8 Easiest Bank Accounts to Open Online [2023]: No Brick-and-Mortar Needed

Today it’s easier than ever to open a bank account online. Many financial institutions allow you to open an account without an opening deposit and don’t require you to maintain a certain balance amount. Some don’t even need to look at your credit and banking history before letting you open an account.

The financial institutions we decided were the easiest bank accounts to open online included banks like Chase, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and Ally, as well as financial services companies Chime® and Albert.

Here are our recommendations for the easiest bank account to open online.

Key takeaways

• The easiest bank accounts to open online don’t require an initial deposit.
• Opening a bank account online is faster if no credit check is needed for approval.
• The easiest bank accounts open online have no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and enable you to get paid up to two days early with direct deposits.
• Banks that charge monthly fees for accounts usually offer ways to waive those fees if you meet specific criteria.

The 8 easiest bank accounts to open online

• Capital One
• U.S. Bank
• Chase
• Chime
• Ally
• Albert
• Discover
• Wells Fargo

Easiest bank accounts to open online comparison

Bank	Best for	Monthly fees	Minimum opening deposit
Capital One	Overall	$0	$0
U.S. Bank	Military members	$6.95	$25
Chase	Higher balances	$12	$0
Chime6	Bad credit	$01	$0
Ally	Earning interest	$0	$0
Albert	Investing	$14.99 (Genius subscription)	$0
Discover	Getting cash back on purchases	$0	$0
Wells Fargo	College students	$10	$25

Capital One: Best overall

There aren’t many drawbacks to banking with Capital One. We think Capital One is the best overall bank for ease in opening an account because you can open an account with no initial deposit, and there are no monthly maintenance fees, no overdraft fees, no foreign transaction fees, and no minimum balance requirements. You’ll just need to make a deposit within 60 days of opening the account to prevent it from closing.

You’ll have access to over 70,000 fee-free ATMs through Capital One and Allpoint, and you won’t be charged by Capital One for transactions at out-of-network ATMs (although there still may be fees charged by the ATM owner). Capital One also pays interest on its 360 checking and savings accounts. The 360 Checking account earns a variable interest of 0.10% (as of Jul. 21, 2023) APY, and the 360 Performance Savings offers a variable rate of 4.30% (as of Jul. 21, 2023) APY.

However, overdraft transactions are typically declined with Capital One unless you opt-in for Capital One’s no-fee overdraft protection. You can also link an eligible savings account to your checking account to cover overdraft transactions at no charge.

Capital One is FDIC insured.

Visit Capital One | Read our Capital One 360 review

U.S. Bank: Best for military members

U.S. Bank’s Bank Smartly Checking account can be set up quickly online, with its application taking only five minutes. It also offers specific perks for military members, including being automatically enrolled in the U.S. Bank Smart Rewards Plus tier and waiving the $6.95 monthly maintenance fee.

The monthly maintenance fee is also waived for customers aged 24 and under and for customers 65 or older. You can also get the fee dropped if you have monthly direct deposits totaling $1,000 or maintain a minimum balance of $1,500.

The biggest benefit of the U.S. Bank Smartly Checking account is its overdraft protection. Fees for overdrafts of $50 or less are waived. The bank offers an Overdraft Fee Forgiven program where fees for overdrafts that exceed $50 are waived if your available balance is at least $0 by 11 p.m. ET.

U.S. Bank is an FDIC-insured bank.

Visit U.S. Bank

Chase: Best for higher balances

The Chase Total Checking is the bank’s most popular account. The account includes Overdraft Assist, with no overdraft fee if you are overdrawn by $50 or less. If you’re overdrawn by more than $50, Chase gives you one business day to get your account to overdrawn by $50 or less to avoid the $34 overdraft fee.

While many of the best online banks enable you to get your paycheck two days early with direct deposit, this service isn’t available with Chase Total Checking. Only Chase Secure Checking accounts offer this service.

Chase Total Checking has a monthly service fee of $12, but this fee is waived if you have electronic deposits totaling $500 each monthly statement period, a daily balance of $1,500, or an average beginning-day balance of $5,000 on all your Chase checking and savings accounts.

Chase is FDIC insured.

Visit Chase | Read our Chase Bank review

Chime®: Best for bad credit

Chime isn’t a bank but a fintech company with the motto, “We want to profit with our members, not from them.”⁶ In line with that motto, Chime doesn’t charge overdraft fees, monthly service fees, foreign transaction fees, or have minimum balance requirements.¹ If you have bad credit, opening an account with Chime is easy because there is no initial deposit required and no credit check.

Banking through Chime is done almost entirely online, but you can deposit cash into your account for free at over 8,500 Walgreens locations or for a fee at 75,000 retail locations like Walmart, CVS, and 7-Eleven.^{7 4} The Chime app also provides for mobile deposits.⁵

The main drawback of Chime is that it doesn’t have any brick-and-mortar branch locations, which is a drawback for people who like in-person service. Also, Chime offers a high-yield savings account, but at 2.00% (as of Aug. 29, 2023) APY, it is much lower than other savings accounts available.² It also can’t be opened without a Chime Checking account.³

Chime is a financial technology company, but accounts you open through Chime are FDIC-insured through Chime’s partner banks, The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank.

Visit Chime | Read Chime review

Ally: Best for earning interest

Opening a bank account online with Ally is easy, and no initial deposit is required to get started. Ally doesn’t charge monthly or overdraft fees and has no minimum balance requirements. Ally also doesn’t charge for standard checks. Ally checking accounts (called spending accounts) also earn interest at 0.25% (as of Sep. 18, 2023) APY, which is well above the average interest earned on checking accounts from other banks. Interest on Ally savings accounts is 4.25% (as of Sep. 18, 2023) APY.

Ally offers one of the most generous overdraft protection programs. With its Overdraft Transfer Service, funds for overdraft transactions will be transferred from your Ally Bank Savings or Money Market account for no fee. Ally’s CoverDraft service also provides up to $250 in temporary relief if you accidentally overspend.

Ally only falls short if you want to deposit cash or visit the bank in person. Ally is an entirely online bank with no physical locations. It also doesn’t support cash deposits.

Ally is an FDIC-insured bank.

Visit Ally | Read Ally Online Savings review

Albert: Best for investing

Albert is not a bank, it’s a financial services company that offers bank accounts through its partnership with Sutton Bank. While it does offer a checking account and savings account, many of the services provided by Albert require a Genius subscription, which costs $14.99 a month.

When you first sign up for an Albert Cash (checking) account, you’ll automatically get a free 30-day trial subscription for Albert Genius. Albert Genius comes with investing tools like hundreds of stocks and funds to choose from, automatic investments, and Genius guidance. You can cancel Genius anytime, but if you fail to cancel before the trial period ends, you’ll be charged the $14.99 subscription fee.

You don’t need a Genius subscription to use Albert Cash. However, without it, you lose many of the services Albert provides, such as investing, cash-back rewards, and free in-network ATM withdrawals.

Albert account holders have FDIC insurance through its partner banks, Sutton Bank, Coastal Community Bank, Axos Bank, and Wells Fargo.

Visit Albert

Discover: Best for getting cash back on purchases

With Discover’s Cashback Debit Account, you’ll earn 1% cash back on debit card purchases up to $3,000 each month. Opening a Cashback Debit account is easy to do online. There’s no initial deposit required to open the account, and your application won’t impact your credit score. However, you must deposit money into the account within 45 days of opening it, or else it will be closed.

Discover’s banking products have no monthly fees, no fees for insufficient funds or overdrafts, and no minimum balance requirements. With direct deposit set up, you can get your paycheck deposit up to two days early. You can access your money for no cost at over 60,000 fee-free ATMs.

Cash deposits into your Discover accounts can be made at any Walmart location. The minimum amount of cash you can deposit is $20, and the most you can deposit within 24 hours is $1,000 (except for Arizona and New Mexico, where the daily limit is $999.99).

Discover is FDIC insured.

Visit Discover

Wells Fargo: Best for college students

Wells Fargo offers four different checking accounts, but its most popular is its Everyday Checking. If you are 18 or older, you can open an Everyday Checking account online with just a $25 deposit, and if you keep the daily minimum balance of that account at $500 or more, you won’t have to pay a $10 monthly service fee.

The monthly service fee is also waived if you are between the ages of 17 and 24, you link a Wells Fargo Campus ATM Card or Campus Debit Card to the account, or you have $500 or more in total direct deposits.

The Wells Fargo Everyday Checking does provide optional overdraft protection if you want it. With this service, Wells Fargo will cover transactions if you don’t have enough money in your account. However, it will cost you a $35 overdraft fee. To avoid this fee, the bank’s Extra Day Grace Period gives you an extra day to deposit funds in your overdrawn account.

Wells Fargo is an FDIC-insured bank.

Visit Wells Fargo

How to choose an easy bank account to open online

Opening an online checking account is relatively easy. It’s even easier if the bank doesn’t require an initial deposit or credit check to open an account. However, there are other factors that go into what bank account is a good option for opening online. The best bank accounts have:

• No fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• Overdraft protection
• A large ATM network
• High-yield interest rates
• Early payday for direct deposit
• Mobile app for banking

FAQ about bank accounts to open online

Easiest bank accounts to open online: bottom line

As more online banks enter the marketplace, it gets easier and easier to open a bank account without ever stepping foot into a branch. Many of these banks or financial companies allow you to open an account with no initial deposit.

The best bank accounts to open online are those that require little to no initial deposits, don’t charge monthly fees (or offer ways to waive the fees), enable you to get paid early with direct deposit, and have no minimum balance requirements. Features like overdraft protection, no foreign transaction fees, and interest-earning checking accounts are added benefits.

Of the eight financial institutions we looked at for this article, the best and easiest bank accounts to open online are Capital One and Ally. These two banks stand out among the others because both offer interest-bearing accounts that earn interest rates above the national average.

Methodology

The banks we chose for our list of bank accounts that are easy to open online may be current or past FinanceBuzz partners. This list is not reflective of all banks in the market. When evaluating these companies, we considered factors such as the application process, monthly fees, minimum opening deposit, and more.