The Top 4 Online Banks That Make Savings Automation Easy

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When you first start saving money, you probably deposit or transfer cash to your savings account yourself based on either a budgeting plan or money you have left over at the end of the month. Yet this manual approach to savings has some drawbacks. 

Unfortunately, all manual savings strategies carry some amount of risk. You may justify allocating your funds toward other expenses instead of adding money to your savings account like you planned. And if you don’t transfer cash from your budget to savings at the beginning of the month, you might overspend and dip into the funds you’ve set aside (on paper) to save.

Featured Accounts from Our Partners

Account	APY	Minimum deposit required	Open Account
UFB Direct Secure Savings Account Open Account	5.25% More Info UFB Direct breaks balances into five tiers, but, currently, there is only one interest rate.	N/A	Open Account
CIT Bank Platinum Savings Account Open Account	5.05% More Info Earn 5.05% APY on balances over $5,000. Balances of less than $5,000 earn 0.25% APY. Annual Percentage Yield is accurate as of July 27, 2023. Interest rates for the Platinum Savings account are variable and subject to change at any time without notice.	$100	Open Account

Over time, what could seem like small, occasional deviations from your budget may lead to meaningful setbacks where your financial plans are concerned. 

An automatic savings strategy, however, could help you avoid these potential pitfalls. And some banks step up and create tools to make it easy to put your savings goals on autopilot. Below are four online banks that make it easy to automate your savings:

Ally Bank Online Savings Account

Slickdeals/Ally

Ally Bank® could be a solid solution to consider if you want a safe place to save money for emergencies or short-term savings goals. And as far as automatic savings features are concerned, the online bank stands out when it comes to putting your savings goals on autopilot. 

As with many other banks, you have the option to schedule recurring transfers from your checking accounts (with Ally Bank or others) to your savings accounts. But Ally also gives you the option to round up certain transactions (such as debit card purchases and checks) to the nearest dollar to automate your savings even further. 

With the bank’s Surprise Savings feature, you also have the option to have Ally analyze your linked checking accounts and automatically transfer cash to your savings that isn’t set aside for bills. Finally, the bank also makes it possible to split your savings into separate categories and work toward multiple financial goals at once. 

If you’re considering opening an Ally Bank Online Savings Account, it’s helpful to know that the high-yield savings account features above-average APYs. Still, the best high-yield savings rates tend to be higher than what Ally has to offer if you take the time to shop around. 

Nonetheless, the following perks could still make a savings account from the online bank worth considering. 

• Above-average APY (but not the highest available)
• No monthly maintenance fee
• Convenient savings bucket feature
• No minimum balance or opening deposit requirements
• Multiple automated savings options (Round Ups Booster, Surprise Savings, and recurring transfers)

UFB Direct Secure Savings Account

Open Account

at UFB

• Our Rating 5/5 How our ratings work Read the review
• APY5.25% More Info

  UFB Direct breaks balances into five tiers, but, currently, there is only one interest rate.

• Minimum
  Deposit RequiredN/A
• Intro Bonus N/A

The UFB Direct Secure Savings Account has one of the highest interest rates we’ve seen for a high-yield savings account at up to 5.25% APY. Plus, there are no monthly fees and no minimum balance to open.

• Overview
• Pros & Cons

Overview

With one of the strongest high-yield savings interest rates on the market, as well as no monthly fees or minimum opening deposit, UFB Direct’s Secure Savings Account is an extremely attractive package.

Read the review

Pros

• Strong interest rate
• No maintenance fees or minimum monthly balances
• Free complimentary ATM card
• Mobile app and SMS banking

Cons

• No signup bonus
• No associated checking account

Another bank that makes it simple to automate your savings is the UFB Direct Secure Savings Account. You use the UFB Direct mobile app to schedule recurring transfers from your checking account to your savings account with just a few clicks. 

On top of the user-friendly automatic savings process, UFB Direct offers one of the top high-yield savings accounts available at the time of writing. When you choose a deposit account that offers a higher APY, the money you save has the ability to grow at a faster rate — potentially helping you reach your financial goals faster. 

The UFB Direct Secure Savings Account features several standout perks, including the following. 

• Strong interest rates
• No monthly maintenance fees
• No minimum deposit requirement
• ATM card access

CIT Bank Platinum Savings Account

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Member FDIC.

• Our Rating 4.5/5 How our ratings work Read the review
• APY5.05% More Info

  Earn 5.05% APY on balances over $5,000. Balances of less than $5,000 earn 0.25% APY. Annual Percentage Yield is accurate as of July 27, 2023. Interest rates for the Platinum Savings account are variable and subject to change at any time without notice.

• Minimum
  Deposit Required$100
• Intro Bonus N/A

The CIT Bank Platinum Savings account offers one of the top APYs on the market right now, and CIT's flexible transfer options make it easy to access your money. So long as you're able to consistently maintain an account balance of $5,000 (the minimum amount required to earn this account's top APY) you'll likely find a lot of value in this account.

• Overview
• Pros & Cons

Overview

With the CIT Bank Platinum Savings Account, customers earn 5.05% APY on balances over $5,000. However, for accounts with less than $5,000, the APY falls to 0.25%. This account features a minimum opening deposit requirement of $100 and does not charge monthly maintenance fees. Accountholders also get free transfers to and from connected bank accounts, which even extends to non-CIT accounts.

Read the review

Pros

• Strong APY for balances over $5,000
• No monthly service fee
• Unlimited withdrawals (uncommon perk of savings accounts)
• Free electronic bank transfers to checking accounts (even if it isn't a CIT checking account)

Cons

• APY on lower balances is unimpressive
• No fee-free ATM network
• Minimum opening deposit required
• No physical branches

CIT Bank is another financial institution that stands out where automatic savings features are concerned. The online bank makes it simple to schedule recurring transfers from your checking accounts to your savings accounts through the mobile app or online banking tool. 

In addition to the automated savings features, the CIT Bank Platinum Savings account is an impressive option to consider if you want to earn more interest on your savings. You’ll need to deposit at least $5,000 to qualify for the elevated APY on this high-yield savings account. But if doing so is an option for you, you can enjoy several noteworthy benefits. 

• Highly competitive APYs for balances over $5,000
• Zero monthly maintenance fees
• Free electronic bank transfers to checking accounts (CIT Bank or otherwise)
• Unlimited withdrawals 

Capital One 360 Performance Savings 

Slickdeals/Capital One

Capital One is best known for the wide variety of credit cards it offers to consumers, including a few contenders on the best rewards credit cards list. But if you’re in the market for a bank that makes automatic savings a user-friendly experience, you might want to consider Capital One for these services as well. 

Saving money could be an easier goal to achieve thanks to the automatic savings plan options that are available with the Capital One® 360 Performance Savings™ account. You can use your mobile app or online banking tool to set up recurring transfers from your checking account to your savings account. Plus, you can also divide your cash among up to 25 individual accounts to make it easier to save toward different financial goals. 

The Capital One 360 Performance Savings is the bank’s high-yield savings account that offers an APY well above the national average. Some competitors may offer higher APYs, but other features of this savings account could still make it worth considering depending on your banking needs and preferences. 

• Above-average interest rates (but not the highest available)
• No monthly maintenance fees
• Use up to 25 Performance Savings accounts to reach savings goals
• No minimum deposit required

Bottom Line

No matter where you are in your financial journey, saving money is an important part of the process. Perhaps you’re building an emergency fund for the first time. Or maybe you’re saving money for retirement and other financial goals. 

When you make the task of saving money automatic, it can help reduce the likelihood that you’ll spend your cash in ways you hadn’t intended. And if you can find a bank that makes the job of saving money easier and more rewarding, even better.