FundingShield’s wire fraud prevention solutions will now be available to Tata Consultancy Services’ clients, thanks to a partnership announced Tuesday.
The collaboration between the fintech and TCS, a global company that provides IT and consulting services to over 80 companies in the financial services sector, came to fruition because of ongoing fraud and cybersecurity concerns, said Ike Suri, CEO of FundingShield.
TCS’ clients will have direct access to FundingShield’s risk-mitigating ecosystem, allowing them to keep their data, bank account verifications and transactions safe, a press release stated. The fintech company offers coverage against wire and title fraud, settlement risk, closing agent compliance and cyber threats.
This partnership will by proxy also benefit borrowers by helping to keep their down payment and data protected, added Suri.
“If homebuyers show up to the altar robbed then they are out of money and lenders are out of money and so borrowers are forced to sue in hopes that they get their money back,” he said.
The prevalence of fraud in a mortgage transaction obligates companies to implement such technology to protect their clients, said Santosh Ananthakrishnan, global head of mortgage strategic initiatives at TCS, in a press release.
“Wire fraud prevention has become a mandatory capability as part of any mortgage solution, protecting lending institutions from multi-million dollar risks to the third-party closing, title, and settlement entities,” Ananthakrishnan said.
Fraud attempts grew in 2022 and are expected to continue their upward trajectory, according to a NexisLexis report published in May. Factors contributing to that forecast include economic uncertainties and the perception that small and midsize businesses are an easier target than consumers and online or mobile channel transactions.
Market strains can push lenders to cut costs, which may include shrinking the workforce that combats fraud or investing less in anti-fraud technology, the report said.
A separate report published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that business email compromise scams related to real estate set a record for dollar losses in 2022.
The 2,284 complaints received last year amounted to losses totaling $446.1 million, compared with $430.5 million in 2021.
Hedging Webinar; Home Insurance Nightmare; GSE Changes; Interview with Henry Broeksmit on Youth in the Industry
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Hedging Webinar; Home Insurance Nightmare; GSE Changes; Interview with Henry Broeksmit on Youth in the Industry
By: Rob Chrisman
Wed, Sep 6 2023, 9:59 AM
This morning I head to Dallas, Texas, where, if you ask Redfin, prices are up 5 percent for the year. Or Zillow will tell you prices are down 2 percent. Can’t we all agree on something? Certainly, we can all agree that inflation is simply too many dollars chasing too few goods. How about when too many houses are chasing too few insurance companies? No insurance company wants to be the last one standing. (Today’s “Mortgage Matters: The Weekly Roundup” at 11AM PT, 2PM ET, focuses on how LOs and brokers are dealing with the homeowners insurance nightmare.) In California, home to plenty of insurance companies dropping insuring homes, the Insurance Commissioner is an elected position. Ricardo Lara doesn’t want to lose his job, so doesn’t allow insurance companies to raise their premiums to compensate for risk. So, they drop out. “With the average premium priced over $1,400, some homeowners are opting to drop home insurance altogether. But this decision comes with some serious risks…” (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by LoanCare, a Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) division and award-winning developer of the most sophisticated mortgage servicing portfolio management tool, LoanCare Analytics, built to support MSR investors with a focus on customer engagement, liquidity, and credit risk. Hear an interview with MAXEX’s Henry Broeksmit on youth in the mortgage industry and career paths out of college.)
Lender and Broker Products, Programs, and Services
In burro racing (yes, that’s a thing), people run behind, alongside, and sometimes carry pack donkeys across rugged terrain in a bid for a unique Triple Crown title. If you feel like you are dragging your tech vendor around the innovation track, it may be time to swap your burro out for a pedigreed racehorse like SimpleNexus, an nCino company. The SimpleNexus suite of mortgage solutions provides borrowers and loan officers with the modern, single-sign convenience of managing mortgage loans from anywhere. What’s more, SimpleNexus leads the pack when it comes to continuous product enhancements, having recently released a loan officer dashboard to help originators effectively manage their pipelines, special HELOC loan support, several native integrations, and much more. If you’re eager to leave your competition in the dust, schedule a demo today.
Make no mistake, 101 courses aren’t just for college freshmen. In fact, mortgage lenders of all experience levels can benefit from Optimal Blue’s upcoming webinar, Hedging 101: The Benefits of Mandatory Delivery. This session will be back by popular demand on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 1 p.m. ET. Pipeline hedging experts Jeff McCarty and Mark Teteris, CMB, will walk attendees through the theories behind hedging practices, various hedging instruments, best execution analysis and strategies to employ during market fluctuations. Whether you’re just entertaining the idea of transitioning to mandatory delivery, or you’re already a hedging veteran, you won’t want to miss this informative and directional webinar. Save your seat today.
Fannie and Freddie News
If you like acronyms, here’s a bone for you: the FHFA is cogitating on allowing IMBs to access the FHLB. Sure, many lenders and vendors are focused on surviving the autumn and winter with stubbornly high mortgage rates and stubbornly low inventory levels, but those with a long time horizon may want to pay attention to the future of the Federal Home Loan Bank system, and a good place to start is a write up of a forum held earlier this year.
Fannie Mae maintains a dedicated Disaster Response webpage which provides valuable resources including where to locate additional guidance and direction in the Selling Guide for loans currently in the process of being originated or loans currently being serviced. Mortgage lenders and servicers play a key role in helping borrowers and homeowners deal with the financial effects of hurricanes, fires, floods, earthquakes, and other disasters. With the frequency and severity of such events affecting communities nationwide, Fannie Mae provides the tools and flexibility lenders and servicers need to provide effective assistance, including payment relief, loan modifications, and even the additional recovery support provided by HUD-approved housing counselors at Fannie Mae’s Disaster Response Network.
Two reports were released by Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General: FHFA Did Not Effectively Implement Records Management Training Controls for Onboarding Offboarding Personnel and Audit of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Privacy Program Fiscal Year 2023.
Beginning August 19th, Fannie Mae began accepting temporary interest rate buydowns on mortgage loans secured by standard manufactured homes (MH) and MH Advantage®. Now, lenders can help address affordability challenges with temporary interest rate savings. Refer to the buydown policies in the Selling Guide.
Fannie Mae updated LL-2023-05, Advance Notice of Changes to Master Servicing Processes and Systems, to include the effective dates servicers are required to submit borrower payment activity on summary reporting mortgage loans in Q2 2024 and provide notice that the Servicer’s Reconciliation Facility™ (SURF™) application will be retired on Oct. 31, 2023.
Brush up on your quality control (QC) basics with Fannie Mae’s new QC Fundamentals Boot Camp webcast. This session provides a detailed overview of Part D in the Selling Guide, which covers lenders’ QC processes. A robust QC program helps strengthen loan quality. Watch the webcast and revisit the fundamentals of QC.
The Uniform Closing Dataset (UCD) Submissions and Findings Report in Fannie Mae Connect™ can help lenders identify Phase 3B critical edits ahead of the Nov. 6 transition. Lenders who have access to the report can self-serve by pulling the findings to review the compliance of their submissions. Visit the UCD Critical Edits Transition Resources page.
Freddie Mac issued a reminder to homeowners and mortgage servicers of its relief options for those affected by Hurricane Idalia. Freddie Mac’s forbearance program provides homeowners mortgage relief for up to 12 months without incurring late fees or penalties. Freddie Mac’s disaster relief options are available to homeowners who have been impacted by an eligible disaster. This includes anytime the homeowner’s property experiences an insurable loss, and also covers instances where their homes or places of employment are located in Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Areas where federal Individual-Assistance programs are made available to affected individuals and households. Foreclosure and other legal proceedings are also suspended while homeowners are on a forbearance plan. More information is available on My Home by Freddie Mac where owners can read about the steps they can take to help recover from a natural disaster, including frequently asked questions related to disaster and mortgage relief.
Partnership Announced
FundingShield, a market-leading fintech providing plug-and-play solutions to manage risk, compliance, and fraud prevention, has entered a partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a global leader in IT services, consulting, and business solutions. Together the partners hope to protect even more lenders, home buyers, and sellers from the rapid increase in wire and title fraud in recent years.
“As cybersecurity risks become more pervasive, lenders are focusing more on data integrity to ensure that data inconsistencies are resolved, and potential frauds are avoided. FundingShield’s live ecosystem of service provider source bank data is the largest in the industry with over 95 percent coverage. TCS clients can now benefit from direct access to FundingShield’s cost-saving and risk-mitigating ecosystem, allowing them to uphold superior standards in data integrity, bank account verification, and counterparty compliance.”
“TCS’s global presence, business acumen, and trusted relationships with the world’s largest financial institutions will allow FundingShield to deliver its innovative products straight to the banks who need them the most,” said Ike Suri, CEO of FundingShield. “The safest way to verify information is through automated, real-time, source-data verification, which is FundingShield’s expertise. We look forward to bringing our automations to more of the top US banks, GSEs, and to numerous other sectors where TCS has deep domain knowledge and experience.”
Capital Markets
The yield curve is a graphic depiction of U.S. Treasury yields from overnight to 30-year rates. The fact that it has been “inverted,” meaning short term rates are higher than long term rates, can be used to forecast the potential of a recession. So far that has failed.
Indeed, the yield curve “bear steepened” to open the week as investors weigh the resilience of the U.S. economy against slowdowns in China and Europe, while surging oil prices added further fodder to inflation concerns after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended temporary production cuts to the end of the year. The narrative that the U.S. economy is still expanding albeit at a slower pace floated around as markets continued to digest that there were 187k jobs added in August, though the prior two months’ of data were revised downward.
Looking back to last week, labor force participation in August was its highest since February 2020 at 62.8 percent. Additionally, the JOLTS report showed job openings declined to 8.8 million in July which was the lowest number since March 2021. As the supply and demand for labor returned to balance, wage growth cooled to 0.2 percent. Employment growth near its pre-pandemic rate and slower wage growth are welcome data points from the Fed’s perspective. Meanwhile, businesses continue to pull back on capital expenditures and the ISM manufacturing index remained in contractionary territory for the tenth consecutive month in August. Despite higher interest rates, new home construction increased in August as limited resale inventory and slowing material price inflation combined with strong builder incentives have boosted new home sales.
Despite a drop in mortgage rates, mortgage applications decreased 2.9 percent from one week earlier to the lowest level since 1996, according to data from MBA. That kicked off today’s economic calendar, alongside the July trade deficit. The deficit was expected to register $67.0 billion versus $65.5 billion in June. Later this morning brings the final August S&P Global services PMI, ISM non-manufacturing PMI for August, and remarks from Boston Fed President Collins and Dallas Fed President Logan. In between Fed speakers, the Beige Book will be released. Also of potential interest, the Bank of Canada will release its latest monetary policy decision later this morning, where rates are expected to be held steady at 5.00 percent. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices roughly unchanged from Tuesday evening, the 10-year yielding 4.25 after closing yesterday at 4.25 percent, and the 2-year at 4.95.
Employment
Evergreen Home Loans™ shines bright on Experience.com’s index, proudly ranking in the Top 10 for Large Division Mortgage Companies. Out of 300+ lenders, our distinction is evident. With over 50,000 loan officers indexed, our stellar associates and teams have clinched positions in the Top 1 percent in Customer Ratings: Corey Newell, Kendra Graybeal, Ruby Grynberg and Team Scott Reynolds. Exceptional customer service is the Evergreen hallmark. “Our dedication is to provide a WOW customer experience and deliver on time, as promised. It’s our brilliant team that turns this vision into reality, echoing our customer’s sentiments,” expressed Tamra Rieger, President of Evergreen Home Loans. Ready to be a part of our esteemed legacy? Visit: Careers at Evergreen.
“Stronghill Capital, LLC, an Austin, TX-based Wholesale and Correspondent Lender is HIRING! If you are an Account Executive with 3+ years of experience and an existing book of Correspondents and/or Brokers that you want to introduce to a dynamic company with a responsive management team that strives to provide world-class service levels, sharp price execution, and is committed to building the Non-QM ‘private money’ space, contact Matt Brammer. As we continue to expand, we are open to discussions throughout much of the United States.”
“At Homestead Funding, we understand the dynamic nature of the market, and we’re dedicated to equipping our team with the tools and resources needed to excel. We push the needle forward by discovering and delivering niche products that create more opportunities for homebuyers and allow us to better serve clients. Differentiate yourself in your marketplace: Join a team whose focus is on pioneering the future of home financing. We position our Loan Originators for success by providing them with cutting-edge resources, next-level operations support, and tailored marketing solutions built to drive engagement. Contact Michele Teague today to learn how you can elevate your career with a company that champions your growth, harnesses market trends, and empowers you to succeed.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that George Rogers has joined the association as Vice President of Legislative Affairs, responsible for advocating on behalf of MBA’s legislative and policy priorities on Capitol Hill. Congratulations!
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QC/Fraud, LO AI, MSR Financing, GNMA Programs; Disaster Updates and Guides – The CFPB is There for Us
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QC/Fraud, LO AI, MSR Financing, GNMA Programs; Disaster Updates and Guides – The CFPB is There for Us
By: Rob Chrisman
Tue, Sep 5 2023, 10:40 AM
It was a rough weekend. My cat Myrtle, resting comfortably at the top of the food chain, was visibly miffed at me not nominating her (again) for the vaulted “40 under 40” award. I reminded her that she is way over that in cat years, but my explanation fell on her one deaf ear and her one good ear despite me telling her how much line-caught salmon we could buy with the nomination fee. (Hey, don’t get me wrong. I know some of those folks who were nominated or selected, and the industry is better off because of them!) If lenders would like a little good news, they should know that, despite the low interest rates we saw a few years ago, people are still moving, and that’s a source of business. Around 8.6 percent of Americans moved last year, slightly more than the previous year, but still below pre-pandemic levels. Accordingly, WalletHub released its report on 2023’s Best States to Live in. Chalk it up to complete East Coast bias, but Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and New York took the top four spots. Really? (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by LoanCare, a Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) division and award-winning developer of the most sophisticated mortgage servicing portfolio management tool, LoanCare Analytics, built to support MSR investors with a focus on customer engagement, liquidity, and credit risk. Hear an interview with Flagstar’s Jason Lee on how capital markets departments balance volume and margin.)
Lender and Broker Products, Programs, and Services
Mortgage servicers of all sizes trust their portfolios to MSP®, Black Knight’s loan servicing system. In fact, Fahe (Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises), a nonprofit that serves the people and communities of Appalachia, recently signed a contract for MSP. In Black Knight’s recent announcement, Fahe states that top-tier technology will help it realize its mission and better serve its communities. Wondering if the MSP loan servicing system is the right fit for your servicing business? Learn why it’s the one loan servicing system for every mortgage servicer.
NEW: Maxwell’s Mini-Guide to Surviving Today’s Big Housing Market Reset, ft. advice from Maxwell Co-founder & CEO John Paasonen, Rob Chrisman himself, theLender EVP Chris Ledwidge, and more. Is your lending business prepared for a market reset? To thrive, lenders need a fresh game plan driven by home buyer trends, creative lead generation, and insightful data. Maxwell put this guide together to help you refresh your thinking for the market ahead. In it, you’ll learn ways to rebuild your pipeline, the borrower segments that are still rising in the housing market, and how to better leverage data to make confident business decisions. Lenders: The next five years likely won’t be anything like the last five. Now is the time to rethink your business. Click here to download your free copy of Maxwell’s Mini-Guide to Surviving Today’s Big Housing Market Reset.
Profitable Mortgage Companies are focused on the long-term value of the customer relationship. Essex Mortgage’s partners enjoy greater customer retention, GNMA pass-thru pricing, no overlays, no LLPA’s, NO EPOs and NO EPDs, as well as Tax Deferred asset growth and a long-term cash flow stream without having to be a GNMA issuer themselves. Please contact us to discuss how the Essex GNMA Excess MSR program can help retain and enhance your customer relationship, broaden guidelines, and expand into new markets. Please contact Kimberly Schenck.
“Your business can benefit from powerful national banking resources that incorporate personalized, one-on-one relationships with industry experts. Western Alliance Bank delivers stable, trusted treasury management and fraud protection services from cash management to financing to account security. These tools can help you keep operations running smoothly, conveniently manage custodial and payroll accounts, and originate streamlined online wire transfers. Our Specialized Mortgage Services team tailors mortgage finance products to your needs, including warehouse lending, MSR financing, note financing and corporate credit card services that offer speed to approval and certainty of execution. Discover how competitive rates, efficient cash flow cycles and a streamlined banking relationship can help you achieve your goals. Contact Mark Short (469) 702-6212, Nick Richards (646) 708-1211, Nicole Avey (720) 633-4759, Elizabeth Mix (480) 329-2122, Jim Karr (626) 390-8534 or Chris Martin (480) 341-5483. Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC.”
Ready to mend your relationship with your loan origination system? Join the TRUE team on September 20th and hear directly from TruStone and V.I.P Mortgage on how they’re applying AI technology to solve the challenges related to their LOS platforms. The roundtable discussion will unpack the frustrations related to most of today’s more popular LOS platforms, the crucial importance of well-organized borrower data, and how applying AI at specific points in the document journey can dramatically change the way LOS platforms perform. Sign up today.
Capacity is heading to The Mortgage Collaborative’s “Music in My Ears Conference” in Nashville, TN, next week! CEO David Karandish will speak on Monday, September 11th, at 3:15 p.m. about our latest offerings: generative AI-powered Guideline Search and tailored AI Assessments. Get game-changing, personalized insights on successfully implementing AI and automation in your business! Be sure to stop by our session in Nashville or book one-on-one time with our team here. The mortgage industry desperately needs a platform that securely integrates with lenders’ key systems, providing loan officers with instant, actionable answers about borrower opportunities, loan statuses, guidelines, and more. Capacity reduces the time LOs spend logging into a sea of endless systems to find information. If this sounds familiar, why not find out how Capacity can save your team time and frustration? See how it works.
“TENA Companies, Inc. is your strategic mortgage Quality Control partner in the fight against fraud. Develop your strategy against evolving mortgage market fraud with help from our proficient and highly trained auditors. Fraud involving income and employment schemes, as well as occupancy-related deception, continue to impact risk levels for all lenders. As highlighted in Fannie Mae’s July 2023 Quality Insider: Reviewing your fraud controls in QC, a robust Quality Control plan is an integral component for identifying patterns that can be indicative of fraud. These insights enable lenders to proactively implement processes for fraud prevention. Safeguard your operations, ensure risk mitigation, and strengthen your Quality Control by partnering with TENA. Contact us today!”
Disaster News and Updates
Last year, U.S. disaster damage totaled $171.5B. Destructive weather and climate events, or bad forestation or building practices, factor into the mix of hurricanes, wildfires, tornados, and drought. Few are forecasting them to decrease or affect a smaller geographic range. Is your lending operation ready? What are you telling your borrowers about insurance? Major insurers say they will cut out damage caused by hurricanes, wind, and hail, not to mention along coastlines and in wildfire prone areas, suggesting that companies will just insure for liability and fire. So if that is the case, will insurance rates fall? Of course not. But where does all of this leave the mortgage servicers?
When disasters strike, lenders often postpone loan closings, impacting origination revenue and impairing the ability to fund new loans. Loans that have already been funded may be difficult to sell, further limiting liquidity. Black Knight has a piece worth skimming, or more, about how you can reduce your financial exposure, decrease costs, and better serve borrowers by preparing before, during and after a disaster. Download a complimentary ebook: Climate-Change and Weather-Related Disasters: How to Manage Mortgage Risk.
Nearly every part of the United States faces natural disasters, whether they be earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, drought, or volcanoes. A declaration by FEMA triggers lender and servicer policies and procedures.
Mortgage Quality Management & Research (MQMR) sent out Fannie Mae Disaster Relief – FAQ. Check out more equally insightful FAQs. (To learn more about Mortgage Quality Management & Research, download MQMR’s white paper.)
Recently we’ve had Florida Hurricane Idalia FEMA-4734-DR, Illinois Severe Storms and Flooding DR-4728-IL, Mississippi DR-4727, and Vermont DR-4720: Update to End Date of Occurrence.
Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas were hit by Hurricane Idalia, causing damage from storm surge, flooding, and high winds. Recovering from a catastrophic event like this one can feel overwhelming. It’s not always easy to know where to turn for help and what steps to take. The CFPB put together a guide to handling finances that you can share with the people you serve, to help them manage the money decisions they face. View CFPB’s disasters and emergencies guide providing resources to help recovery, including how to tackle housing issues, protect finances, deal with property damage, manage bills, and ask financial companies for help.
Freddie Mac issued a reminder to homeowners and mortgage servicers of its relief options for those affected by Hurricane Idalia. Freddie Mac’s forbearance program provides homeowners mortgage relief for up to 12 months without incurring late fees or penalties. Freddie Mac’s disaster relief options are available to homeowners who have been impacted by an eligible disaster. This includes anytime the homeowner’s property experiences an insurable loss, and also covers instances where their homes or places of employment are located in Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Areas where federal Individual-Assistance programs are made available to affected individuals and households. Foreclosure and other legal proceedings are also suspended while homeowners are on a forbearance plan. More information is available on My Home by Freddie Mac where owners can read about the steps they can take to help recover from a natural disaster, including frequently asked questions related to disaster and mortgage relief.
Fannie Mae reminded homeowners and renters impacted by natural disasters, including Hurricane Idalia, of available mortgage assistance and disaster relief options. Mortgage servicers are also reminded of options to assist homeowners under Fannie Mae’s guidelines.
Under Fannie Mae’s guidelines for single-family mortgages impacted by a natural disaster:
Homeowners and renters looking for disaster recovery resources may visit FannieMae.com to learn more about addressing immediate needs. Fannie Mae also offers help navigating the broader financial effects of a disaster to homeowners and renters through disaster recovery counseling at 855-HERE2HELP (855-437-3243).
PHH Correspondent posted information regarding Illinois DR-4728: New Disaster Declared, Mississippi DR-4727, and Vermont DR-4720. Go to the PHH company library to view the announcement and for all disaster declared counties, requirements, procedures, and conditions.
On 9/1/2023, with Amendment No. 1 to DR-4734, FEMA declared federal disaster aid with individual assistance has been made available to 6 additional Florida counties affected by Hurricane Idalia from 8/27/2023 and continuing. See the attached announcement for inspection requirements. AmeriHome Mortgage 20230901-CL Disaster Announcement.
Capital Markets
It’s looking more and more like a goldilocks scenario for the Federal Reserve. Last week was crammed with key economic data on the labor market and inflation which will probably be instrumental in shaping the decision of the Fed’s monetary policy committee at its meeting later this month. Many of the indicators pointed towards cooling in the economy, strengthening hopes that it would be enough for the central bank to keep rates steady. Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report showed an uptick in the unemployment rate. Market participants took heart from the data, which suggests that the highly resilient labor market is finally cracking and that the effects of the Fed’s aggressive tightening campaign are showing up.
More specifically, we learned at the close of last week that U.S. unemployment rose to 3.8 percent in August, a significant increase from July’s rate of 3.5 percent and the highest percentage since February 2022, as the economy continued to lose momentum built up after pandemic lockdowns. Non-Farm Payrolls barely beat consensus (expected +170k, actual +187k) and previous prints were revised lower (June was cut from +209k to +105k). More people entered the workforce, increasing the size of the labor force by 736k, which will help bring supply and demand more into balance.
Keep in mind that increased hiring and slowing wage growth are key ingredients of the Fed’s fight against pandemic-era inflation, and the overall report was good news for the bond market, as it shows the Fed’s tightening is gaining traction in the labor market. In theory, this will take some of the pressure off the Fed to keep hiking rates and give the central bank some confidence to let previously enacted hikes work their way through the economy. The next Fed meeting is only two weeks away.
Though we’ve already received the latest rate decision from Royal Bank of Australia this morning, where rates were held steady at 4.10 percent, today is light on economic data. After this commentary goes out, markets will receive August employment trends and July factory orders. Highlights from the remainder of the week include September’s Fed Beige Book tomorrow and July Wholesale Inventories on Friday. We begin the trading week with Agency MBS prices worse .125-.250 and the 10-year yielding 4.22 after closing last week at 4.17 percent on no real news.
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Fraud attempts on mortgage payoffs increased by five times in the second quarter versus the prior three months, and based on July’s data, that elevated pace is still ongoing, CertifID found.
Among the causes is the disruption in the banking industry caused by three high profile failures earlier this year, which resulted in shifts in deposit relationships.
The change opened the door for the fraudsters, explained Thomas Cronkright, the co-founder and executive chairman at CertifID.
The fraud prevention company unveiled its PayoffProtect verification product last September. In the second quarter, PayoffProtect caught $12 million of fraudulent payoffs, up from just $1.9 million in the first quarter.
The crisis at Silicon Valley Bank, the first high profile failure, happened on March 10. That started a chain of events where depositors pulled money from similarly situated depositories, which later also resulted in the closures of Signature Bank and First Republic Bank.
And within that transfer of liquid assets is where the fraudsters are able to find an opening. They pretend to be the entity receiving the payoff and contact the party responsible for moving the funds, saying they had previously been using a community bank.
The perpetrators claimed that they instead had established a new relationship with another bank and the funds needed to be sent to accounts there that they controlled. “There was a ton of that going on during this period that we reported against,” Cronkright said.
And because this was tied to an ongoing news story, victims had their guard down.
Higher home values are playing into the opportunity. “The title settlement industry handles a lot of payments where the buyer is receiving a substantial net proceeds amount, but it pales in comparison to the mortgage obligations that are satisfied at closing,” Cronkright said. And at the end of the first quarter, total mortgage debt outstanding was over $12 trillion.
It is not just the old line attributed to Willie Sutton about robbing banks because it’s where the money is, but another adage as well, which is that these fraudsters never retire a successful scam, Cronkright said.
It’s easy for the criminal to impersonate the borrower and obtain loan payoff information. And on the other end, institutions need to be more diligent in verifying where the funds are being transferred to. In one case, CertifID had the fraudulent information and used it to test a financial institution and four times a bank employee said the data was correct, Cronkright said.
Once they find success, the crooks are able to “layer in” and set up multiple transactions where they attempt to divert funds, he continued.
And this is just another flavor of the same business email compromise scams, which have plagued all sorts of commerce in recent years. Later, when they have indications that the transaction is progressing, a fraudster is able to imitate the borrower or another legitimate party.
Real estate related complaints reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about business email compromise schemes resulted in a record amount of dollar losses, $446.1 million, and the second-most ever number of incidents, 2,284, during 2022. And mortgage fraud experts agree that those totals are likely understatements of the size of the problem.
Mortgage payoffs represented 24% of cases and 47% of losses reported to CertifID’s fraud recovery services last year. Its State of Wire Fraud report found $1.4 billion or over 340,000 suspect wire transactions during 2022.
Another reason for the uptick is that fraud prevention firms have developed better detection tools, so more incidents are being reported, Cronkright said.
He has a second point of view on this, as Cronkright is also an owner of Sun Title Agency, where he has to manage against this very risk.
“You’re managing it on a transaction-by-transaction basis, and we have seen the movement across the financial markets and deposit accounts,” Cronkright said.
The upheaval in banking has people in that business asking, “Are we done yet? And we’re good for now or are we going to continue to see a lot of that depository movement?” he asked rhetorically.
With home sale transactions down, fraudsters are turning to mortgage payoff fraud to secure bigger payouts.
Mortgage payoff fraud occurs when a title company mistakenly sends a mortgage payoff to a fraudulent bank account after receiving wiring instructions that appear to be from the mortgage servicer. The instructions, however, are actually from fraudsters.
From the first quarter to the second quarter of this year,the market saw a fivefold increase in mortgage payoff fraud, according to a new report from fraud prevention tech firm CertifID.
The firm caught $1.9 million in attempted mortgage payoff fraud in Q1 2023. By Q2 of this year, that number rose 532% to $12 million, according to CEO Tyler Adams.
Grand Rapids, Michigan-based CertifID, whose identity verification toolset aims to secure mortgage payoffs, first began seeing instances of mortgage payoff fraud three years ago, said Adams, who noted that an increase in fraudulent activity was likely due to a “breakdown of processes and technology”.
Adams suggested the stark increase in mortgage payoff fraud was likely the result of a cooler housing market with fewer real estate transactions. Mortgage payoffs, which average more than $236,000, typically yield much higher payouts than wire fraud. They often are initiated through a business email compromise, with the target being the mortgage lender, he said.
“Fraudsters are really crafty when it comes to mortgage servicing, because a lot of the time they are able to send an e-fax to a title company and it replaces the current statement they have on file,” he said.
In the mortgage servicer environment, minimal communication between title firms and mortgage servicers open up opportunities for fraudsters. It’s also common for mortgage servicers to change the banks they use to receive mortgage payoffs, which, sometimes, can make it difficult to distinguish whether a change in wiring instructions is fraudulent or legitimate.
A lack of frequent communication between mortgage servicers and title companies also can mean successful mortgage payoff fraud attempts don’t get caught until the seller receives a late payment notice from their lender on a loan they believed was paid off at closing. The delay in discovery can make it nearly impossible to recover the lost funds.
As mortgage payoff fraud increases, CertifID said it’s expecting to see a sizable quarter-over-quarter increase based on preliminary numbers for July.
Adams advises that firms be vigilant against anything that appears unusual.
“Always be wary of last-minute changes or updates to wiring instructions,” Adams said. “If you end up with two payoff statements and you can’t tell which one is right, make sure to call the lender first, no matter how long you need to wait on the phone to get verification.”
With home sale transactions down, fraudsters are turning to mortgage payoff fraud to secure bigger payouts.
Mortgage payoff fraud occurs when a title company mistakenly sends a mortgage payoff to a fraudulent bank account after receiving wiring instructions that appear to be from the mortgage servicer. The instructions, however, are actually from fraudsters.
From the first quarter to the second quarter of this year,the market saw a fivefold increase in mortgage payoff fraud, according to a new report from fraud prevention tech firm CertifID.
The firm caught $1.9 million in attempted mortgage payoff fraud in Q1 2023. By Q2 of this year, that number rose 532% to $12 million, according to CEO Tyler Adams.
Grand Rapids, Michigan-based CertifID, whose identity verification toolset aims to secure mortgage payoffs, first began seeing instances of mortgage payoff fraud three years ago, said Adams, who noted that an increase in fraudulent activity was likely due to a “breakdown of processes and technology”.
Adams suggested the stark increase in mortgage payoff fraud was likely the result of a cooler housing market with fewer real estate transactions. Mortgage payoffs, which average more than $236,000, typically yield much higher payouts than wire fraud. They often are initiated through a business email compromise, with the target being the mortgage lender, he said.
“Fraudsters are really crafty when it comes to mortgage servicing, because a lot of the time they are able to send an e-fax to a title company and it replaces the current statement they have on file,” he said.
In the mortgage servicer environment, minimal communication between title firms and mortgage servicers open up opportunities for fraudsters. It’s also common for mortgage servicers to change the banks they use to receive mortgage payoffs, which, sometimes, can make it difficult to distinguish whether a change in wiring instructions is fraudulent or legitimate.
A lack of frequent communication between mortgage servicers and title companies also can mean successful mortgage payoff fraud attempts don’t get caught until the seller receives a late payment notice from their lender on a loan they believed was paid off at closing. The delay in discovery can make it nearly impossible to recover the lost funds.
As mortgage payoff fraud increases, CertifID said it’s expecting to see a sizable quarter-over-quarter increase based on preliminary numbers for July.
Adams advises that firms be vigilant against anything that appears unusual.
“Always be wary of last-minute changes or updates to wiring instructions,” Adams said. “If you end up with two payoff statements and you can’t tell which one is right, make sure to call the lender first, no matter how long you need to wait on the phone to get verification.”
Amid depleted origination volumes in the first half of 2023, wire and title fraud risk were on the rise in the second quarter, with over half of the transactions analyzed by FundingShield having some sort of defect.
The overall error rate for the quarter was 50.2%, compared to 41.6% in the second quarter of 2022. The analysis was based on a $68 billion portfolio of real estate closings, the fraud prevention solutions company said.
Per the report, there was a 22% increase in issues pertaining to document transfers between agents, title insurers and lenders compared to the previous quarter.
The second quarter also saw a 15% rise in agents failing to keep their licenses active with states and insurance commissioners. Additionally, the transactions analyzed had a 6.7% increase in errors found in closing protection letters.
On average, loans identified as problematic had almost two issues per loan, pointing to “the lack of appropriate controls by closing agents to identify and fix issues,” the report said.
In comparing the first half of 2023 to the year prior, there was a 12.6% increase in the number of loans with issues, a 6.5% increase in closing protection letter-related errors and a 4.7% increase in issues with proof of insurance.
The report also points to the continued prevalence of email phishing, which is “one of the fastest and most effective ways that fraudsters scam parties in a real estate transaction.”
Ike Suri, the CEO of FundingShield, challenged the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s claim that 2022 saw $10.3 billion in fraud losses in the report. He points out that this number is “being grossly under reported based on [his company’s] experience identifying, preventing, and remediating issues in real-time.”
Business email compromise scams related to real estate set a record for dollar losses in 2022, as the number of cases reported to the FBI rose for the second consecutive year.The 2,284 complaints received last year, the second most ever, lagged the all-time high of 2,593 set in 2018. In 2021, consumers reported 2,149 incidents, per the government agency.
In a vacant lot or seller impersonation scam, public records are searched to identify real estate that is free of mortgage or other liens, as well as the identity of the property owner. Oftentimes this leads to the discovery of vacant lots. Then, posing as the property owner, the scammer contacts a real estate agent to list the property. All of the communications occur through digital or email interfaces. The property is then listed, typically below market value to generate interest in the listing. When it comes to close on the sale of the property the scammer will request a remote notary signing. The scammer then impersonates the notary and returns falsified documents to the title firm or closing attorney involved in the transaction. The title firm then transfers the closing proceeds to the scammer.
“You hear about people getting duped by people pretending to be title companies or Realtors and directing parties within the transaction,” said David Kennedy, the CEO of Fidelity Land Title Agency of Cincinnati. “That is the typical fraud that we usually see with someone impersonating somebody already involved in the transaction and trying to get them to send the wire to the wrong place. This time was different though because they were pretending to be a party in the transaction right from the very beginning.”
Kennedy’s firm had a close encounter with vacant lot fraud earlier this year, but they caught it before the transaction closed.
“We’ve been hearing about this type of fraud for two years, but this was the first time that we have actually seen it take place here in our area,” Kennedy said. “We are glad we felt that something fishy was going on and that our technology partner, CertifID, verified those feelings for us.”
According to CertifID, vacant lot fraud is usually not discovered until the time of recording or transferring documents with the applicable county.
“This recent trend involving seller impersonation is particularly concerning, as the real property owner is typically not aware nor in a position to prevent the fraud, until it is too late,” said Thomas W. Cronkright II, Executive Chairman of CertifID. “Unfortunately, it’s just the latest evolution of wire fraud that affects title companies, law firms, lenders, realtors, and home buyers and sellers.”
In Florida, Christian Ross of Ross Law | Ross Title is no stranger to seller impersonation fraud.
“Someone recently told me that the Florida of today is the U.S. of tomorrow, so a lot of times we see this type of stuff before most other parts of the county and this was no exception,” Ross said. “We have a lot of absentee owners here that come from all over the world, fall in love with the beaches and buy property, so when these fraudsters started to target this game, it was a natural option because it is a very transient community.”
In addition to the frequent comings and goings of Florida property owners, the state also sees quite a few land sales every year. In 2021, Florida was responsible for 12.8% of total land sales in the U.S., second only to Texas (14.6%), according to data from Realtors Land Institute and the National Association of Realtors. This, along with the fact that many properties in Florida are not occupied year-round, makes Florida a prime playground for fraudsters.
Other states with high land sale rates include South Dakota, Idaho, Iowa and Utah, with land sales making up 60.0%, 32.4%, 29.4% and 28.6% of realtor’s sales in 2021, according to data from Realtors Land Institute and NAR.
Over the past few years all types of fraud have been on the rise. In 2022, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) identified a potential fraud loss for the year of $10.2 billion, up from $6.9 billion in 2021. In addition, of the 800,944 complaints received by the IC3 in 2022, 11,727 were real estate related.
“Real estate represents a high value target for criminals, so as fraud increases generally, we will likely continue to see new types of scams emerge in the housing space,” Elizabeth Blosser, the American Land Title Association’svice president of government affairs, wrote in an email.
Over at CertifID, Adams believes the recent uptick in seller impersonation fraud is due to the overall decrease in the number of real estate transactions, with existing home sales dropping 34% year over year in 2022 to an annual pace of 5.03 million, according to NAR.
“Fraudsters are always going to go for the easiest place to generate money,” Adams said. “There were fewer real estate transactions taking place, so there were less opportunities for them to defraud a particular transaction, and so what we saw was that they started to go out and manufacture closings by posing as sellers and reaching out to real estate agents. With fewer deals happening, agents are eager to jump on the listing and they maybe aren’t doing as much of their due diligence.”
Adams said key to preventing seller impersonation fraud is taking a layered approach to identity verification and validation for sellers. This includes device verification, where the party acting as the seller must correctly identify their geographic location based on the IP address of the device they originally registered with CertifID, multifactor authentication using the verified phone number the seller provided, and knowledge-based authentication.
This approach is necessary as simply using an ID card validator is not enough, according to Adams.
“There are a lot of services that you can purchase where you can take a picture of the front and back of a license and it will tell you whether or not the card is legitimate or fraudulent and unfortunately those services have a high rate of false positives,” Adams said. “They also, in some cases, can’t tell the difference between a fake ID and a real ID, and they are not able to say who is actually in possession of that ID card.”
This is a challenge Jaime Kosofsky of Brady & Kosofsky in North Carolina has run into. His firm was hit by two seller impersonation frauds in the fall of 2022, despite having multiple layers of cyber security, a disaster recovery plan and transaction verifications in place. Kosofsky feels fake IDs are at the crux of his firm’s misfortune.
“You can buy fake scannable IDs,” Kosofsky said. “You then take that ID to a bank, set up an account with the fake ID and then you find a suitable property by using public record and you are ready to commit seller impersonation fraud and that is exactly what happened to us. The guy had a Texas ID, a Florida notary and the property was in North Carolina. Just checking IDs is not enough.”
While industry experts stress that identity verification is a necessary step in ensuring a secure transaction, Ross at Ross Law | Ross Title, said there are plenty of warning signs you can keep an eye out for even prior to reaching the closing table.
Like the fraudster Kosofksy’s firm dealt with, Ross said to be wary of a seller who has an out of state ID and home address and is using a notary from a third state.
“We’d get people who would be impersonating someone who’s forwarding address was in Michigan, so they would get a fake ID with a driver’s license from Michigan with the correct forwarding address on it, but then they would be in England for the signing and then they’d want the money sent to a bank in Singapore,” Ross said. “That definitely tipped us off because very few people really live like that.”
Ross also noted that warning bells ring for him when fraudsters posing as sellers are “almost too easy to work with,” and that they are always mysteriously out of town.
His firm has begun the practice of mailing letters to the property owner’s home address as listed on tax and property records, especially if the property being listed for sale is not their primary residence.
In addition to Ross’ red flags, ALTA suggests comparing the seller’s signature to previously recorded public documents, to manage the notarization process and only use validated contact details, such as the mailing address on tax records, to contact the seller.
“Knowing scammers are constantly changing tactics, ALTA members frequently share their latest experiences defending against fraud with other real estate professionals via meetings, communication portals and educational events,” Blosser wrote. “While it is a big win every time a title agent identifies and stops fraud, the sooner fraud can be detected in a transaction, the better it is for everyone. Certainly, everyone involved in a real estate transaction has a role to play in combating fraud.”
In spite of bank failures over the past three decades, most banks and credit unions in the U.S. remain secure places to store your money. One of the benefits credit unions and banks offer is easy access to your money.
Account holders can withdraw money quickly from a checking account at a bank branch or with a debit card, often with no fees. They can also find easy access and higher interest rates with a savings or money market account.
Keeping your money in a bank or credit union is considered safe because your money is insured up by the FDIC or NCUA, respectively.
In the event of a bank failure, which occurred more than 100 times during the financial crisis that spanned 2008 to 2012, some of your money is still protected by the federal government. Money in all U.S. banks, including the nation’s five biggest banks, is FDIC insured up to $250,000, per person, per account.
Fortunately, bank failures are less common today. The FDIC reported that the last time an FDIC insured bank failure occurred was October 2020. The FDIC paid out an estimated $18.3 million to account holders.
Credit unions carry similar protection in the form of insurance through the National Credit Union Administration.
How to Choose a Safe Bank Account
You already know that if a bank fails, the federal government will protect a large portion of your funds through FDIC insurance. You can spread your money between multiple checking and savings accounts so that no account holds more than the maximum $250,000 that is FDIC insured.
When you’re looking for the safest bank to open a new bank account, you want to compare other factors, including the bank’s total assets, security measures, fraud liability policies, history, and more.
What We Mean By a Safe Bank
You can see from this list of safest banks in the U.S. that bank security doesn’t always depend on the bank’s size. You’ll find financial institutions ranging from smaller banks to the largest banks on this list.
Bank safety means that the bank uses state-of-the-art security measures to protect your money, including:
Data encryption for their own systems and for online banking
Secure online bill pay
Two-factor authentication
Alerts for unauthorized transactions
Guarantee against unauthorized access
Card locking by app or phone
Direct deposit
We’ll look at these and other safety measures. Then, we’ll explore what makes some of the biggest banks in the U.S. some of the most secure banks and which other banks are keeping pace. Read on to find out: What is the safest bank in the U.S.?
Safety Measures Banks Use
Banks use a combination of training and state-of-the-art technology to keep account holder’s money secure. This includes training bank employees in security best practices and how to respond promptly to fraud alerts. It also includes bank policies, such as $0 fraud liability.
Finally, technology that includes SSL encryption and two-factor authentication can also help to keep your bank account safe during online banking.
12 Safest Banks in the U.S.
The Global Finance “World’s Safest Banks” list highlighted 50 safe banks. Of those, only a handful were based in the U.S. Here are 12 of the safest banks for U.S. customers, based on the Global Finance list.
1. JPMorgan Chase
With a market capitalization of $413.7 billion and a balance sheet total of $3.31 trillion, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the U.S. based on assets, according to InsiderIntelligence.com.
During the financial crisis of 2008, Chase was one of the banks deemed “too big to fail.” Certainly, an account holder can feel secure that their most is protected even if the bank faces financial hardship.
But is Chase also ahead of the curve when it comes to security? Chase uses multiple authentication checks when you try to sign in to your online account.
The bank monitors for unusual activity and may send a text message or email for you to authorize a transaction outside your home state or for an exceptionally high amount.
The bank’s website uses 128-bit data encryption to secure your personal information. Finally, bank employees are trained in fraud prevention, fraud detection, and ethics.
Everyday security features
128-bit encryption
Multifactor authentication
Guarantee against unauthorized access
EMV chip cards
Card locking through the app or automated phone system
24/7 fraud protection by phone
2. U.S. Bank
With assets totaling nearly $675 billion, U.S. Bancorp, parent company of U.S. Bank, is the fifth-largest bank in the U.S. The bank website and mobile app offer SSL encryption, one-time card numbers for online purchases, and enhanced security features for commercial banking customers.
The Bank Smartly checking account for consumers allow you to set up account alerts and reminders through the mobile app. You can make contactless payments through the app, which gives you added protection against point-of-sale fraud and debit card skimmers, which can steal your account information if you pay using the magnetic stripe on your card.
U.S. Bank also offers a “Safe Debit Card,” designed for consumers ages 14+ who want the convenience of a checking account and debit card without the ability to write checks. The Safe Debit Card provides free access to the user’s VantageScore 3.0 credit score through TransUnion, a credit score simulator, online bill pay, mobile banking, and no overdraft fees.
Everyday security features
$0 liability fraud protection
Multifactor authentication
Virtual card numbers
SSL encryption
EMV chip cards
3. TD Bank
TD Bank, or Toronto-Dominion, is not just one of the largest banks in the U.S. with a worldwide presence, it is also one of the safest. Its branches are known for personalized customer service. But the bank is also known for its online presence. TD Bank recently partnered with Amount, a fintech provider, to enhance security with a suite of state-of-the-art fraud detection and account verification services.
The bank has 24/7 fraud monitoring and text alerts for activity. Plus, if you lose your debit card, you can replace it immediately at a nearby branch. TD Bank also offers features that enhance your security, including Bill Pay and Mobile Deposit, which reduces the handling of paper checks that create a risk of theft and fraud.
Everyday security
Card locking
24/7 fraud monitoring
Personalized service
Mobile deposits
Enhanced security and fraud detection
4. Citibank
Citigroup, which owns Citibank and other Citi properties, is the third-largest bank in the U.S. right now behind Chase and Bank of America. Like Chase, Citi is considered one of the financial institutions deemed “too big to fail.” The bank’s market cap is $97.06 billion.
Citi is considered one of the safest banks due to its enhanced security features for its bank accounts and credit cards.
Citi was one of the first banks to offer a virtual credit card number. This one-time use card number allows cardholders to shop safely online without having to give out your bank account information or card number.
You can sign on to the Citi mobile using a QR code and Face ID®, Touch ID®, Biometrics or 6-Digit PIN, which is more secure than using a username and password. As with Chase, you will receive text alerts for suspicious or unusual activity.
Do not confuse Citi with CIT Bank. In spite of the similarity in their names, CIT is a division of First Citizens Bank and not affiliated in any way with Citigroup.
Everyday security features
EMV chip cards
$0 liability fraud protection
Biometric security
256-bit SSL encryption
Multifactor authentication
Remote debit card locking by phone or through the app
5. Charles Schwab Bank
Charles Schwab Bank is known primarily for its investment divisions. But the bank achieved the highest ratings for customer satisfaction with checking accounts by J.D. Power. Most of the world’s safe banks offer a high level of customer service, which can put a customer’s mind at ease.
Schwab Bank has many of the features high earners look for in a bank, including the ability to easily transfer money from your Schwab One brokerage account to your fee-free checking account.
Schwab’s Mobile app and banking systems use the highest levels of data encryption, as you might expect. Set notifications regarding transactions and fraud alerts through the mobile app. Lock and unlock your debit card at will. You can also set travel notices so that you don’t get a fraud alert in error if you’re making large purchases off your usual beaten path. The bank’s personalized service stands out, with 24/7 service via phone or chat, and branches nationwide.
Everyday security
Card locking through the app
Travel notices
Contactless payments
EMV chip card
Data encryption
6. M&T Bank Corporation
With assets totaling more than $200 billion, M&T Bank may not be as large as Citi or Chase, but its high level of customer service and security puts it on the list of safest banks. M&T Bank has earned multiple awards for small business excellence, along with the highest ratings issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of NY for Community Reinvestment Act performance.
M&T’s mobile app allows you to receive instant alerts about purchases via email, text, or in the app. This way, you can keep track of fraud along with your own spending habits. The app offers fingerprint or facial recognition on supported devices for enhanced security. You can easily report a lost or stolen card in the app or lock your card if you’ve misplaced it.
M&T delivers the same security larger banks offer, with the personalized service of a community bank. With 700 branches across 15 states nationwide plus a network of 1,800 ATMs, M&T Bank might be a convenient and safe choice for your money.
Everyday security features
SSL encryption
Debit card locking
Multifactor authentication
Identity protection services available
24/7 fraud protection
7. Wells Fargo
With $1.71 trillion in assets, Wells Fargo is currently the fourth-largest bank in the U.S. It offers savings and checking accounts, credit cards, loans, and more to personal and business customers.
The bank has more than 4,700 locations plus 12,000 ATMs in its network, making it convenient for customers across the U.S. The Wells Fargo mobile app makes online banking easy and secure, with access to your FICO score, fraud alerts, and multifactor authentication.
The website and app operate with SSL encryption. You can log in via face or fingerprint ID if you prefer. You can set alerts any time someone signs onto your account or whenever a purchase is made.
Furthermore, you can also connect a digital wallet to your account, which may be safer than using debit cards. If you think you lost your card, you can turn it off and turn it on again through the app if you find it.
Wells Fargo makes it easy to report fraud, unauthorized activity, or suspicious activity quickly and easily through the bank’s helpline, even if you are traveling outside the U.S.
Everyday security features
$0 fraud liability
·Guarantee against unauthorized activity
SSL encryption
Low balance alerts
Card locking
8. PNC Bank
PNC Financial Services, owner of PNC Bank, has assets of $557 billion as of December 2022, making it one of the largest banks in the U.S. Like the other big banks, PNC is on the cutting edge of security and fraud protection for its customers.
The bank offers a Virtual Wallet that provides three accounts for checking and savings, along with direct deposit capabilities, overdraft protection, and a “Low Cash Mode,” that alerts you when your balance drops below a specific amount.
PNC also offers traditional banking solutions at its 2,629 branches worldwide. Through the bank’s growing number of Solution Centers, as well as mobile branches in underserved communities, PNC combines the security and convenience of an online bank with a traditional bank.
Everyday Security
Virtual wallet
Debit card blocking
SSL encryption
Fraud alerts
$0 fraud liability
9. Capital One
Capital One sits in the country’s list of top 10 banks and, thanks to enhanced security measures, is considered one of the safest banks in the U.S., too. Capital One holds assets worth $391.81 billion.
Capital One’s credit cards are consistently ranked on top list for rewards credit cards for travelers, and their security measures and easy to use app works for both credit and bank account customers.
You can set alerts by text or email each time you use your card. The app uses multifactor authentication and Capital One has $0 fraud liability for its accounts. You will not be held responsible for unauthorized activity. The bank issues EMV chip cards for added security at point-of-sale transactions.
Everyday Security
Card locking through the app or by phone
Account monitoring
SSL encryption
Multifactor authentication
Activity alerts
Credit monitoring
10. AgriBank
AgriBank made the Global Finance list of world’s safest banks, coming in at number 34. Part of the Farm Credit System, the bank has a net income of $576.1 million and $142.1 billion in total assets.
AgriBank has delivered reliable and consistent service to the agricultural industry for more than 100 years. As an agricultural credit bank, AgriBank is a wholesale only lender to farmers, ranchers, and rural businesses and homeowners. It pays dividends to its members.
It’s important to note that AgriBank services only agricultural customers in 15 states in the southern and Midwest U.S., from Arkansas to Minnesota. AgriBank is not FDIC insured. But, it is backed by the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation to protect its members.
Everyday security features
Ethics hotline through EthicsPoint
SSL secured website
Two-factor authentication
Data encryption
Backed by the FCSIC
11. CoBank
CoBank is the second FCS member on our list of safest banks. Like AgriBank, it is protected by the FCSIC and offers wholesale loans to rural customers in the agricultural, power, water, and telecommunications industries.
Serving customers in all 50 states, it is one of the largest private providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy, according to its website. Dedicated to preventing fraud, the financial institution has a podcast, Fraud Wise, that provides tips to help its rural customer prevent and detect fraud.
Customers can report fraud easily through phone or email. Because of its size and personalized service, CoBank is rated by Global Finance as one of the safe banks in the U.S.
Everyday security features
Code of ethics
Fraud prevention
SSL data encryption
Guarantee for unauthorized transactions
12. AgFirst
AgFirst Farm Credit Bank is another member of the Farm Credit System that runs as a cooperative, where an account holder is considered a partner. AgFirst takes steps to maintain the safety and security of its members financial data and money. The organization operates in alignment with national cybersecurity standards and applies industry best practices to keep its systems and customers secure.
AgFirst offers loan servicing, loan origination, and many other services to the agricultural community. Headquartered in Columbia, SC, AgFirst has locations across the south and Midwest U.S.
Everyday security features
SSL encryption
Adheres to national cybersecurity standards
Personalized customer service
Backed by FCSIC
Bank vs. Credit Union
In your search for the best bank, you might also consider a credit union. They often offer lower fees, higher interest rates, and more personalized service. The ability to build relationships with employees at your local branch might make them feel like a safer choice.
See also: Best Credit Unions Anyone Can Join
What makes credit unions safe?
The money in a credit union is insured by the National Credit Union Administration. Just as with FDIC insured bank accounts, funds in credit unions are insured for up to $250,000 per person, per account if the credit union fails.
Credit unions often offer local, more personalized service than a national bank, which makes them a desirable financial institution for some people. You may find zero fee checking accounts more frequently at credit unions, higher interest rates, and better loan terms.
The same technology and customer service used in the safest banks also keeps your money safe in a credit union. Look for SSL encryption and two-factor authentication, easy ways to report fraud, and a guarantee against unauthorized access to your account.
What makes the safest banks in the U.S. secure?
A variety of security measures, along with FDIC insurance, keeps the money in your bank secure against fraud and bank failures. Some of the factors that can enhance a bank’s security include its online banking security, the availability of EMV chip cards, $0 fraud liability,
What happens if a bank fails?
Bank failures happened with alarming frequency during the recession of 2008. Experian reports that there were 561 bank failures between 2001 and 2022, when the U.S. faced more than one financial crisis.
Fortunately, these banks were FDIC insured. When a bank fails, the FDIC sells the remainder of the bank’s assets to a more stable bank. Sometimes, the FDIC will cover the bank deposits itself.
Are online banks safe?
Online banks today use the same security measures as a brick-and-mortar financial institution. Often, an online bank offers a fee-free checking account and higher interest rates for an online savings account. If you choose an online bank, make sure it is FDIC insured.
What appears to be an online bank may not be a national FDIC insured bank, but another type of financial institution. If that’s the case, make sure it is backed by an FDIC insured national bank.
The savings offers that appear on this site are from companies from which MoneyCrashers.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). MoneyCrashers.com does not include all savings companies or all savings offers available in the marketplace.
Years ago, finding a bank meant heading downtown and choosing from whichever options were available there. The Internet dramatically lessened the importance of physical branches and made it possible to bank from anywhere at any time.
Virtually all banks with physical locations have online portals, but a growing number now do the bulk of their business online. Some have ties to community banks and may have physical branches in select regions. Others exist only in the digital realm and have no physical branches.
What follows is a list of the best online banks on the market today.
Best Online Banks of May 2023
These are the best online banks on the market right now.
Each does at least one thing really well, whether it’s offering a potent lineup of budgeting and money management tools or delivering savings and CD rates well above the national average. Our top pick offers the most value for the greatest number of potential customers, in our opinion.
Unless otherwise noted, all the accounts on this list come with FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per account.
Best Overall: American Express® National Bank, Member FDIC
The American Express® High Yield Savings Account has a solid yield on all balances with $0 maintenance fees, a $0 minimum opening deposit, and a $0 minimum balance. The current savings yield is 3.90% Annual percentage Yield (APY) as of May 16, 2023.
Want to tie up your money for a while at a higher interest rate? Choose from seven CD options ranging from six months to five years.
CD yields are very good across the board: 3.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on the longest-term product (60 months or 5 years) and 4.25% on the 12-month CD. Early withdrawal penalties are:
90 days’ interest for terms under 12 months
270 days’ interest for terms between 12 and 48 months (four years)
365 days’ interest for terms between 48 and 60 months (five years)
540 days’ interest for terms of 60 months or longer
Additional features:
Extensive lineup of personal credit products, including premium credit cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express
Move money between up to three external bank accounts in short order
24/7 customer service
Apply Now
Best Credit Union: Alliant Credit Union
When is an online bank not an online bank? When it’s an online credit union.
There’s no better branchless option than Alliant Credit Union. As a credit union, Alliant exists for its members rather than stockholders so they will always put you first.
Alliant has a comprehensive lineup of checking and savings accounts, like:
High-Rate Savings, a high yield savings account for goal-oriented savers (currently 3.10% APY¹)
High-Rate Checking, a checking account with competitive interest rates
Certificates of Deposit, which help you earn more with set interest rates for a fixed period of time (currently yielding 5.00% APY)
Kids Savings, a custodial account that helps you teach sound money management concepts to kids 12 and younger
Teen Checking, a joint account for kids aged 13 to 17 — there when you’re ready to loosen the reins
Additional features:
Get access to over 80,000 in-network ATMs with Alliant
No monthly service fee with eStatements
Low minimum deposit and balance requirements
Bank anywhere, anytime with the Alliant mobile app
Sign Up for Alliant Savings
Insured by NCUA
(¹For important additional disclosures, please refer to the corresponding footnote at the Sign Up link directly above.)
Best for High Yields: CIT Bank
CIT Bank offers several different accounts with category-leading yields:
Savings Connect has one of the best yields of any bank account, online or off: 4.50% APY.
Platinum Savings has an outstanding yield when you maintain a balance of $5,000 or more (4.75% APY) and a so-so yield when you don’t (0.25% APY).
Savings Builder yields up to 1.00% APY for accountholders who can meet minimum balance or deposit requirements.
The CIT Bank Money Market account has a very good yield on all balances (currently 1.55% APY) with no monthly maintenance or service fees.
Multiple CIT Bank CDs offer above-average yields, led by the 11-month CIT No Penalty CD at 4.80%
Additional features:
No monthly service fee
No early withdrawal penalty for No Penalty CDs
No ATM fees in-network
CIT may reimburse up to $30 in outside ATM fees
Earn interest on eligible eChecking funds
Sign up for CIT Bank
Best for Investors: Wealthfront
Wealthfront is a next-generation banking service that’s ideal for day-to-day money management. Its Cash Account features high-interest checking, no account fees, and a host of value-added features — and you can open an account with just $1.
But Wealthfront made its name in the investment business, and there’s where it continues to shine. Key features include:
Build semi-customized, automatically rebalanced, globally diversified portfolios of low-cost index funds optimized with daily tax-loss harvesting
Just $500 minimum to invest
Pay an annualized management fee of 0.25% assets under management (AUM) on all balances
Choose from individual and joint taxable accounts, IRAs, and 529 college savings plan accounts
Portfolio line of credit that lets you tap up to 30% of your account value once you have $25,000 or more under management
Consolidated view of all your accounts through Wealthfront’s free DIY financial planning tool
Additional features of the Wealthfront Cash Account include:
4.55% APY (variable) on all balances
$1 minimum opening deposit
No account fees
No overdraft fees
FDIC insurance on balances up to $5 million
Get paid up to two days early with direct deposit
Put your money to work in the market within minutes when you use your Cash Account to invest in a Wealthfront Investment Account
Mobile check deposit
Free bill pay and peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers
Complimentary debit card and free in-network ATM access
For a limited time, get $30 bonus cash when you open a Wealthfront Cash Account and fund your new account with at least $500 in new money. Terms apply.
Sign Up for Wealthfront
Money Crashers, LLC receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Advisers LLC (“Wealthfront Advisers”) for each new client that applies for a Wealthfront Automated Investing Account through our links. This creates an incentive that results in a material conflict of interest. Money Crashers, LLC is not a Wealthfront Advisers client, and this is a paid endorsement. More information is available via our links to Wealthfront Advisers.
Best for Customer Support: Albert
Albert is a powerful financial app that makes spending, saving, and investing easy. It’s among the growing crop of financial solutions that offer early payday with eligible direct deposit, and its automated savings and investing features put it well ahead of the pack.
But where Albert really shines is on the customer service front. The platform has a dedicated team of in-house financial experts — called Geniuses — to help you make sense of your money. That puts it heads and shoulders above its crop of fellow digital money management apps.
Additional features:
Albert Cash. This is the place to manage your day-to-day spending money with Albert. Earn up to 20% back on eligible debit card purchases and get paid up to two days early with qualifying direct deposit. Use the Albert Instant cash advance feature to get up to $250 from your next paycheck with no hidden fees.
Albert Savings. Albert’s Smart savings engine sizes up your cash flow and sets aside funds automatically so that you’re always moving toward your financial goals. Set specific goals within the app, such as building an emergency fund or saving for your next vacation. And get cash bonuses on your Albert Savings every year.
Albert Investing. Start investing with as little as $1 using Albert’s guided investment platform. Choose your own stocks or themes, or have Albert do it for you.
Sign Up for Albert
Best for Debit Card Rewards: GO2bank
GO2bank is a low-friction online bank with a mobile-friendly bank account (no monthly fee with eligible direct deposit) and impressive yields on savings (4.50% APY2 on savings up to $5,000).
Eligible electronic gift card purchases in the app earn up to 7% cash back; Amazon eGift Card purchases in the app earn 3% cash back. Terms and conditions apply.
Additional features:
No minimum opening deposit or ongoing balance requirement
Avoid the $5 monthly fee with an eligible direct deposit
Get paid up to two days early with ASAP Direct DepositTM 3
Deposit cash at participating retail stores, subject to fees and deposit limits
Enjoy up to $200 in overdraft protection with opt-in and eligible direct deposit.*
Earn 4.50% APY paid quarterly on savings up to $5,000 — over 10 times the national average savings rate2
* $15 fee may apply to each purchase transaction not repaid within 24 hours of authorization of the first transaction that overdrafts your account. Overdrafts paid at GO2bank’s discretion.
Sign Up for GO2Bank
1Active GO2bank account required to receive an eGift Card. eGift Card merchants subject to change.
2GO2bank, Member FDIC. Interest paid quarterly on the average daily balance of savings during the quarter up to a $5,000 balance and if the account is in good standing. 4.50% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) as of April 2023. APY may change before or after you open an account. The average national savings account interest rate of 0.39% is determined by the FDIC as of 4/18/23. Visit https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/rates/ to learn more. Fees on your primary deposit account may reduce earnings on your savings account.
3Direct deposit early availability depends on the timing of the payor’s payment instructions and fraud prevention restrictions may apply. As such, the availability or timing of early direct deposit may vary from pay period to pay period. The name and Social Security number on file with your employer or benefits provider must match your GO2bank account exactly or GO2bank will decline your deposit.
Best for No Account Fees Ever: Rewards Checking via Upgrade
Rewards Checking via Upgrade4 has a slew of user benefits, but its defining feature couldn’t be simpler: no account fees, ever.
That’s right. As a user, you pay no account fees — no annual fees, overdraft fees, transfer fees, or ATM fees charged by Rewards Checking by Upgrade1.
There’s more, of course. Additional features of Rewards Checking via Upgrade include:
2% cash back on purchases at convenience stores, drugstores, restaurants, and bars, and on utility bills and certain monthly subscriptions2
Earn up to $500 cash back per year at the 2% rate
Earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases
Get up to five third-party ATM fee rebates each month1
You may receive discounts on loans and cards through Upgrade3
FDIC Insured up to $250,000 through Cross River Bank, Member FDIC
Sign Up for Rewards Checking via Upgrade
1 There are no account fees, overdraft fees, annual fees, or transfer fees associated with Rewards Checking accounts. Rewards Checking charges no ATM fees, but third-party institutions may charge you a fee if you use their ATM/network or if you use your Upgrade VISA® Debit Card internationally. Upgrade will rebate any ATM fee charged by another institution for debit card withdrawals in the United States, up to five times per calendar month. To be eligible to receive third-party ATM fee rebates in any calendar month for eligible ATM withdrawals made during that month, customers must have (i) an open Rewards Checking account and (ii) either maintained an average daily balance in their account of at least $2,500 in the prior calendar month or made direct deposits into their account totaling at least $1,000 during the prior calendar month. As a courtesy to new customers, Upgrade will provide third-party ATM fee rebates for up to the first 2 calendar months after account opening regardless of account activity. Some limitations apply and terms and conditions may change. Please refer to the applicable Cross River Bank Deposit Account Agreement and Upgrade VISA® Debit Card Agreement and Disclosures for more information.
2 Rewards Checking customers accrue 2% cash back on common everyday expenses at convenience stores, drugstores, restaurants, and bars – including deliveries – and gas stations, as well as recurring payments on utilities and monthly subscriptions including phone, cable, TV and other streaming services, and 1% cash back on all other debit card charges. 2% cash back is limited to $500 in rewards per calendar year; after $500, customers accrue 1% cash back on all eligible debit card charges for the remainder of the year. Some limitations apply. Please refer to the applicable Upgrade VISA® Debit Card Agreement and Disclosures for more information.
3 The interest rate on a new loan or credit line through Upgrade may be up to 20% lower than would otherwise be applicable without this discount, as long as you have an active Rewards Checking Account. Additional terms may apply. Please refer to the applicable Truth-in-Lending Disclosure and Loan Agreement.
4 Upgrade is a financial technology company, not a bank. Rewards Checking services provided by Cross River Bank, Member FDIC. Upgrade VISA® Debit Cards issued by Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Personal Loans made by Upgrade’s bank partners. Personal Credit Lines are issued by Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. The Upgrade Card is issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.
Best for Automated Budgeting: Douugh
Douugh is a money management app that makes it easy to stay on top of your day-to-day financial obligations while saving for a rainy day — and happier days too.
A single mobile-friendly dashboard makes it all possible.
How? That’s down to Salary Sweeper, an AI-enabled feature that automatically allocates income to two protected “jars”:
Your Bill Jar, complete with a virtual card of its own
Your Savings Jar, which is actually a customizable array of single-purpose savings buckets
The rest is yours to spend as you please using a debit card accepted by millions of merchants worldwide. Best of all, you never have to give manual budgeting a second thought.
Additional features:
Enjoy a free checking account with a Mastercard debit card
Use Apple Pay, PayPal, and other payment apps to make purchases online and IRL
Lock and unlock your card and change your PIN within the app — without calling customer service or visiting a branch.
Sign Up for Douugh
Best for Debt Refinancing: SoFi Checking and Savings
Need to refinance the student loans you’ve been carrying for years with no end in sight?
Open a SoFi Checking and Savings account, then head over to SoFi’s student loan refinancing portal to check out your options. SoFi is a category leader in the education loan refinancing business, with incredibly low rates, flexible terms, and an array of reasonable repayment options.
And since you’re also in the market for a new online bank, you’ll enjoy these great SoFi Checking and Savings perks and features:
No minimum opening deposit or balance requirement
Rate discounts on SoFi loans
Free peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers
Customized financial planning
Member-exclusive offers from SoFi partners
A referral program that pays up to $310 per successful referral
Up to 3.75% APY on eligible balances
Plus, for a limited time, sign up for SoFi Checking and Savings and earn a $250 opening bonus when you set up direct deposit of at least $1,000 into your account
Sign Up for SoFi Checking and Savings
Best for Teens and Young People: Copper Banking
Copper is a banking solution for teens age 13 and older — and their parents too.
It’s built around the Copper Card, a personalized debit card that leverages Apple Pay technology to facilitate seamless online and in-person transactions.
The Copper App allows parents to monitor spending and instantly send money in seconds. For teens, its Automatic Saving feature encourages saving — a lifelong financial habit — by automatically setting aside a portion of each paycheck or inflow.
Additional features:
Copper has a wealth of financial literacy content for parents and kids alike — it’s one of the best financial education tools around
Withdraw cash for free at over 55,000 ATMs
All Copper Accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 through Evolve Bank & Trust
Sign Up for Copper
Best for Potential Returns on Savings & Spending: PrizePool
PrizePool is a truly unique financial app — the only FDIC-insured deposit account provider that offers users the chance to earn serious money based on your saving and spending habits.
PrizePool offers two ways to win:
Savings Balances: Get 1 ticket for PrizePool’s prize drawings for every $1 on deposit in your savings account, every day. So if you have $1,000 in your account, you get 1,000 tickets every day.
Debit Card Purchases: Earn 30 tickets for every $1 spent, plus get the chance to have your purchases reimbursed.
PrizePool holds a weekly drawing every Friday. There are almost 6,000 cash prizes every week, including a $10,000 grand prize drawing at least once every six weeks.
Additional features:
Earn 0.30% APY on eligible savings balances
Deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000
Refer new users to PrizePool and get 10% of their prize winnings forever
Sign Up for PrizePool
Best for Freelancers and Self-Employed People: Lili
Lili offers a totally free checking solution with a slew of value-added features designed to simplify your financial life.
Its core product is built with freelancers in mind, but it’s appropriate for a range of use cases, from solopreneurs to folks who supplement 9-to-5 income with side hustle revenue.
With powerful, automated tax savings and expense categorization tools, Lili eliminates the need to juggle separate bank accounts for business and personal needs — it’s just one deposit account for your entire financial life.
Additional features:
No minimum opening deposits or ongoing balance requirements and no account fees
Pay virtually anywhere with a Visa debit card that’s accepted worldwide
Lili’s Tax Bucket tool automatically sets aside funds earmarked for income tax payments
Utilize expense management and categorization tools that simplify business budgeting, cash flow management, and year-end accounting
Get real-time alerts for every transaction (and other account activities too)
Make mobile check deposits through the Lili mobile app
Make cash deposits at more than 90,000 retail locations across the U.S., including CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid
Get paid up to two days early with early direct deposit
Enjoy fee-free withdrawals at about 38,000 ATMs nationwide
For $9 per month, Lili Pro adds even more valuable features:
A premium Visa Business Debit Card that delivers cash-back rewards
BalanceUp, a fee-free overdraft solution that covers up to $200 in would-be overdrafts
Advanced expense tracking that helps business owners maximize their tax deductions
A savings account that pays interest
Sign Up for Lili
Best for Savers: Quontic Bank
Quontic Bank got its start as a New York City community bank that catered to thrifty types.
Today, Quontic’s branch-based banking options represent just a small fraction of its offerings. With a nationwide digital footprint, Quontic delivers category-leading checking and savings yields for consumers and small-business owners from all walks of life — all with no monthly service fees:
Cash Rewards Checking: Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on qualifying debit card transactions after meeting the $100 minimum opening deposit.
Bitcoin Rewards Checking: Earn 1.5% Bitcoin on qualifying debit card transactions. The minimum opening deposit is $500. This account may not be available in all states.
High Interest Checking: Make 10 or more qualifying debit card point-of-sale transactions of $10 or more per statement cycle to earn interest at competitive rates based on account balance. The minimum opening deposit is $100.
High Yield Savings: Earn interest at category-leading rates (currently 4.25%) after meeting the $100 minimum opening deposit.
Money Market: Earn solid yields (currently 4.75%) after meeting the $100 minimum.
CDs: Quontic CDs have terms ranging from six months to three years and competitive yields that generally increase in proportion to term. The minimum opening deposit is $500. Early withdrawal penalties may apply.
Additional features:
Tap to pay with the Quontic Pay Ring — the first wearable debit card
Choose from an array of home loans, including community development loans that go beyond your traditional credit profile
Take advantage of special loans for foreign nationals and recent immigrants
Sign Up for Quontic Bank
Best for Borrowers: Discover Bank
Discover Bank is a full-service online bank with a wide range of deposit accounts. It’s a great (almost) one-stop shop for your digital financial needs.
Discover Bank’s real differentiator is its comprehensive lineup of secured and unsecured credit products. That includes unsecured personal loans, which many online banks don’t bother with due to perceived risk.
You’ll find home loans, home equity products, student loans, credit cards, and personal lines of credit here too.
Discover Bank’s deposit account options include:
Cashback Debit: This checking account has no yield, but you can earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in qualifying debit card spending each month. There’s no monthly maintenance fee.
Online Savings Account: This account has a very strong yield on all balances — currently 3.90% APY. There’s no maintenance fee or minimum to open.
Money Market Account: With a minimum opening deposit and balance requirement of $2,500, this account has competitive yields on all balances. Its two balance tiers cleave at $100,000, but yields on higher balances barely exceed those on lower balances. Enjoy a free, optional debit card, and no maintenance fee. There’s also no minimum balance fee, despite the minimum balance requirement.
Traditional CDs: CD terms range from three months to 10 years. Yields range widely, peaking on longer-term CDs. You need $2,500 to open any CD.
Additional features:
Structure any money market or CD as a traditional, Roth, or SEP IRA
Or roll over your 401(k), 457 deferred compensation plan, annuity, or IRA from another institution
Enjoy a coast-to-coast network of 60,000 fee-free ATMs
Enjoy 24/7 support by phone, live chat, and email
Make mobile check deposits from anywhere
Enjoy free, instant P2P money transfers
Sign Up for Discover Bank
Methodology: How We Select the Best Online Banks
We use several key factors to evaluate online banks and surface the very best ones for our readers. Each relates in some way to the overall user experience, and you’ll see many represented in our “Best For” categories above.
Available Account Types
The best online banks offer a range of different deposit account types: free checking, savings, CD, and money market accounts, among many others.
Truly comprehensive online banks go even further, with less-common account offerings like savings IRAs, jumbo CDs, and more. More accounts doesn’t necessarily mean a better banking experience, but it’s helpful if you’re looking for a one-stop financial shop.
Interest Rates
Online banks tend to have higher yields — interest rates paid to the account holder — as well as lower interest rates on certain types of loans, if offered.
You shouldn’t count on that though. It’s important to shop around and choose an online bank that consistently offers significantly better rates. Not all do.
Account Minimums
The best online banks have low or no minimum balances and low or no minimum opening deposit requirements on checking, savings, and money market accounts.
CDs generally do have minimum deposit requirements, even at the best online banks, but there’s lots of variation. Look for deposits at or below the $1,000 mark, if possible.
Monthly Maintenance Fees
Free is always better than not free, right?
Not necessarily. Some of the best online banks around charge modest monthly fees. In exchange, they offer a wealth of value-added features and services that can earn or save you money (and sometimes both at the same time).
That said, we do give preference to banks that don’t charge monthly fees at all. Because everyone could use a break.
Other Account Fees
The trusty monthly maintenance fee is just the most visible bank fee. Others include:
ATM fees (in-network and out-of-network)
Wire transfer fees
Excess transaction fees
Early withdrawal penalties
Minimum balance fees
Traditional banks are notorious for nickel-and-diming their customers. By contrast, most online banks do charge at least some fees, but they’re predictable and clearly disclosed on their websites and applications.
For example, many online bank CDs come with early withdrawal penalties. These can be equivalent to as little as one month’s interest on shorter-term CDs but may range up to 24 months of interest on very long-term CDs.
All else being equal, we prefer online banks that charge few if any fees — and hidden fees are a dealbreaker.
Investment and Tax-Advantaged Options
Many online banks stick to core banking services, like checking and savings. But a growing number of online banks offer a wider array of options for people who’d like to be able to do all their banking in the same place.
We’re particularly fond of online banks that offer tax-advantaged account options, such as savings IRAs and CD IRAs. We also like online banks that have in-house investment platforms — whether they’re self-directed brokerages like Ally Invest or low-cost robo-advisors like Wealthfront.
Credit Options
All online banks have at least one deposit account product. That’s what makes them online banks.
A smaller but growing number make loans or issue lines of credit — including credit cards — as well. Common online bank credit products include:
Mortgage loans, including purchase loans and refinance loans
Home equity products, including home equity loans and lines of credit
Auto loans
Student loans and student loan refinancing products
Personal loans
Credit cards and other types of credit lines
We don’t hold it against online banks that don’t make loans — it’s a big step for many a lean bank. But we do look out for banks that have taken the leap.
Budgeting and Money Management Features
Budgeting is hard to do right. That’s why we’re big fans of online banks with built-in budgeting and money management tools.
The more automated these tools are, the better. In fact, some make our list of the top budgeting apps on the market. Truly “set it and forget it” money management saves the typical consumer hundreds if not thousands of dollars per year.
Online Banking FAQs
Still have questions about online banks and managing money online? We have answers.
How Much Does Online Banking Cost?
Online bank rates, yields, and fees are subject to change at banks’ sole discretion. For up-to-date information about specific accounts and bank policies, check their websites or call customer service.
That said, online banks are generally more affordable than traditional banks. They’re less likely to charge monthly maintenance fees on checking and savings accounts, and many have fewer hidden fees too.
What’s the Interest Rate on an Online Bank Account?
That also depends on the individual bank. But many online accounts feature higher yields relative to those of traditional banks.
That’s because online banks have less overhead than traditional banks. They don’t need to pay to keep big, centrally located branches open or pay people to work at them. Their operations are more efficient, which allows them to pass the savings on to customers via higher rates and lower fees.
How Do You Enroll in Online Banking?
It depends on the bank and how its website or app is structured, but it’s usually straightforward. In fact, with an online-only bank, enrollment is usually automatic. You don’t have to complete a separate application or even click a button to activate your account.
However, you will need to create a unique username and password to get started. You may be asked to do this as part of the initial application process or once your account is approved. You’ll also need to link at least one external funding source to transfer money into your account.
Can You Get a Mortgage From an Online Bank?
Some online banks offer home loans (mortgages) and other credit products. These banks tend to be larger online banks with high name recognition, like Ally Bank and Capital One Bank. Look for a “Mortgages” or “Home Loans” tab on the homepage or in your account dashboard.
Be aware that some online banks outsource mortgage origination to other companies. In other words, if you apply for a mortgage through your bank, your loan officer might actually work for someone else. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it could mean a different level or style of service than you’re used to.
And don’t expect your online bank to offer better mortgage rates than other lenders. The mortgage loan business is highly competitive, and direct lenders with even lower overhead may be able to undercut online banks.
How to Choose the Best Online Bank — Or Several
The institutions on this list offer a great combination of FDIC-insured banking products, solid yields, open access, and helpful customer service.
Before choosing one, take a closer look at the features that set it apart from the competition: rewards checking, flexible withdrawal terms for CDs, particularly high account yields, a socially responsible corporate philosophy, and so on.
And remember that, unlike in the old days, your banking choices aren’t bound by geography or other restrictions. If you can’t settle on a single online bank, why not open accounts at multiple banks and compare your experiences?
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Brian Martucci writes about credit cards, banking, insurance, travel, and more. When he’s not investigating time- and money-saving strategies for Money Crashers readers, you can find him exploring his favorite trails or sampling a new cuisine. Reach him on Twitter @Brian_Martucci.