
• Best IRA CD Rates (Nationwide and by State)
• Survey of the Best CD Rates (Nationwide and Local)

Bank Account Alternatives - May Not Be FDIC Insured

• Investment Discussion Forum

• Series I Savings Bond Purchased after May 1, 2021