Posted on February 21, 2012
What’s hot in 2012? 2.01% APY Cardinal First Choice Checking. Learn more.
Online Checking - February 22, 2012
Online checking accounts provide users with greater interest in return for not banking with a brick and mortar branch or location. Online checking accounts generally come with a debit card and bill pay and allow users to deposit money via mail or electronic transfers. Most online banks also refund foreign ATM fees. Below are current online checking account rates.
| Online Banks | APY | Min Bal | Max Bal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FNBO Direct | 0.65% | $1 | _ | |
| ING Direct | 0.90% | $100,000 | _ | |
| ING Direct | 0.85% | $50,000 | $100,000 | |
| EverBank | 0.71% | $50,000 | _ | |
| Incredible Bank | 1.01% | $0 | $250,000 | |
| Clear Sky Accounts | 0.90% | $25,000 | $250,000 | |
| Westfield Bank, FSB | 0.75% | $25,000 | _ | |
| AirBanking | 0.45% | $50,000 | _ | |
| Ascencia Bank | 0.32% | $50 | _ | |
| Aurora Bank | 0.25% | $100,000 | _ | |
| Acacia Federal Savings Bank | 0.20% | $5,000 | _ |
What to Look for in a Savings Account:
FDIC Insurance – In order to secure the viability of the US banking system, the Federal government provides insurance to a maximum amount of $250,000 per individual per institution (or 500,000 for joint account holders). While all deposits (CDs, Checking, Savings Accounts) held in the same type of ownership are added together and insured to $250,000, funds held in different types of ownership (Individual, Joint, Trust, Retirement) may fall under separate FDIC insurance provisions. Please visit the FDIC's website to determine if your financial institution is insured and use its "ask Edie" program to determine your coverage limits. We recommend that you deposit savings in only FDIC insured institutions and that you do not exceed FDIC coverage limits. All bank accounts listed on BestCashCow are FDIC insured.
Liquidity – The ease of moving money in and out of a savings account on short notice.
Money Movement - The ability to easily and freely transfer money to checking accounts and/or savings accounts at other banks.
Avoiding pitfalls when opening a Savings Account:
Stability of Savings Rates - There is virtually no guarantee that a rate will not fall after you open a savings account. If you require greater certainty that your rate will last for a given period of time and believe that short term interest rates are not likely to increase soon, you may be better off investing in short term certificates of deposit.
Introductory rates – Some banks, particularly online banks, offer promotional rates to open an account which is only good for first time account holders for a certain period of time.
Minimum Balances – Banks often offer higher savings account rates if you deposit a larger amount of money. This is particularly true of brick-and-mortar banks and not as true for online banks.
High transaction fees - Banks can sometimes charge high transaction fees for transerring money between banks more than a certain number of times.
