Bank of America is paying 0.01% on its standard savings account right now.
One cent per $100 you park there for a year.
Meanwhile, a stack of online banks and money market funds are offering roughly 4% or more on federally insured deposits.
On $10,000, that gap is the difference between about $1 and roughly $400 annually.
So why does anyone leave cash at the nation's second-largest bank?
Convenience, inertia, and the fact that most people never check. **The Math That Should Annoy You** The 0.01% figure is the bank's standard, no-frills savings rate — the one you get by default when you open an account at a branch.
Bank of America does have a higher-yield option, but it typically requires you to jump through hoops: maintaining balances, linking accounts, or holding specific products.
The headline rate isn't the only rate, but the easy path pays almost nothing.
Big banks have a simple business model here.
They pay you close to zero for deposits, then lend that money out or park it in higher-yielding assets.
Your laziness is their margin. **Who Actually Benefits** Bank of America benefits most when customers don't move their money.
Branch networks, apps, and brand trust keep deposits sticky.
Switching takes effort, and the bank is betting most people won't bother for a few hundred dollars a year.
To be fair, the bank isn't doing anything illegal.
Standard savings rates at the biggest institutions have been low for years, and many customers value the branches, ATMs, and customer service enough to accept it.
But "not illegal" and "good for you" are different things. **What the Alternatives Look Like** Online banks, neobanks, and brokerage cash accounts have pushed yields far higher because they don't carry the cost of thousands of branches.
Many of these accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor, same as your big-bank account.
Some have no physical locations, slower transfers, or minimum balance rules.
Some promotional rates are temporary and drop after a few months.
Always check the fine print and whether the rate is variable.
A practical middle ground: keep a small cushion at your everyday bank for bills and ATM access, and move the rest of your emergency fund to a higher-yield account.
You don't have to close anything. **The Trap Nobody Talks About** The bigger risk isn't the low rate itself — it's inflation quietly eating the value of idle cash.
If prices rise faster than your savings grow, you're losing ground in real terms, even if the dollar amount looks flat.
That's why the 0.01% vs. 4% gap matters more than it sounds.
It's about not falling behind for no reason.
It takes two minutes, and it's the rare financial move that costs nothing to fix. **Our Take** Big banks count on you never looking.
The rate isn't hidden — it's just buried in fine print most people skip.
Loyalty to a brand that pays you a penny per hundred dollars isn't loyalty; it's a subscription fee you didn't agree to.
Final Thoughts
Move the money that isn't working for you, and leave the rest.