Discover Bank Review: No Fees on Deposit Products and Competitive Rates
GOBankingRates Score
Discover Bank
-
Checking Account
4.5
-
Savings Account
4.5
-
CD Accounts
4.8
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Banking Experience
4.5
Pros
- No minimum deposits on checking and savings accounts
- No monthly fees
- No insufficient funds or overdraft fees
- Above-average rates
- 24/7 customer service
Cons
- High minimum deposit to open a CD
- No branch availability
Discover Bank Overview
People have known about the Discover card since its national launch in 1986, when its Super Bowl XX commercial announced the “Dawn of Discover.” However, these days, Discover offers much more than just credit cards. Discover is also a full-service online bank that offers a variety of banking products with a mission focused on helping its customers engage in smarter spending, saving and debt management.
One way Discover does this is by stepping outside the box. In 2019, Discover ended all monthly fees on its deposit products, which helps save its customers money.
These and other reasons are why Discover Bank made GOBankingRates’ Best Banks of 2023 rankings for the following:
Key Features
Here are details about Discover Bank to help you decide whether it’s the right bank for you.
Checking Account
Discover Bank offers only one checking account, but it’s packed full of impressive money-saving features.
Discover’s Cashback Debit Online Checking account has no minimum deposit requirement, no minimum daily balance requirement and no monthly maintenance fees. Additionally, the account has no insufficient funds or overdrafts fee and pays 1% cash back on up to $3,000 worth of purchases with the debit card each month. When you need to access cash, you can withdraw money, fee-free, at over 60,000 ATMs worldwide.
Unfortunately, this account is not available to open at this time. You can, however, sign up to be notified via email when Discover begins accepting applications again.
Savings Account
Discover Bank offers one savings account, which ranked among Best Online and Neobank Savings Accounts in the GOBankingRates’ study.
Like the bank’s checking account, the savings account has no minimum opening deposit, monthly fee or minimum daily balance requirements. Plus, there’s no insufficient funds overdraft or excess withdrawal fee. The account pays APY; interest is compounded daily and paid monthly.
CD Accounts
It’s no wonder Discover Bank’s high-yield CD account also was a finalist in GOBankingRates’ annual Best Banks study. The bank’s CD offerings have no monthly maintenance fees and are available in terms from three months to 10 years. Rates range from to APY. The following rates are for every term the bank offers:
- 3-month CD: APY
- 6-month CD: APY
- 9-month CD: APY
- 12-month CD: APY
- 18-month CD: APY
- 24-month, 30-month and 3-year CDs: APY
- 4-year & 5-year CDs: APY
- 7-year and 10-year CDs: APY
A $2,500 minimum opening deposit is required to open a CD at Discover Bank.
Banking Experience
Now that you know more about Discover Bank’s products, here’s a breakdown of some of the outstanding features that make up its banking experience and helped it rank as a Best Online Bank in GOBankingRates’ annual Best Banks study.
Discover Bank has no minimum opening deposits on its checking or savings account. Not having to deposit any money up front makes it easy and affordable to open one or more accounts at your convenience.
Additionally, when you open any type of account at Discover Bank, you won’t have to worry about paying monthly fees or trying to meet qualifying deposit minimums or other requirements to avoid monthly charges. Instead, you can enjoy keeping your money where it belongs: in your bank account.
Discover Bank has banking service representatives available 24 hours, seven days per week. So, no matter what day of the week or what time of the day — or night — you have a banking question or issue, you won’t have to wait to get the answers or solutions you need. You can reach Discover at 800-347-7000.
Discover Bank’s app is highly rated by users. Android users rate the app 4.7 out of 5 stars and iOS users rate the app 4.9.
Comparable Online Bank Options
Now that you’re aware of some of Discover Bank’s products and services, here’s how the bank measures up to some of its online competitors.
Ally Bank
Besides a high-yield CD, as Discover Bank offers, Ally Bank offers two other types of CDs: Raise Your Rate CD and No Penalty CD. While Discover doesn’t offer more than one type of CD, it does offer better rates than Ally. Discover’s highest APY is for its 12-month and 18-month CDs, while Ally’s highest rate is APY for its 18-month high-yield CD.
American Express National Bank
American Express National Bank, Member FDIC, does not require any deposit minimums to open one of its CDs, which is much more affordable than Discover Bank’s $2,500 minimum deposit requirement. However, American Express National Bank does not offer money market account options like Discover.
Final Take
If you don’t mind doing all of your banking tasks online, Discover Bank has much to offer. Its checking and savings accounts do not require minimum opening deposits, and none of its accounts have monthly fees that can eat into your funds. Plus, you can earn more on your balances because Discover Bank offers above-average rates.
More on Discover Bank
- Discover Banks Newest Promotions
- Discover Bank CD Rates
- Discover Bank Routing Number
- How To Avoid Discover Monthly Maintenance Fees
- How To Do A Balance Transfer With Discover
- How To Request a Discover Credit Line Increase
Compare to Other Banks
- Ally Bank Review
- American Express National Bank Review
- Capital One Bank Review
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs Review
- All Bank Reviews
FAQ
Now that you know more about Discover Bank's products, rates and fees, here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about the bank.- Does Discover Bank have an app?
- Yes, Discover Bank has an app for both iOS and Android users, and the app rates 4.9 out of 5 stars on the App Store and 4.6 on Google Play. You can text APP to DISCOV (347268) to download it on your phone. With the app, you can complete tasks such as depositing checks, finding ATMs, setting up bill pay, transferring money, setting up account alerts and even freezing your debit card in case of emergency.
- Can I deposit cash into my Discover Bank account?
- Yes, you can deposit cash into your Discover Bank account in any of the following ways: Transfer from an external bank account Direct deposit Mobile check deposit Mail a check to the following address: Discover Bank PO Box 30417 Salt Lake City, UT 84130
- How can I withdraw money from my Discover Savings account?
- You can withdraw funds from your Discover Savings account up to six times per month. Withdrawals can be made via online transfer, wire transfer or official bank check.
- Does Zelle work with Discover Bank?
- Discover is not accepting new enrollments for Zelle at this time. If you enrolled in Zelle on or after March 1, 2022, you might not be able to use this service.
- Is Discover a reliable Bank?
- Discover Bank protects its customers' accounts in multiple ways, such as Secure Socket-Layer technology, proactive fraud monitoring and enhanced account verification measures.
- Is Discover debit worth it?
- Right now, Discover is not accepting new applications for its debit card. As to whether it's worth it, that depends. You can earn 1% on up to $3,000 of debit card purchases per month, which is $30. However, you might be able to find better debit card rewards at another bank.
- Is Discover Bank financially stable?
- Yes, Discover Bank has a stable rating from Standard and Poor's.
- Is Discover better than Citi®?
- Whether Discover Bank is better than Citi really depends on what you're looking for in a bank. The best way to decide is to read reviews of both Discover Bank and Citi to help you learn more about each bank.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
Methodology: To determine rankings for the Best Online Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors across exclusively online banks: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (3) savings APY; (4) 1-year CD APY; (5) customer service options and mobile products offered (24/7 customer service, live chat with a human, mobile app and remote check deposit); (6) Bauer rating (out of 5 stars); (7) products/services offered (auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services and insurance); and (8) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores. Factors (1) and (2) were weighted 0.5 times, and factors (3) and (7) were weighted 2 times. For all savings and checking account data, only the basic accounts/products offered at each institution were analyzed.
Methodology: To determine rankings for the Best Online Bank and Neobank Savings Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors from all online banks and neobanks: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) minimum deposit to open an account; (3) monthly savings fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (4) minimum balance needed in account to earn APY; (5) savings APY; and (6) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factor (1) was weighted 0.5 times, factor (4) was weighed 1.5 times and factor (5) was weighted 3 times.
Methodology: To determine rankings for the Best CD Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors from all banks (excluding credit unions): (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) number of branch locations as sourced from the FDIC; (3) minimum deposit to open an account; (4) 12-month CD APY; (5) 60-month CD APY; and (6) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factors (1) and (2) were weighted 0.5 times, factor (3) was weighted 2 times, and factors (4) and (5) were weighted 4 times.
Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Jan. 3, 2022.
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