Capital One 360 Review [2023]: Everything You Want in an Online Bank

Capital One is one of the largest online banks in the country. It’s a one-stop finance shop, offering a suite of loans, credit cards, and bank accounts. These accounts are some of the best you’ll find even among other online banks, offering high interest rates and notably no fees, not even if you overdraft your checking account.

That said, Capital One isn’t right for everyone. We’ll help you decide if it’s a good option for you in this Capital One 360 review.

Key takeaways

• Capital One is the ninth-largest bank in the country, operating mostly online but with a few scattered in-person locations.
• In 2022, J.D. Power rated Capital One as the best nationwide bank with the best mobile banking app.
• Capital One offers a suite of bank accounts, including checking, high-yield savings, and CDs.
• Capital One was the first major bank to nix all overdraft fees, and it doesn’t charge monthly maintenance fees for any of its accounts.

Capital One overview

Pros No monthly fees Full-service banking No overdraft charges Highly-rated mobile app All accounts offer interest Savings and CD rates are very high Very high customer satisfaction ratings Member FDIC

Cons Doesn’t appear to offer money market accounts Can be difficult to deposit cash Low APY for kids savings accounts Limited in-person branch availability

For such a new bank, Capital One has grown rapidly. It launched in 1994, and the original founder (Richard Fairbank) still serves as the Chairman and CEO of the company, which is based out of McLean, Virginia.

Today, it’s the ninth-largest bank in the country, with nearly 300 in-person branches, mostly in the Northeastern and Southern U.S.

Capital One bank has a unique setup for its in-person branches. There are traditional bank branches that look like the ones you expect at other banks. But the company also offers 54 “Capital One cafés” sprinkled throughout the country, blurring the lines between a hip hangout spot and a retail bank to create a more comfortable atmosphere. Most of its business, however, is online.

360 Checking

Annual percentage yield (APY)	0.10% (as of Jul. 21, 2023)
Minimum deposit requirement	$0
Monthly maintenance fees	$0
ATM access	Yes
FDIC insured	Yes

As long as you don’t mind banking online, Capital One 360 offers just about the best checking account you can find. Most large banks charge you lots of fees with checking accounts and offer zero interest, but Capital One flips that around — it charges no monthly maintenance fees and no overdraft fees, yet you’ll earn interest (albeit at a small rate) on all of the money in your account.

Account holders can access their funds at more than 70,000 fee-free ATMs in the MoneyPass and Allpoint network as well as Capital One-branded ATMs. Capital One also offers mobile check deposit, bill pay, and the ability to send funds with Zelle.

Like most online banks, making cash deposits is a bit trickier but still possible. Capital One has partnered up with CVS so you can deposit cash into your account at any CVS location. There are about 8,000 locations nationwide so it’s quite accessible, but you’ll want to check to see if there’s a location near you first if depositing cash is something you’ll need to do frequently.

360 Performance Savings

Annual percentage yield (APY)	4.30% (as of Oct. 3, 2023)
Minimum deposit requirement	$0
Monthly maintenance fees	$0
ATM access	No
FDIC insured	Yes

The Capital One 360 Performance Savings account is what most people are looking for in an online savings account — simple, yet rewarding.

The account itself offers a competitive interest rate compared to most of its other competitors in the online space, which is far more than the savings rates you’ll earn at most brick-and-mortar banks. It’s also much higher than the national average. (Even so, it’s still possible to find higher rates than Capital One’s.)

360 CDs

Annual percentage yield (APY)	4.10%-5.25% (as of Sep. 7, 2023)
Minimum deposit requirement	$0
Monthly maintenance fees	$0
ATM access	No
FDIC insured	Yes

You’ll find similarly-high rates for Capital One’s 360 certificates of deposit (CDs) with term lengths ranging from six months to five years. Unlike most banks, which require a minimum balance of several hundred (or thousand) dollars, Capital One’s CDs are accessible to anyone since there are no minimum deposit requirements.

Once you open a CD, though, it’s best not to withdraw the money until it matures. If you withdraw funds from your CD early, you’ll need to withdraw the entire CD balance (no partial withdrawals are allowed), and your penalty will be three months’ worth of interest (for term lengths under a year) or six months’ worth of interest (for term lengths over a year).

If you leave it in the account until it matures, though, it’ll automatically renew for another term at whatever rate is currently being offered. But you do have a 10-day grace period to withdraw the cash if you want.

MONEY Teen Checking

Annual percentage yield (APY)	0.10% (as of Jul. 21, 2023)
Minimum deposit requirement	$0
Monthly maintenance fees	$0
ATM access	Yes
FDIC insured	Yes

Although this account is for “teens,” any child as young as eight is eligible to open an account and start learning how to manage a checking account, complete with a debit card. Note that this account doesn’t allow them to write checks, although that’s quickly becoming a thing of the past anyway.

This account works as a joint account with an adult. For children between the ages of eight and 12, that adult must be their parent or guardian. Once they do become a teen, though, any adult can serve as the joint adult on the account. Adults have a separate account login to monitor their child’s spending and set up transfers, such as one-time rewards or automatic transfers for an allowance.

Kids Savings

Annual percentage yield (APY)	0.30% (as of Jul. 21, 2023)
Minimum deposit requirement	$0
Monthly maintenance fees	$0
ATM access	No
FDIC insured	Yes

Kids of any age are eligible for the Kids Savings account if they have an adult who can serve as a joint account owner. Just like with the teen checking account, though, only parents or guardians can serve as joint owners until they’re past age 12. Adult joint owners can also log into the account with separate logins to control and view their child’s account.

What we like about Capital One

• No monthly fees: Most large banks charge monthly fees with options to have those fees waived if you have direct deposit or maintain a certain account balance. But with Capital One, you won’t have to worry about tracking and meeting those requirements each month, making for a less stressful account.
• No overdraft fees: Another stress-free perk that Capital One pioneered is waiving all overdraft fees. When you sign up, you can opt to have overdrafts declined, set up free transfers from your savings account, or have Capital One cover the charge at its discretion, to be repaid from your next deposit.
• High interest rates: Online banks are known to offer higher interest rates, too, and Capital One’s high-yield savings account is no exception.
• High customer satisfaction ratings: Capital One gets consistently high ratings for its mobile app and for overall customer satisfaction on national J.D. Power surveys. For example, it’s been ranked #1 in the country for three years running.
• Great suite of loans and credit cards: This Capital One 360 review focuses on the banking side of things, but should you need other financial products such as a loan or credit card, Capital One also offers some popular credit cards. Learn more about Capital One credit cards.

What Capital One could improve

• Better rates for kids' savings accounts.
• Better in-person support: Sometimes you just really need to deal with things in person, such as getting forms notarized or depositing cash. It’s hard to do that with any online bank, and that’s the same story with Capital One — although to be fair, if it operated a lot of physical branches, it probably wouldn’t have as many benefits as it does now.

Who is Capital One best for?

If you prefer handling all of your banking from the convenience of the internet and you’re looking for a good all-around banking solution with one financial institution, it’s hard to go wrong with Capital One. Its high rates and low fees combine with a well-designed mobile and browser-based account to make a truly exceptional online banking experience, and that’s backed up by independent reviewers.

We wouldn’t recommend Capital One or any other online bank if you tend to handle a lot of cash. That said, Capital One still offers more support for cash deposits than most other online banks via its limited network of branch locations and its wider access to CVS stores that accept deposits. Many other online banks don’t allow cash deposits at all, in any form.

How to open an account with Capital One

Opening an account with Capital One is a pretty smooth process and only takes about five minutes, according to the company. You can open an account at a branch location or do it online, which we’ll show you how to do here.

1. Set up a Capital One login

Capital One will prompt you to log in if you already have an account. If not, it’ll guide you through the process of creating one.

2. Set expectations

Capital One explains how the next few pages will work. It’ll ask for basic details about yourself, let you know that you’ll get a routing and account number to set up transfers, and tell you that you’ll get a username and password to log in. After that’s done, you can add a joint owner to the account if you wish.

3. Enter your name

Enter your first and last name into the boxes.

4. Enter your email address

You’ll need to enter it twice to confirm.

5. Enter your phone number

Capital One will use this to contact you if needed.

6. Enter your physical address

Capital One will also use this to contact you if needed. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to open an account if you only have a P.O. Box address.

7. Add your citizenship status

Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are allowed to open an account.

8. Add your employment

Capital One will ask what your employment situation is.

9. Add your job title

Next, you’ll enter your job title.

10. Add your income

Capital One will ask which income band your personal pay falls into.

11. Add your birthday and Social Security number

Capital One uses this to verify your identity.

12. Agree to Terms and Conditions

Before opening the account, you’ll need to agree to Capital One’s terms and conditions.

13. Set contact preferences

Pick whether you want to allow Capital One to contact you via text or a call, or if you prefer other methods.

14. Set tax certification

Capital One will ask if you’re subject to backup withholding by the IRS.

15. Open account

Finally, double-check that everything you entered is correct, and proceed with opening your new Capital One 360 account.

Alternatives to Capital One

There are many online banks to choose from these days. It’s a good idea to review some of Capital One’s top competitors before you open an account.

Ally

Ally Bank also offers great rates — a bit higher for its checking account, but a bit less for its savings account 0.25% (as of Sep. 18, 2023) and 4.25% (as of Oct. 3, 2023), respectively, versus 0.10% (as of Jul. 21, 2023) and 4.30% (as of Oct. 3, 2023)).

Ally’s a better choice if you use ATMs a lot since it’ll reimburse you up to $10 for out-of-network ATM fees, whereas Capital One won’t. Ally doesn’t let you deposit cash at all, however, and it doesn’t offer kid’s accounts.

Visit Ally

…or read our full Ally bank review.

SoFi Checking and Savings

SoFi is a better choice if you’re looking to earn the highest rate possible — currently 0.50% (as of Aug. 2, 2023) with direct deposit on checking account deposits and 4.50% (as of Oct. 3, 2023) with direct deposit on savings account deposits.

You can deposit cash at any GreenDot location. Like Ally, SoFi doesn’t offer kid’s accounts. SoFi also offers access to its generous Member Benefits program, featuring perks like free one-on-one access to a live financial advisor and free career coaching.

Visit SoFi Checking and Savings

…or read our full SoFi checking and savings review.

FAQ about Capital One

Capital One review: bottom line

If you’re looking for a stress-free banking experience without sacrificing quality, Capital One is a great choice. It has a wide range of products that can help you reach your personal finance goals.

If you use cash a lot, pull money from ATMs frequently, or prefer to earn top-level rates, you might be better off with a different bank. Check out our list of the best banks for more options.