Charles Schwab was founded as a brokerage firm in 1963 and extended into banking in 2003. Beyond its brokerage services, Charles Schwab also offers savings and checking accounts, CDs and other bank products. Schwab’s checking account is especially popular for its unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide, and there are no monthly maintenance fees on most accounts. Overall, Charles Schwab is a solid choice if you want a smooth connection between your banking and investing and are able to manage everything in one place.
Best for: Those looking to keep cash close to their portfolios.
Charles Schwab can be worth checking out if you manage your money online, travel often or want to avoid ATM fees. That said, you must have an Investor Checking account linked to a Schwab One brokerage account. For Investor Savings, Schwab only says you need a brokerage account to use the mobile app and mobile deposit.
Charles Schwab may not offer the highest APYs on the market, but its low fees and unlimited ATM refunds make it worth considering. Before opening an account at Charles Schwab, weigh these pros and cons to see if it’s a potential fit.
Charles Schwab has a lot going for it, and it’s a trusted institution.
Schwab has perks, but it’s probably not the right pick if you want a full-service bank.
Charles Schwab Bank offers a single checking option: the Schwab Bank Investor Checking Account. It’s a brokerage-linked account, which features no monthly fees or required minimum balances.
There are also no minimum balance requirements, and you get unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide. Unlike many other checking accounts that offer zero interest, the Schwab Investor Checking account lets you earn a 0.05% APY on your balance. It isn’t a lot, but it’s still better than nothing at all.
You’ll also get a Schwab debit card with no foreign transaction fees. However, the account must be linked to a Schwab brokerage account even if you don’t plan to invest.
Schwab only has one savings option: the Schwab Bank Investor Savings Account. It’s pretty functional but doesn’t offer competitive rates compared to some of the best savings accounts we’ve seen.
Schwab Bank Investor Savings Account earns up to 0.15% APY and has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Like the checking account, it’s linked to your Schwab brokerage, which may not appeal to everyone. And considering that the average savings account interest rate is currently 0.38% APY, the 0.15% APY this account offers isn’t competitive at all.
Schwab offers CDs through its CD OneSource, and so they’re offered by other FDIC-insured banks. There’s a solid range of CD terms available through its brokerage platform, often with top-tier rates and a reasonable deposit requirement that matches competitors.
| Term | APY | Opening deposit requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 3 month | 4.06% | $1,000 |
| 6 month | 4.3% | $1,000 |
| 9 month | 4.48% | $1,000 |
| 12 month | 4.55% | $1,000 |
| 18 month | 4.75% | $1,000 |
| 24 month | 5% | $1,000 |
Charles Schwab is primarily a brokerage, so you’ll find a wide selection of investment and banking products:
The Finder Score crunches over 300 checking accounts from hundreds of financial institutions. It takes into account the product's monthly fees, overdraft fees, opening deposit, customer support options, ATM network and features — this gives you a simple score out of 10.
To provide a Score, Finder’s banking experts analyze hundreds of checking accounts against what we consider is the best option: no monthly fees, no overdraft fees, a large ATM network of 50,000 or more, additional features outside of typical banking services, and the optional perk of earning interest. Accounts that are nearly free to maintain and use are scored the highest, while accounts with costly fees and few features are scored the lowest.
The Finder Score crunches over 250 savings accounts from hundreds of financial institutions. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees, opening deposit and features - this gives you a simple score out of 10.
To provide a Score, Finder’s banking experts analyze hundreds of savings accounts against FDIC-reported national averages as a baseline. Accounts with rates well over the national average are scored the highest, while accounts with rates well below are scored low.
The Finder Score analyzes hundreds of CDs from more than 100 institutions. It takes into account the product's interest rate for available terms and opening deposit requirements - this gives you a simple score out of 10.
Different banks and credit unions offer CDs for various lengths of time, ranging from as short as seven days to as long as 20 years. For our ratings, we consider the term lengths that the FDIC uses in its monthly updates on national rates.
If a bank or credit union doesn’t offer a CD for a specific term used by the FDIC, we don’t penalize it: Instead, we simply don’t rate it. Each of the standard term lengths has its own APY rating based on the FDIC’s average rates.
| BBB accredited | No |
|---|---|
| BBB rating | A+ |
| BBB customer reviews | 1.34 out of 5 stars, based on 107 customer reviews |
| Trustpilot score | 1.5 out of 5 stars, based on 781 customer reviews |
| Customer reviews verified as of | 01 October 2026 |
Charles Schwab has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) but does poorly when it comes to submitted reviews. It doesn’t do well on Trustpilot either, and many past and current customers on these sites complain about account holds, delayed transfers, poor security and frustrating experiences with customer support.
The Charles Schwab Investor Checking account is worth considering if you want a fee-free checking account with global ATM perks.
