Discover® Bank Review: Checking, Savings and CDs

Discover® Bank offers excellent accounts and a massive free ATM network, and it does not charge monthly or overdraft fees.
Margarette Burnette
By Margarette Burnette 
Edited by Yuliya Goldshteyn

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Discover® Bank
Learn more

at Discover® Bank, Member FDIC

  • Checking
  • Certificates of deposit
  • Savings
  • Money market
  • Customer experience
  • Overdraft fees

Overall institution rating

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
The bottom line:

Discover® Bank checking lets you earn cash back when you make qualifying debit card purchases each month, and it provides free access to a broad ATM network. The online bank also offers a strong high-yield savings account. But customers who prefer to bank in person won’t like that Discover has only one physical branch.

Best for: Customers who value competitive rates, checking perks and ATM access over branches, and might overdraft from time to time.

Editor's note: On Feb. 19, 2024, Capital One announced plans to acquire Discover. Here's what that would mean for customers.

Pros

  • No overdraft fees.
  • No monthly fees.
  • Competitive rates on savings accounts and CDs.
  • Large, free, nationwide ATM network.
  • No minimum opening deposits.

Cons

  • Limited branch access.

Full review

Checking

Discover® Cashback Debit

Checking

Member FDIC

5.0

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
Monthly fee
$0
Learn more

at Discover® Bank

Discover’s Cashback Debit is a rewards checking account that lets you earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month. Plus, there’s no monthly service charge and no monthly balance requirement. Discover Cashback Debit offers access to over 60,000 fee-free ATMs and paychecks are available up to two days early with direct deposit.

Account holders can fund their account in a few ways: online transfer from a different bank, mobile check deposit, mailing a check to the bank or making a free cash deposit at Walmart.

» Looking for more checking account options? Check out NerdWallet's best checking accounts

Cashback Debit details from Discover: "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."

See Discover's website for more details.

Certificates of deposit

Discover® CD

CD

Member FDIC

4.0

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
1-year APY
4.70%
3-year APY
3.75%
5-year APY
3.75%
Minimum deposit
$2,500
Learn more

at Discover® Bank

Discover Bank offers strong CDs with a broad range of term lengths, up to 10 years. The minimum required deposit of $2,500 is higher than what’s required at some other banks.

» COMPARE: See our list of best CD rates

CD details from Discover: "Annual Percentage Yield (APY). Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 03/14/2024, is subject to change without notice, and will be determined and fixed for the term at funding. Applies to personal accounts only. A penalty may be charged for early withdrawal. Minimum deposit to open is $2,500."

» Learn more details about Discover® CD rates

Savings

Discover® Online Savings
Discover® Online Savings

Savings

Member FDIC

4.5

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
APY
4.25%
With $0 min. balance for APY

Discover® Online Savings’ annual percentage yield compares favorably with the national average of 0.47%, and you won’t have to pay maintenance fees for this account. There are also no minimum balance requirements to earn interest.

Online Savings Account details from Discover: "Annual Percentage Yield (APY). Advertised Online Savings Account APY is accurate as of 03/14/2024. Applies to personal accounts only. APY may change before or after the account is opened. No minimum deposit to open."

Money market

Discover® Money Market Account

Money market

Member FDIC

3.5

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
APY
4.00%
With $1 min. balance for APY
Learn more

at Discover® Bank

The Discover® Money Market Account earns a 4.00% APY for balances below $100,000 and a 4.05% APY for balances at that amount and higher. The MMA is a type of savings account, but it has a $2,500 minimum opening balance requirement (unlike the regular savings account at this bank, which has no minimum deposit to open). After you open an account, there are no monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements. This MMA also offers check-writing privileges.

We did not factor this account into our rating of Discover® Bank because the savings account has a lower minimum balance requirement, so we considered the savings account instead. However, if you are in the market for an MMA — say, you want a savings account that also has check-writing privileges — and can cover the minimum opening requirement, this account is worth a look. Learn more in our primer on money market accounts.

Customer experience

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

Discover offers a high-quality web experience and its mobile banking apps receive high ratings from customers, and representatives are available by phone all day, every day. You also can reach the bank through mail and social media.

There is a downside for those unwilling to let go of face-to-face banking: Unless you live near Greenwood, Delaware — where Discover® Bank has its only branch — you’ll need to do your banking online.

» MORE Check out NerdWallet's Discover® it Cash Back Credit Card Review

Overdraft fees

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

Like an increasing number of banks, Discover® Bank doesn’t charge a fee for overdrafts. If you don’t have enough money in your account to cover a purchase, and you’ve enabled overdraft protection, Discover will pull the money from your designated funding account. If you don’t have enough in your funding account or you haven’t enabled overdraft protection, the transaction will be declined, and you won’t be charged a fee.

Transfers from a linked account that cover your overdrafts are free. Other banks may charge for this service. Note that there is no option to have an overdraft line of credit.

How does Discover® Bank compare?

NerdWallet rating 

4.5

/5
NerdWallet rating 

4.5

/5

APY 

4.60%

With $0 min. balance for APY

APY 

5.05%

With $5,000 min. balance for APY

Bonus 

$400

Up to $300 cash and $100 in rewards points. Terms apply.

Bonus 

N/A

Learn more

at SoFi Bank, N.A.

Learn more

at CIT Bank

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). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.