Is It Good To Have An Online Savings Account

So we've all heard about what they call a brick-and-mortar bank. This is usually where you deposit your paychecks, transfer money from checking to savings, visit with your teller friends and even get cash back from an ATM. Well, times have changed and now you can do most of your banking online.


Now, your brick-and-mortar bank might offer online banking, but you probably don't get an interest rate of almost 5% on all savings account cash. This is just one of the benefits of an online savings account.

If you have a regular savings account, you probably earn less than two percent on interest each year. Just by moving your cash to a web bank, you could earn up to three percent more than you do now. So, what's the catch?

You might wonder how these banks can afford to give you such a better interest rate, but it is not a scam. By not having to pay tellers keep an ATM open all the time, they can simply give more money back to you through their interest rates.

You can transfer money to your online savings account from other bank checking accounts. Most online savings accounts also offer online bill pay options. This way you can pay your bills out of your savings account.

So, this may all sound too good to be true, and in some ways it is. When you use an online savings account service, you lose out on true customer service. Usually having a personal relationship with tellers and loan officers is what keeps customers depositing their checks personally.

Instead of that personal relationship you currently enjoy, you could be stuck with automated tellers and a voice recording any time you have an issue with the savings account website. You could also be put on hold or end up having to e-mail your website and wait for days for a reply.

Besides a higher interest rate that helps you earn more money each year, online savings accounts also avoid making their customers pay fees. Most online savings accounts only cost about $1 to open and maintain.

Most don't even make their customers maintain a minimum account balance. This means that you can transfer any amount at any time, and not have to worry about that $25 that most banks require in your account at all times.

Another benefit is that you can access your account information and handle your money at any time of the day and from anywhere you can get internet access. You won't have the benefit of using an ATM or handling cash, but an online savings account could still be the answer for making more money on your savings.

Before you transfer all of your money to an online savings account, do a little research on interest rates and find the best deal on the web. Be sure you are using a site that is an accredited banking website, so you don't get scammed into giving your financial information to the wrong people.