Bank of America customers are earning 0.01% on their savings accounts while the Federal Reserve's benchmark rate sits in a range of 4.25% to 4.50%.
That means a $10,000 balance earns about $1 a year at the bank, before inflation takes its cut.
The gap between what the Fed pays banks and what banks pay savers has rarely been wider.
The Fed's rate is what banks earn when they park money at the central bank overnight.
Banks have been collecting that spread while keeping deposit rates pinned near record lows.
The national average savings rate sits around 0.40%, but the biggest names in banking are not competing on that number.
Bank of America's 0.01% is the floor, not the ceiling, of what is available.
Meanwhile, inflation has been running above 2% for much of the past three years, and grocery bills are still climbing in 2025.
Eggs, beef, coffee, and rent have all tested household budgets.
A savings account paying 0.01% does not keep pace with rising prices on anything.
In real terms, money sitting in that account loses value every month.
Online banks and money market funds are paying between 4% and 5% on FDIC-insured deposits.
A $10,000 balance at 4.25% earns roughly $425 a year, compared with about $1 at Bank of America.
That difference is real money for families managing rent, car payments, and credit card balances that often carry rates above 20%.
If you are carrying a balance at 22% APR while your savings earns 0.01%, you are paying the bank more than twenty times what it pays you.
The same institution profits on both sides of your ledger.
Moving savings to a higher-yield account does not fix the card problem, but it stops the bleed on the cash side.
Most high-yield savings accounts open online in under fifteen minutes with no minimum deposit.
Transfers between banks typically clear in one to three business days, and FDIC insurance covers up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank.
You keep the same protection, just a different rate.
Some promotional rates are tied to direct deposit or minimum balances, and they can drop without notice.
Read the fine print on monthly fees and withdrawal limits.
Keep your checking account where your bills are set to autopay, and move only the money you are not using for day-to-day expenses.
The bigger point is that loyalty to a big bank brand has a price, and right now that price is measured in hundreds of dollars a year for the average saver.
Banks count on customers not checking the rate.
Checking takes five minutes and can change your annual return from pocket change to real income.
Our take: leaving cash at 0.01% while the Fed pays over 4% is a choice, not a necessity.
The gap will not close on its own, because banks have no incentive to close it.
Final Thoughts
If your bank will not pay you a competitive rate, the exit door is the most powerful tool you have.