It pays to have a checking account with an online bank – literally.
While many traditional checking accounts at brick-and-mortar banks do not earn any interest, online banks are a different story. Because online-only banks don’t have physical branches, they have less overhead costs than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. This allows them to offer high-yield, interest-bearing checking accounts.
Many interest checking accounts require you to maintain a minimum balance in order to earn interest, and some accounts have certain requirements that must be met - such as a minimum number of debit card transactions - in order for customers to qualify for the stated interest rate. It’s important to note that some banks also cap the balance you can earn interest on. At Bank5 Connect, we try to keep it simple by offering a high-interest checking account with a minimum balance of just $100 to earn interest. There are no balance caps, and no additional hoops to jump through. There are also no monthly maintenance fees associated with the account. Learn more about our High-Interest Checking account here.
It’s important to keep in mind that oftentimes, interest-bearing checking accounts require you to conduct all of your banking activities online. This will probably be expected if you’re opening an interest checking account at an online bank that doesn’t have any physical branches, but it may come as a surprise if you’re opening an interest checking account at a local bank down the street. Some brick-and-mortar banks do in fact offer interest checking accounts, but it’s not uncommon for them to charge those customers a fee for in-branch transactions. They typically do this as a trade-off to help the bank offset the interest the customer is earning.
So, before opening an interest-bearing checking account, be sure to read all of the fine print to understand how, where, and when you will have access to your money. With a Bank5 Connect High Interest Checking account, our customers have free access to thousands of ATMs nationwide through the SUM Network. And, if they use an ATM outside of that network we still won’t charge them, and we will reimburse them for other banks’ surcharges up to $15 per statement cycle.
There are many high-yield, interest checking accounts out there to choose from, so be sure to review all of your options to find the account that’s right for you, and websites like GoBankingRates, Nerdwallet and The Simple Dollar can help you compare what’s out there.