12 Best Online Checking Accounts of 2022

Discover Bank’s checking account lets you earn cash back on certain purchases, and you’ll also have access to 60,000 free ATMs.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: With Discover’s Cashback Debit account, you’ll get 1% cash back on qualifying debit card purchases of up to $3,000 a month.

Other pros: Discover also has free overdraft protection transfers and no insufficient funds fee.

You can get your paycheck up to two days early when you set up direct deposit with this account.

What you should know: There is only one physical branch location, in Greenwood, Delaware, so national customers have to be OK with not having face-to-face customer service.

The company says: “ATM transactions, the purchase of money orders or other cash equivalents, cash over portions of point-of-sale transactions, peer-to-peer (P2P) payments (such as Apple Pay Cash), and loan payments or account funding made with your debit card are not eligible for cash back rewards. In addition, purchases made using third-party payment accounts (services such as Venmo® and PayPal™, which also provide P2P payments) may not be eligible for cash back rewards. Apple, the Apple logo and Apple Pay are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries."

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: A strong 1.25% APY on all balances and an opportunity to earn a bonus between $50 and $300 depending on your direct deposit total in your first 30 days.

Other pros: Customers can also earn up to 15% cash back when they make purchases with their SoFiI debit card, and they can use more than 55,000 fee-free Allpoint ATMs.

Unlike most credit unions, Alliant makes it easy to apply for membership to take advantage of its interest checking and high-quality digital tools. If you don’t meet its other eligibility requirements, you can qualify by supporting an Alliant-affiliated nonprofit at no cost to you.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: 0.25% APY. To be eligible for this rate, you must opt out of paper statements and make at least one electronic deposit to your account each month.

Other pros: You’ll have access to over 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs and up to $20 monthly in out-of-network ATM fee refunds.

Like some other Axos Bank checking accounts, the Rewards Checking has great perks: no overdraft fees and no monthly fees, plus domestic ATM fee reimbursements.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: With Rewards Checking, you also can earn up to 1.25% APY on balances up to $50,000, but you'll have to jump through some hoops.

Other pros: Axos also has a CashBack Checking rewards program that gives you 1% cash back on debit card transactions that require your signature, if you keep at least $1,500 as the average daily balance. If your account falls below that, you earn 0.50% cash back instead.

Quontic Bank has three checking account options, each with its own benefit: Cash Rewards, High Interest and Bitcoin Rewards.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: With Cash Rewards Checking, customers can earn 1.50% cash back on debit card purchases. The High Interest Checking account has a rate of 1.01% APY on balances up to $150,000 for customers who make 10 debit card purchases of $10 or more monthly. For accounts with higher deposits that meet the monthly requirements, the rate is 0.35% APY on balances up to $1 million. The Bitcoin Rewards option earns 1.50% on qualifying debit card purchases, with rewards you can convert to bitcoin.

Other pros: Quontic gives customers free access to more than 90,000 ATMs in the U.S.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: As of May 2022, new Monifi customers can earn a $250 bonus when they set up and receive at least two direct deposits of $1,000 or more.

Other pros: Monifi has a few customer service options, including phone availability seven days a week and email. Customers also have access to more than 55,000 fee-free Allpoint ATMs.

NBKC offers a solid 0.15% APY on its Everything Account, which combines checking and savings features in one account.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: The Everything Account has a feature called Goals. Goals are subaccounts that allow you to put money away for different purposes, such as a down payment for a house, an emergency fund or a vacation. A minimum balance of $0.01 is required to earn interest. Customers also have access to a financial snapshot, which can aggregate NBKC and external account activity to give users a look at their spending and help them set budgets for different categories.

Other pros: NBKC is part of the MoneyPass network, which gives customers access to 37,000 fee-free ATMs, and customers receive up to $12 per month in reimbursements for out-of-network ATM fees.

LendingClub offers a Rewards Checking account that combines a competitive interest rate and cash-back rewards. It also has unlimited ATM fee reimbursements, a rare perk, and up to two-day early direct deposit.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: You get an unlimited 1% cash back on spending with your debit card. And the interest rate has two tiers, 0.10% and 0.15% annual percentage yield, depending on your account balance.

Other pros: LendingClub belongs to the surcharge-free NYCE and MoneyPass ATM networks, and it doesn’t charge out-of-network ATM fees.

Customers of One, a nonbank financial institution, can organize money in linked subaccounts called Pockets, whether for paying bills or saving toward goals. One also gives customers access to a large ATM network.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: Customers start with three Pockets: Spend, Save and Auto-Save and can create more to customize their experience. Save and Auto-Save Pockets earn interest. Save Pockets earn 1.00% APY on up to $5,000 in balances or up to $25,000 with paycheck direct deposit. The Auto-Save pocket earns 3.00% APY. When you use your debit card, purchases are rounded up to the next dollar, and the difference is deposited in Auto-Save. Customers can also have a portion of their direct deposit paycheck dropped into Auto-Save.

Other pros: One is part of the Allpoint network, which gives customers access to more than 55,000 fee-free ATMs.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: American Express’ Rewards Checking account earns a strong 0.50% APY and Membership Rewards points on debit card purchases that can be redeemed for deposits or other options such as gift cards or travel.

Other pros: Customers can access more than 37,000 MoneyPass ATMs to withdraw cash with no fees.

Ally is an online-only bank with a no-fee checking account with a notable rate and a high-yield savings account. And Ally reimburses up to $10 in out-of-network ATM fees monthly.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: Ally’s Interest Checking has a rate of 0.10% APY for balances below $15,000; 0.25% APY for balances of $15,000 and above.

Other pros: Ally has more than 43,000 surcharge-free Allpoint ATMs, solid mobile apps and exceptional customer service. You can contact Ally via phone, real-time chat, messaging and Twitter. You can pair your Ally checking with its savings account, which has a competitive high-yield interest rate.

Capital One’s checking account earns interest and has no minimum balance.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: The checking rate is 0.10% APY for any balance.

Other pros: 360 Checking account holders have free access to over 75,000 Capital One, Allpoint® and MoneyPass® ATMs nationwide, and a handful of Capital One locations. The bank’s mobile app is highly rated as well.