Bank accounts were uninteresting for about a decade as the Federal Reserve kept interest rates at historic lows, but after a series of rate hikes, and only a few cuts, banking is interesting again. You can get APYs more than 4 percent from CDs and online savings accounts, for example, and even some checking accounts now yield 4 percent-plus.
WalletHub, a personal finance website, conducted a survey to look at consumers’ thoughts about the revitalized banking environment.
Here are key findings from the survey:
- Banking trust: More than one in three Americans believe their bank is taking advantage of them.
- Not earning enough: 56 percent of people say they’re not satisfied with the interest rate on their bank account.
- Less reason to save: Nearly two in five Americans say the Federal Reserve reducing interest rates makes them less interested in saving money.
- Eroding bank balances: Three in five Americans say the money in their bank accounts isn’t keeping up with inflation.
- Spreading the wealth: Fifty-one percent of people plan to open a new bank account in the next 12 months.
- Seeing the full picture: Eighty-four percent of people believe that seeing all their accounts in one place helps them make better financial decisions.
- Budget problem: One in four Americans don’t include savings in their budgets.
- Online-only banks suspicions: Forty-two of Americans don’t trust online-only banks.
Most people aren’t satisfied with their bank account interest rate, and many assume there won’t be better rates now that the Federal Reserve isn’t cutting its target rate much, John Kiernan, WalletHub editor, said about the survey.
However, high-yield bank accounts are still out there, and people can still get returns above 4 percent risk-free, Kiernan said.
“You just need to know where to look and perhaps expand your search beyond neighborhood institutions,” he said. “Online-only savings accounts tend to offer the highest rates, for example, and checking accounts from credit unions have high rates and low fees compared to regional and national banks.”
Kiernan said while bank account rates average way less than 1 percent, you can get 4 times that from one of the best accounts.
