Questions
- Why bother for a small rate increase?
- How do I make a deposit in an out-of-state bank?
- How safe are these banks?
- Which banks offer the best deposit rates?
- How can I have more than $100,000 FDIC-insured?
- What is the difference between APR (rate) and APY (yield)?
- Why are thousands of investors using this service? Isn't similar information available elsewhere?
Why bother for a small rate increase?
Some people buy short term CDs, which they rollover every time they mature without bothering to buy higher interest CDs. This often goes on through their entire savings lifetime. Here are examples of CD rollovers with the average interest rate increased by 0.5%. You can see how the returns increase from 17% for 1 year to 32% for 40 years of savings:
| Deposit | Interest Rate |
Years of Saving |
Interest Earned |
Percentage Increase |
| $10,000 | 3.0% | 40 | $23,151 | - |
| $10,000 | 3.5% | 40 | $30,469 | 32% |
| $10,000 | 3.0% | 20 | $8,208 | - |
| $10,000 | 3.5% | 20 | $10,117 | 23% |
| $10,000 | 3.0% | 1 | $304 | - |
| $10,000 | 3.5% | 1 | $356 | 17% |
Assumes monthly compounding and reinvesting of CDs at maturity through the years of saving.
How do I make a deposit in an out-of-state bank?
You will receive the bank's toll-free telephone numbers (if you are outside the USA we can provide regular numbers also), and website addresses if available. The bank will give you simple instructions to wire-transfer or send a check to open your account.
As long as the bank is FDIC-insured, it makes no difference whether you walk into a local branch or send your deposit to a far away bank. No investor has ever lost any money from a FDIC-insured deposit (not even during the S&L disaster). Often, smaller less known banks with only one office offer the best rates since they don't have advertising and other large-bank overhead.
Which banks offer the best deposit rates?
Unfortunately we can’t provide a permanent list. Since bank's needs are constantly changing, the list of banks offering the best rates is also in constant change. That is why we need to update our list on a daily basis so that you can always get the highest rates.How can I have more than $100,000 FDIC-insured?
Investors are limited to $100,000 insured in each bank, but there is no limit on how many banks they can have deposits in. Also, since the FDIC insures up to $100,000 to the name on the title of the account, some investors make several $100,000 deposits in the same bank under the names of different family members and joint accounts. IRAs are insured up to $250,000 per bank.
What is the difference between APR (rate) and APY (yield)?
APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is simple interest without compounding. For example, $10,000 @ 6.00 APR for 2 years will produce $600 of interest per year (or $300 semiannually, or $150 quarterly, or $50 monthly). APY (Annual Percentage Yield) is compounded interest (usually daily or monthly) calculated for 1 year (even if the term is longer). For example, $10,000 @ 6.00 APR for 2 years compounded monthly, produces a 6.17 APY which returns a total of $11,272.07 after 2 years. For comparison purposes, banks often quote the APY of investments that don't compound interest. This is interpreted as "if the interest were to be compounded, this would be the APY".
Why are thousands of investors using this service? Isn't similar information available elsewhere?
Because of our wider search capabilities, we actually list higher rates than any other source! Also, (unlike other sources) our list is updated daily to avoid you disappointments when contacting the banks (investors have found that most of the information available elsewhere is inaccurate or out of date).