I’ve been a customer at US Bank for more than a decade, but have recently realized this is actually counterproductive to my savings goals. In addition to its crappy interest rate on savings, US Bank REFUSES to work with any automated savings, budgeting, or investing apps I try (such as SaverLife, Every Dollar, Mint, and Fundrise). I need recommendations for better banks with great service that will work with apps and still be somewhat available nationally. Which ones do you recommend?
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Here’s a super comprehensive list of the best banks to use for different reasons that may be helpful to review:
I’ve heard amazing things about Ally, but I’m not sure what apps they integrate with.
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Thank you. This is very helpful. I’m going to check out all the banks on this list this week and will specifically ask which apps they integrate with. I’ll post a response with that information later!
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Karla Dial posted:
I’ve been a customer at US Bank for more than a decade, but have recently realized this is actually counterproductive to my savings goals. In addition to its crappy interest rate on savings, US Bank REFUSES to work with any automated savings, budgeting, or investing apps I try (such as SaverLife, Every Dollar, Mint, and Fundrise). I need recommendations for better banks with great service that will work with apps and still be somewhat available nationally. Which ones do you recommend?
I would like to hear what others have to say.
I have not had a chance to take a look at the list, but I am looking forward to it.
I am looking at this list of online banks. I have heard good things about Aspiration. This is a nice list. I am going to put it in my Trello. Thank you so much, Briana.
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We had Ally as our auto lender when we bought our Nissan back in 2013. They were easy to deal with and they were helpful when asked questions. I’ve used several banks over the years…
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I use quite a few banking apps. Chime is my personal favorite in the ones mentioned in the article Briana shared.
I have been using it for my side gigs and business to separate that income from my other income.
I have a more local bank for my other more personal finances.
I have never been interested in banking with US bank. For as long as I have known about them, I just could never see enough benefits in banking with them.
One bank that I have considered using more is CITI. I have a couple of credit cards with them and they have always taken good care of me when it comes to unrecognized charges, etc.
They seem to have decent customer service and have been advertising an over 2% savings account that I have been considering using for some time.
The bank you choose should meet your personal preferences but should also provide you the best return for your money.
I still have not found a savings account that pays me the amount of interest that I would like but Aspiration and Haven Money both pay decent rates from what I have seen.
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This is for everyone. What makes a bank the best?
One of the biggest factors in my opinion is the interest rate they pay for you to keep your money with them.
With all the new banking apps, interest rates are getting pretty competitive so any bank that pays less than 1% is no good in my books but that number is quickly moving to 2%
(Its crazy how much interest they charge to lend their money to other people but then pay so little to use our money for this purpose)
The other big factor that I look at when choosing a bank is FEES.
Little to NO FEES is what you want in 2019.
There are so many options out there that charge very little in fees so when a bank charges a lot of fees, it tells me they are more interested in making money than providing the best customer experience.
For example, my wife opened an account with Bank of The West and she ordered some checks. Since it was going to take a while, they asked if she wanted a few basic checks to be able to use before she got her full order of checks.
Without telling us, they took $5 from her account for those 3 checks they printed.
That to me is ridiculous to charge money for something so simple, especially when you offer it to the customer and make it sound like there is no charge.
That bank quickly went on my naughty list and while my wife still has an account, we don’t use them at all and plan to close it in the near future.
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@mooreincomeI agree with everything you just said. Banks are becoming competitive with the fees they charge. So far, I have not borrowed any money. They used to give free checks. That meant something to me.
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MSKIMBERLY, I agree with @mooreincome as well. I agree with him about US Bank. Personally, I would not choose Bank of America or Wells Fargo. I had a family member work for one of the two, and the other worked for the other. Their interest rates on their savings account were and still are terrible, and their business practices aren’t good. If you make a “complaint” against either bank, they investigate themselves, and, of course, we know that’s like a fox guarding a chicken coop. They’re always going to find themselves innocent of any wrongdoing. There are many lists of banks with more services and better interest rates…some with brick and mortar and some online…still FDIC insured. Good hunting. 
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@averagejoe I am learning more about banks as I get older. There is a lot to investigate.
Check your local credit unions! There’s even some online ones these days. They don’t answer to a board, as a member you’re part owner. Generally, savings yields are higher and loans rates are lower. And you’ll get all the services and technology you get with a traditional bank. Good luck!
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You’re right, Beckles. Credit Unions have been a great way to go. We used to be members of CEFCU when we lived in Illinois…Caterpillar people…and the interest rates on loans were great. The interest earned on savings was moving up and was stll higher than the local banks.
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Just signed on with Ally – so far, so great and I’m thrilled to be rid of Bank of America!
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And share branching, free ATM networks, and online banking make it easy to use them pretty much anywhere.
Full disclosure: I work for a credit union, so I’m definitely an advocate!
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I just signed up with Discover bank. You earn 1% cashback on everything when you use your debit card
I plan on putting those reward into my savings account. I was using USAA, but they have been doing some shady things. They didn’t even approve me for a loan. Their mission is to take care of the military, retirees, and veterans…well I don’t see that. I also have Navy federal credit union. They are awesome with notification of fraudulent activity. They act so fast that the transactions don’t go through. The only downside is I have to call the folks that I do business with my card and update them. I don’t have that many though.
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