How to Choose a Best Banks 2022-2023

How to Choose a Best Banks 2023

All banks are supposed to keep your money safe and enable you to manage your funds easily, but some do a better job than others. Since you’ll probably be working with your Best banks a lot, it’s important to choose yours carefully. Here are a few key considerations to bear in mind when figuring out how to choose a bank.

What type of bank do you want to work with?

Banks fall into three broad categories: brick-and-mortar, online, and credit unions. We will look at each of these below.

Brick and mortar banks

Brick-and-mortar banks are the kind that have been around forever. They have a branch or two in your neighborhood and you can go there to get personal help when you need it. You can also manage your money online. But maintaining a branch network is expensive, so these banks usually charge higher fees.

Online Best Banks

Online banks are similar to brick and mortar banks, but they have no branches. This significantly reduces their operating costs, and they pass their savings on to customers in the form of lower fees and higher annual percentage yields (APYs). They also have robust online and mobile banking tools.

Credit unions

Credit unions are not technically banks, but they offer many of the same services. These are usually smaller local or regional institutions and may offer more competitive rates than larger brick-and-mortar banks. But you have to meet certain criteria to become a member and you may not find branches or ATMs outside your local area.

What kind of accounts do you want?

Account options are an important factor when deciding how to choose a bank. Competition is fierce, but brick and mortar banks usually win out. Most have multiple checking accounts and savings accounts, plus certificates of deposit (CDs), money market accounts, credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, small business bank accounts and more. This makes them a great choice for those who want to do all their banking in one place.

Online banks and credit unions offer many of these services as well, but you may not have as many options. Many top online Best banks, for example, offer only one savings account and some don’t offer checking accounts at all. But because online banks offer much higher interest rates than traditional banks and charge lower fees, they still get their fair share of customers.

If you’re considering going with an online bank but still want to manage your money in one place, look for an institution that offers most, if not all, of the account types mentioned above.

How do you plan to access your funds?

Thinking about how you plan to deposit and withdraw cash can also help narrow down the best bank for you. Whether you go with a brick-and-mortar or online bank, you’ll be able to move money electronically, pay bills online, direct deposit funds and deposit checks remotely.

The biggest difference between the two is access to cash. Brick-and-mortar banks have plenty of branches and ATMs where you can deposit and withdraw cash as needed. Online banks have a nationwide ATM network for easy withdrawals, but depositing cash is not so easy. That’s why some people choose to hold onto a brick-and-mortar checking account, even if they do the rest of their banking online.

Read Also: Best Home Loan Interest Rate of all Banks 2022

How much are you planning to keep in the bank?

Many traditional bank accounts have minimum balance requirements and you’ll be charged a monthly maintenance fee if you don’t meet them. It is important to pay attention to this and find bank accounts with reasonable balance requirements. Or you can head to an online bank. These usually do not have balance requirements or maintenance fees.

People with large savings balances can also consider online banking. They have much higher APYs than savings accounts and CDs, and that can translate to more money for you in the long run. The table below compares savings account APYs for some of the top online and brick-and-mortar banks so you can see the difference.

What other fees does your bank charge?

As you begin to narrow down your options, you should dig deeper into each bank’s fee schedule. Compare the fees of some of the Best banks to see which one gives you the most value. Some common fees to watch out for include:

• Monthly maintenance fee
• Out-of-Network ATM Fees
• Overdraft fees
• Wire transfer fee

What are other customers saying about the bank?

Customer service is important, especially if you choose a brick-and-mortar bank. Check online reviews and see if your bank offers any relationship benefits like discounted fees or higher APY on savings accounts to customers who open multiple accounts with the bank. You can also try contacting the bank directly to ask questions about its products and services.

If you choose to bank online, chances are, you won’t be dealing with a live person much. But it still doesn’t hurt to check the company’s reputation. Even the best online and mobile banking tools can have problems from time to time, and you want to know you’ll have friendly representatives to help you.

How intuitive are its online and mobile banking tools?

Both online and brick-and-mortar banks allow customers to manage their money online through web portals or increasingly through mobile Best banks applications. However, some apps are easier to use than others. Look at customer reviews for Best banks apps and note any common problems or limitations.

You probably won’t be able to try these without a Best banks account, but reading customer reviews can help you sort the user-friendly apps from the error-prone ones.

Is the bank FDIC-insured?

Finally, it’s a good idea to double check that your Best bank is FDIC insured (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) before you open an account. This protects your money up to $250,000 per account per bank in case of Best banks failure. You’ll probably never need to use it, but it’s not security you want to be without.

If you choose a credit union, you won’t get FDIC insurance. That’s because credit unions are supported by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which does more or less the same thing as the FDIC.

Put it all together

Only you can decide where to park your cash, but if you consider the above, you’ll be able to narrow down your options until you find the right bank for you. And you don’t have to limit yourself to just one.

You can open a high-yield savings account at an online Best banks and keep the rest of your money at a brick-and-mortar bank. Or you can move everything to an online Best banks and just keep a checking account at your local Best banks. It’s all up to you. Think about what works best for your situation and then go with it. If something doesn’t work you can always change your mind later.