Fidelity Launches No Fee Checking Account that Pays 3.5%

Fidelity today announced the launch of its mySmart Cash account that pays customers an interest rate of 3.5% and features no minimum balance requirement, no annual fees, no bounced check fees, free checks and free online-bill pay services. The mySmart Cash account is a higher yield checking account designed so that brokerage and IRA customers have an account they can use to manage their daily cash needs. Funds can be withdrawn via check, debit card, online bill payment, or ATM.

The no minimum balance or annual fees are really significant because banks currently offer these services and rates but only to clients that have substantial assets already deposited. For example, Bank of America offers it brokerage customers an account that pays 4.63% but the money is non-insured and clients must have a $100,000 relationship with the bank.

INGs Electric Orange account offers a higher rate but fewer reimbursements on ATM fees and no paper checks.

Other nice features of the mySmart Cash account include:

• Refunds on all transactions from at any ATM displaying the Visa,® PLUS® or STAR® logos and may be worth a look.
• The Fidelity Investment Rewards Visa Signature® Card that redeems points at a 1.5% rate. That’s quite high by reward card standards.

The funds are FDIC via the bank that actually manages the money. That is, Fidelity sends the funds to a Partner Bank that provides the back-end banking functionality. It’s all seamless to the user. The only catch is that if you already have significant funds in the Partner Bank and your total of all deposits exceeds $100,000, the excess will not be FDIC insured.

If you are a Fidelity customer and are looking to get a little higher return on your everyday money, then this account might be for you.