Charles Schwab Bank Review 2025: Checking and Savings
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Overall institution rating
4.4
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 has excellent perks for travelers: no ATM fees, no foreign transaction fees and unlimited ATM fee reimbursements worldwide. NerdWallet considers it one of the best banks for avoiding ATM fees.
Best for: International travelers and others who want to avoid all ATM costs and don’t need to deposit cash.
- No overdraft fees.
- No monthly fees.
- No minimum opening deposits on checking or savings accounts.
- ATM fee rebates.
- Low rates on savings account.
- No cash deposit.
Full review
Full review
Charles Schwab Bank
Savings
Schwab Bank Investor Savings™
3.9
/53.9
/5APY
0.15%
With $0.01 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
APY
0.15%
With $0.01 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
Low rate but no regular fees. This account comes with a relatively low annual percentage yield of 0.15%, 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™
4.7
/54.7
/5Monthly fee
$0
APY
0.05%
With $0 min. balance for APY
Monthly fee
$0
APY
0.05%
With $0 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
Show details
Free ATM use worldwide. Schwab Bank has one of the best ATM fee reimbursement programs in the game, and no ATM or foreign transaction fees, making all ATM usage free worldwide. The fact that the account also has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements is a big bonus. While the account pays interest, which is rare for checking accounts in general, the rate is minimal.
To get the checking account, you must also open a linked brokerage account with Schwab, which has no minimum balance requirement.
» Want to see the competition? Check out our picks for the best online checking accounts
Customer experience
Many support options. Schwab Bank provides customer service through multiple channels, such as by phone, live chat, email and mail. The iOS app is favorably rated by customers, but the user rating for its Android version is much lower.
No cash deposits. 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
No 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.
Free overdraft protection. 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 be charged multiple times per day.
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). The ratings are incremented in tenths of a star.