Best High Yield Checking Accounts (September 2023)

The best high yield checking accounts offer above-average interest rates and no fees. But how do you know which ones you can trust and which accounts are the best for you? To help, we track the highest interest rates on FDIC-insured checking account offers.

Our List of the Best High Yield Checking Accounts

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Overview of the Best High Yield Checking Accounts

Brand	Standout Feature
Juno	5% APY
SoFi	Highest rate for no fees and no mins
Axos Rewards Checking	Total banking integration
Nationwide Advantage Checking	Simple, well-established
Consumers Credit Union	Highest APY from a credit union
Wealthfront Cash Account	Different categories
First Internet Bank Interest Checking	Higher than average APY
CIT eChecking	Low risk
Ally Bank	Transparency

Best High Yield Checking Accounts

Juno

Juno is not a bank, but it partners with Evolve Bank & Trust to offer users a checking account currently paying a 5.00% annualized bonus on deposits up to $50,000. Deposits higher than $50k and up to $250k, can earn 4%.

Juno is a great option for anyone into crypto as their app makes it easy to buy and invest in cryptocurrency. Even if crypto isn't your thing, it's clear Juno offers one of the easiest ways to earn a high interest rate on your cash.

Juno also offers a debit card that pays 5% cash back on purchases from popular brands. You can check out their website for more information on this feature.

Fees

There is no minimum deposit or monthly fee.

Bottom Line

Juno offers one of the highest interest rates available on a checking account and an easy way to earn it with no monthly account fees and no minimum deposit.

SoFi

SoFi is a financial services company most notable for its online lending. SoFi also offers a high yield checking and savings account combination. As far as checking accounts go, SoFi offers competitive rates and features.

You can earn 0.50% APY on your checking account which is much higher than the national average.

Additional account features include:

Early direct deposit
A network of free ATMs
Cash back rewards

SoFi can also cover you up to $50 if you overdraft your account. Plus, you can get a bonus when you open the account. Bonuses range from $50 – $250 depending on the amount of your qualifying direct deposit. Minimum qualifying direct deposits of $1,000 to $4,999.99 are eligible for a $50 bonus. Minimum qualifying direct deposits of $5,000+ are eligible for a $250 bonus.

Fees

There are no maintenance fees and no overdraft protection fees for this account. There are also 55,000+ fee-free ATMs in SoFi’s network.

Bottom Line

This can be an easy account to manage. You don’t have to do much to qualify for the high rate except setting up direct deposit with your employer. After that, there are no account minimums and no transaction minimums.

Axos Rewards Checking

Axos gives you pieces of the max interest rate for different actions. Enrolling in direct deposit will get you 0.40% APY. A minimum of ten transactions per month gets you an additional 0.30% APY. You can also enroll with a personal finance manager to get the additional 0.30%.

If you maintain a daily average of $2,500 in Axos Managed Investment Portfolios you can get another 1.00% APY. Maintaining $2,500 in your Axos Self Directed Trading account also gets you another 1.00%. Using your account to make an Axos loan payment will get you another 0.60%. The maximum APY you can earn is 3.30%.

Other account perks include:

No maintenance fees
No minimums
Unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements

Fees

There are no account fees, overdraft fees, or domestic ATM fees.

Bottom Line

If you are already a user of Axos’ investment accounts and/or personal loans, it makes it very easy to earn the max rate. Otherwise, you can earn similar rates elsewhere.

Read more in our Axos Bank Review

Nationwide Advantage Checking

Nationwide offers a high yield checking account for an above-average rate. You can earn 0.45% APY for setting up a recurring direct deposit of at least $1,000 per month.

If you make a minimum of 10 debit card transactions per month, you can qualify for an additional 0.45% APY. The debit card transactions need to be at least $3 each. The total APY you can earn with this account is 0.90%.

Fees

There are no maintenance fees, no overdraft fees, and no insufficient funds fees. But you will need a $50 minimum to open an account.

Bottom Line

If you regularly use your debit card, this account can make it easy to earn a high APY. It’s not the highest APY out there but you’ll be able to do the bare minimum to earn it. Plus, you’ll have access to 80,000+ ATMs nationwide.

Consumers Credit Union (Easy membership)

If you can get in on this checking option you'll want to go all-in with a credit card too. This is the highest rate you’ll be able to find, with reasonable qualifications.

Consumers Credit Union has several qualifying APY tiers. To get the base 3.00%, you must do the following:

Enroll in e-statements
Make at least twelve qualifying debit card purchases per month
Receive direct deposits of at least $500 per month

To earn 4.00%, you must meet all the previous category requirements and spend at least $500 per month on your Consumers Credit Union Visa credit card.

For a whopping 5.00%, you have to meet the same 3.00% requirements. In addition, you must increase your credit card spending to $1,000 per month. This is easy to do if your weekly grocery bill is at least $250 to $300 a week.

Fees

You need to pay a one-time $5 fee to the Consumers Cooperative Association to get a membership. Then, you’ll need to deposit at least $5 to your account upon opening. But there are no monthly maintenance fees and you can get reimbursed for all ATM fees. There is a $30 overdraft or insufficient funds fee. There are also fees for an expedited ACH payment or a three-month history printout. You can see the full schedule here.

Bottom Line

The biggest perk of this account is the high interest rate. Even among high yield rates, at a max 5.00% APY, this one takes the cake. Even the lowest qualifying tier is higher than most products at 3.00%. But you can only earn these rates on balances up to $10,000. If you earn more than that on a monthly basis, you may opt for an unlimited account or one with higher limits.

Wealthfront Cash Account

Wealthfront is a digital bank that offers an above-average rate for very little in return.

There is a $1 minimum to open your account, but other than that, there are no requirements for earning the 4.80% APY.

Another unique feature is Wealthfront’s categories. You can create several spending categories to organize your money. And you’ll earn the same interest rate on each of them.

Fees

Deposit $1 to open your account. There are no account maintenance fees, no overdraft fees, and no transfer fees. There may be some fees when you use your debit card on foreign transactions or out-of-network ATMs. You can see the full schedule here.

Bottom Line

This account offers the ability to do little work and still earn a decent APY. You can also instantly send money to your Wealthfront investing account if you have one.

First Internet Bank Interest Checking

First Internet Bank offers 0.50% APY for their Interest Checking account. To open an account, you need an initial deposit of $100. Then you need to maintain a monthly balance of $500 to avoid paying a monthly fee.

Fees

There is a $10 monthly fee for the high-interest account. But, you can waive the fee by maintaining a $500 account balance.

Bottom Line

Aside from the higher-than-average APY, there aren’t many perks to this account. Plus, you have to keep a $500 daily balance to avoid the monthly fee.

CIT eChecking

CIT eChecking is another option that offers an above-average rate for little effort. To qualify for the maximum rate of 0.25% APY, you must keep a minimum balance of $25,000 month to month. Anything under $25,000 qualifies for a 0.10% rate.

The biggest perk of the CIT eChecking account is that there are no transaction minimums and no fees. But, as far as rates go, there are plenty of other products offering higher yields for doing the bare minimum.

Fees

You’ll need a $100 deposit to open your account. There are no monthly service fees, no wire transfer fees, and no overdraft fees. You can see the full schedule here.

Bottom Line

If you normally keep a high balance on your checking account, this one is a good option for you.

Read more in our CIT Bank Review

Ally Bank

Ally Bank is one of my personal favorites due to its transparency. This bank is upfront with its fees and how its products work. There are no minimum balance requirements and no transaction requirements. So you don’t have to do much to qualify for the 0.25% APY.

Ally also has a good high yield savings option, which would pair well with their high yield checking.

Fees

There are no monthly maintenance fees or overdraft fees. Ally does charge for returned items ($7.50). Other fees may include expedited items ($15) and outgoing wires ($20). You can see the full schedule here.

Bottom Line

While 0.25% doesn’t seem super high compared to other products on this list, it’s still higher than the average. You don’t have to do much to maintain that rate. This allows you to move at your own pace. There’s no pressure to make a certain number of transactions or maintain a minimum balance.

Read more in our Ally Bank Review

What Is a High-Yield Checking Account?

High-yield checking accounts can earn you interest at a higher-than-average rate. The current national average for interest rates on checking accounts is 0.07%.

High yield checking accounts usually come with transaction or balance minimums to earn that higher rate. In the case of a credit union, sometimes you may have to pay membership fees.

But, if you tend to keep a lot of cash in your checking account, using one of these accounts instead could be worth it.

How to Choose a High Yield Checking Account

Look For a High APY

This seems like a no-brainer. Look for the highest APY you can get that makes sense for you and your spending habits. Also, tune into phrases like “up to,” as the company is quoting you at the highest end of the range.

Check the APY Requirements

Consider the requirements to get the APY and what they mean for your income and your spending habits. Make sure that the requirements aren’t going to put you in a bad financial position. If you need to a lot of transactions to get a higher rate, are you going to stretch yourself too thin? Are you able to maintain the minimum balance required? If not, you likely won’t capitalize on the higher interest rate.

You can start by looking at your current bank statements. Check out how much you spend per month. Then look at how much you have left in your account each month because that’s where you can earn your interest. You can even calculate how much you might earn at a higher rate.

Look at the Fees

To maximize the benefit of earning more interest, you want to limit any fees you have to pay. Some banks are transparent about fees, but some make you hunt for the information. Make sure you read the fine print and do your research before you commit to opening an account.

Additional Perks

It’s always great to maximize the perks you get, and some banks offer unique benefits. For example, if you can earn cash back on your checking account, that’s more money for you.

Compare the perks you get with your current account to any new perks from a prospective account. For instance, are you getting early direct deposit now? Is that something you would sacrifice for a higher interest rate? Are you a frequent Zelle user? Make sure you’re going to keep your favorite features.

Accessibility

If you prefer to use a banking app, make sure the one you choose has good user ratings.

This may not seem as important when signing up as long as you’re getting a high rate. But, you don’t want to be stuck with a bank that doesn’t offer easy access to your money. You want a simple, safe, and user-friendly app.

FAQs

Is it worth it to use a high-yield checking account?

It depends. To make it worth it, you should be in a decent financial position. You should not be living paycheck to paycheck every month. The reason for that is that you only earn interest on the money that is left in your account every month. If that’s zero, or a lower number, you are not going to earn much on your checking account. You may be better off doing some research on a high yield savings account instead.

Once you are ready to take the next step in growing your money, consider a high yield checking account.

How often do interest rates change for high-yield checking accounts?

Interest rates are tied to the rates determined by the Federal Reserve. So checking account interest rates undergo adjustments depending on the economy.

How much money should you keep in a checking account?

The answer to this question is completely dependent on your financial reality. Checking accounts are generally made for you to access your money quickly and easily. Some people may keep several months’ worth of living expenses in a checking account. But it may also be worth moving some of that money into savings where you can earn a higher rate. Savings accounts do limit the number of transactions you can make per month. So be sure you don't need immediate access to any money you put in savings.

Final Thoughts

Choosing a high yield account may seem daunting at first. But most of the data that you need to make a sound decision exists in your own bank account. Start there and consider what features you want from a checking account.

Remember to be realistic about the account requirements and your spending habits. Choose an account that matches your current financial situation.