Santander Bank Review
Many or all of the products on this page are from partners who compensate us when you click to or take an action on their website, but this does not influence our evaluations or ratings. Our opinions are our own.
+ 1 more
Overall institution rating
3.5
Santander Bank is an international bank, and its U.S. branches are in the Northeast and Florida. It has more than 2,000 ATMs and hundreds of branches. The bank charges monthly fees for its checking accounts and some of its savings accounts, but those fees are easy to waive. The basic savings account has a low rate. The bank’s overdraft buffer feature is notable; it lets you overdraw by a certain amount without a fee, but beyond that limit, the bank charges overdraft fees.
Customers nationwide can open a high-yield savings account at Santander’s online-only division, Openbank, which pays a strong rate and has no monthly fee. See our Openbank review.
Best for: Those who want ATM and branch access in the Northeast.
Overdraft buffer.
Solid regional branch network.
Low rate on basic savings account.
Monthly fees on checking and some savings accounts (though they are avoidable).
How does Santander Bank, N.A. compare?
Up to 4.00%
$300 + 0.70% APY
3.75%
$300
Methodology
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). The ratings are incremented in tenths of a star.