Best Cash Management Accounts Of 2019

A one-stop shop is all the rage in financial services, with consumers able to bank, invest and save without having to switch between apps.

Cash management accounts are a perfect example. Offered by robo advisors, mobile trading apps and online investment firms, the best of these accounts give customers a higher interest rate on their savings, checking account like features, FDIC insurance of their money—all with  low or no fees.

Cash Management Account Basics

Most cash management accounts come with a debit card, paper checks, and digital banking. Money is easily transferable between accounts. The interest rate in a cash account is often higher than what brick and mortar banks offer and similar to what you get from online banks.  Savers can get a rate of around 2% with a cash account. That compares to as little as 0.01% and 0.09% at a traditional bank.

There are some features you’ll want when it comes to cash management accounts. A free debit card, ATM access, and unlimited check writing should be among them. The account should also be easily accessible, whether that means through a mobile app or phone.

Many cash management accounts have low or no fees, but there could be a minimum balance requirement attached to an account. So it’s important to read the fine print before opening an account. Most of these offerings automate many of the processes, which means it takes minutes to fill out an application and about a week to receive your debit card in the mail.

Because the financial firms offering these cash management accounts aren’t banks, they sweep the money into bank partner accounts overnight. Those banks are FDIC insured, which means your money is protected in the event the investment firm goes under.  Since the limit on FDIC insurance is $250,000 per account, these firms distribute larger customers accounts to more than one bank,  providing insurance limits of $1 million or more.

Keep in mind these cash savings accounts aren’t created equal. The interest rate will vary, as will the fees and requirements from one provider to the next.  With competition in the financial technology market fierce, companies are adding new features to their cash management accounts at a dizzying rate as they race to stake their claim to the market. If a provider doesn’t offer a debit card today, it likely will in the future.  With that in mind, here’s a rundown of some of the top cash management accounts in the market today.

Best Cash Management Accounts

Wealthfront

Interest Rate: 2.32% APY

Fees: None

Debit Card: No

FDIC Insurance: Up to $1 million

Wealthfront, a pioneer in the robo advisor market, offers a cash management account that currently earns a 2.32% APY. The interest rate is variable which means it can go up and down with the prevailing interest rate in the market.

The account is aimed at customers looking to save for short term goals and offers digital tools to help them. There are no fees and unlimited transfers of money in and out of the account. The money is FDIC insured up to $1 million. Wealthfront doesn’t offer a debit card, nor can you move money in between its own accounts, but that’s coming soon.

It only takes $1 to open the account with no additional deposit requirements.

Betterment

Interest Rate: Up to 2.39%

Fees: None

Debit Card: Coming Soon

FDIC Insurance: Up to $1 million

New to the cash management account market, Betterment’s Everyday Savings product enables customers to save money and earn an APY of up to 2.39%. To get the highest rate, customers have to be signed up for the Betterment Everyday Checking waiting list. Don’t want to be the next in line for a Betterment checking account? Then you’ll get a lower APY of 2.14%.

The Betterment Everyday Savings account has no monthly maintenance fees, no overdraft fees, and no minimum balance requirement. Customers are reimbursed for all their ATM fees. Customers need $10 to open an account. The account has FDIC insurance of up to $1 million.

As with Wealthfront, the APY is a variable rate and is based on the commitments of bank partners as of the middle of July. It could change at any time. If the Federal funds rate increases, the interest rate will go up too. If it declines, so will the APY on the savings account.

Social Finance

Interest Rate: 2.00%

Fees: None

Debit Card: Yes

FDIC Insurance: Up to $1.5 million

An early player in student loan refinancing and other online lending, SoFi offers the SoFi Money deposit account which functions like a checking account but pays a higher interest rate on money deposited into the account. The variable APY currently stands at 2.00%.

With the account, customers get a debit card, iOS or Android app and support focused on helping customers meet their savings goals. The account is completely free with SoFi making money on a small amount of the interest. Because everything is digital, the fintech can offer customers a higher APY than at a traditional bank.

SoFi doesn’t operate its own ATM network but it will reimburse those fees each month. Customers also get access to career coaching and financial advice, the ability to make person to person payments and FDIC insurance of as much as $1.5 million. There is no minimum requirement to open up an account.

E*Trade Financial

Interest Rate: 1.75%

Fees: $10 a month

Debit Card:

FDIC Insurance: At least $250,000

Online discount brokerage E*Trade isn’t new to the cash management account market but it does offer a rate competitive when its robo rivals. The E*Trade Premium Savings Account enables customers to invest and save all in one place. The account has an APY of 1.75% and FDIC insurance of at least $250,000.

E*Trade does charge a $10 monthly fee that can be waived if you maintain an average monthly balance of $1,000 in the account or place at least 30 stock or options trades each quarter.  Customers only need $1 to open up a savings account with the online brokerage.

Aspiration

Interest Rate: Up to 2%

Fees: No

Debit Card: Yes

FDIC: Up to $2 million

Investors who care about both the environment and earning a higher rate on their savings may want to consider the Aspiration Spend & Save Account. This cash management account pays APY of up to 2% and gives you cashback of 1%  on every dollar spent on its debit card with businesses that scores high on its Aspiration Impact Measurement. All other purchases get cash back rewards of 0.5% (See additional debit cards that pay cash back here.) Deposits, which are swept out of the account, aren’t used in any fossil fuel exploration or production. Through the Aspiration app, customers can track the impact their spending is having on the environment. Companies are assigned a score by Aspiration based on their treatment of employees and the environment.

There are no fees associated with the account and customers get access to free ATM transactions around the world. When it comes to fees, Aspiration takes a different approach than other online investment firms. Customers only pay the fintech a fee if they think that Aspiration did a good job. Savers can open an account with just $10 and gets FDIC insurance protection of up to $2 million.

Personal Capital

Interest Rate: 2.05% for non-clients and 2.1% for advisory clients

Fees: None

Debit Card:  Coming

FDIC insurance: Up to $1.5 million

Boasting an APR that it says is 23 times the national rate on a typical savings account,  Personal Capital offers a cash account that has zero in the way of fees, no minimum balance and FDIC insurance of up to $1.5 million. Customers have the ability to make unlimited transactions each month.

Personal Capital’s hybrid robo-human financial planning and investment management service costs more than its robo competitors. But it also offers a free (and popular)  financial tracking and planning dashboard that enables people to sign up for the Personal Capital Cash account directly from their mobile device. “We have more than 2 million registered users who combined hold more than $41 billion in cash or money market accounts,” said Personal Capital CEO Jay Shah when announcing the cash account in June. “If those folks are earning the national rate on that cash, that amounts to hundreds of millions in lost interest annually. We saw that and immediately knew we had to do something.” Personal Capital doesn’t offer a debit card yet, but the company said it and other features are coming soon.