How The Motley Fool Ascent Rates Banks and Credit Unions

At The Motley Fool, we take our mission to make the world smarter, happier, and richer very seriously. That includes making sure the banks we feature on The Ascent are heavily vetted by our team of experts, so you can feel confident the picks on our site are fantastic choices for most people.

Our banks rating philosophy

When rating banks and credit unions, we consider the most important features for the average user, based on our digital banking survey of 2,000 Americans. We tend to favor banking products from trusted financial brands that offer competitive interest rates, low fees, and that are easy to use. Our core objectives for our recommended selections are:

• Editorially independent (NOT influenced by partners)
• Easy to understand
• Applicable to any banking product
• Scoring is weighted, and scaled to 5 stars

Meet our Head of Ratings, Brian Frey

How we score banks and credit unions

Our methodology for scoring banks and credit unions revolves around evaluating key aspects such as annual percentage yield (APY), brand reputation, fees and minimum requirements, and additional perks.

These criteria are weighted differently across various account types, ensuring a comprehensive assessment that reflects the competitive landscape and economic conditions. Each score is out of three, subsequently adjusted to a 5-star scale, rounded to the nearest half point.

We strictly feature products that offer federal insurance and high customer satisfaction, keeping our recommendations unbiased by advertiser influence. This robust evaluation process helps us generate balanced, reliable best-of lists that guide consumers to top financial products.

Savings account methodology

We evaluate all savings accounts across four main criteria: annual percentage yield (APY), brand and reputation, fees and minimum requirements, and perks. Savings accounts are assigned a point value for each score, out of 3, then adjusted to a 5-star scale, rounded to the nearest half point. We may apply a grading curve to our scoring, depending on the interest rate environment.

• 3 = High
• 2 = Medium
• 1 = Low

Our scores are weighted as:

APY Score: 50%

• High: accounts with a top-range APY, considered to be 3-4 percentage points higher than the national average.*
• Medium: accounts with a mid-range APY, considered to be 2-3 percentage points higher than the national average.
• Low: accounts with a low-range APY, considered to be at or above the national average by less than 2 percentage points.

*We determine this range based on the interest rate environment, and the competitiveness of offers among high-yield savings products we review. We may adjust this range upwards or downwards as interest rates and offers change.

Brand & Reputation Score: 20%

FDIC and NCUA insurance: we only rate and recommend savings accounts that are federally insured up to at least $250,000.

• High: brands with long and stable histories with high levels of customer trust and satisfaction, backed by significant industry awards and recognition.
• Medium: reasonably good history with stable track record, though may have few accolades or less prestige than those with a higher score.
• Low: shorter history, recent instability, or past controversies that affect its reputation.

Fees & Minimums Score: 15%

• High: no account service fee, account closure fee, overdraft fee, or minimum balance fee; minimum requirement for maximum APY is $100 or less.
• Medium: no account service fee or minimum balance fee; minimum requirement for maximum APY is greater than $100.
• Low: excessive fees that may include, but are not limited to: account service fee, account closure fee, overdraft fee, and minimum balance fee.

Perks Score: 15%

• High: numerous meaningful features, such as ATM access through ATM or debit card (or optional checking account), additional linked account integration (checking, investing, money market, etc.), or branch access.
• Medium: one meaningful extra feature.
• Low: no meaningful extra features.

Checking account methodology

Checking account ratings primarily focus on brand and reputation, APY and rewards, fees and minimum requirements, and perks. Checking accounts are assigned a point value for each score, out of 3, then adjusted to a 5-star scale, rounded to the nearest half point. We may apply a grading curve to our scoring, depending on the interest rate environment.

• 3 = High
• 2 = Medium
• 1 = Low

Our scores are weighted as:

Brand & Reputation Score: 30%

FDIC and NCUA insurance: we only rate and recommend checking accounts that are federally insured up to at least $250,000.

• High: institutions with long and stable histories with high levels of customer trust and satisfaction, backed by significant industry awards and recognition.
• Medium: reasonably good history with stable track record, though may have few accolades or less prestige than those with a higher score.
• Low: shorter history, recent instability, or past controversies that affect its reputation. Certificate of deposit (CD) methodology

APY & Rewards Score: 30%

• High: accounts with a top-range APY, considered to be 0.5 percentage points higher than the national average, or a cash back rewards rate of 1% or better.
• Medium: accounts with a mid-range APY, considered to be 0.15 percentage points higher than the national average, or a cash back rewards rate of 0.5% or better.
• Low: accounts with a low-range APY, considered to be at or above the national average by less than 0.15 percentage points, or a cash back rewards rate below 0.5%.

Fees & Minimums Score: 15%

• High: no account service fee, account closure fee, overdraft fee, or minimum balance fee; minimum requirement for maximum APY or rewards is $100 or less.
• Medium: no account service fee or minimum balance fee; minimum requirement for maximum APY or rewards is greater than $100.
• Low: excessive fees that may include, but are not limited to: account service fee, account closure fee, overdraft fee, and minimum balance fee.

Perks Score: 15%

• High: multiple meaningful features, such as branch access, additional linked account integration (savings, investing, money market, etc.), or welcome offer.
• Medium: one meaningful extra feature.
• Low: no meaningful extra features.

Certificates of deposit (CDs) methodology

Unlike other banking products we evaluate, certificates of deposit (CDs) do not receive a star rating from us. This approach is due to the frequent updates in interest rates and terms associated with CDs. Instead, we highlight CDs on our best-of list pages based on their annual percentage yield (APY) and the fees associated with early withdrawals. Our top CD selections typically offer competitive APYs without complex qualification tiers, low early withdrawal penalties, reliable strong brand reliability, and user-friendly features.

The Ascent focuses exclusively on standard CDs and does not review IRA CDs, bump-up CDs, callable CDs, or other specialized CD accounts.

Money market account methodology

We evaluate money market accounts based on four main criteria: annual percentage yield (APY), brand and reputation, fees and minimum balance requirements, and perks. Money market accounts are assigned a value for each score, out of 3, then adjusted to a 5-star scale, rounded to the nearest half point. We may apply a grading curve to our scoring, depending on the interest rate environment.

• 3 = High
• 2 = Medium
• 1 = Low

Our scores are weighted as:

APY Score: 60%

• High: accounts with a top-range APY, considered to be 3-4 percentage points higher than the national average.*
• Medium: accounts with a mid-range APY, considered to be 2-3 percentage points higher than the national average.
• Low: accounts with a low-range APY, considered to be at or above the national average by less than 2 percentage points.

*We determine this range based on the interest rate environment, and the competitiveness of offers among high-yield savings products we review. We may adjust this range upwards or downwards as interest rates and offers change.

Brand & Reputation Score: 15%

FDIC and NCUA insurance: we only rate and recommend money market accounts that are federally insured up to at least $250,000.

• High: brands with long and stable histories with high levels of customer trust and satisfaction, backed by significant industry awards and recognition.
• Medium: reasonably good history with stable track record, though may have few accolades or less prestige than those with a higher score.
• Low: shorter history, recent instability, or past controversies that affect its reputation.

Fees & Minimums Score: 15%

• High: no monthly fees; minimum requirement for maximum APY is $100 or less.
• Medium: no monthly fees; minimum requirement for maximum APY is greater than $100.
• Low: excessive fees that may include, but are not limited to: account service fee, account closure fee, overdraft fee, and minimum balance fee.

Perks Score: 10%

• High: numerous meaningful features, such as ATM access, additional linked account integration (checking, investing, savings, etc.), or branch access.
• Medium: one meaningful extra feature.
• Low: no meaningful extra features.

How our ratings translate to our Best Of lists

We combine the factors outlined above with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best bank recommendations on each of our pages. Our aim is to maintain balanced best-of lists featuring top-scoring banks from reputable brands.

Ordering within our lists is influenced by advertiser compensation, including featured placements at the top of a given list, but our product recommendations are NEVER influenced by advertisers. Our Ratings team operates totally independently of our Partnership team.