Best High-Yield Savings Accounts for May 2023

Newtek Bank is the online-only arm of Newtek One. The 5.00% APY applies to all balance levels, but you’ll be limited to six withdrawals per statement cycle. This account doesn’t offer an ATM card. Cash access is available through linked accounts. You can open as many personal banking accounts as needed, all of which can be managed through an online banking account or mobile app. If you don’t want to manage your account online, or find yourself needing to make more than six withdrawals a month, it’s best to consider other options.

UFB Direct’s savings rate — 4.81% APY — ranks at the top of the accounts we reviewed for this week. 

That APY applies to all balances, and there’s no minimum deposit or balance requirements. Unlike other high-yield savings accounts, UFB Direct’s savings account comes with a free ATM card. The account has a limit of six withdrawals a month, but that doesn’t apply to ATM cards. You’ll have mobile banking, which comes with mobile deposit and transfers. 

UFB Direct is an online bank that also offers its own base savings and checking accounts, but you won’t earn as high of a yield with these accounts. However, you still can earn a competitive rate with UFB Direct’s Preferred Money Market account.

Panacea Financial, created by doctors for doctors, has a high-yield savings account that’s open to everyone. There’s no need to study medicine to open a personal or business checking and savings account. However, the loan products were developed for those in the healthcare industry. The competitive APY applies to all balance levels. Plus, you’ll have 24/7 live customer support by calling 833-472-6223.

There’s an added benefit that’s sure to come in handy for those with larger balances: The PLUS Insured Cash Sweep that offers expanded insurance for balances of over $250,000 up to $125 million per tax ID.

Laurel Road’s savings account doesn’t require a minimum deposit or balance to earn its competitive 4.80% APY. Laurel Road is the digital arm of KeyBank, but it doesn’t accept cash deposits. For that, you’ll need to transfer funds and manage your account online. 

Laurel Road began as a student loan originator in 2013. As of 2019, it was acquired by KeyBank and now offers checking, savings and loan products primarily geared toward healthcare and business professionals nationwide. Its digital platform merges technology with banking services to offer a high-yield rate that applies to the entire balance, one that’s FDIC-insured for up to $250,000.

We like that TAB Bank’s high-yield savings account is pretty straightforward. No monthly maintenance fees, no minimum deposit or balance requirements, and an APY of 4.76% put TAB Bank squarely on the list of best high-yield savings accounts.

TAB Bank is an online-only bank that offers, checking, savings, money market and CD accounts. TAB Bank lets you earn cash-back rewards on your purchases with its checking account option and special bank accounts are available for truckers. We also like that TAB also has extended customer service hours, including Saturdays, by calling 800-355-3063.

Bask Bank is an online-only bank that offers two savings products — a mileage account that gives American Airlines AAdvantage miles for your savings, and an interest savings account that currently offers one of the highest APYs on our list.

Even better, there are no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirements and no minimum initial deposit at Bask Bank, though it reserves the right to close your account if it sits unfunded for 60 days. Bask Bank allows six withdrawals from your account per month, but does not provide any check requests. Outgoing wire transfers cost $35.

Formerly Comenity Direct, Bread Financial offers two savings options — certificates of deposit and a high-yield savings account. The high-yield savings account offers a 4.65% APY, but requires a minimum deposit of $100 to get that high rate.

There are no monthly maintenance fees and you’ll have unlimited free deposits via mobile check, ACH transfer and wire transfer.

Citizens Access is an online banking option that passes savings to customers with a strong 4.50% APY and no hidden fees. Like many other savings accounts, you can make direct deposits and recurring transfers. However, you won’t be able to deposit cash. 

Citizens Access is the digital banking arm of Citizens Bank, a traditional bank that’s now officially Citizens Financial Group. However, Citizens Access operates only online. And it mostly provides home loans, student loan refinancing and a high-yield savings account. No checking or money market accounts are available.

There’s more than one bank offering over 4% on your savings — My Banking Direct provides a hefty 4.38% APY on its high-yield savings account, with no maintenance fees, no minimum balance requirements and interest provided on all balances above $1. My Banking Direct is a subsidiary of New York Community Bank.

My Banking Direct doesn’t advertise information about wire transfer fees on its website and in its official account disclosures.

Quontic Bank is keeping pace with competitors by adjusting its savings account rate to 4.25% APY — the rate applied to all balances. Quontic has no monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements, though it requires $100 to open a high-yield savings account.

Quontic compounds interest daily and pays it out monthly. It charges $25 for a domestic wire transfer out and $35 for an international wire transfer. All ACH transfers and incoming wire deposits are free.

Apple unveiled its Apple Card’s Savings account on April 17, available for iPhone users running iOS 16.4 or later versions. The Savings account, backed by Goldman Sachs, has made a splash with no fees, no minimum deposits and no minimum balance requirements. You’ll earn a competitive APY on Daily Cash rewards and savings deposited directly into your Wallet app. 

You must, however, have the Apple Card, a credit card, before opening an Apple Card Savings account, and be age 18 or older. The credit card, also issued by Goldman Sachs, is set up to work with Apple Pay.

Synchrony Bank is one of the best online banks we feature at CNET. We like that it offers competitive APYs and has extended customer service hours. Its high-yield savings provide a competitive APY of 4.15% with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements.

While there’s no option of a complementary checking account at Synchrony, savings accounts at Synchrony have debit cards that can withdraw money from ATMs. Synchrony doesn’t charge for non-network ATMs and gives $5 back per month for other banks’ ATM fees. However, no cash deposits are accepted. 

Other savings options are available, including money market accounts, CDs and a few retirement options.

There’s always a wild card — Varo provides the only notable banking innovation on our list, with a tiered savings rate that encourages low balances. Varo will give you 5.00% APY back if your daily balance never goes over $5,000 during an entire monthly billing cycle. If it gets above $5,000, you’ll get 3.00% APY on the entire balance for that month.

To qualify for any interest at all, you’ll need to have $1,000 in direct deposits every month and end each month with a positive balance in both your Varo Bank and Savings account. While Varo presents a tempting APY for those with lower balances, once your account balance exceeds $5,000, you’ll drop down to the lower APY.

Aside from its high-yield savings account, Varo is an online bank that has a checking account with a few sweet perks. You can earn cash back and get your paycheck two days sooner. Keep in mind that no physical branches are available to manage your account.