Best Online Checking Accounts for September 2024

Axos Bank has five online checking account options: essential, rewards, cashback, golden checking and first checking. None of the accounts charge monthly maintenance fees or overdraft fees. Plus, you’ll get unlimited ATM fee reimbursements — depending on the checking account you choose.

You can earn up to 3.30% APY with the rewards checking account, but you have to meet a number of requirements to earn the highest yield. For example, you must receive monthly direct deposits totaling $1,500 or more to earn 0.40%, and you must maintain an average daily balance of $2,500 per month in an Axos Managed Portfolio Invest account to earn an additional 1.00%. Unless you plan to use Axos’ investment services, this account might not yield the most rewarding rates.

• ATM fees: Unlimited ATM fee reimbursements
• Monthly fees: $0
• Foreign transaction fees: 1%
• Overdraft fees: $0

Zynlo Bank, backed by PeoplesBank, has an impressive checking account yield that applies to all balance levels. There’s no minimum required to open the account and no monthly fees.

If you open a savings account, all debit card purchases are rounded to the nearest dollar, and the difference is deposited in your savings account. Zynlo matches these round-ups for the first 100 days. Beyond the first 100 days, round-ups are matched 100% if you maintain an average daily balance of $5,000 or more. Otherwise, the match drops to 25%. 

You have access to over 55,000 fee-free ATMs through the Allpoint network, and you can reach a customer service representative 24/7.

Zynlo offers extended insurance to cover your entire account. All balances beyond the $250,000 FDIC limits are insured by Zynlo Bank in cases of bank failure.

• Monthly fees: $0
• Overdraft fees: $0

Quontic Bank offers three checking accounts that let you earn your choice of bitcoin, cash back or interest. The cash rewards checking offers 1% cash back on all eligible debit card purchases up to an aggregate total of $50 per statement cycle. This account might be ideal if you plan to use your debit card to pay for everything. But if you want to deposit a lump sum of cash and park it, you can earn up to 1.10% APY with Quontic’s high-interest checking account. We also like that the Quontic ring lets you make contactless purchases with a tap of your finger.

The cash rewards checking account requires a $100 minimum deposit, but it doesn’t charge monthly maintenance or overdraft fees. You’ll need to make at least 10 qualifying debit card purchases of $10 or more per month to earn the highest APY. Otherwise, the rate drops to 0.01%.

• ATM fees: No fees when using the 90,000+ Allpoint ATM network.
• Monthly fees: $0
• Foreign transaction fees: $0
• Overdraft fees: $0

SoFi is a neobank — a newer bank that operates exclusively online — that offers competitive APYs on its checking and savings account, plus opportunities to earn rewards with your debit card. 

When you sign up for an online checking account, you’ll automatically get a high-yield savings account, too. We also like that you’ll have early direct deposit, cash-back rewards from select merchants when you use your SoFi debit card and overdraft protection. And if you set up direct deposit, you can earn either a $50 or $300 bonus when you deposit between $1,000 and $5,000 or more during the promotional period.

You can deposit cash for free into your SoFi checking account through Allpoint ATMs, but it will cost you $4.95 to do so at GreenDot locations. And you’ll only get overdraft protection for up to $50 — but you’ll need monthly direct deposits of at least $1,000 to qualify. Other banks on this list offer free overdraft protection.

• ATM fees: 55,000-plus fee-free ATMs through the Allpoint network
• Monthly fees: $0
• Foreign transaction fees: 2%
• Overdraft fees: $0

Alliant is an NCUA-insured online credit union that offers two checking accounts: a high-yield checking account and a teen checking account. There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, and both accounts offer a 0.25% APY. 

Alliant has a network of over 80,000 fee-free ATMs, but you can be reimbursed for up to $20 in out-of-network ATM fees. The downside is that you can’t open a teen checking account online — you’ll need to submit a PDF application, which can take up to 14 business days to process.

• ATM fees: $20/month in ATM fee rebates
• Monthly fees: $0
• Foreign transaction fees: 1%
• Overdraft fees: $0

Ally has a popular online checking account option — known as the spending account — with no minimum deposit requirements, monthly maintenance fees or overdraft fees. We like that you can get your paycheck up to two days sooner with early direct deposit. Its Round ups saving feature rounds each transaction up to the nearest dollar, which is auto-deposited into your Ally high-yield savings account once you’ve accrued at least $5. It also comes with 24/7 customer service and a fee-free network of more than 43,000 ATMs with a $10-a-month ATM fee reimbursement.

On the downside, Ally doesn’t accept cash deposits. If you’re paid regularly in cash, you might fare better with a SoFi or LendingClub online checking account. And, the APY is paid according to tiered balance levels. Balances over $15,000 earn the highest APY available.

• ATM fees: $10/month in ATM fee reimbursement
• Monthly fees: $0
• Foreign transaction fees: 1%
• Overdraft fees: $0

Unlike other online checking accounts, LendingClub’s rewards checking lets you deposit cash using MoneyPass and NYCE ATMs. There aren’t any ATM fees, and you’ll receive unlimited out-of-network ATM surcharge reimbursements. LendingClub also offers early direct deposit.

You can earn interest on this checking account, but it might be difficult to earn the best APYs available. You can earn 0.10% APY on balances of $2,500 to $99,999.99. Balances of $100,000 or more earn 0.15%. Though this is not the highest yield on this list, you can also earn unlimited 1% cash back on qualified debit card purchases. But you have to maintain an average monthly balance of at least $2,500 or receive at least $2,000 in direct deposits to qualify.

• ATM fees: Unlimited ATM rebates
• Monthly fees: $0
• Foreign transaction fees: 0.90%
• Overdraft fees: $0

CIT Bank, the online division of First Citizens Bank, has an eChecking account that doesn’t charge a monthly maintenance fee or have minimum balance requirements. However, CIT requires a minimum initial deposit of $100 when you open an account — something most other banks on this list don’t require.

If your balance is more than $25,000, you will earn a 0.25% APY. Below that, the APY is 0.10%. You won’t have to worry about additional charges for services such as wire transfers or certified checks, though. And while CIT doesn’t offer its own ATMs, it doesn’t charge a fee when you use another bank’s ATM. You can get up to $30 in ATM fees reimbursed each month.

• ATM fees: $30 per month out-of-network ATM fee reimbursement
• Monthly fees: $0
• Foreign transaction fees: 1%
• Overdraft fees: $0

Capital One’s 360 Checking account doesn’t have a minimum deposit requirement or a monthly maintenance fee, and there are no fees for overdraft protection. Though this account only offers 0.10% APY on all balances, Capital One is an established bank with physical branches and Capital One Cafés in a few states to manage your account. Plus, Capital One has a network of over 70,000 ATMs where you can deposit or withdraw cash fee-free, and you can deposit cash into your account at any CVS store.

The Discover Cashback Debit account is a completely free checking account that pays 1% cash back on debit card purchases of up to $3,000 a month. You can get your paycheck up to two days early when you set up direct deposit. You also have access to more than 60,000 fee-free ATMs. But unlike most of the online banks on this list, Discover doesn’t offer ATM reimbursements for out-of-network ATMs.

• ATM fees: 60,000 fee-free ATMs
• Monthly fees: $0
• Foreign transaction fees: 0%
• Overdraft fees: $0

Chime’s checking account doesn’t charge monthly service or overdraft fees, and there’s no minimum deposit required to open an account. Chime includes overdraft protection of up to $200 a month. If you overdraw your account, Chime will apply your next deposit to your negative balance. You can also get your paycheck up to two days early with direct deposit.

You’ll have access to over 60,000 in-network ATMs, but you will incur a fee if you use an out-of-network ATM. You can also deposit cash at any Walgreens location or withdraw cash from such places as 7-Eleven, CVS Pharmacy and Circle K.

Note: On May 7, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an order against Chime Financial, Inc. for failing to refund consumers’ remaining balances within 14 days after they closed their checking and/or savings accounts. Chime was ordered to pay a $3.25 million civil money penalty and at least $1.3 million to consumers in redress.

• ATM fees: 60,000 fee-free ATMs
• Monthly fees: $0
• Foreign transaction fees: 0%
• Overdraft fees: $0 (overdraft up to $200 per month)