Charles Schwab Bank Review: Checking and Savings
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Overall institution rating
4.6
This company may be known primarily as an investing platform, but it’s also a bank that offers online checking and savings accounts. And the checking account in particular is excellent; it pays interest and comes with an outstanding ATM policy.
Best for: Those who want free use of ATMs all over the world and no monthly fees and don’t need to deposit cash.
Full review
Full review
Charles Schwab Bank
Savings
Schwab Bank Investor Savings™
3.9
/53.9
/5APY
0.48%
With $0.01 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
APY
0.48%
With $0.01 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
This account comes with a relatively low annual percentage yield of 0.48%, but there are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements associated with the account.
Still, most online banks pay more for savings.
» Want to compare rates? See our list of the best high-yield online savings accounts
Checking
Schwab Bank Investor Checking™
5.0
/55.0
/5Monthly fee
$0
APY
0.10%
With $0 min. balance for APY
Monthly fee
$0
APY
0.10%
With $0 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
Show details
Schwab Bank has one of the best ATM fee reimbursement programs in the game, and the fact that it has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements is a big bonus.
Schwab Bank checking offers unlimited ATM fee reimbursements, domestically and abroad. It also doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, making it one of the best banks to use if you’re traveling out of the country.
» Want to see the competition? Check out our picks for the best online checking accounts
Customer experience
Schwab Bank provides customer service through multiple avenues, including X (Twitter) and chat support. Phone support is available 24/7. The iOS app is favorably rated by customers, but the user rating for its Android version is much lower.
A drawback to Schwab Bank is that it doesn’t accept cash deposits. To fund your accounts, you can set up direct deposit or transfer or wire money from an account at another institution or deposit a check via mobile check deposit. You can also convert your cash into a check and send it in by mail.
Overdraft fees
Charles Schwab Bank doesn’t charge overdraft fees. If you don’t have enough money in a backup account, Schwab Bank may deny the overdraft transaction, though you won’t be charged a fee.
If you overdraft, Schwab Bank may pull money from funds in your linked Schwab One brokerage account or your Schwab Bank Investor Savings account, free of charge, if you set them up as sources for funds.
Many banks have eliminated these kinds of penalties, but some banks charge overdraft fees that cost as much as $36 each and can do so as often as six times in a day.
How does Schwab Bank compare?
4.00%
$300
4.35%
N/A
Methodology
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.