We took a close look at over 80 financial institutions, including the largest U.S. retail banks based on assets and internet search traffic; the nation’s largest credit unions, based on assets and membership; and other notable and/or emerging players in the industry. We rated them on criteria including annual percentage yields, minimum balances, fees, digital experience and more. Some of the providers are NerdWallet partners, but this did not influence our selection of the winner.
How we chose the winner:
Money market account providers are rated based on the following factors: interest rate (contributed to 30% of the rating), monthly fees (25%), distinguishing features (20%) and minimum opening deposit (25%). Also, up to 15% extra credit was given for a sign-up bonus.
In case of a tie, banks and credit unions were compared by category in the following order until one institution remained:
Ongoing interest rate.
Banking experience.
Monthly fee.
Lowest minimum balance.
How we verified our data:
NerdWallet writers and editors confirmed fees, rates, policies and other key features on each financial institution’s website. If an institution’s website was missing information, we contacted a representative directly for confirmation.