Online banks offer a full range of services similar to their traditional brick-and-mortar counterparts, including checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), loans, and credit cards. Many online banks also provide investment options, bill pay, mobile check deposit, and robust customer service through digital channels.
When comparing online banks with traditional brick-and-mortar locations to digital-only banks, it’s important to note that the largest online banks with physical branches don’t always offer the most competitive savings rates.
In fact, many of these well-known institutions provide lower annual percentage yields (APYs) on savings accounts—sometimes less than 0.05%—while digital-only banks and online divisions of regional banks frequently offer rates above 4% APY.
5 Best Online Banks That Offer Full Services
Minimum Deposit
$50
Rates
up to 3.80% APY
Bonus
up to $325
Fees
no monthly service fee
- FDIC insured up to $3 million
- High interest rate
- Earn a higher interest rate with qualifying activities
- No minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fees
- Up to $325 bonus with qualifying direct deposit (terms apply)
- Savings tools
- Early direct deposit
- Customers can deposit cash at Green Dot locations but there's a $4.95 fee
- SoFi Bank does not reimburse out-of-network ATM providers' fees
Minimum Deposit
$50
Savings Rate
up to 4.66% APY
Checking Rate
0.51% APY
Fees
no monthly service fee
- Early direct deposit
- Enhanced FDIC protection
- High interest if you can meet the requirements
- No monthly service fees
- No minimum opening deposit
- 24/7 customer service for banking products
- Large ATM network
- Interest compounds daily
- Customers can deposit cash at Green Dot locations but there's a $4.95 fee
- Low savings rate if you cannot meet direct-deposit requirement of at least $1,500 in a month along with maintaining an average daily balance of $1,500
Minimum Deposit
$100
Savings Rate
up to 3.85% APY
Checking Rate
1.10% APY
Fees
no monthly service fee
- Open with a $100 minimum deposit.
- No maintenance fees
- Quontic customers have access to over 90,000 fee-free ATMs
- Mobile & Online Banking
- Earn up to 1.10% APY on the portion of the daily balances up to $150,000.
- Deposits are FDIC insured
- Customers can deposit cash at select ATMs that accept deposits and are part of Quontic’s partner networks (such as MoneyPass and Allpoint). But, not all ATMs in these networks accept deposits, so you should use Quontic’s ATM locator tool to find a compatible machine near you.
Minimum Deposit
$5
ATM Refunds
up to $30 per month
Discount Rates
up to 0.75% on loans
Fees
no monthly service fee
- No minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fees
- No out-of-network ATM fee
- Earn up to $30 per month in out-of-network ATM refunds, depending on tier level
- Earn up to 0.75% discount on certain loans, depending on tier level
- Get paid up to 2 days early
- Transfer funds from savings for overdraft protection
- If you're not an active or veteran military member, former or current employee of the Department of Defense, employee of a Select Employer Group, you must take the extra step to join the (free) American Consumer Council to open an account.
Final thoughts
Traditional banks are more likely to charge monthly maintenance fees or require higher minimum balances to avoid fees, whereas digital-only banks typically have no monthly fees and low or no minimum deposit requirements.
This means that customers seeking to maximize their savings returns and minimize fees may find better value with digital-only banks compared to the largest online banks that maintain physical locations.
