Introduction
What is a money market account?
A money market account is like a savings account that earns interest. This type of account also provides you debit card access to the customers. The annual percentage yield offered by money market accounts are generally higher as compared to traditional savings accounts.
But for this you have to do high initial deposits and meet the minimum balance requirements.
If none of these requirements are an issue then a money market account offers the customers a very safe way which helps you to grow your savings.
But you cannot make an unlimited number of withdrawals within a single month. This depends on the bank in which you have your account. If you do so then you have to pay an additional fee.
Choosing a money market account
Before you choose a money market account you have to look at certain aspects. These are as follows
The first factor to consider is what is the highest APY that is available to you and also you should know the different ways by which you can access your different funds. Also it is very important to look whether the account that you have chosen provides you ATM access and check writing privileges.
Along with all these you should also have the knowledge of the minimum balance requirement and the fees that are changed by the bank account. The bank also charges you a penalty if your bank balance drops below the given amount. So you should also take care of that.
The best money market accounts
Ally bank
The CNET score of this bank account is 4.7 out of 5 and this is a very good score. This bank has more than two million customers and provides the option of different bank accounts such as checking account, savings account, investing and retirement account etc. Thus this bank is a very popular bank.
If you want to open an account in this bank then you do not have to make any kind of initial deposit. A major advantage of opening an account in this bank is that it gives you an unlimited number of withdrawals. Also you can transfer money to any type of account such as checking or savings account and you also get access to ATM services. Also you can request for a debit card from this bank if you want more accessibility.
Quontic bank
The CNET rating of this bank is 4.5 out of 5 indicating that it is a great choice for all. This bank is a New York based Bank. This bank offers you a competitive APY and does not charge you any kind of monthly maintenance fees. This yield offered by the bank is the second highest of all the yields.
Your account in the quontic bank offers you different kinds of access such as access to debit card and check writing privileges. But for this, you have to pay an excessive transaction fee of $10 if you do more withdrawals than the limit assigned to you. For each statement, period, you are given a withdrawal limit of around six withdrawals.
Vio bank
The CNET score of this bank is 3.7 out of 5. This bank is an online only bank and has no physical branches. This is a privately owned bank located in Oklahoma City. The APY offered by this bank is one of the highest APY that is offered by most of the banks.You can open your Money market account in this bank with a minimum of $100. The APY offered by this bank is 5.30% with daily compounding interest.
Along with these paper statement fees, the bank also charges you different kinds of fees, the most common being excessive transaction fees per withdrawal if you do more than six withdrawals within the given time period. This is because the Vio bank only offers you savings products which include savings accounts etc.
Also if you want to merge your checking account, savings account or your credit then you should not choose this bank. Along with this, it also has a disadvantage that it does not offer debit card access and check writing privileges.
Sallie mae bank
The CNET score of this bank is 3.9 out of 5. This bank is an FDIC insured bank. The headquarters of this bank are located in Salt Lake city. This bank is majorly known for providing different loans to the people as student loans. They create and provide personal student loans. Along with providing personal loans to the people, this bank also provides various different kinds of savings accounts, which have high APY rates than usual.
This bank does not charge any kind of monthly fees from you, or you do not have to pay any minimum deposit in order to open the account. The money market accounts offered by this bank are highly accessible. This bank account provides various features such as check writing features and no withdrawal limits. Also, the APY of this account is very high , around 4.75% on which compound interest is paid to you daily, and you get the overall payment at the end of the month.
First internet bank
The CNET score of this bank is 4.3 out of 5. This bank is also an online only bank that means it has no physical branches.The money market account of this bank offers a very good APY rate. You can earn more interest that is greater than its free savings account. If you want to open your money market account in this bank, then you need a minimum of a hundred dollars in order to open your new account.
This account offers you an extra perk also. If you have incurred the fees using an out of network ATM, then, you get a reimbursement of upto $10 every month. This bank allows you to make six withdrawals per month.
Ever bank
Ever bank has a CNET score of 3.9 out of 5. It is an online bank but has its physical branches in Florida. The current rates that you get vary depending upon your balance. For example, you can earn upto 3.75% on balances up to $9999.99 after the first year is over.
There are many advantages of opening your bank account in this bank, such as it does not ask you for a maintenance fee for maintaining your account. Along with this, you also get unlimited out of network fee reimbursement if your balance is around $15,000. But if your account balance is lower than the threshold value, then you will receive up to $15 per statement cycle.
Synchrony bank
It has a CNET score of 3.7 out of 5. This bank is also an online bank but the money market account of this bank is not a high yielding account. This account does not require a minimum opening deposit and also there is no monthly service fee. It offers the check writing privileges to its customers and along with this, it also provides an optional ATM card so that you can access your money any time.
Pros of a money market account
There are various advantages of a money market account, such as your balances can earn a higher APY and most of the banks offer money market accounts to its customers. You can also have access to your money with the help of an ATM facility.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed personal finance. We first came to know about a Money market account. A Money market account is very similar to a savings account that helps you to earn a good amount of interest. Then we looked at the factors that we should consider before opening a money market account.
The various factors that we should consider are the APY that the bank account should provide you with a higher APY rate. Then we looked at some of the best banks that provide the money market account to its customers. The various banks are Ally bank, First internet bank, Sallie mae bank, Quontic bank, Vio bank etc. at last, we discussed about the advantages of opening a money market account.
