Best Banks and Credit Unions September 2019

At NerdWallet, we strive to help you make financial decisions with confidence. To do this, many or all of the products featured here are from our partners. However, this doesn’t influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own.

The best bank or credit union for you depends on what you’re in the market for: a savings account, a checking account, or both.

NerdWallet spent more than 200 hours comparing and rating dozens of financial institutions to identify those with the best deposit accounts. Skip ahead to our top picks.

Top Overall Banks: Three financial institutions earned spots in both our best checking and best savings accounts lists. If you want to keep your checking and savings accounts at the same bank, go with one of these options.

Our list includes a credit union. Generally speaking, credit unions emphasize customer service more than banks do and pay higher interest rates — although online accounts, like the ones on this list, tend to pay great rates, too. Read our article for more on credit unions vs. banks.

Top Savings Accounts: If you’d like to split your accounts between different banks, consider one of these savings accounts. They have annual percentage yields above 2% — much higher than the national average of 0.09%. This is important because people typically use savings accounts to set money aside for goals, such as a trip or a down payment on a house. Your savings will grow faster with one of these accounts. Read more in our article about savings accounts.

Top Checking Accounts: If you’re more interested in checking accounts, these banks offer perks, such as interest or ATM fee reimbursements. And, crucially, they have large ATM networks and don’t charge monthly fees. Since checking accounts hold most people’s daily spending money, they should be easy to access and cheap to maintain. Read more in our article about checking accounts.

+ See a summary of NerdWallet's best banks and credit unions

Best banks and credit unions:

• Best overall, best for customer service: Ally Bank
• Best overall, best for cash-back rewards: Discover Bank
• Best overall, best for ATM availability: Alliant Credit Union
• Best for savings, 2.20% APY: HSBC
• Best for savings, 2.00% APY: Marcus by Goldman Sachs
• Best for savings, 2.00% APY: Barclays
• Best for checking, flexible overdraft options: Capital One 360
• Best for checking, interest, worldwide ATM reimbursements: Charles Schwab Bank

Top Overall Banks

Learn More

at Discover,

Member, FDIC

Discover Bank

4.5

NerdWallet rating

• Over 60,000 free ATMs, cash-back rewards
• 2.00% savings APY
• Read more in our Discover review

Read Review

Ally Bank

4.5

NerdWallet rating

• • Over 43,000 ATMs, strong customer service
  • 1.90% savings APY
  • Read more in our Ally review

Read Review

Alliant Credit Union

4.5

NerdWallet rating

• Over 80,000 free ATMs, interest checking available
• 2.10% savings APY
• Read more in our Alliant review

» Looking for more excellent savings options? Browse our best savings accounts

Top Checking Accounts

Read Review

Capital One 360

4.5

NerdWallet rating

• Flexible overdraft options, APYs starting at 0.20%
• Read more in our Capital One 360 review

Read Review

Charles Schwab Bank

4.0

NerdWallet rating

• Unlimited ATM reimbursements worldwide, 0.31% APY
• Read more in our Charles Schwab review

 

» For more checking options, take a look at our best checking accounts

Best Banks and Credit Unions August 2019

At NerdWallet, we strive to help you make financial decisions with confidence. To do this, many or all of the products featured here are from our partners. However, this doesn’t influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own.

The best bank or credit union for you depends on what you’re in the market for: a savings account, a checking account, or both.

NerdWallet spent more than 200 hours comparing and rating dozens of financial institutions to identify those with the best deposit accounts. Skip ahead to our top picks.

Top Overall Banks: Three financial institutions earned spots in both our best checking and best savings accounts lists. If you want to keep your checking and savings accounts at the same bank, go with one of these options.

Our list includes a credit union. Generally speaking, credit unions emphasize customer service more than banks do and pay higher interest rates — although online accounts, like the ones on this list, tend to pay great rates, too. Read our article for more on credit unions vs. banks.

Top Savings Accounts: If you’d like to split your accounts between different banks, consider one of these savings accounts. They have annual percentage yields above 2% — much higher than the national average of 0.09%. This is important because people typically use savings accounts to set money aside for goals, such as a trip or a down payment on a house. Your savings will grow faster with one of these accounts. Read more in our article about savings accounts.

Top Checking Accounts: If you’re more interested in checking accounts, these banks offer perks, such as interest or ATM fee reimbursements. And, crucially, they have large ATM networks and don’t charge monthly fees. Since checking accounts hold most people’s daily spending money, they should be easy to access and cheap to maintain. Read more in our article about checking accounts.

+ See a summary of NerdWallet's best banks and credit unions

Best banks and credit unions:

• Best overall, best for customer service: Ally Bank
• Best overall, best for cash-back rewards: Discover Bank
• Best overall, best for ATM availability: Alliant Credit Union
• Best for savings, 2.30% APY: HSBC
• Best for savings, 2.15% APY: Marcus by Goldman Sachs
• Best for savings, 2.10% APY: Barclays
• Best for checking, flexible overdraft options: Capital One 360
• Best for checking, interest: Fidelity
• Best for checking, interest, worldwide ATM reimbursements: Charles Schwab Bank

Top Overall Banks

Learn More

at Discover,

Member, FDIC

Discover Bank

4.5

NerdWallet rating

• Over 60,000 free ATMs, cash-back rewards
• 2.00% savings APY
• Read more in our Discover review

Read Review

Ally Bank

4.5

NerdWallet rating

• • Over 43,000 ATMs, strong customer service
  • 2.10% savings APY
  • Read more in our Ally review

Read Review

Alliant Credit Union

4.5

NerdWallet rating

• Over 80,000 free ATMs, interest checking available
• 2.10% savings APY
• Read more in our Alliant review

» Looking for more excellent savings options? Browse our best savings accounts

 

» For more checking options, take a look at our best checking accounts

Consumer Satisfaction Higher at Digital-Only Banks

Photo: Shutterstock.

Digital-only banks are beating credit unions, community banks and traditional banks in customer satisfaction, new data from FIS showed.

According to the survey of 1,749 U.S. consumers, 63% of customers at so-called direct-to-consumer banks, which are typically digital-only financial institutions, said they were “extremely satisfied,” compared to 52% of credit union members, 38% of community bank customers, 27% of regional bank customers and 19% of top 50 global bank customers.

Widening the satisfaction measures showed that digital-only FIs are running neck-and-neck with credit unions, however. According to the survey, 90% of customers at digital-only banks and 90% of credit union members said they were “extremely satisfied” or “very satisfied.” That compared to 84% at community banks, 73% at regional banks and 66% of customers at top 50 global banks.

The survey also found that almost three-quarters (73%) of consumer banking interactions were done via mobile or online, reflecting the growing importance of digital ease of use for consumers.

“While security and trustworthiness continue to be critical attributes, more consumers are choosing their banking providers on the basis of a convenient, frictionless digital experience,” FIS co-COO Bruce Lowthers said. “For banks and credit unions of all sizes, these survey results reinforce the importance of modernizing every touch point of their customer journeys.”

Millennials were particularly interested in digital self-service, the study found. In fact, only 45% of the millennials said they trusted banks more than fintech companies.

“Millennials’ satisfaction with community banks dropped by nearly half from 2018 levels, indicating that these institutions are not meeting the digital needs of younger generations,” the report said.

That could have a significant influence on member attraction and retention, FIS noted.

“When it comes to winning over the youngest of viable banking customers, those between 18 and 26 in age, it’s all about who you know,” it said. “Young millennials are especially appreciative of peer and family recommendations and rarely shop around for banking services. Banks and credit unions have a clear opportunity to use their existing relationships with parents, siblings, and friends, who can usher young customers into new bank accounts with a trusted institution.”

FIS also found that:

• 75% of young millennials were referred to their primary bank.
• 19% of young millennials used credit unions; 39% used the top 50 global banks, 23% used regional banks and 9% used community banks.
• Senior millennials (age 27-37) checked their account balances via mobile 11.02 times per month.
• 71% of senior millennials chose a nonbanking provider because online and mobile use was easy.
• 51% of Gen Xers used a non-bank P2P app in the last 12 months, and 25% used mobile wallets.
• 49% of baby boomers used mobile banking channels in the last 30 days.