Online Bank Interest Rates (Updated!)

Written by Nickel - 39 Comments

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In the past, I’ve put together rundowns of the best online savings accounts (based on reader feedback) and the safest online banks (based on Bankrate ratings). I thought I’d round things out by compiling a list of current interest rates for the most popular online savings accounts. Here goes:

Note: The list below has been getting difficult to manage since it needs to be updated very frequently, so while I’ll still update it, it may not be as frequently updated as it has been in the past since I’d prefer to spend my time writing about personal finance than updating rates. As a very good alternative, you can use the rate widget here to look up the best online savings rates – not just for savings accounts, but money market and cd rates as well. The folks over at MoneyRates have made it easy to compare the top 50+ rates across banks nationwide – plus these rates are updated almost daily if not daily.


(All rates below current as of 10/16/09)

If you’re looking for a higher yield and don’t mind taking on some additional risk, you might want to check out Lending Club. It’s not FDIC-insured, but annual returns have averaged 9.6% over the past 18 months. It’s free to open an account, and you can get started with as little as $25.

*3 month promotional rate; 1.77% average APY for the 1st year.
**Requires minimum $10,000 balance.

Published on September 23rd, 2008 - 39 Comments
Filed under: Banking
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About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!

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Comments (scroll down to add your own):

  1. Thanks for this post, and all your posts for that matter! You feel comfortable having your money in the WaMu account despite all the recent rumors/turmoil/etc?

    Comment by Jake — Sep 23rd 2008 @ 10:15 am

  2. Everbank is offering 4.65% for 3 months and then 3.82% APY thereafter with a “yield pledge” guarantee that they will stay in the top 5% of the yield of leading banks.

    I’ve been very happy with Everbank for over a year now.

    Comment by MITBeta @ Don't Feed the Alligators — Sep 23rd 2008 @ 9:44 am

  3. I’m in!!!! can i borrow $10,000?

    Comment by Budgets are Sexy. — Sep 23rd 2008 @ 11:18 am

  4. I’m happily getting the following rates on my accounts at Century Bank Direct. I have one of each kind.
    Checking: 3.35%
    Savings: 3.41%
    Money Market: 3.57%
    You read that right – I’m earning more on my CHECKING account than ING pays on savings. Century Bank Direct rocks :)

    Comment by Jacqui — Sep 23rd 2008 @ 1:38 pm

  5. E-Loan used to have a decent rate. I opened an account about 18 months ago with a 4.5%. We are now at 1%… ridiculous

    Comment by Lau — Sep 23rd 2008 @ 2:12 pm

  6. How about a Vanguard tax-exempt money market fund. Around 4% with the tax advantage.

    Comment by Ziggy — Sep 24th 2008 @ 8:13 am

  7. Any reason why HSBC is listed above WT and Etrade when it has a lower rate?

    Comment by FlatGreg — Sep 24th 2008 @ 2:54 pm

  8. FlatGreg: No reason, just an error on my part. Thanks!

    Comment by nickel — Sep 24th 2008 @ 5:56 pm

  9. Dollar Savings Direct has a 4.0% rate with a min of a 1000.00 and also a promise to be in the top 5%.

    Comment by Jeff — Jan 5th 2009 @ 7:47 pm

  10. Happy to report that Century Bank Direct still hasn’t lowered their rates! Oddly enough, their CDs have actually dropped below their normal account yields.

    Comment by Jacqui — Jan 5th 2009 @ 10:36 pm

  11. Thanks for keeping on top of this.

    Comment by unimax — Jan 6th 2009 @ 10:20 am

  12. Right on Unimax… It’s 2009. A lot has changed since 09/2008. Perhaps 0$Nickel went Bankrupt.

    Comment by Mike — Jan 7th 2009 @ 1:18 pm

  13. Just upgraded IRA accts from 3.20 rate and purchased two jumbo CD’s from Alliant Credit Union with a 4.50% APR – 48 moths. Minimum deposit was 25K each. Looks like it was a very good move.

    Comment by MJ — Jan 9th 2009 @ 11:40 pm

  14. my last cd matures in two days. i’m going to put them into the market. i’d rather get over 4% dividend in a good company that has good earnings prospects than lock into a cd again. then again, i have cash in tax-exempt mmf account.

    Comment by Tim — Jan 10th 2009 @ 10:27 pm

  15. why don’t you include Everbank on your list of rates?

    Comment by liz — Jan 19th 2009 @ 5:44 pm

  16. I’ve been with provident-direct for almost a year, started at 4.5% lowered to 3.75 than 3.5 and now 3.25 but it has been a steady decrease with the economy.

    Comment by Matt — Jan 24th 2009 @ 8:42 pm

  17. Actually, ING is down to 2.40% now.

    Comment by Dawn — Jan 30th 2009 @ 3:54 pm

  18. I highly recommend looking at Bankrate.com’s Safe&Sound report before making your deposit. I think it will answer some of the questions here such as “Why not Everbank?” The information is unbiased and based on FDIC data. I decided against banks such as Everbank, Emigrant (which looks like it’s near collapse), and WaMu based on this information. And I withdrew all of my money from AmTrust for the same reason.

    Comment by Archangel — Feb 1st 2009 @ 10:52 am

  19. I did look at bankrate.com and that is why I asked, why not Everbank? – it has one of the highest safety ratings on bankrate, higher than some of the other banks mentioned in this thread.
    Am I missing something? If so pls send a link or quote!

    Comment by Liz — Feb 1st 2009 @ 11:01 am

  20. As a current Everbank customer, I would also like to know if there’s a reason I should be concerned with Everbank.

    Comment by MITBeta @ Don't Feed the Alligators — Feb 1st 2009 @ 8:07 pm

  21. Etrade website still mentions the rate as 3.01. Why do you show it lower?

    Comment by unimax — Feb 2nd 2009 @ 9:41 am

  22. unimax: It’s dropping at close of business today. No sense in showing it higher since people who open an account now will never get the higher rate.

    Comment by nickel — Feb 2nd 2009 @ 9:56 am

  23. Thanks for the info on E trade as I was considering them. With that kind of a rate drop I am taking them off the list. I am enrolling in Dollar Savings. I think I will also open IGO banking

    Comment by Mark — Feb 2nd 2009 @ 11:40 am

  24. Your wish is my command. Everbank is now included.

    Comment by nickel — Feb 2nd 2009 @ 4:31 pm

  25. When I logged into my ING savings account this morning; it appears that the rate has dropped again…to 2.2%.

    boo hoo :-(

    Comment by deedee — Feb 3rd 2009 @ 8:40 am

  26. Union Federal Savings Bank (www.unionfsb.com) is currently at 3.01%. Minimum to open an account is $1, I believe.

    Comment by Mike — Feb 3rd 2009 @ 10:38 am

  27. Liz and MITBeta — Looks like Everbank improved signficantly. They’re now four stars. That wasn’t the case in December 2008.

    Comment by Archangel — Feb 7th 2009 @ 10:42 am

  28. CNB Bank is still offering 3.2%. Any idea how they rank? Didn’t find any hidden clauses … cnbbankdirect.com

    Comment by Kris — Feb 11th 2009 @ 12:03 am

  29. Looks like ING has dropped again — down to 1.85%. Their rate dropping rate is faster than once per month. Much lower and I’m going to seriously start questioning the word “high” in “high interest rate savings account!!!” Time to find new places to put my money, I think…

    Comment by Dawn — Feb 19th 2009 @ 2:21 pm

  30. E*Trade dropped again too – now 2.15% Wonder if that’ll last?

    Even my favorite Century Bank Direct finally started dropping :(
    Savings: 2.74%
    Checking: 2.34%
    Money Market: 2.59%

    Comment by Jacqui — Feb 19th 2009 @ 2:27 pm

  31. I will recommend http://www.provident-direct.com again. I’ve been with them for almost 1 year now. They just recently dropped to 2.82% and were all the way at 4.75% last year around this time. The drops have been steady and they always seem to stay ahead by 0.5-1% of everyone else out there! FDIC insured.

    Comment by Matt — Feb 19th 2009 @ 3:06 pm

  32. Danversbank has an online 4 month CD with an APY of 3.30 and
    have a 4 star rating at bankrate.com. I’m on the West Coast and
    can’t find any rates over 2.75. Anyone have an account with Danvers?

    Comment by Stacey — Feb 22nd 2009 @ 1:32 am

  33. What about http://www.smartypig.com? Although marketed as a social networking/savings vehicle, it is FDIC insured (it’s the online component of West Bank in Iowa I believe)- but if you set a savings goal and have a monthly withdrawal, it looks like their rate is 3.5% and that’s not an intro rate!!!
    Any thoughts about this site???

    Comment by Regina — Mar 24th 2009 @ 9:49 am

  34. Regina: Too many strings for me. When I want a bank, I want a bank.

    Comment by Nickel — Mar 24th 2009 @ 9:51 am

  35. Nickel: Great area for online account feedback. Thx. I went through the smartypig.com site and don’t see the strings you refer to – pls. clarify.

    Comment by Graham — Apr 18th 2009 @ 2:07 am

  36. I have a smartypig account and the only “strings” i have found are that you can’t transfer money FROM your smartypig account unless you withdrawal everything, and they only pay interest quarterly. Oh well -small prices to pay for the high interest rate :)

    Comment by Micki — Apr 22nd 2009 @ 3:58 pm

  37. I’m using GMAC Bank online with 2.25%, still one of the best rates around. And even though some might shudder at GMAC, it is FDIC approved and as long as you don’t have more than $250K, you’re safe!

    I really find it very good – you can add a number of external accounts, transfer money to and from (outflow has a cap of 6[I think], but that is generally true for nearly all others), interest monthly, user friendly UI, just a dollar for opening.

    Comment by Kris — Apr 22nd 2009 @ 5:22 pm

  38. According to bankrate.com, EverBanks 3.01% rate is just a 3-month “teaser” rate — after which it resets to 1.64%…

    You should move Everbank down into the middle (I know you have the footnote, but still…)

    Comment by LOL — Jun 8th 2009 @ 2:07 pm

  39. American Express (www.americanexpress.com/startsaving) now offers a 1.85% APY high yield savings account.

    Comment by Tim — Sep 7th 2009 @ 9:34 pm

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