Bank of America customers are earning 0.01% on their standard savings accounts right now.
A $10,000 balance generates roughly $1 per year in interest, according to the bank's published rate schedule.
Meanwhile, a wave of online banks and money market funds are paying north of 4% on the same money.
The gap between what the big four banks pay and what the rest of the market offers has become one of the widest in modern banking history.
The reason comes down to the Federal Reserve's rate cycle.
When the Fed pushed its benchmark rate to a 23-year high, online banks competed hard for deposits by passing along yield.
The largest legacy banks mostly did not, because they did not have to.
On a $20,000 emergency fund, the difference between 0.01% and 4.5% is about $900 a year.
Over five years, with compounding, it climbs past $4,800 in foregone interest.
For many households, that is a mortgage payment or several months of groceries.
The pain compounds because inflation has not fully retreated.
Grocery bills remain well above 2019 levels, rent has climbed double digits in many metros, and credit card APRs are hovering near record highs above 20%.
Earning almost nothing on cash while paying 20% on debt is a double squeeze.
Bank of America does offer higher yields through its Preferred Rewards program, but the top tiers generally require $100,000 or more in combined balances.
Customers below that threshold are left with the standard rate unless they move money elsewhere.
Switching does not have to mean closing the account.
Many consumers keep a checking account at a big bank for ATMs and branches while parking savings at an online institution.
Transfers between the two typically take one to two business days.
A few practical steps worth considering: check the current APY on your savings account statement, compare it against at least two online banks, and confirm whether the account is FDIC insured.
Also watch for promotional rates that drop after a few months.
One more detail that trips people up: some high-yield accounts are actually money market funds, not bank deposits.
They may not carry FDIC insurance, though many hold Treasury-backed assets.
Read the fine print before moving a large balance.
None of this is a prediction about where rates go next.
The Fed could cut, hold, or hike, and yields will move with it.
What is certain is the spread between the lowest and highest paying accounts, and how much that spread costs the households that never check.
Our take: loyalty to a legacy bank is a choice with a price tag, and right now that price is steep.
A 15-minute comparison could be worth hundreds of dollars a year.
Final Thoughts
If your bank will not pay you, the market will.