Bank of America customers checking their savings account statements this month will find the same number they saw a year ago: 0.01% APY on the standard savings account.
On $10,000 parked there for a full year, you earn about a dollar.
Meanwhile, the national average for savings accounts sits around 0.4%, and top online banks are paying in the 4% range on comparable FDIC-insured deposits.
The gap is not a rounding error—it's the difference between earning $400 and earning $1 on the same $10,000.
So why does the country's second-largest bank pay so little?
Bank of America holds roughly $1.9 trillion in deposits, and a huge share of that money sits in accounts opened decades ago, often by customers who value the branch on the corner, the familiar app, or simply not thinking about it.
Switching banks takes effort, and the bank is betting most people won't bother.
There is a legitimate trade-off to acknowledge.
Big banks offer thousands of branches, working ATMs, and human tellers.
If you need to deposit cash regularly, wire money in person, or want a physical place to resolve a problem, that convenience has value.
The question is whether it's worth several hundred dollars a year in foregone interest.
Bank of America does have higher-yield options, but they come with conditions.
Preferred Rewards tiers require maintaining combined balances—often $20,000 to $100,000 across checking, savings, and investment accounts—to unlock better rates and perks.
The top tier still doesn't match what many online banks pay with no strings attached.
In other words, the best rate is reserved for customers who already have significant money parked there.
The broader lesson applies well beyond one bank.
Savings rates are not a fixed feature of the economy; they are a business decision.
When the Federal Reserve raised rates aggressively in 2022 and 2023, online banks passed most of that along quickly.
Many traditional banks passed along very little, because depositors weren't leaving fast enough to force their hand.
If you're earning 0.01%, a few practical steps are worth considering.
First, check your actual APY—it's often printed on your statement or buried in the app.
Second, look at what FDIC-insured online banks and money market funds are paying today.
Third, decide how much of your balance you truly need instant access to.
Moving even part of an emergency fund can be done in an afternoon and is reversible if you hate it.
Some high-yield accounts are promotional and drop after a few months.
Some require minimum balances or direct deposits.
Some are at institutions you've never heard of—which is fine, as long as they're FDIC-insured and you verify it on the FDIC's official site, not through a link in an email.
Our take: loyalty to a bank is not a virtue, and it isn't rewarded.
A 0.01% rate is a quiet subsidy from depositors to shareholders, and the only person who can end it is you.
Final Thoughts
Check your number, compare it, and don't assume the big name means the better deal.