A saver with $20,000 in an account earning the current rate earns about $74 a year before taxes.
The FDIC’s national savings rate was 0.37% in September 2026, a weighted average of what insured banks and credit unions pay, weighted by each institution’s share of deposits. At that rate, a savings balance can lose buying power to inflation.
Banks that pay more exist, and moving is mostly clerical. The risk is in the sequence. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) lists seven steps, in this order.
1. Open the new account first
The CFPB’s guidance on moving a checking account starts with opening the new account before you touch the old one.
If you’re still at a traditional brick-and-mortar bank, you may be paying monthly checking fees while earning almost nothing on your savings. SoFi offers a combined checking-and-savings account with no account fees.
With eligible direct deposit or $5,000+ in qualifying deposits every 31 days, you can earn 3.30% APY on savings — many times the national average — plus a boost of 0.90% APY for up to six months. (APYs are variable and can change at any time.)
New members who set up qualifying direct deposit may also be eligible for a cash bonus of up to $400, based on the amount deposited. Terms apply — see details.
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2. List every automatic deposit and withdrawal
Next, list every recurring deposit and withdrawal on the old account, including utilities and credit card bills. That list is the whole job. Anything left off becomes a failed payment or a deposit that lands in an account you no longer monitor.
3. Redirect your deposits
Paychecks and other deposits, such as Social Security, come next. Fill out the forms that point them to the new account.
4. Move automatic payments
Wait until you know the date of the first deposit before moving automatic debits, the CFPB says, then set them up on the new account and cancel them on the old one.
5. Leave a cushion behind
The CFPB says to leave enough in the old account “to cover any checks that haven’t cleared or automatic payments that haven’t been made” to avoid fees.
6. Transfer the rest
Once deposits and payments are running through the new account, move the rest by electronic transfer or cashier’s check, the fastest routes. A personal check may cost less, but the agency notes “there may be a longer wait before it is available in your new account.”
7. Close the old account
Close the old account only after the transfer clears, and ask for written confirmation.
Check the insurance limit
Before consolidating, check that the new bank is FDIC-insured. Deposit insurance covers $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. Balances above that in one category at a single bank sit outside that protection, so larger savers may want to spread money across institutions.
Cash does not have to sit in a bank to earn more than the national rate. Treasury bills paying about 4% are one alternative, though a bank account keeps the money a single transfer away from checking.
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