Ratings Methodology for Banks and Credit Unions
Banking writers and editors use an objective methodology to rate banks, credit unions, and other providers, and to recommend the best deposit products.
100+ Providers reviewed 
30+ Categories assessed 
60+ Data points analyzed Methodology
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of ratings in the following categories: Checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, customer experience and access, and overdraft fees and policies.
For providers without one or more types of accounts, the overall rating is modified to include only applicable categories. Institutions are not penalized if they don't offer every type of account.
Data collection and review process
Our survey of more than 100 financial institutions includes the largest U.S. banks by assets, internet search traffic and other factors, as well as the nation’s largest credit unions based on deposits and broad-based membership, plus notable or emerging players in the industry.
We considered more than 60 data points for each bank, credit union and banking technology firm. Depending on the category, these included account fees and rates (such as annual percentage yields), ATM and branch access, account features, account bonuses, customer service access and user-facing technology such as innovative tools and mobile apps. We gathered this information for each financial institution from its website, a media representative or both.
The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a star (e.g., 3.4, 4.9).
The review team
The review team is made up of seasoned writers and editors who cover personal banking deposit accounts, such as checking, savings and certificates of deposit, as well as related banking services, such as overdraft programs and ATM networks.
In addition to NerdWallet, the work of our team members has appeared in The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today, Nasdaq, MSN, MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance and other national and regional media outlets. The Banking team’s writers and editors combined have more than 60 years of experience in finance. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet’s strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
Writers
Editors
Note on star-rating penalties
In some cases, a financial institution’s review may show a penalty. This penalty reflects that an institution has engaged in behavior or practices that run counter to adequately serving its consumers, and this factors into the star-rating calculation.
Three types of star-rating penalties may be imposed on financial institutions:
1. Penalty for a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The institution has had a CFPB settlement within the past three years that was a result of an improper or illegal banking practice that negatively impacted deposit-account customers. The penalty is 0.5 star from the Customer Experience rating category or 0.5 star from the overall rating for an institution, depending on the severity of the settlement.
2. Penalty for out-of-proportion CFPB complaints in the past year: The institution has a far-above-average number of public CFPB complaints in the past year relative to its size. To calculate this, NerdWallet’s editorial team created a ratio of number of CFPB complaints to domestic assets (referred to as asset size) of an institution or partner bank for each institution we review and/or analyze, where data was available. This ratio provides a way to compare complaints across institutions of different sizes. If an entity has a ratio 90% higher than the average ratio across institutions analyzed, and complaint volume reaches a minimum threshold, it receives a penalty. The penalty is 0.5 star from the overall rating for an institution.
Disclaimer: The CFPB complaint database is a public third-party source used by the U.S. government, consumer advocacy groups and news media to shed light and/or act on consumer issues at financial institutions. The database does not represent all customer issues or a statistical sample of issues at an institution. The database may contain complaints outside an institution’s control or duplicates, meaning multiple complaints filed by the same person for the same issue. The CFPB publishes each complaint after the company addressed in the complaint replies, or after 15 days, whichever comes first.
3. Penalty for outsized complaints tied to a specific event in the past year: The institution has had a surge in public complaints in the past year as a result of an event within the institution’s control, such as a merger or acquisition. The penalty is 0.5 star from the overall rating for an institution.
Note on cash management accounts
Cash management accounts are evaluated under a different rubric from other deposit accounts.
We paid close attention to the following:
• Monthly fees (10% of the overall rating).
• Interest rate (12%).
• Minimum opening deposit and balance requirements (8%).
• Method and availability of cash withdrawal and withdrawal limits (10%).
• Whether the account offers debit cards and/or checkwriting (9%).
• Reimbursements for out-of-network ATM fees (6%).
• Special features such as subaccounts and budgeting tools (7%).
• The account’s overdraft program (8%).
• Overall customer experience and service options (30%).
• Monthly fees (10% of the overall rating).
• Interest rate (12%).
• Minimum opening deposit and balance requirements (8%).
• Method and availability of cash withdrawal and withdrawal limits (10%).
• Whether the account offers debit cards and/or checkwriting (9%).
• Reimbursements for out-of-network ATM fees (6%).
• Special features such as subaccounts and budgeting tools (7%).
• The account’s overdraft program (8%).
• Overall customer experience and service options (30%).
The best cash management accounts generally have no monthly fees, high interest rates, free access to a large ATM network and/or ATM fee reimbursements, and an overdraft protection program.
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