Let's say your bank let you design your own online savings account from top to bottom. What features and services would you include? Here are a few to consider:

High Interest Rate

Let's start with the obvious. You will want an online savings account which is paying a good rate. Today that means a rate of at least 1.50%, but rememner what qualifies as a good rate today may be a lousy rate tomorrow if market rates increase. So you really want a bank with a reputation and history of paying high rates on their savings account. Banks like ING Direct, Capital One Bank, Discover Bank, and EverBank have been rate leaders for years. Keeping tabs of the interest rate charts on MoneyRates.com is a good way to see to which banks pay good rates over time.

You also need to understand if the high interest rate is an introductory-offer rate that will be lowered after a preset time period. If you see an online savings account advertised with an asterick, make sure you follow through and read the fine print.

Account Features

Let's face it, the old-fashioned passbook savings accounts that many of us had when we were kids just did not have that many features. We carried the passbook to the bank to make a deposit and the teller would type in our current balance and interest payment in the passbook. That was prety much the end of the story. Today, if you are trying to build the perfect savings account you would want an online savings account that allows bank-to-bank transfers and online bill payments. The ability to transfer money online between banks accounts is a huge benefit that can help maximize the interest you earn on your savings accounts. Although, your online savings account may not be the primary account you use to pay bills, you still want online bill payment as a feature on the account. This gives you the opportunity the make emergency payments or pay just one particular bill out of your savings account.  

Social Tools

Social networking is just now entering into the realm of personal finance. Sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter make it easy to network among friends, family, or people with similar interests. The perfect online savings account would have some social networking applications. What if you are savings your money specifically for a goal like a wedding or for your kid's college education and would like to invite other people to contribute to that common goal? We call these accounts "social savings accounts." They allow you to promote your savings goals publicly. A FDIC-insured bank in Iowa, with the online name SmartyPig, already offers a social savings account paying a 3.05% APY and we expect to see more in the future. Mark down social networking apps on the list of requirements for the perfect online savings account.

Mobile Banking Platform

The ability to check bank balances and transfer money with your cellphone or smartphone is very nice, but is it safe? Mobile security experts strongly recommend using a downloaded mobile banking application, instead of your cellphone's browser, when you conduct your mobile banking. Not every bank has a proprietary mobile banking application, so check each bank's website carefully to see if they have an application which can be downloaded to your cellphone.

FDIC Insurance

This one is a no-brainer. You need FDIC-insurance for your online savings account. if you see a great rate advertised online, check FDIC.gov to verify that the account is from a member bank.