Bank review methodology
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Bank review methodology
For consumers looking to find the best bank or credit union for their individual banking needs, the choices are numerous and can seem overwhelming. Finding the right mix of high savings rates, low fees, robust digital tools, easy access to funds and other features may require more time than you’re willing to spend.
That’s where Bankrate can help. Our banking editorial team regularly evaluates data from more than a hundred of the top financial institutions across a range of categories (brick-and-mortar banks, online banks, credit unions and more) to help you find the options that work best for you. We analyze and review each bank or credit union across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposits (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs).
Bankrate’s editorial team is made up of five banking experts. These experts have researched many banks and at least twice a month review bank websites to ensure that our readers stay up to date on the latest rates and bank products.
Overall Bank Score
To calculate the Bankrate Score, we assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score:
- Savings 20% Read more
- CDs 20% Read more
- MMA 20% Read more
- Checking 20% Read more
-
Product Variety 20%
Savings Score
To calculate Bankrate’s savings scores in its bank reviews, it weighs scoring using the percentages below:
| Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| APY offering | 50% |
| Monthly service fee | 20% |
| Minimum deposit to earn interest | 10% |
| Minimum balance to avoid fee | 10% |
| Access to funds | 10% |
CDs
To calculate Bankrate’s CD scores in its bank reviews, it weighs scoring using the percentages below:
| Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| APY offering | 50% |
| Minimum deposit | 25% |
| Range of term lengths | 15% |
| Early withdrawal penalty | 10% |
| Bonus: Offers no-penalty CDs | |
| Bonus: Offers IRA CDs |
MMAs Score
To calculate Bankrate’s money market account scores in its bank reviews, it weighs scoring using the percentages below:
| Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| APY offering | 50% |
| Monthly service fee | 20% |
| Minimum deposit to earn interest | 10% |
| Minimum balance to avoid fee | 10% |
| Check writing | 5% |
| Debit and/or ATM access | 5% |
Checking Score
To calculate Bankrate’s checking account scores in its bank reviews, it weighs scoring using the percentages below:
| Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Monthly service fee | 25% |
| Minimum balance to avoid fee | 20% |
| Fee to use out of network ATM | 15% |
| Minimum deposits to open account | 10% |
| Access to peer to peer (P2P) payments | 10% |
| Early direct deposits | 10% |
| Overdraft fees | 5% |
| Non-sufficient funds fees | 5% |
| Bonus: APY or reward offering | |
| Bonus: ATMs or network |
Bottom line
Bankrate typically conducts a comprehensive review of each bank or credit union at least once a year but some institutions may be updated on a quarterly or biannual basis instead to better highlight key feature changes or consumer-friendly moves, such as changes in fees or increasing/decreasing APYs.