Cash News
A certificate of deposit (CD) generally earns more interest than a traditional savings account, but there’s a catch: You generally can’t touch your earnings without penalty during your CD’s term.
Like some savings accounts, CDs often have minimum opening deposit requirements. That means to open an account, you need to fund it with a certain amount of cash up front. Often, this amount can be $1,000 or more. If you don’t have enough money to meet the minimum, these accounts — and their high interest rates — are out of reach.
The good news is that some banks let you open a CD with no minimum deposit. If you’re interested in higher potential interest earnings but don’t have a lot of savings to set aside, check out the following CDs with no minimum deposit requirements.
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Terms: 3-60 months
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APY: Up to 4%
Details: Ally Bank offers three types of CDs: High-Yield CDs, Raise Your Rate CDs, and No Penalty CDs. The High-Yield CD earns the highest APY and has the widest range of terms. The Raise Your Rate CD allows you to raise your rate either once or twice, depending on the term you choose. And the No Penalty CD allows you to withdraw your account balance early with no penalties.
Ally offers two additional savings products: a high-yield savings account and a money market account. Both have no monthly fees and no minimum deposit requirements. And if you’re also looking for a checking account, Ally has that too.
Read our full review of Ally Bank
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Terms: 11-60 months
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APY: Up to 4%
Details: American Express has seven available CD terms to choose from, ranging from 11 to 60 months. Currently, the 11-month and 24-month terms earn the highest interest rate. Interest compounds daily, and there are fees for early withdrawals.
American Express also offers a high-yield savings account with a comparable interest rate, no monthly fees, and no minimum deposit.
Read our full review of American Express National Bank
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Terms: 6-60 months
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APY: Up to 4%
Details: With a Barclays Online CD, you can choose from eight term lengths, and the 12-month term currently earns the highest rate. Interest compounds daily.
Barclays also offers an online high-yield savings account with no fees or minimums.
Read our full review of Barclays Bank
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Terms: 6-60 months
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APY: Up to 3.90%
Details: BMO Alto offers six CD terms. Currently, the six-month and 12-month terms earn the highest rate.
BMO Alto also offers a high-yield savings account that’s currently outearning any of the bank’s CDs. Like BMO Alto’s CDs, the savings account has no minimum deposit requirement and no monthly fees.
Read our full review of BMO Alto
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Terms: 6-60 months
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APY: Up to 4%
Details: Capital One 360 CDs come with nine different term options ranging from six months to 60 months. Currently, the 12-month term earns the highest rate. Interest compounds monthly, and you can choose how often you receive interest disbursements.
While Capital One has online accounts, the bank also offers in-person banking at more than 250 branches. In addition to CDs, you can open savings accounts, checking accounts, and loans at Capital One.
Read our full review of Capital One
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Terms: 3-120 months
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APY: Up to 4.10%
Details: Discover has 12 available CD terms to choose from, ranging from three months to 120 months. Currently, the 24-month CD earns the highest rate. Interest compounds daily.
Discover also offers an online high-yield savings account and money market account for those who want more flexible access to savings. Checking accounts, loans, and credit cards are also available.
Read our full review of Discover Bank
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Terms: 6-60 months
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APY: Up to 4.25%
Details: E-Trade offers seven CD terms ranging from six months to 60 months. Currently, the six-month, nine-month, and 12-month terms earn the highest rates. These CDs come with a 10-day guarantee that automatically locks in the higher rate on either the day you open your account or the day you fund it. Interest compounds daily.
If you want to do more of your banking at E-Trade, the bank also offers checking accounts, savings accounts, and lines of credit.
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Terms: 3-60 months
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APY: Up to 4.35%
Details: Synchrony offers three different types of CDs: regular CDs, bump-up CDs, and no-penalty CDs. The regular CD offers the widest variety of terms, from three months to 60 months, and offers the highest interest rates. Bump-up CDs have a 24-month term and allow you to request a rate increase if interest rates rise during your term. No-penalty CDs have an 11-month term and let you withdraw your entire CD balance penalty-free after the first six days of opening your account. However, they earn a drastically lower interest rate compared to the bank’s regular CDs.
Synchrony also offers high-yield savings accounts and money market accounts, neither of which has a minimum balance requirement.
Read our full review of Synchrony Bank
CDs have many advantages, especially those with no minimum deposit requirements. But don’t forget to consider the downsides too.
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No minimums: CDs often have high minimum deposit requirements, but those with no minimums allow even beginning savers to open accounts.
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Fixed interest: Generally, CDs have fixed interest rates. This means you’ll earn predictable interest as long as you don’t incur early withdrawal fees.
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Higher savings rates: CDs typically have higher interest rates compared to savings accounts, allowing you to earn more money over the same period of time.
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Federal insurance: As long as you open a CD at a federally insured bank or credit union, you can rest easy knowing your money is safe up to federal limits in case the financial institution fails.
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Less flexibility: Generally, you can’t touch your principal deposit before your CD matures. If you do, you’ll lose some of your earnings (and possibly part of the principal) to early withdrawal penalties.
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Lower earnings for smaller deposits: While the lack of minimum deposit requirements means you can open a CD with a smaller amount of cash, you’ll also earn less interest with a smaller deposit.
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Not inflation-proof: The downside to fixed interest rates is that they aren’t inflation-proof. If your CD’s interest rate doesn’t keep pace with inflation, your money will lose purchasing power over time.
Read more: Can you lose money in a CD? Maybe.
Many CDs require a minimum deposit. Often, this minimum deposit is at least $1,000 but can be even higher. CDs with no minimum deposit requirements are uncommon.
The CDs mentioned above have no minimum deposit requirement, meaning you can open an account with as little cash as you want. While minimums of at least $1,000 are common, some banks and credit unions have deposit requirements of $500 or less. Examples include Quontic Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union, and Bethpage Federal Credit Union.
Chase Bank CDs require a minimum deposit of $1,000. Rates vary by balance and relationship status (whether or not you have a linked Chase checking account). Terms range from one month to 10 years.