Goldman Sachs Bank USA Review: Savings and CDs
Goldman Sachs lets anyone bank with it, not just Wall Street. Goldman Sachs Bank USA, one of the newest online-only banks, won’t fulfill all of your banking needs: There are no branch offices, no checking accounts, no ATMs. But if you’re looking for top-of-the-line savings and CD rates, this bank is one to check out.
The bottom line
- Goldman Sachs Bank USA is best for setting aside cash to earn interest
- There’s no checking account, ATM network or mobile app
- You need an external account for transferring money, so expect delays when making any transaction
» MORE: NerdWallet’s best checking accounts
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Checking accounts | None |
| Savings accounts | |
| Certificates of deposit (CDs) | |
| Customer experience | |
| Overdraft fees | None |
| Overall | |
Here are more details about the bank’s savings account, CDs and customer experience.
Goldman Sachs Bank savings
5.0 / 5.0
Goldman Sachs Bank USA, created after Goldman Sachs bought General Electric Co.’s GE Capital Bank in 2015, gets top marks as a spot to park your money at a high savings rate. The downside? Transferring money into or out of your account can take a few days. That’s because it doesn’t offer a way to withdraw cash or deposit checks via an ATM or a mobile app. Having an external bank account, such as a checking, savings or money market account elsewhere, is the main way to move money in to and out of a Goldman Sachs account, but you can also set up direct deposits.
There are no fees for its savings account. But your other bank could charge you when you transfer money via an Automated Clearing House (ACH) or wire transfer.
| Pros | Cons |
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Goldman Sachs Bank CDs
5.0 / 5.0
Goldman Sachs Bank CD rates are among the best. Using one of the bank’s CDs is a better option than its savings account for longer-term goals. You can choose a term from six months to six years and get a solid return. A few other banks have higher CD rates, but Goldman Sachs’ rates are highly competitive.
| Pros | Cons |
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Customer experience
2.5 / 5.0
Since there’s no mobile app or branch network, your main way to interact with the bank and your accounts is online and by phone. For questions, there’s a comprehensive FAQs section on the website, and you can call customer support on weekdays or submit a message via a form online.
Boosts savings but lacks convenience
You can get good returns on your savings at Goldman Sachs Bank USA, but it lacks checking accounts and other features that some other online banks have, including a mobile app and a free ATM network. If you’re OK with stashing away cash for a while, this bank is a good choice. You don’t need to worry about fees or high balance requirements, so it’s easy to join the nearly 150-year-old investment firm’s first public bank.
Updated Oct. 3, 2017.
Spencer Tierney is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: spencer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @SpencerNerd.
Ratings 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, customer 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). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.
