Bank Deals Blog: Banking Tools and Data

High-yield reward checking accounts can be an alternative to online savings accounts for money that you want to keep safe. Like online savings accounts, reward checking accounts are liquid and safe. Many reward checking accounts offer higher yields than online savings accounts. The two main issues with reward checking are the monthly activity requirements to qualify for the high rate (debit card usage being the primary requirement) and the balance cap that limits how much of your money can earn the high rate.

You can use our reward checking table to...

An important concern with long-term CDs is having your money locked into a low-rate CD when interest rates are increasing rapidly. With the possibility that we are moving into a period of rising inflation, that is a growing concern. DA reader kcfield made several good points in this DA Forum thread for savers to consider in today’s low-rate environment. As kcfield asked: “Should we give up our 0.50% interest savings account to invest in a 1% long term CD?” I think many savers and investors would agree with this opinion...

Today marks the one year anniversary of zero rates. At an emergency meeting on Sunday, March 15, 2020, the Fed slashed the target federal funds rate to the effective lower bound of 0.00%-0.25%. This was one of many policies the Fed implemented to help the economy make it through the pandemic.

I thought it would be interesting to compare this first...

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its monthly Personal Income and Outlays report this morning. What is particularly noteworthy is the massive surge in the personal savings rate. This is a measure of how much Americans are saving, and the rate has surged to an all-time record high of 33.0% in April. The personal savings rate had a large increase in March, rising from 8.2% in February to 12.7%, but the April increase is unprecedented.

History of the personal savings rate

You can see the history of the personal savings...

The Fed’s zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) is just over two months old, and already we’re seeing online banks cutting their CD rates to all-time lows. This doesn’t bode well for future deposit rates, especially if the economy takes a long time to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve reviewed the rate history of three online banks that have recently cut their 5-year CD rates to all-time lows. The disturbing thing to note is that the previous lows didn’t occur until several years into the last ZIRP period, which lasted...

As online banks cut their deposit rates, an interesting phenomenon has occurred. Many online banks now have higher interest rates on their savings accounts than their 5-year CD rates. We typically expect long-term CDs to offer the highest rates since you’re locking in your money for the longest period of time. That’s not the case today as banks transition their deposit rates in this new zero interest rate environment.

Here’s a snapshot of the rates at a few online banks with these inverted rates. APYs are accurate as of 5/18/2020:

Due to the Fed’s massive rate cut at the Sunday emergency FOMC meeting, banks and credit unions are starting to respond by making their own rate cuts to their deposit accounts. In short, this is overwhelming our rate tracking system at DepositAccounts. We are trying our best to keep our rates updated, but there are just too many rate cuts for us to quickly process. Thus, in the next couple of weeks, please be aware that the rates we list at DepositAccounts may not reflect the latest rates published by...

Do you carry cash? Are you carrying cash right now? If you had to make a cash purchase, would you need to make a quick trip to the ATM? If you answered no to the first two questions and yes to the last, you’re hardly alone.

The rise of fintech start-ups, electronic payment apps and online banking — not to mention the ubiquity of credit cards and debit cards — has made it possible for many Americans to go without carrying cash most of...

Millions of Americans have never switched banks, a recent survey commissioned by DepositAccounts found. Even more profess loyalty to their current financial institution.

This reluctance to switch banks — especially to an online-only bank — could collectively cost the country billions of dollars.

Key findings

• An estimated 96 million Americans have never switched banks, collectively leaving up to $42 billion in interest income on the table each year.
• Of the millions of Americans who have never switched banks, almost 75% say the reason is because they're satisfied...

Certificates of deposit (CDs) have long been a great place to stash your savings, especially for conservative investors who want a guaranteed yield. But who are these conservative savers, and where do they live?

In this study, DepositAccounts looked at the percentage of households owning CDs in the 100 largest metros in the U.S. to gauge where this investing product is most — and least — popular.

Until only a few months ago, 1-year CD yields were reaching as high as 3.00%. But CDs as...