MoneyMoodBoard

Banks & Neobanks

Where you bank affects how much you earn on idle cash, what you pay in fees, and how easy it is to move money. Most people overpay simply because they've never switched.

Why people search for banks & neobanks

Hold day-to-day cash somewhere with sensible fees, fast transfers and federal deposit insurance.

Every listing below is editorially independent — MoneyMoodBoard does not earn commissions on any of them. Numeric fields cite primary sources (regulator filings, operator pricing pages) on the individual listing page.

41 listings as of June 2026

Key attributes for banks & neobanks

Savings APY·Monthly fee·FDIC insured·ATM network
BO

Bank of America

National bank

Second-largest US bank by branch network.

Fees
$0–$25 (waivable)
Best for
Beginner
4.2(520)BeginnerUS
FDIC-insuredDigitalUS
View listing →
CB

Chase Bank

National bank

Largest US bank by branch network — full retail banking suite.

Fees
$0–$25 (waivable)
Best for
Beginner
4.3(720)BeginnerUS
FDIC-insuredDigitalUS
View listing →
Is this your business? Claim this listing →

What to look for in banks & neobanks

Use this checklist before committing to any banks & neobanks listed above: editorial criteria that consistently separate well-run products from the rest. Each point applies to most listings in the category, including those we have not yet reviewed in detail.

Charter and insurance

Confirm directly on FDIC.gov (or NCUA.gov for credit unions) that the bank is insured. For neobanks, identify the chartered partner bank — Coastal Community Bank, Bancorp, Stride, Evolve — and verify both the partner and the structure of pass-through insurance.

Savings APY

Top online savings rates typically sit within a percentage point of the federal funds rate. National brick-and-mortar bank APYs of 0.01% are a tax on inertia. Switching from a 0.01% account to a 4%+ HYSA on a $20,000 emergency fund recovers roughly $800 a year.

Fee schedule

Look at monthly maintenance, overdraft, foreign transaction, wire, paper statement, and inactivity fees. The headline 'no fees' often hides $35 wire charges and 3% FX fees. For frequent travelers, a no-FX-fee debit card alone can save hundreds a year.

Reliability and support

Read recent customer-service reviews on Reddit and the BBB. App-first neobanks vary widely on dispute handling, fraud response, and account-recovery speed. The relevant test is what happens when something breaks — not the onboarding experience.

What are banks & neobanks?

Banks & Neobanks are traditional and digital banks. The five short sections below walk through how they work, who they suit, the main risks, where they fit in a broader plan, and the US regulatory rules that govern them today.

Bank vs. neobank

Traditional banks have branches and broad product ranges. Neobanks are app-first, often partnering with a chartered bank in the background to provide FDIC insurance.

Who they suit

Almost everyone. A high-yield savings account at a reputable online bank is a sensible default for emergency-fund cash.

Key risks

Always confirm FDIC insurance and check the chartered bank behind a neobank. Some fintechs have had outages or failures that left customers temporarily unable to access funds.

Fit in a broader plan

Many households operate with two or three accounts: a small balance at a traditional bank for branch services, a high-yield online savings for emergency fund, and a no-fee checking account for daily spending. Optimize each for its job rather than expecting one account to do everything well.

US regulatory context

Chartered banks are supervised by the OCC, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, or state regulators. FDIC insurance covers $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. Neobanks are not banks; they hold customer funds at partner banks where insurance technically applies, contingent on accurate pass-through documentation.

Banks & Neobanks glossary

These are the terms you will see most often across banks & neobanks listings, statements, prospectuses and support docs. Skim them once so the rest of the page, and every product page in this category, reads cleanly the next time you visit.

FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — insures bank deposits up to $250,000 per depositor per bank per category.
NCUA
National Credit Union Administration — provides equivalent share insurance to federal credit unions.
APY
Annual percentage yield — interest rate that includes the effect of compounding.
HYSA
High-yield savings account — typically online-only, paying rates competitive with short Treasuries.
Neobank
An app-first banking product that partners with a chartered bank to provide FDIC-insured accounts.
Charter
The legal authority a bank holds from a federal or state regulator to operate as a bank.
Sweep account
Automatically moves balances above a threshold into a higher-yielding vehicle.
Pass-through insurance
FDIC coverage extended through an intermediary to end customers when ledgering is accurate.

Related listings in other categories

Investors comparing banks & neobanks often weigh adjacent categories that solve a similar job from a different angle. The cards below jump to sibling sections of the directory where the same money could plausibly be put to work or compared.

Budgeting Apps

Apps that track spending, categorize transactions, and help you stick to a plan.

Treasury Bills

Short-term debt issued by the US Treasury, maturing in one year or less.

Investment Platforms

Robo-advisors and managed portfolios that pick and rebalance investments for you.

Banks & Neobanks: common questions

Related MoneyMoodBoard guides

← Back to directory