Online Checking Report
November 06, 2007
Money-rates.com researched the rates paid on an online basic checking account from the nation's largest banks to compare to the rates posted on the money-rates.comn checking rates page. The results were more than surprising. While online banks are posting rates as high as 6.00% on accounts which require direct deposit or have deposit limits, it is also quite easy to find 4.00% rates on basic online checking accounts with no fees, no minimum deposits, and no direct deposit requirements. The rates paid by the nation's largest banks on the same style account are as follows: Bank of America (0.25%), JP Morgan Chase (0.10%), Wells Fargo (0.00%), Washington Mutual (0.00%), Citibank (1.00%), and U.S. Bank (0.00%). To make matters worse the fees on the checking accounts listed above were significantly higher than the online banks posted on money-rates.com.
Rates on traditional checking accounts here
Rates on promotional checking accounts here
Two banks which are posting 4.00% yields on online checking accounts without a lot of restrictions and fees are Charles Schwab Bank and E*Trade Bank which are the FDIC-insured bank divisions of the respective brokerage firms. The banks have held this yield through the recent Fed rate cuts and these accounts can be linked to a brokerage firm account at Schwab and E*Trade is desired. Both banks have very good online platforms with all the features of some of the leading online banks. Post your comments regarding your experience with these two banks here.
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20 November 2007 at 8:00 am
I just signed up for american bank. Anyone know how they compare to the above two?