Our Best Bank Methodology
How We’ve Selected This Year’s Winners
GOBankingRates looked at a number of important factors to determine this year’s Best Banks. We focused on the aspects of a bank or bank account that matter most to our audience, including:
Total assets
Number of branch locations
Monthly fees
Minimum balances needed to earn interest
Minimum deposits needed to open an account
Interest rates
Mobile app ratings
How We Chose the Best Checking Accounts
To find the Best Checking Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors:
- Total assets
- Number of branch locations
- Minimum deposit to open an account
- Monthly checking fee ratio
- APY
- Overdraft fees
- Average mobile app ratings
How We Chose the Best CD Accounts
To find the Best CD Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors:
- Total assets
- Number of branch locations
- Minimum deposit to open an account
- 12-month CD APY rate
- 60-month CD APY rate
- Average mobile app ratings
How We Chose the Best National Banks
To find the Best National Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the top national institutions with branches in 25+ states and/or over $400 billion in total assets. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors:
- Total assets
- Checking account minimum deposit
- Monthly checking fees
- Savings account minimum deposit
- Savings APY
- Bauer rating
- Range of products and services offered
- Average mobile app ratings
How We Chose the Best Regional Banks
To find the Best Regional Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the top regional institutions located in under 25 states. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors:
- Total assets
- Checking account minimum deposit
- Monthly checking fees
- Savings account minimum deposit
- Savings APY
- Bauer rating
- Range of products and services offered
- Average mobile app ratings
We also found the Best Regional Banks in each of the following regions: West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY); Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX); Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI); Southeast (AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, LA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV); and Northeast (CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT). To be considered for a region, a bank had to have a branch in one of the states listed and be headquartered in that state/region.
How We Chose the Best Online Banks
To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors across exclusively online banks:
- Total assets
- Monthly checking fees
- Savings APY
- 1-year CD APY
- Bauer rating
- Range of products and services offered
- Average mobile app ratings
How We Chose the Best Neobanks
Neobanks are fintech firms that offer apps, software and other technologies to streamline mobile and online banking. These fintechs generally specialize in a particular financial product or products, like checking and savings accounts.
To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors:
- Monthly checking fees
- Minimum needed to earn interest
- Savings APY
- Range of products and services offered
- Average mobile app ratings
How We Chose the Best Money Market Accounts
To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors:
- Total assets
- Number of branch locations
- Minimum deposit to open an account
- APY
- Minimum balance needed to earn the APY
- Monthly fees
- Average mobile app ratings
How We Chose the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors:
- Minimum deposit to open an account
- Monthly savings fee ratio
- Minimum needed to earn APY
- Savings APY
- Average mobile app ratings
To be considered for the category, the product offered had to have an APY above 0.45%.
How We Chose the Best Premium Checking Accounts
To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the most premier/costly checking accounts from the top 25 banks in terms of total assets. The factors analyzed included:
- Total assets
- Minimum deposit to open an account
- Monthly checking fees
- APY
- Benefits and perks
