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Compare Sallie Mae bank accounts
Editor’s Rating
4.5/5
Editor’s Rating
4.25/5
$0 ($0.01 balance to earn interest)
Editor’s Rating
3.75/5
Editor’s Rating
4.25/5
Overall bank rating
Pros and cons
Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account
4.5/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.10%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Fees
no monthly service fee
Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account
4.5/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.10%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Fees
no monthly service fee
Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account
Details
Fees
no monthly service fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.10%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Pays high interest rate
No minimum opening deposit
No monthly service fees
Some online banks pay slightly higher rates
Highlights
Earn interest rate on entire balance
Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
Member FDIC
Additional Reading
Read our review
The Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account pays a competitive interest rate, with a $0 minimum opening deposit and no monthly service fee. It’s a good option if you want an online high-yield savings account from a well-known company.
Sallie Mae SmartyPig Account
4.25/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.85%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0 ($0.01 balance to earn interest)
Fees
no monthly service fee
Sallie Mae SmartyPig Account
4.25/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.85%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0 ($0.01 balance to earn interest)
Fees
no monthly service fee
Sallie Mae SmartyPig Account
Details
Fees
no monthly service fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.85%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0 ($0.01 balance to earn interest)
Pros & Cons
High APY
Save for separate goals
No minimum opening deposit
No monthly service fees
No way to deposit cash
Must transfer funds to external bank account to access money
Highlights
Earn 3.85% APY on all account balances
Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
FDIC insured
Additional Reading
Read our review
The Sallie Mae SmartyPig Account pays a high interest rate — just not quite as high as the Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account. Still, it’s a good choice if you want a savings account that helps you actively save. You can save for individual savings goals within the account, such as “Emergency Fund” or “Vacation,” and set a deadline for each.
Although Sallie Mae doesn’t have a checking account, you can set up automatic transfers from an external account to this one, so you’ll stay on top of your savings goals.
Sallie Mae CD
3.75/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.00% to 5.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$2,500
Sallie Mae CD
3.75/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.00% to 5.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$2,500
Sallie Mae CD
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.00% to 5.00%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$2,500
Pros & Cons
Competitive APY
Low-to-standard early withdrawal penalties
$2,500 minimum deposit
No terms under 6 months or over 5 years
Highlights
Terms ranging from 6 months to 5 years
Early withdrawal penalties: Terms of 12 months or less are charged 90 days simple interest; terms of over 12 months are charged 180 days simple interest
Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
Additional Reading
Read our review
You’ll need at least $2,500 to open a CD with Sallie Mae. If you don’t have that much money, you can find a bank that requires less.
Sallie Mae’s CD rates are pretty competitive, but the best CD rates are still at other online banks.
Sallie Mae Money Market Account
4.25/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.25%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Fees
no monthly service fee
Sallie Mae Money Market Account
4.25/5
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.25%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Fees
no monthly service fee
Sallie Mae Bank, Member FDIC
Sallie Mae Money Market Account
Sallie Mae Bank, Member FDIC
Details
Fees
no monthly service fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.25%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$0
Pros & Cons
Competitive APY
No monthly service fees
No opening deposit or minimum account balance
Paper checks
No debit or ATM card
No way to deposit cash
Highlights
Comes with paper checks, but no debit card
Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
FDIC insured
Additional Reading
Read our review
Sallie Mae pays a competitive rate on its money market account, and unlike most banks, there is a $0 minimum deposit.
The main draw of a money market account over a savings account is that the former makes it easier to access your savings. Sallie Mae does this by sending you paper checks, but it doesn’t send you a debit or ATM card as some banks do.
How Sallie Mae Bank works
Sallie Mae is an online bank that offers savings accounts, a money market account, and CDs. Sallie Mae doesn’t have a checking account, which can make it difficult to access your savings quickly.
The Sallie Mae mobile app has received 4.5 out of 5 stars in the Apple store and 3.8 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store.
You can speak with a live customer service representative Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. Sallie Mae doesn’t offer customer support on weekends, and there’s no live online chat feature.
Your deposits are FDIC insured for up to $250,000, or $500,000 for a joint account.
Is Sallie Mae trustworthy?
The Better Business Bureau gives Sallie Mae an A+ rating. A strong BBB score indicates a company responds effectively to customer complaints, is transparent about business practices, and is honest in advertising.
Sallie Mae doesn’t have any recent public scandals, so you may decide you’re comfortable keeping your money with this bank.
Sallie Mae vs. Ally
If you’re planning on opening a checking account in addition to a saving account, Ally will be your strongest option. Ally is the only one out of the two that offers a checking account.
The Ally Savings Account also has the benefits of both the Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings and SmartyPig accounts. It pays a little more than SmartyPig, but it also lets you save for individual goals through Savings Buckets.
If you want to open a CD, the better choice may come down to which term length you open.
Sallie Mae vs. Marcus
If you’d like to open a money market account, Sallie Mae will be your default choice because Marcus doesn’t have one.
Marcus has lower minimum deposits for CDs than Sallie Mae, as well as more CD variety — you can open a Marcus No-Penalty CD or a Marcus 20-month Rate Bump CD, which gives you the option to increase your rate once during your term.
Laura Grace Tarpley (she/her) is a personal finance reviews senior editor at Insider. She oversees coverage about mortgage rates, refinance rates, lenders, bank accounts, investing, retirement , and borrowing and savings tips for Personal Finance Insider. She was a writer and editor for Insider’s “The Road to Home” series, which won a Silver award from the National Associate of Real Estate Editors. She is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF). She has written about personal finance for seven years. Before joining the Insider team, she was a freelance finance writer for companies like SoFi and The Penny Hoarder, as well as an editor at FluentU. You can reach Laura Grace at ltarpley@insider.com. Learn more about how Personal Finance Insider chooses, rates, and covers financial products and services »
Evelyn He is a compliance associate at Insider who supports the Personal Finance Insider team. Personal Finance Insider is Insider’s personal finance section that incorporates affiliate and commerce partnerships into the news, insights, and advice about money that Insider readers already know and love. The compliance team’s mission is to provide readers with stories that are fact-checked and current, so they can make informed financial decisions. The team also works to minimize risk for partners by making sure language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Before joining Insider, she served in various legal and compliance roles in different industries, including the legal and pharmaceutical industries. Evelyn obtained her M.S. degree in Marketing at Boston University in 2022. Prior to combining and consolidating her knowledge of law and business, she spent one year finishing 1L courses at Suffolk University Law School to further her legal knowledge. She has also completed MBA business law courses while working on her Bachelor of Business Administration in Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her 14-year-old Shih Tzu named Money, and her 4-year-old Bichon named Tibber.