High Yield

High interest checking and savings accounts give customers an edge when they would like to save money. Such customers may want to put away extra funds for college or for a home purchase. They may want to save money for an important vacation. High interest accounts can give them the opportunity to do just that. Several banks offer accounts with interest rates that are above what people call today’s “normal” interest rate. The average APY is rather low at 0.17%. However, some banking institutions offer high-yield accounts with APYs as high as 4 percent. The following is a list of the two top providers of high-interest checking and savings accounts:

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In a few recent polls they found that 62% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts and 21% don’t even have a savings account. Many financial experts state you need a lot more money in savings put away for emergencies and retirement. This low of an investment in savings will not cover an emergency and those that come up means people will have to rely on credit, friends and family, or even their retirement accounts.

People faced with an emergency say they would raise the money by reducing spending elsewhere (26%), borrowing from family and/or friends (16%) or using credit cards (12%). According to a U.S. Federal Reserve survey 57% said they’d used some or all of their savings in the Great Recession. The low interest on savings account rates also keeps people from saving.

Only 29% said they have savings above $1,000 with the most common balance of $10,000 or more. One survey said that 9% of people say they keep only enough money in their savings accounts to meet the minimum balance requirements and avoid fees. Bank minimum requirements can vary between $300 a month and $1,500 a month.

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