There are many reasons why savings is advised as the most essential part of your monthly budgeting plan. Being financially secure and preparing a safety net for emergency situations is one of those main factors. According to recent surveys, more than 60% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings account, and only 29% have over $1,000 put aside for savings. The data reflects the majority of people with a “why bother” attitude towards savings accounts and point out low interest rate as the reason when it comes to having a savings account.
It's not a secret that savings account rates are historically low. Still there are signs that things have started to take a turn; online savings accounts offer higher interest rate than their brick and mortar counterparts. With the good news that some of them have recently increased their rates, here's a list of the best savings account options in 2017.
Pure Point Financial It's a division of MUFG Union Bank, N.A, leading in savings rates for a national bank as it currently offers an online rate of 1.25% APY. But it requires a minimum deposit of $10,000 for opening a savings account with no monthly fees included.
Synchrony Its online high yield savings account rate has recently increased from 1.05% to 1.15%. It's not a big bump but it is better than nothing. The insured accounts of FDIC don’t have any minimum monthly balance requirement or service fee. You are free to withdraw money online or from ATM with standard rates regardless of your deposit amount.
Barclays Barclay’s online savings account rate was 1.00% which has taken a leap to 1.15% recently. This also doesn’t require any minimum opening balance or minimum monthly deposit. Going for a dream account with Barclays is also a good deal. It offers you 2.5% on earned bonus if you are consistently depositing $1,000 a month for 6 months. You can cash in another bonus of 2.5% if you haven't made any withdrawal for next 6 months.
Ally It's been a popular option for online savings account from a long time. With an increment in interest rates from 1.05% to 1.15%, remote check deposit option, no additional monthly fees and daily interest compounding, Ally seems to be one of the best options for you to start your saving account.
CIT In May, this online saving account announced the increase in its interest with 1.15% APY. It’s predicted that it'll be increasing in the near future. This also offers to open and maintain account with zero fees, and it compounds interest on daily basis for some increase in total savings.
GS Bank Goldman Sachs online bank is a newcomer in the online banking that emerged last April. In early June, it increased its interest rate on savings accounts from 1.05% to 1.20% which put this bank as the head of the pack for online interest rates. It also offers daily compounded interest, no transaction fees and no minimum deposit.
Discover Bank At the start of this year, this bank was offering .95% interest rate on savings account which has now moved up to 1.10%. This account doesn’t require any minimum deposit, offers daily compounded interest which is paid monthly. You can transfer money easily between discover accounts or any other account.
As these banks have increased their rates this year, another serious hike would likely take some more time. It'll require a certain time before we get back to those 5% APYs we used to see decades ago. It's the best time for you to take the advantage of higher interest rates.
