Posted by: Alina Comoreanu

Taking good care of your cash is essential to reaching top WalletFitness®. But with the Federal Reserve raising interest rates from historical lows and the stock market regularly reaching record highs, it’s fair to wonder where to put your money.

To help answer that question, WalletHub analyzed the rates, fees and features associated with more than 2,250 deposit accounts. This includes checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and CDs from banks and credit unions across the country. You can check out our findings below.

Hopefully, these banking industry trends and tidbits will help you make even better financial decisions moving forward. To that end, make sure to check out our editors’ picks for the best online checking accounts and best savings accounts, which have some of the highest rates and lowest fees around.

1. Q1 Main Findings
2. Checking Accounts by Account Type
3. Checking Accounts by Institution Type
4. Checking Accounts by Region
5. Checking Account Differences Over Time
6. Savings Accounts by Account Type
7. Savings Accounts by Institution Type
8. Savings Accounts by Region
9. Savings Accounts Differences Over Time
10. Methodology

 

Q1 Main Findings

RATES

• Banks and credit unions have been eager to increase credit card interest rates following the Fed’s latest rate hikes, but this has yet to translate into higher deposit account APYs.

Interest Rate Change by Account Type (Q3 2015 to Q1 2018)

 *The above graph reflects the average rate for new offers in each category, with the Federal Reserve’s target rate serving as a benchmark.  

• Savings account rates are up 2.05% compared to last quarter, while checking account rates are down by 1.31%. CD rates have risen 14.41%.
• Online-only personal savings accounts provide the market’s highest interest rates, offering 99% higher returns than the runner-up: personal checking accounts from credit unions. Such accounts yield 1.02% and 0.51%, respectively, on average.
• Traditional banks seem to be discouraging long-term saving by offering 110% higher yields on branch-based checking accounts than savings accounts.
• Online-only personal checking accounts yield 27% more than their branch-based counterparts. Branch-based accounts had higher APYs from Q3 2016 to Q3 2017.
• People in the Northeast and West continue to receive significantly lower banking returns than the rest of the country, earning an average of 66% less with checking accounts and 40% less with savings accounts. Consumers in the Southeast, for example, earn 436% higher checking-account rates and 189% higher savings-account rates than their counterparts in the West.

FEES AND FEATURES

• People looking to save on checking account fees should focus on offers from credit unions, which are an average of 28% cheaper than the next-best option: online checking accounts.
• Checking accounts from community banks are 46% less expensive than those from national banks and have 18% more features. Their interest rates are nearly 16 times higher on average, too.
• Checking accounts’ minimum balance requirements (for avoiding a monthly fee) and out-of-network ATM fee have increased by 4.29% and 3.89%, respectively, while online bill pay fee have decreased by 17.18% in the last year.
• The minimum initial deposit required to open a checking account dropped by more than 19% during Q1 2018. It is now ~$90.01.

TYPES OF ACCOUNTS

• Certificates of deposit still aren’t worth sacrificing your liquid flexibility. The average 2-year CD actually yields about the same (0.94%) as your run-of-the-mill online savings account (1.02%).

  Short-term CDs continue to improve, however. The yields on 1-year and 2-year CDs increased by 23.61% and 16.09%, respectively, during the first quarter.

• Business checking accounts are 65% more expensive than branch-based personal checking accounts and 219% more expensive than online-only personal checking accounts. Business checking accounts also provide 70% lower interest rates and 51% fewer features than personal online accounts.

  So small business owners should gravitate to personal banking options whenever possible – much like with credit cards.

• Student checking accounts, which have the lowest fees on the deposit market, are 71% less expensive than their general-consumer counterparts. But lower fees come at a cost, as the interest rates offered to students are 63% lower than those available to the general-consumer population.
• While inferior to online-only savings accounts, credit union checking accounts continue to offer the best interest rates among branch-based institutions, providing over 5.9X more value than regional banks and 36X more value than national banks.

 

Checking Accounts by Account Type

Average Fees on Checking Accounts by Account Type

 

	Personal-Online	Personal-Branch	Business-Branch	Student-Branch
Monthly Fee	$2.73	$6.71	$10.24	$0.27
Monthly Fee w/ Min Requirements to Waive Met	$0.35	$0.45	$1.65	$0.00
Min Balance to Avoid Monthly Fee	$1,201	$4,329	$5,985	$875
Out-of-Network Fees	$0.94	$1.45	$1.83	$1.39
Paper Statement Fee	$2.71	$1.27	$1.48	$1.78
Online Bill Pay	$0.14	$0.25	$1.08	$0.00
Minimum to Open	$163	$90	$163	$42
Overdraft Fee	$23	$33	$34	$33
Insufficient Funds Fee	$24	$32	$34	$33
WalletHub Checking Account Fee Index	$22	$43	$71	$13

 

Key Features on Checking Accounts by Account Type

 

	Personal-Online	Personal-Branch	Business-Branch	Student-Branch
% $0 Monthly Fee w/ No Min Requirements	67.35%	38.96%	33.19%	94.67%
% $0 Out-of-Network ATM Fee	60.42%	31.67%	17.51%	36.62%
% Reimburse ATM Fees	40.82%	18.34%	4.74%	20.00%
% $0 Paper Statement Fee	26.19%	52.30%	57.62%	36.07%
% $0 Overdraft/ NSF Fees	22.92%	1.41%	0.00%	1.37%
% $0 Minimum to Open	22.45%	13.87%	29.74%	12.00%
% $0 Online Bill Pay	95.92%	94.25%	81.59%	94.44%
% Interest Bearing*	39.58%	26.40%	8.19%	9.33%
% Offer Rewards	6.12%	7.16%	4.74%	10.67%
WalletHub Checking Account Features Index	49.28%	31.60%	24.02%	43.50%

*$1,000 balance

Average Interest Rate for Interest Bearing Checking Accounts by Account Type

 

	Personal-Online	Personal-Branch	Business -Branch	Student-Branch
$1,000 balance	0.43%	0.39%	0.14%	0.13%
$3,000 balance	0.41%	0.35%	0.12%	0.13%
$10,000 balance	0.45%	0.29%	0.12%	0.13%
$25,000 balance	0.46%	0.16%	0.25%	0.13%
$50,000 balance	0.49%	0.12%	0.23%	0.13%
WalletHub Checking Interest Index	0.43%	0.34%	0.13%	0.13%

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Checking Accounts by Institution Type

Average Fees on Checking Accounts by Institution Type

	Community	Small	Regional	National	Credit Union
Monthly Fee	$6.43	$6.88	$10.70	$14.96	$1.65
Monthly Fee w/ Min Requirements to Waive Met	$0.23	$0.39	$1.27	$0.57	$0.03
Min Balance to Avoid Monthly Fee	$2,630	$4,594	$5,188	$6,754	$8,000
Out-of-Network ATM Fees	$1.35	$1.76	$1.71	$2.04	$0.90
Paper Statement Fee	$2.53	$1.62	$1.01	$0.43	$0.32
Online Bill Pay	$0.81	$0.37	$0.16	$0.00	$0.02
Minimum to Open	$244	$92	$96	$34	$171
Overdraft Fee	$32	$34	$32	$33	$28
Insufficient Funds Fee	$32	$33	$31	$32	$27
WalletHub Checking Account Fee Index	$42	$45	$66	$77	$16

 

Key Features on Checking Accounts by Institution Type

	Community	Small	Regional	National	Credit Union
% $0 Monthly Fee w/ No Min Requirements	38.89%	30.30%	17.07%	0.00%	77.42%
% $0 Out-of-Network ATM Fee	29.73%	18.18%	31.71%	25.00%	38.71%
% Reimburse ATM Fees	8.11%	18.18%	14.63%	14.29%	22.58%
% $0 Paper Statement Fee	31.03%	34.48%	51.28%	75.00%	76.67%
% $0 Overdraft/ NSF Fees	0.00%	0.00%	2.44%	7.14%	0.00%
% $0 Minimum to Open	5.41%	15.15%	12.20%	25.00%	58.06%
% $0 Online Bill Pay	86.11%	93.75%	92.68%	100.00%	96.77%
% Interest Bearing*	32.43%	30.30%	29.27%	32.14%	51.61%
% Offer Rewards	10.81%	0.00%	4.88%	0.00%	12.90%
WalletHub Checking Account Features Index	28.20%	26.59%	25.90%	23.98%	48.35%

*$1,000 balance

Average Interest Rate for Interest Bearing Checking Accounts by Institution Type

	Community	Small	Regional	National	Credit Union
$1,000 balance	0.26%	0.07%	0.10%	0.01%	0.58%
$3,000 balance	0.22%	0.06%	0.09%	0.01%	0.54%
$10,000 balance	0.21%	0.07%	0.08%	0.01%	0.45%
$25,000 balance	0.11%	0.07%	0.05%	0.01%	0.32%
$50,000 balance	0.13%	0.07%	0.06%	0.02%	0.27%
WalletHub Checking Interest Index	0.22%	0.07%	0.09%	0.01%	0.51%

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Checking Accounts by Region

Average Fees on Checking Accounts by Region

	Midwest	West	Southwest	Southeast	Northeast
Monthly Fee	$6.03	$8.65	$8.06	$7.75	$10.29
Monthly Fee w/ Min Requirements to Waive Met	$0.00	$0.20	$0.62	$1.57	$0.21
Min Balance to Avoid Monthly Fee	$6,133	$3,787	$4,716	$5,413	$6,044
Out-of-Network ATM Fees	$1.70	$1.47	$1.52	$1.55	$1.49
Paper Statement Fee	$1.29	$1.00	$1.69	$1.10	$0.93
Online Bill Pay	$0.38	$0.00	$0.82	$0.17	$0.17
Minimum to Open	$108	$237	$172	$88	$30
Overdraft Fee	$32	$31	$29	$32	$35
Insufficient Funds Fee	$31	$31	$29	$32	$33
WalletHub Checking Account Fee Index	$37	$47	$51	$56	$56

 

Key Features on Checking Accounts by Region

	Midwest	West	Southwest	Southeast	Northeast
% $0 Monthly Fee w/ No Min Requirements	51.43%	23.68%	26.67%	29.73%	31.03%
% $0 Out-of-Network ATM Fee	22.86%	28.21%	23.33%	29.73%	41.38%
% Reimburse ATM Fees	14.29%	5.13%	16.67%	18.92%	24.14%
% $0 Paper Statement Fee	50.00%	59.46%	30.77%	65.63%	57.14%
% $0 Overdraft/ NSF Fees	3.03%	2.56%	3.33%	0.00%	0.00%
% $0 Minimum to Open	42.86%	12.82%	10.00%	13.51%	31.03%
% $0 Online Bill Pay	90.91%	100.00%	83.33%	94.59%	96.55%
% Interest Bearing*	34.29%	30.77%	43.33%	40.54%	24.14%
% Offer Rewards	5.71%	0.00%	10.00%	10.81%	3.45%
WalletHub Checking Account Features Index	34.60%	26.66%	27.02%	31.18%	32.61%

*$1,000 balance

Average Interest Rate for Interest Bearing Checking Accounts by Region

	Midwest	West	Southwest	Southeast	Northeast
$1,000 balance	0.37%	0.04%	0.35%	0.24%	0.18%
$3,000 balance	0.30%	0.04%	0.35%	0.24%	0.11%
$10,000 balance	0.31%	0.05%	0.17%	0.23%	0.17%
$25,000 balance	0.12%	0.06%	0.17%	0.11%	0.17%
$50,000 balance	0.13%	0.07%	0.11%	0.11%	0.17%
WalletHub Checking Interest Index	0.31%	0.04%	0.29%	0.23%	0.15%

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Checking Account Differences Over Time

Change in Average Fees on Checking Accounts Over Time*

 

 

 

	Q2 2017 (vs. last year)	Q3 2017 (vs. last year)	Q4 2017 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
Monthly Fee	$6.56(-4.23%)	$6.81(1.22%)	$6.73(1.12%)	$6.71(0.64%)	-0.19%
Monthly Fee w/ Min Requirements to Waive Met	$0.44(-2.62%)	$0.44(-2.49%)	$0.45(-4.40%)	$0.45(-4.42%)	-1.99%
Min Balance to Avoid Monthly Fee	$4,160(5.43%)	$4,360(7.50%)	$4,320(5.46%)	$4,329(4.29%)	0.19%
Out-of-Network ATM Fees	$1.40(0.85%)	$1.43(1.85%)	$1.46(3.18%)	$1.45(3.89%)	-0.35%
Paper Statement Fee	$1.17(12.02%)	$1.16(8.45%)	$1.17(1.77%)	$1.27(7.77%)	8.27%
Online Bill Pay	$0.29(1.65%)	$0.29(-2.87%)	$0.30(3.83%)	$0.25(-17.18%)	-17.59%
Minimum to Open	$120(-13.49%)	$107(-0.16%)	$101(-8.05%)	$90(-19.17%)	-10.45%
Overdraft Fee	$32.41(0.77%)	$32.46(0.60%)	$32.45(0.99%)	$32.73(0.88%)	0.88%
Insufficient Funds Fee	$32.14(1.06%)	$32.19(1.03%)	$32.16(0.94%)	$32.25(0.92%)	0.27%
WalletHub Checking Account Fee Index	$38.80(-2.64%)	$39.86(1.01%)	$39.64(1.32%)	$39.45(0.40%)	-0.49%

*Averages based on Personal Branch checking accounts

 Change in Average Fees on Checking Accounts Over Time by Institution and Region

	Q2 2017	Q3 2017	Q4 2017	Q1 2018	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
Best Institution	Credit Union($15.88)	Credit Union($15.91)	Credit Union($16.09)	Credit Union($16.09)	0.02%
Worst Institution	National($72.75)	National($77.18)	National($77.18)	National($77.18)	0.00%
Best vs. Worst Difference	-78.17%	-79.38%	-79.15%	-79.15%	-0.01%
Best Region	Midwest($36.41)	Midwest($37.25)	Midwest($37.30)	Midwest($37.39)	0.24%
Worst Region	NE($53.42)	SE($56.20)	SE($56.25)	SE($55.92)	-0.60%
Best vs. Worst Difference	-31.83%	-33.71%	-33.69%	-33.13%	-1.66%

 Change in Key Features on Checking Accounts Over Time*

 

 

	Q2 2017 (vs. last year)	Q3 2017 (vs. last year)	Q4 2017 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
% $0 Monthly Fee w/ No Min Requirements	39.82%(6.41%)	38.36%(0.15%)	38.43%(-1.48%)	38.96%(0.10%)	1.40%
% $0 Out-of-Network ATM Fee	32.02%(0.85%)	31.76%(1.74%)	31.34%(0.16%)	31.67%(-1.65%)	1.04%
% Reimburse ATM Fees	17.32%(-1.09%)	17.62%(0.54%)	17.94%(5.87%)	18.43%(6.47%)	2.73%
% $0 Paper Statement Fee	55.47%(-7.10%)	55.61%(-5.80%)	54.93%(-3.23%)	52.30%(-6.86%)	-4.79%
% $0 Overdraft/ NSF Fees	1.36%(N/A)	1.38%(N/A)	1.64%(N/A)	1.41%(N/A)	N/A*
% $0 Minimum to Open	16.19%(-4.21%)	15.20%(-11.19%)	14.54%(-8.60%)	13.87%(-13.45%)	-4.62%
% $0 Online Bill Pay	93.56%(-0.28%)	93.93%(0.90%)	93.84%(0.58%)	94.25%(1.05%)	0.44%
% Interest Bearing**	25.16%(-4.22%)	25.99%(4.18%)	25.95%(2.95%)	26.40%(2.10%)	1.72%
% Offer Rewards	6.56%(N/A)	7.05%(N/A)	6.49%(N/A)	7.16%(N/A)	10.34%
WalletHub Checking Account Features Index	31.76%(-0.19%)	31.51%(-0.36%)	31.45%(-0.51%)	31.62%(-0.30%)	0.53%

*N/A designates a small sample size, whereby a single issuer’s policies could lead to significant statistical changes. *Averages based on Personal Branch checking accounts **$1,000 balance

 Change in Key Features on Checking Accounts Over Time by Institution and Region

	Q2 2017	Q3 2017	Q4 2017	Q1 2018	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
Best Institution	Credit Union(48.04%)	Credit Union(48.20%)	Credit Union(48.04%)	Credit Union(48.35%)	0.64%
Worst Institution	National(23.81%)	National(23.98%)	National(23.98%)	National(23.98%)	0.00%
Best vs. Worst Difference	101.78%	100.99%	100.35%	101.64%	1.28%
Best Region	Midwest(35.10%)	Midwest(34.65%)	Midwest(34.79%)	Midwest(34.60%)	-0.53%
Worst Region	West(26.58%)	West(26.65%)	SW(27.18%)	West(26.66%)	-1.90%
Best vs. Worst Difference	32.07%	29.99%	27.98%	29.77%	6.38%

 Change in Interest Rate for Interest Bearing Checking Accounts Over Time

 

 

	Q2 2017 (vs. last year)	Q3 2017 (vs. last year)	Q4 2017 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
$1,000 balance	0.46%(25.43%)	0.46%(10.27%)	0.40%(-3.73%)	0.39%(-7.44%)	-1.27%
$3,000 balance	0.43%(26.29%)	0.42%(8.18%)	0.36%(-7.04%)	0.35%(-11.14%)	-1.16%
$10,000 balance	0.32%(16.28%)	0.31%(7.08%)	0.29%(0.68%)	0.29%(-0.56%)	-1.22%
$25,000 balance	0.20%(-12.07%)	0.19%(-0.32%)	0.17%(-15.02%)	0.16%(-14.84%)	-2.13%
$50,000 balance	0.16%(-21.36%)	0.16%(-0.21%)	0.14%(-13.12%)	0.12%(-27.40%)	-14.70%
WalletHub Checking Interest Index	0.40%(22.50%)	0.39%(8.30%)	0.34%(-4.70%)	0.34%(-8.13%)	-1.31%

 Change in Interest Rate for Interest Bearing Checking Accounts Over Time by Institution and Region

	Q2 2017	Q3 2017	Q4 2017	Q1 2018	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
Best Institution	Credit Union(0.53%)	Credit Union(0.53%)	Credit Union(0.51%)	Credit Union(0.51%)	0.34%
Worst Institution	National(0.04%)	National(0.01%)	National(0.01%)	National(0.01%)	0.00%
Best vs. Worst Difference	1373.77%	3683.98%	3521.11%	3533.34%	0.35%
Best Region	SE(0.39%)	SW(0.33%)	Midwest(0.31%)	Midwest(0.31%)	0.25%
Worst Region	West(0.05%)	West(0.04%)	West(0.04%)	West(0.04%)	-1.99%
Best vs. Worst Difference	703.85%	647.12%	604.50%	620.61%	2.66%

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Savings Accounts by Account Type

Average Interest Rate for Savings Accounts by Account Type

 

	Personal-Online	Personal-Branch	Business-Branch	Student-Branch
$1,000 balance	1.00%	0.14%	0.16%	0.31%
$3,000 balance	1.01%	0.16%	0.17%	0.27%
$10,000 balance	1.03%	0.17%	0.19%	0.27%
$25,000 balance	1.06%	0.19%	0.19%	0.27%
$50,000 balance	1.06%	0.20%	0.21%	0.27%
WalletHub Savings Interest Index	1.02%	0.16%	0.18%	0.28%

 Average Interest Rate for CDs by Account Type

	Personal-Branch	Business-Branch	Student-Branch
3-Mo CD	0.28%	0.19%	N/A
6-Mo CD	0.42%	0.29%	N/A
1-Yr CD	0.72%	0.51%	1.21%
2-Yr CD	0.94%	0.70%	N/A
3-Yr CD	1.14%	0.91%	N/A
5-Yr CD	1.51%	1.21%	1.18%

 Minimum to Open Requirements for Savings Accounts by Account Type

	Personal-Online	Personal-Branch	Business-Branch	Student-Branch
Average Minimum to Open Savings/ MMA	$1,362	$973	$2,259	$30
% $0 Min to Open Savings/ MMA	32.65%	10.19%	8.62%	16.67%
Average Minimum to Open CD	$1,007	$1,173	$2,056	$866
% $0 Min to Open CD	10.81%	0.64%	0.00%	0.00%

 Monthly Fees on Savings Accounts by Account Type

	Personal-Online	Personal-Branch	Business-Branch	Student-Branch
Average Monthly Fee	$1.69	$5.33	$7.63	$0.00
Average Minimum Balance to Avoid Monthly Fee	$1,040	$2,064	$2,779	N/A
% $0 Monthly Fee	73.47%	27.24%	10.34%	100.00%
Average Monthly Fee with Minimum Requirements to Waive Met	$0.00	$0.02	$0.00	$0.00

 Access to Funds Savings Account by Account Type

	Personal-Online	Personal-Branch	Business-Branch	Student-Branch
% with $0 Fee for Withdrawals	97.96%	92.88%	93.10%	97.14%
Ability to Write Checks	26.53%	25.00%	36.21%	0.00%
Offer ATM Card	51.02%	59.88%	48.28%	44.44%

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Savings Accounts by Institution Type

Average Interest Rate for Savings Accounts by Institution Type

	Community	Small	Regional	National	Credit Union
$1,000 balance	0.12%	0.07%	0.08%	0.02%	0.30%
$3,000 balance	0.12%	0.07%	0.08%	0.02%	0.35%
$10,000 balance	0.13%	0.08%	0.09%	0.04%	0.37%
$25,000 balance	0.13%	0.10%	0.14%	0.05%	0.40%
$50,000 balance	0.15%	0.11%	0.15%	0.07%	0.43%
WalletHub Savings Interest Index	0.12%	0.07%	0.09%	0.03%	0.35%

 Average Interest Rate for CD's by Institution Type

	Community	Small	Regional	National	Credit Union
3-Mo CD	0.32%	0.15%	0.10%	0.04%	0.47%
6-Mo CD	0.44%	0.26%	0.21%	0.10%	0.67%
1-Yr CD	0.74%	0.46%	0.47%	0.43%	1.23%
2-Yr CD	1.15%	0.63%	0.48%	0.55%	1.40%
3-Yr CD	1.31%	0.88%	0.74%	0.77%	1.67%
5-Yr CD	1.66%	1.14%	1.08%	1.03%	2.19%

 Minimum to Open Requirements for Savings Accounts by Institution Type

	Community	Small	Regional	National	Credit Union
Average Minimum to Open Savings/ MMA	$346	$1,067	$1,462	$713	$613
% $0 Min to Open Savings/ MMA	7.14%	8.33%	2.44%	26.67%	14.58%
Average Minimum to Open CD	$1,038	$3,985	$1,314	$908	$778
% $0 Min to Open CD	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	13.16%	0.00%

 Monthly Fees on Savings Accounts by Institution Type

	Community	Small	Regional	National	Credit Union
Average Monthly Fee	$5.51	$6.75	$6.65	$8.63	$1.44
Average Minimum Balance to Avoid Monthly Fee	$1,138	$2,705	$3,487	$4,036	$852
% $0 Monthly Fee	10.71%	8.33%	17.07%	6.67%	77.08%
Average Monthly Fee with Minimum Requirements to Waive Met	$0.18	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

 Access to Funds Savings Accounts by Institution Type

	Community	Small	Regional	National	Credit Union
% with $0 Fee for Withdrawals	92.86%	88.89%	90.24%	100.00%	93.75%
Ability to Write Checks	17.86%	22.22%	41.46%	26.67%	20.83%
Offer ATM Card	57.14%	58.33%	82.93%	86.67%	47.92%

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Savings Accounts by Region

Average Interest Rate for Savings Accounts by Region

	Midwest	West	Southwest	Southeast	Northeast
$1,000 balance	0.14%	0.07%	0.15%	0.24%	0.11%
$3,000 balance	0.15%	0.08%	0.17%	0.25%	0.15%
$10,000 balance	0.17%	0.10%	0.18%	0.25%	0.16%
$25,000 balance	0.22%	0.12%	0.20%	0.24%	0.21%
$50,000 balance	0.23%	0.14%	0.22%	0.25%	0.23%
WalletHub Savings Interest Index	0.15%	0.09%	0.17%	0.25%	0.14%

 Average Interest Rate for CDs by Region

	Midwest	West	Southwest	Southeast	Northeast
3-Mo CD	0.15%	0.29%	0.23%	0.28%	0.43%
6-Mo CD	0.25%	0.41%	0.43%	0.46%	0.55%
1-Yr CD	0.62%	0.69%	0.81%	0.69%	1.24%
2-Yr CD	0.78%	0.98%	1.06%	0.88%	1.14%
3-Yr CD	1.04%	1.14%	1.29%	1.07%	1.48%
5-Yr CD	1.56%	1.56%	1.59%	1.52%	1.72%

 Minimum to Open Requirements for Savings Accounts by Region

	Midwest	West	Southwest	Southeast	Northeast
Average Minimum to Open Savings/ MMA	$1,234	$751	$364	$975	$998
% $0 Min to Open Savings/ MMA	17.14%	3.33%	3.23%	3.13%	20.00%
Average Minimum to Open CD	$729	$1,056	$2,165	$1,712	$746
% $0 Min to Open CD	0.00%	0.00%	5.49%	0.00%	0.00%

 Monthly Fees on Savings Accounts by Region

	Midwest	West	Southwest	Southeast	Northeast
Average Monthly Fee	$6.46	$3.87	$6.48	$4.93	$4.19
Average Minimum Balance to Avoid Monthly Fee	$3,469	$1,929	$2,304	$1,991	$3,075
% $0 Monthly Fee	28.57%	40.00%	16.13%	25.00%	40.00%
Average Monthly Fee with Minimum Requirements to Waive Met	$0.00	$0.17	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

 Access to Funds for Savings Accounts by Region

	Midwest	West	Southwest	Southeast	Northeast
% with $0 Fee for Withdrawals	94.29%	100.00%	83.87%	87.50%	95.00%
Ability to Write Checks	28.57%	20.00%	29.03%	28.13%	25.00%
Offer ATM Card	71.43%	66.67%	58.06%	59.38%	62.50%

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Savings Accounts Differences Over Time

Change in Interest Rate for Savings Accounts Over Time

 

 

	Q2 2017 (vs. last year)	Q3 2017 (vs. last year)	Q4 2017 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2018
$1,000 balance	0.12%(4.28%)	0.12%(5.51%)	0.14%(22.27%)	0.14%(17.83%)	2.44%
$3,000 balance	0.13%(-0.10%)	0.13%(1.67%)	0.15%(24.64%)	0.16%(19.33%)	1.93%
$10,000 balance	0.15%(6.27%)	0.15%(11.51%)	0.17%(20.38%)	0.17%(15.44%)	1.93%
$25,000 balance	0.16%(2.20%)	0.17%(4.06%)	0.19%(20.30%)	0.19%(16.77%)	2.06%
$50,000 balance	0.17%(5.16%)	0.17%(4.16%)	0.19%(18.94%)	0.20%(14.85%)	2.12%
WalletHub Savings Interest Index	0.14%(2.77%)	0.14%(5.32%)	0.16%(22.63%)	0.16%(17.70%)	2.05%

 Change in Interest Rate for Savings Accounts Over Time by Institution and Region

	Q2 2017	Q3 2017	Q4 2017	Q1 2018	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
Best Institution	Credit Union(0.27%)	Credit Union(0.28%)	Credit Union(0.35%)	Credit Union(0.35%)	-0.21%
Worst Institution	National(0.03%)	National(0.03%)	National(0.03%)	National(0.03%)	4.31%
Best vs. Worst Difference	700.24%	898.80%	1128.55%	1075.31%	-4.72%
Best Region	SE(0.22%)	SE(0.22%)	SE(0.23%)	SE(0.25%)	7.96%
Worst Region	West(0.08%)	West(0.07%)	West(0.08%)	West(0.09%)	5.18%
Best vs. Worst Difference	172.31%	212.70%	181.18%	188.60%	4.10%

 Change in Interest Rate CD's Over Time

 

	Q2 2017 (vs. last year)	Q3 2017 (vs. last year)	Q4 2017 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
3-Mo CD	0.19%(23.70%)	0.21%(31.73%)	0.22%(27.84%)	0.28%(54.55%)	29.34%
6-Mo CD	0.30%(24.92%)	0.34%(44.36%)	0.35%(40.29%)	0.42%(55.79%)	20.33%
1-Yr CD	0.49%(25.71%)	0.55%(40.98%)	0.58%(40.28%)	0.72%(59.63%)	23.61%
2-Yr CD	0.73%(17.68%)	0.77%(25.42%)	0.81%(25.80%)	0.94%(37.57%)	16.09%
3-Yr CD	0.95%(11.10%)	0.99%(18.39%)	1.04%(18.08%)	1.14%(25.49%)	9.92%
5-Yr CD	1.33%(4.81%)	1.37%(12.16%)	1.39%(9.87%)	1.51%(16.80%)	9.07%

 Change in Minimum to Open Requirements for Savings Accounts Over Time

 

	Q2 2017 (vs. last year)	Q3 2017 (vs. last year)	Q4 2017 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
Average Minimum to Open Savings/ MMA	$1,058(10.74%)	$1,009(-0.47%)	$987(-3.42%)	$973(0.07%)	-1.44%
% $0 Min to Open Savings/ MMA	11.35%(0.65%)	10.25%(-4.63%)	9.85%(-7.28%)	10.19%(-7.51%)	3.44%
Average Minimum to Open CD	$1,194(19.81%)	$1,206(21.47%)	$1,199(16.53%)	$1,173(-0.23%)	-2.17%
% $0 Min to Open CD	0.64%(N/A*)	0.66%(N/A*)	0.64%(N/A*)	0.64%(N/A*)	0.00%

 Change in Monthly Fees on Savings Accounts Over Time

 

	Q2 2017 (vs. last year)	Q3 2017 (vs. last year)	Q4 2017 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
Average Monthly Fee	$5.30(0.89%)	$5.37(0.05%)	$5.36(2.44%)	$5.33(1.11%)	-0.50%
Average Minimum Balance to Avoid Monthly Fee	$2,138(8.09%)	$2,160(1.58%)	$2,099(4.56%)	$2,064(3.81%)	-1.64%
% $0 Monthly Fee	29.01%(8.31%)	28.35%(5.21%)	27.47%(-0.17%)	27.24%(-2.90%)	-0.82%
Average Monthly Fee with Minimum Requirements to Waive Met	$0.02(N/A)	$0.02(N/A)	$0.02(N/A)	$0.02(N/A)	0.31%

 Change in Access to Funds in Savings Accounts Over Time

	Q2 2017 (vs. last year)	Q3 2017 (vs. last year)	Q4 2017 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 (vs. last year)	Q1 2018 vs. Q4 2017
% with $0 Fee for Withdrawals	91.64%(1.08%)	92.19%(2.78%)	92.57%(1.98%)	92.88%(1.74%)	0.33%
Ability to Write Checks	26.38%(N/A)	26.09%(N/A)	25.23%(N/A)	25.00%(N/A)	-0.91%
Offer ATM Card	60.12%(-6.63%)	60.25%(-2.50%)	59.08%(-4.18%)	59.88%(-0.89%)	1.35%

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Methodology

Information for this report was collected from the websites and online fee schedules of each institution. In some cases, we were unable to locate individual fees or features associated with specific accounts. In those instances, we reported the averages of those institutions with valid data. However, we did not report any finding with fewer than 30 valid data points for the account type analysis or 10 valid data points for the institution size and regional analysis.

For the portions of the analysis that present findings by account type and compare a change in fees, features and rates over time, we reviewed over 700 checking accounts and over 1300 savings, MMA and CD accounts.

In order for the comparison to be consistent, the portion of our analysis that presents findings by institution type and by region reports averages for personal checking and savings accounts from 110 financial institutions including 25 community banks ($10B in total deposit volume), 25 regional banks (≤$10B – $100B in total deposit volume), 10 National Banks (those with National footprint), and 25 credit unions. Each institution-type category, excluding National Banks, is weighted by region and thus includes five institutions from each region of the US (Midwest, West, Southwest, Southeast, Northeast). The regional designation for each institution type, excluding National Banks, was chosen based on the state where each institution is headquartered. Because National banks have, by definition, a footprint that reaches across multiple portions of the US, they were excluded from our regional analysis.

Although we chose the institutions for our sample of each institution type and regional category at random, some results may be skewed by selection bias due to the small number of institutions in each category.

WalletHub Index Weights: The WalletHub Fee index includes the following common fees associated with checking accounts, multiplied by the estimated number of times an average consumer might be expected to incur each fee on an annual basis (weight). The total annual fee is then divided by 12 to achieve an estimate of the monthly checking account fees incurred by the average person.

Checking Account Fees	Fee Index Weight
Monthly Fee	4
Monthly Fee w/ Min Requirements to Waive Met	8
Out-of-Network ATM Fees	2
Online Bill Pay Fee	3.9
Overdraft Fee	3.2

The WalletHub Fee Index is intended to enable the comparison of checking account costs across various segments of the banking industry. Obviously monthly checking account fees are different for each customer, depending upon banking preferences and usage habits. Consumers should therefore consider their own banking patterns when shopping for an account.

The WalletHub Features Index includes the following features and their respective weights. Weights were chosen based on the relative value of each feature to the average consumer. For instance, most people would prioritize a $0 monthly fee over the availability of paper statements. Therefore, the “% $0 Monthly Fee w/ No Min Requirements” is given a weight of five, while the “% $0 Paper Statement Fee” is given a weight of 1.

Checking Account Features	Features Index Weight
% $0 Monthly Fee w/ No Min Requirements	5
% $0 Out-of-Network ATM Fee	3
% Reimburse ATM Fees	3
% $0 Paper Statement Fee	1
% $0 Overdraft/ NSF Fees	3
% $0 Minimum to Open	1
% $0 Online Bill Pay Fee	2
% Interest Bearing	2
% Offer Rewards	1

The WalletHub Checking and Savings Interest Index include the following weights, adjusted to account for the average savings account balance of $5,923, as reported by Pitney Bowes in 2012. We included interest rates for both checking accounts and savings accounts, as they are highly competitive in today’s market.

Checking and Savings Account Interest	Interest Index Weight
$1,000 balance	3.5
$3,000 balance	7
$10,000 balance	4
$25,000 balance	0.5
$50,000 balance	0.25

Historical Raw Data Full data sets are available to educators and members of the press upon request.

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