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Many savings accounts charge fees if your balance gets too low
ByJessica Walrack
Updated on October 20, 2023
Reviewed by
Ebony J. Howard
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Office2-EbonyHoward-bfcf94f429a1438081fbe922661b538c.jpg "Typical Minimum Balance for Traditional Savings Accounts (1)")
Reviewed byEbony J. Howard
Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She has been in the accounting, audit, and tax profession for more than 13 years, working with individuals and a variety of companies in the health care, banking, and accounting industries.
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Fact checked byDavid Rubin
In This Article
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In This Article
- How Minimum Account Balances Work
- Traditional Higher-Interest Savings Accounts
- Minimum Balances for Online Accounts
- How To Avoid Minimum Balances
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-1281341046-cd68511b10f94975b4a54f14e7cb8999.jpg "Typical Minimum Balance for Traditional Savings Accounts (2)")
When you open a traditional savings account, you may need to keep a certain amount of money in the account to avoid a monthly service fee. The minimum balance ranges from $300 to $500 in most cases, while the fees typically are around $5.
Learn more about how minimum account balance requirements work, why banks have them, and what you can expect from major U.S. banks when you open a traditional savings account.
Key Takeaways
- A minimum account balance for a traditional savings account is the least amount of money you must keep in your account to avoid fees.
- Typical minimum account balance requirements for traditional savings accounts range from $300 to $500, although amounts vary and some banks have no minimum requirements.
- The minimum balance amount may be a minimum daily balance or a minimum monthly average.
How Minimum Account Balances Work
A minimum account balance is the least amount of money a financial institution requires you to keep in a specific account. Many banks require a minimum deposit when opening a savings account.
Banks impose a monthly service fee that can be waived if you maintain a minimum account balance. For example, Wells Fargo's Way2Save savings account requires a $25 deposit to open the account and it comes with a $5 monthly service fee. But that fee is waived if you keep a $300 minimum daily balance in the account, or if you fulfill one of the bank's other requirements.
Minimum Balances for Basic Savings Accounts
Here’s a closer look at minimum account balance requirements and fees for traditional savings accounts at some major U.S. banks.
| Bank | Minimum Opening Deposit | Ongoing Minimum Balance Requirement | Fee for Not Meeting Requirement (per month) | Other Ways To Waive Fees |
| Wells Fargo (Way2Save Savings) | $25 | $300 (minimum daily balance) | $5 | Automatic transfer of at least $25 or $1 per business day from a linked WF checking account, primary account holder 24 years old or under, or a Save As You Go transfer from a WF checking account. |
| Chase (Chase Savings) | $0 | $300 (minimum daily balance) | $5 | Account owner under 18, automatic transfers of at least $25 from a Chase checking account, linked Chase College Checking account for Overdraft Protection, or another qualifying Chase account that is linked. |
| Bank of America (Advantage Savings) | $100 | $500 (minimum daily balance) | $8 | Link the savings account to a Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking account, become a Bank of America Preferred Rewards client, or be under the age of 25 and enrolled in school. |
| Citi (Basic or Access Savings Account) | $0 | $500 (average monthly balance) | $4.50 | N/A |
| U.S. Bank (Standard Savings Account) | $25 | $300 (minimum daily ledger balance) or $1,000 (average monthly collected balance) | $4 | Under the age of 18. |
| Citizens Bank (One Deposit Savings) | Any amount | $200 (minimum daily balance) | $4.99 | Under 25 or over 65 years old, or one deposit of any amount per month. |
| Fifth Third Bank (Traditional Savings Account) | $0 | $500 (average monthly balance) | $5 | Have a Fifth Third checking account, be under the age of 18, or enroll in Military banking with Fifth Third. |
| PNC (Standard Savings) | $25 ($0 if opened online) | $300 (average monthly balance) | $5 | Linked PNC checking account, under 18 years old, or auto savings transfer of at least $25 each month. |
| TD Bank (TD Simple Savings) | $0 | $300 (minimum daily balance) | $5 | 18 or under / 62 or older. |
The minimum account balance requirement ranges from $0 up to $500 when you're looking at traditional savings accounts from the major U.S. banks. But the consequence is typically a monthly service fee that averages about $5 if your balance falls under the required amount.
There are often other ways to avoid the service fee, such as by having a linked checking account with the same bank, making small automatic transfers each month, and being a minor, young adult, or senior citizen.
Minimum Balances for High-Interest Accounts
Now let’s look at the requirements and fees from the traditional banks’ savings accounts that offer a higher yield than their standard savings account offering.
| Bank | Minimum Opening Deposit | Ongoing Minimum Balance Requirement | Fee for Not Meeting Requirement (per month) | Other Fee Waivers |
| Wells Fargo (Platinum Savings) | $25 | $3,500 (minimum daily balance) | $12 | N/A |
| Chase (Chase Premier Savings) | $0 | $15,000 (minimum daily balance) | $25 | A linked Chase Premier Plus Checking or Chase Sapphire Checking account. |
| Citi (Priority Package) | $0 | $50,000 (average monthly balance in eligible linked deposit, retirement, and investment accounts) | $30 | N/A |
| Citizens Bank (Citizens Quest Savings) | Any Amount | $0 | $0.00 with Citizens Quest Checking | N/A |
| TD Bank (TD Beyond Savings) | $0 | $20,000 (minimum daily balance) | $15 | N/A |
You’re often going to face much higher balance requirements to get a higher annual percentage yield (APY) with a traditional bank.
Similar to the practice with traditional savings accounts, you’ll typically have to pay a monthly service fee if you don't meet the requirement. But the fee is also generally a bit higher with these higher yield accounts, averaging about $16 per month. Keep in mind that these fees can quickly negate your interest earnings.
Minimum Balances for Online Accounts
Let’s look at how the fees and requirements vary for online savings accounts for a comparison. You’ll typically find more attractive rates and terms when it comes to online savings accounts because many of these financial institutions don't have to pay for the same overhead costs that traditional banks incur.
| Bank | Minimum Opening Deposit | Ongoing Minimum Balance Requirement | Fee for Not Meeting Requirement (per month) | Other Fee Waivers |
| Smarty Pig by Sallie Mae | $0 | $0 | $0 | N/A |
| Affirm | $0 | $0 | $0 | N/A |
| Ivy Bank | $2,500 | $2,500 for 5.30% APY | 0.05% APY | N/A |
| Axos Bank | $250 | $0 | $0 | N/A |
| Alliant | $5 | $100 average daily balance | N/A | $1 paper fee waived with electronic statements |
| Truist Online Savings | $0 | $0 | $0 | Monthly maintenance fee waived by monthly preauthorized internal transfer of $25 or more |
As you can see, many banks don’t require a minimum deposit to open an online account. They don’t charge monthly service fees, and don’t require that you keep a specific amount of money in the account.
How To Avoid Minimum Balances
You can avoid minimum balances by shopping around for a savings account. Several banks don’t require that you keep a minimum balance, particularly those that offer online savings accounts.
You’re most likely to run into minimum balance requirements on traditional banks’ higher yield savings accounts that are not exclusively offered online.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How much money should I keep in my savings account?
The general recommendation is to keep at least three to six months’ worth of living expenses in your savings account to prepare for an emergency. Further, maintaining at least the minimum can help you get the most from the account if your bank requires a minimum amount to avoid fees. As for the maximum, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures up to $250,000 per account.
Why do banks impose minimum balances on savings accounts?
Banks impose minimum balances and service fees on savings accounts as a way to cover the costs of paying out interest and to help them meet their regulatory capital requirements. The resulting fee will help cover their costs if you don’t make deposits that help them generate more revenue.
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Sources
The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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