Public High-Yield Cash Account Review

How the Public High-Yield Cash Account works

Public’s High-Yield Cash Account doesn’t function like a typical high-yield savings account.

It is a brokerage-linked cash sweep account that earns a variable APY on uninvested funds. You move money into the account, and the uninvested cash is then moved to FDIC-insured partner banks (allowing for coverage up to $5 million) while also remaining available to you.

The sweep program is administered by the clearing firm, Apex Clearing. It’s also important to note that Public is not a bank but rather a FINRA-registered broker-dealer and member of SIPC.

What we like about the Public High-Yield Cash Account

Public’s High-Yield Cash Account offers up to 3.6% APY, which is well above the national average for savings accounts, which is just 0.40% right now.⁽¹⁾

Low-maintenance savings

There are no direct deposit or spending requirements, and no monthly fees or minimum balance required to earn the account’s best rate. The combination of these makes it easy to open and maintain.

Since it’s tied to Public’s brokerage, funds transfer instantly for investing, which offers an edge over standalone savings accounts.

High FDIC coverage

The fully digital experience is simple and convenient. Funds in the account can be FDIC-insured for up to $5 million by sweeping to partnering financial institutions. This is 20x above the standard $250,000, which means the sweeping feature provides strong protection for larger balances.

Where it falls short

While Public’s High-Yield Cash Account has many perks, it doesn’t come without some drawbacks.

Perhaps the biggest drawback is that there is no physical branch access or ATM network, which may be inconvenient for those who want cash withdrawals. Another shortcoming to some may be that external transfers follow standard ACH timing, so funds aren’t instantly available outside the platform.

And like with most liquid deposit products, the APY is variable and can change without notice, so returns aren’t guaranteed. If you want a guaranteed interest rate for a set period, consider a certificate of deposit instead.

Must be a Public investing customer

Additionally, you must have a Public Investing account to open the account, which could be a barrier for some users.

But if you’re interested, the investing platform offers low-cost, multi-asset investing, with stocks, options, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, crypto and treasuries. For trading costs, there’s zero commission on stocks, options and ETF trades, with rebates on options trades, no options contract fees and competitive margin rates.

Compare Public High-Yield Cash Account to other savings accounts

Narrow down top savings accounts by APYs, fees and features. Select Compare on up to four accounts for a side-by-side comparison.

{"userFilters":[{"config":{"MULTISELECT":true,"VALUES":"ATM\/debit card,Online only,Bonus offer,No monthly fee,Joint account,Crypto account,High APY"},"dataSelector":{"recordType":"product","fieldCode":"DETAILS.ACCOUNT_FEATURES"},"dataType":"TEXT","label":"Account features","order":null},{"config":{"MULTISELECT":true,"VALUES":"Cash by teller, Cash by ATM, Check by teller, Check by ATM, Mobile\/remote check deposit, Bank transfer, Wire transfer, Direct deposit, Fiat currencies, Cryptocurrencies"},"dataSelector":{"recordType":"product","fieldCode":"DETAILS.DEPOSIT_METHODS"},"dataType":"TEXT","label":"Deposit methods","order":null},{"config":{"MULTISELECT":true,"VALUES":"Alabama,Alaska,Arizona,Arkansas,California,Colorado,Connecticut,Delaware,District of Columbia,Florida,Georgia,Hawaii,Idaho,Illinois,Indiana,Iowa,Kansas,Kentucky,Louisiana,Maine,Maryland,Massachusetts,Michigan,Minnesota,Mississippi,Missouri,Montana,Nebraska,Nevada,New Hampshire,New Jersey,New Mexico,New York,North Carolina,North Dakota,Ohio,Oklahoma,Oregon,Pennsylvania,Rhode Island,South Carolina,South Dakota,Tennessee,Texas,Utah,Vermont,Virginia,Washington,West Virginia,Wisconsin,Wyoming"},"dataSelector":{"recordType":"product","fieldCode":"DETAILS.STATE_AVAILABILITY"},"dataType":"TEXT","label":"States serviced","order":null}],"niche":{"currencySymbol":"$","decimalPoint":".","decimalPlaces":"2","thousandsSeparator":",","filterBoundsMap":{"product.DETAILS.ACCOUNT_FEATURES":null,"product.DETAILS.DEPOSIT_METHODS":null,"product.DETAILS.STATE_AVAILABILITY":null}},"prefilled":false,"experimental":false}

6 of 21 results

Finder Score	Account type	Annual Percentage Yield (APY)	FDIC or NCUA insured amount	Minimum balance to earn APY	Minimum deposit to open	Rebate
Promoted Finder score 8.6 Great Synchrony High Yield Savings	Finder score 8.6 Great	Traditional savings,Custodial account	3.65%	Up to $250,000	$0	$0		Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Promoted Finder score 9.2 Excellent Public High-Yield Cash Account	Finder score 9.2 Excellent	Cash management account	3.60%	Up to $250,000	$0	$0		Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Promoted Finder score 9.4 Excellent Wealthfront Cash Account	Finder score 9.4 Excellent	Cash management account	3.50%	Up to $8M FDIC insurance	$1	$1	New clients earn 4.15% APY. Boost your APY from 3.50% to 4.15% APY for 3 months when you open and fund a Cash Account. T&Cs apply.		Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder score 9.2 Excellent SoFi Checking and Savings	Finder score 9.2 Excellent	Traditional savings,Checking	Up to 3.60%	Up to $250,000	$0	$0	Earn up to 4.30% APY on savings and $50 or $300 with direct deposit. Open a new SoFi Checking and Savings account by 31 January 2026, set up eligible direct deposit within 60 days, and maintain direct deposit for six months. T&Cs apply.		Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder score 8.6 Great Alliant High-Rate Savings	Finder score 8.6 Great	Savings app	3.10%	Up to $250,000 by the NCUA	$100	$5	$5 opening deposit is paid for you. T&Cs apply.		Go to site More info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder score 9.6 Excellent Discover® Online Savings Account	Finder score 9.6 Excellent	Traditional savings,Custodial account	3.40%	Up to $250,000	$0	$0		Continue More info Compare product selection Compare	loading

loading

Load More

Showing 6 of 21 results

Compare other products

We currently don't have that product, but here are others to consider:

How we picked these

What is the Finder Score?

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.

Read the full breakdown

How to open the Public High-Yield Cash Account

To open the account, sign up for a Public Investing account on or mobile app. You’ll need to be a US resident, 18 or older, with a Social Security number and a valid US address.

Once your investing account is approved, the High-Yield Cash Account can be added. Any uninvested funds added will automatically sweep into FDIC-insured partner banks and earn interest.

Customer reviews and ratings.

Public.com was founded in 2019, so they are not as established as many other competing banks, financial institutions or brokerage firms. The age of Public translates into their number of reviews as well as the number of discussions on sites like Reddit.

On the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Public is BBB accredited with an A rating and receives mediocre customer ratings. The majority of user complaints and negative reviews pertain to the functions of the trading platform and the brokerage services offered, rather than the Cash account specifically. Users also complain about the usability of the app.

On Trustpilot, the platform earns a very low rating overall, with most complaints geared toward the brokerage and trading aspect of the platform, similar to the BBB.

It is important to note that the low ratings are consistent with other financial institutions, banks, brokerages and comparable fintech apps. Many people tend to report the negative, only heading to review platforms if something goes wrong.

Frequently asked questions

Is Public.com a bank?

No, Public.com is not a bank. It’s an investing platform that sweeps cash to partner banks for FDIC insurance. They are FINRA members with SIPC-insured accounts.

Is money in the High-Yield Cash Account FDIC-insured?

Yes. Uninvested cash is swept into Public’s partner banks, providing FDIC insurance coverage of up to $5 million in total (approximately $250,000 per partner bank).