Best Savings Account

What Constitutes the Best Savings Account?

The “best savings account” available is the one that best meets your specific needs. Of course, this all depends on what your needs happen to be. If, for instance, you want cross-account liquidity, you might be able to find a number of best savings account options for that need. Now, if your goal is to find an account with a high level of paying liquidity, you might also be able to find a best savings account for that. Last, if you're looking for a high yield savings account, there is definitely a best savings account out there for that, too.

So what should you look for in a good cross-account liquidity option? You should look for an account that allows you to quickly transfer money from your checking account – where it is perfectly liquid – to your savings account, where it is considerably less liquid, but can accumulate higher interest yields. You will undoubtedly find a number of different rates for this. Some banks will even offer “instant” transfers, provided they occur during business hours. In addition to this, you may want to look at the cross-account liquidity rates on transfers from savings to CDs – as well as how quickly you can withdraw money from CDs. Ultimately, the best savings account for you will allow you to  shuffle your money around fastest.

If, on the other hand, you want complete payment liquidity, you will want to find an account that allows you to pay all bills and make all transfers directly from savings. This may be relatively rare, but it will be your best savings account in this situation.

Last, if you want a high yield savings account, you will want to scour all rates – international and domestic. The Internet makes this considerably easier to do. If you simply compare central bank interest rates in the EU, Japan, and the US, you can immediately determine where best to place your money. From there, you will have to compare banks.