November 17, 2024

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10 best money market accounts for August 2024: Rates up to 5.30% #CashNews.co

10 best money market accounts for August 2024: Rates up to 5.30% #CashNews.co

Cash News

Money market accounts are a type of deposit account that typically offer high interest rates on your savings, along with the accessibility a checking account provides, such as a debit card and/or check writing capabilities.

If you’re looking to open a money market account, it’s important to choose the right one for your needs. Our team evaluated approximately 20 money market accounts offered by federally insured banks and credit unions and narrowed down the top 10 best options available today.

Our top 10 picks for the best money market accounts:

  1. EverBank Performance Money Market Account: 4.05% APY

  2. Ally Money Market Account: 4.20% APY

  3. Sallie Mae Online Money Market Account: 4.65% APY

  4. Discover Money Market Account: 4.00% APY

  5. UFB Direct Portfolio Money Market Account: 5.15% APY

  6. Zynlo Money Market Account: 5.00% APY

  7. Synchrony Bank Money Market Account: 2.25% APY

  8. VIO Cornerstone Money Market Savings Account: 5.30% APY

  9. First Foundation Bank Online Money Market Account: 4.90% APY

  10. Prime Alliance Bank Personal Money Market Account: 4.50% APY

Interest rates, fees, and requirements are accurate as of the publish date. Please verify account details directly with the financial institution.

Account details:

EverBank’s Performance Money Market Account is free to open with no monthly fees and 4.30% APY (that’s more than six times the national average rate for a money market account). Interest compounds daily. This account also comes with a debit card and checks and offers ATM fee reimbursement.

Account details:

Ally prides itself on its no-fee model, and its money market account is no exception. This account boasts 4.20% APY, and doesn’t come with any minimum balance requirements or monthly fees. Interest is compounded daily. Customers can also write checks and access funds with a debit card via more than 43,000 free ATMs via the Allpoint network. While there is no minimum to get started, this account must be funded within 30 days of opening.

Read our full review of Ally Bank

Account details:

Sallie Mae is often recognized as a major student loan provider, but it also offers consumer banking products. Its money market account currently offers 4.65% APY on all balances with no minimum balance requirement or monthly fees. Interest on this account is compounded daily and credited monthly. This account also allows customers to write checks and transfer money for free.

Account details:

Discover Bank’s Money Market Account currently offers 4.00% APY for balances under $100,000 and 4.05% APY for balances of $100,000 and over. There’s no minimum opening deposit required and no monthly fees. Additionally, this account offers easy access to your funds via checks, a debit card, and ATM access.

Read our full review of Discover Bank

Account details:

  • Minimum opening deposit: $0

  • Monthly fees: $10 per month, can be waived with a minimum balance of $5,000

UFB Direct’s Portfolio Money Market Account offers one of the highest money market rates on our list at 5.15% APY, nearly eight times the national average. There’s no minimum opening deposit required. However, there is a monthly fee of $10 unless you maintain a minimum balance of $5,000 in your account. This account also comes with a debit card and check-writing privileges. Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.

Read our full review of UFB Direct

Account details:

Zynlo’s Money Market Account offers 5.00% APY on balances under $250,000 with daily compounding interest. Balances greater than $250,000 earn 0.10% APY. There are no monthly fees associated with this account. However, there is a minimum opening deposit of $10 required, and you must maintain at least $0.01 in your account to continue earning interest on your balance. This account does not come with a debit card or access to checks.

Account details:

Synchrony’s money market account has one of the lower interest rates on our list at 2.25% APY, but it does offer a zero-cost account option for savers who don’t want to pay fees or come up with a large opening deposit. There is also no minimum balance requirement to keep this account open or earn interest. This account comes with checks upon request and an optional ATM card. Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.

Read our full review of Synchrony Bank

Account details:

  • Minimum opening deposit: $100

  • Monthly fees: $5 if you receive paper statements, $0 otherwise

VIO Bank’s Cornerstone Money Market Savings Account offers the highest money market rate on our list at 5.30% APY. The trade-off is that this account requires a minimum opening deposit of $100 and a $5 monthly fee (which can be waived by opting into e-statements). Interest on this account is compounded daily. It does not come with paper checks or a debit card.

Account details:

First Foundation Bank’s Online Money Market Account currently offers 4.90% APY, more than seven times the national average. This account does have one of the highest minimum opening deposits on our list at $1,000, so it may not be the most practical option for those new to saving. A minimum balance of $0.01 is required to obtain the disclosed APY. There are no monthly maintenance fees, and you can request a debit card and/or checks for easier access to your funds.

Account details:

Prime Alliance Bank’s Personal Money Market Account took the final spot on our list with a 4.50% APY and no minimum opening deposit or monthly fees. The downside is that this account does not come with a debit card or checks. It does, however, allow for unlimited deposits and up to six transfers per month. Interest on this account is compounded monthly.

Money market accounts can be a good place to hold your savings, but they function differently than a traditional savings account. Here’s what you need to know about money market accounts before opening one.

Money market accounts help you achieve your short-term savings goals faster due to a higher annual percentage yield (APY) than regular savings or checking accounts. Plus, this type of account provides easy access to your funds, along with some of the best features of a checking account, such as debit cards and check-writing capabilities. Learn more about MMAs.

A money market account is a type of deposit account that typically pays a higher yield than most traditional savings accounts and may come with a debit card and check-writing privileges. Although, like a savings account, there may be limitations on how much you can withdraw and how often. You can certainly use a money market account to grow your savings, but it isn’t the same thing as a savings account. Learn more about whether money market accounts are savings accounts.

Money market accounts work like a hybrid checking and savings account. These accounts come with some important pros and cons, though, so they may or may not be the right fit for your savings needs. Learn more about how money market accounts work.

How often do money market accounts pay interest?

Like other interest-bearing deposit accounts, MMAs compound the interest you earn. Interest typically compounds daily and gets credited to your balance monthly (though this is not always the case). Compounding interest increases your APY because interest accrues not only on your principal balance but also on accumulated interest. Learn more about how often money market accounts pay interest.

The current average money market rate is ust 0.66%, according to the FDIC. However, there are money market accounts that pay much more — as high as 5.30% APY.

Because money market bank account rates vary widely, it’s important to choose an account with a competitive rate. This allows your money to grow faster.

Here’s how much you could earn if you deposited $10,000 into an account with one of the highest money market rates instead of a traditional savings account (assumes interest is compounded daily and credited monthly):

Minimum balance requirements can vary. In some cases, you may need to meet a certain minimum balance or initial deposit requirement to avoid a monthly fee or earn interest. Learn more about minimum balances for money market accounts.

Like other deposit accounts, the funds in your money market account are typically federally insured, either through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Both the FDIC and NCUA offer $250,000 in coverage per institution, per depositor, per ownership category. That should cover most people, but individuals with high net worths may need to spread out their funds across multiple institutions to maximize their protection. Learn more about FDIC insurance for money markets.

Money market accounts are generally safe, and you usually can’t lose your principal deposit. However, there are some instances when you could lose money. For instance, fees and rising inflation can potentially eat into your account balance. Learn more about whether you can lose money in a money market account.

Money market accounts and HYSAs are two types of accounts you can use to grow your savings. They’re secure accounts backed by the FDIC or NCUA, and they both provide higher APYs than traditional savings accounts. However, these accounts do differ in several significant ways. Learn more about MMAs vs. high-yield savings accounts.

Money market accounts and CDs are both deposit accounts that tend to offer higher APYs than traditional savings accounts. However, money market accounts offer greater access to your funds than a CD. CDs offer a high APY in exchange for locking up your funds for a set period of time. Learn more about MMAs vs. CDs.

Money market funds and money market accounts may sound like the same thing, but they differ in a few key ways. Money market funds are not deposit accounts; they’re a type of investment fund that pools money from multiple investors to invest in a basket of securities, such as stocks or bonds. A money market account, on the other hand, is a type of deposit account offered by many major banks and credit unions that typically pays a higher interest rate than traditional savings or checking accounts. MMAs may also come with a debit card, ATM card, and check-writing privileges. Learn more about MMAs vs. money market funds.

Opening a money market account is a fairly straightforward process. Once you’ve explored the account options offered by various financial institutions, you’ll need to gather some documentation. This may include your Social Security number (SSN) or Individual Tax Identification Number (TIN), government-issued ID, and proof of address. Once you have these documents in hand, you can begin your account application. This can be done in person, or in many cases, over the phone or online. Learn more about how to open a money market account.

Our grading system, collected and carefully reviewed by our personal finance experts, comprised more than 100 data points for close to 20 federally insured money market accounts to develop our list of the top 10 best money market accounts.

We evaluated these accounts according to several key metrics, including APY, minimum opening deposit, minimum balance requirements, monthly fees, interest compounding frequency, and more.

The accounts on our list could earn a maximum of 30 points across all metrics. Here’s a closer look at the categories we considered:

  • Monthly fees: Many money market accounts charge a monthly maintenance or service fee. We rewarded accounts with no monthly fees.

  • Minimum opening deposit: Many money market accounts require a minimum deposit to open an account. Accounts with no or low minimum deposit requirements ranked more favorably than those with higher opening deposit requirements.

  • Annual percentage yield (APY): Accounts with higher APYs were rewarded with more points than those with lower APYs. Note that rates on our list are current at the time of publishing, but are subject to change at any time.

  • Minimum balance to earn interest: Some banks and credit unions require a minimum balance to earn the advertised rate. We favored accounts that had no or low minimum balance requirements.

  • Access to funds: Many money market accounts offer easier access to your funds through check-writing, debit card, or ATM card privileges. We awarded extra points to the accounts that offered these features.

  • Withdrawals per month or statement cycle: Many banks limit the number of free withdrawals or transfers you can make from your money market account each month or statement cycle. We rewarded those accounts that didn’t set any limitations with extra points.

  • Compounding frequency: Compounding can occur daily, monthly, quarterly, or even annually. We awarded more points to accounts that compound interest frequently.

  • Overdraft fees: Many banks waive overdraft fees or do not charge fees at all if you overdraft your account. We awarded money market accounts that did not charge fees for overdrafts.

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