Discover Bank Review
Discover Bank is a full-service online bank as well as a payment services company. Discover offers both banking and retirement solutions for individuals. Discover is best known for its rewards credit cards, personal, student, and home equity loans are also available.
Discover is a strictly online bank, therefore there are no local branches customers can visit in person for banking needs. Discovery is accessible to its customers through customer service, which is available 24 hours a day. You can access your account in several ways. All accounts are accessible online.
Discover uses a mobile app that is available on both iOS and Android. You can access all of your Discover accounts through this application and use their mobile check deposit, by taking a photo with your phone or tablet.
Discovery has more than 50,000 ATMs available to their customers. This provides a large portion of the convenience factor for Discover Banking. You can easily access your account and update your finances without the hassles of traveling to a physical location.
Account Types
Minimum Deposit
PROS
- An Easy To Use Online And Phone App
- No Online Fees For Checking And Savings Accounts
CONS
- No Physical Branch
- Online Tools Are Not As Useful As Big Banks
Bank Reputation - Customer Ratings, Financial Strength
- A+ on BBB – BBB assigns ratings from A+ (highest) to F (lowest). BB ratings are based on information in BBB files with respect to factors such as business's complaint history with BBB, type of business, time in business, transparent business practices and more.
- Moody’s, Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Fitch – top three credit rating agencies in the world:
- Moody's: Baa3 – Moody's rating scale running from a high of AAA to a low of C.
- Fitch: BBB+ – Fitch rating scale running from a high of AAA to a low of D.
- J.D Power Research – We considered J.D. Power’s national banking satisfaction study 2020.
J.D Power offers the most comprehensive and independent study of customer satisfaction. The study aims to help consumers and issuers to understand user opinions and ratings of the largest bank in the country. It covers customer satisfaction, products, fee structures, digital customer experience, transparency and more.
Here are the main products Discover bank offers for savers:
Savings Account
Initial Deposit
Minimum Balance
APY
Discover Banking also offers competitive offers for their savings accounts. The rates premium because they are five times higher than the national average. These rates are highly competitive and benefit the customer exclusively. Discover savings accounts earn 0.70 APY. If you have $10,000 in your savings account, you would earn over $70 from interest annually. Your interest compounds daily and pays out monthly.
Another added benefit of opening a savings account with Discover Banking is there are no fees associated with online savings accounts. There is also no minimum balance requirement. This start contrast is directly related to Bank of America's Advantage Savings account, which requires a minimum of $500 to waive their eight dollars monthly fee.
This is a great example of why the Discover Banking savings account is a great option to build and grow your finances. The mobile app is easy to use when you want to deposit a check, you can easily transfer and view your financial status. This is an incredibly user-friendly system that comes highly recommended.
Checking Account
Initial Deposit
Minimum Balance
None
APY
Discover Checking Accounts offer unique offerings for your banking needs. Discover checking accounts allow you to earn cashback rewards. You earn one percent cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases monthly.
This is a unique feature along with their lack of charging fees with their checking accounts. There are no fees for your account maintenance, ordering checks, In-network ATM use, online bill pay, or replacement debit cards. Discover checking accounts also have no minimum balance requirements or activity requirements. This largely benefits the customer by eliminating excessive fees, while incorporating incentives to open an account.
Overall, Discover offers one of the best options for checking accounts in the industry. You should seriously consider opening an all online checking account and enjoy the many services and flexible options available.
It is simple to deposit paper checks as well. Discover uses a mobile app where you can easily track your spending, move your money, and deposit paper checks. These are exclusive features through Discover that just a few amongst the many features offered to satisfy their customer.
If you prefer online banking, instead of traveling to a physical banking branch, then this is the right bank for you. Your mobile deposit is secure and you are never held responsible for any unauthorized transactions.
Certificate Of Deposits (CDs)
Initial Deposit
Minimum Balance
APY
Discover Bank offers one style of CD that requires a minimum deposit of $2,500. Once you meet this minimum requirement the amount you deposit has no impact on the CD’s interest rate. There is a wide selection you can choose from to set up your CD.
Discover Bank's CD rates are highly competitive when compared to other banks. Discover Bank offers a wide variety you can choose from. There are no fees throughout the term you decide on your CD. Discover Bank makes sure your CD is safely secured within its system. You do not have to fear that your CD will be negatively impacted by a market dip or crash.
CDs are protected unlike stocks, which is a great relief to you wanting to safely grow your finances. Another value of having a CD is a fixed interest. This offers you great short and long terms the will grow your financial portfolio with no additional risks.
Money Market Account
Initial Deposit
Minimum Balance
APY
A money market account takes your earning power from your savings account and gives you access to your checking features for an increased versatile account. Discover offers money market accounts that provide you with ATM access, debit card, and check-writing capabilities.
When using your money market accounts you can rely upon the highly effective and convenient service Discover Bank provides. There is high earning potential within the Discover banking system. If your account is under $100,000 you earn 0.55% APY and with a balance of over $100,000 you earn 0.60% APY.
If your account balance is $20,000 saved for five years, you will earn $110 the first year and $558 over five years of saving.
Overall, Discover’s money market accounts have no fees and no minimum balance requirements. This allows you to earn more interest than you would from a traditional checking account, which makes this a great opportunity to grow and expand your financial portfolio without taking too big a risk.
Discover prioritizes your need and desire to expand and grow your financial interests. It is extremely important to use the best and safest option.
Application Process
step 1: Visit the discover bank homepage and click “Open an account.”
step 2: Next, fill in your personal information, such as your names, and SSN, then click “Continue.”
step 3: Next, fill in your contact info, such as your address, city, state and zip code.
step 4: Next, indicate if it the account is going to be an individual or a joint one, then click “continue.” The next page requires your funding info; fill in the necessary details and click “Continue.”
step 5: Next, go through the three disclosures provided and lastly, click “Agree and submit.”
Discover Bank FAQs
Is Discover Bank trustworthy?
Yes, Discover is a well regarded brand and it is FDIC insured. So, your funds up to $250,000 per depositor is protected by the federal government in case of bank failure.
Additionally, Discover takes your personal data security seriously. Discover uses state of the art encryption standards to protect both your data and transactions.
Is Discover Bank a good bank overall?
Discover Bank offers competitive rates with a variety of perks including ATM access cash back rewards and no monthly fees on both savings and checking accounts.
You can earn solid rates on your savings and there is the option for overdraft facilities. So, unless you really prefer access to physical branches, you are likely to find Discover a solid option.
Which is better: Discover Bank or Chase?
Although Chase is one of the biggest banks in the USA, with over 4,700 branches, Discover Bank does have a reputation for offering superior customer service. Discover provides access to 24/7 customer support, if you have any queries or issues.
Both Discover Bank and Chase have a variety of banking products, there are no service fees with Discover. Additionally, Discover has a massive fee free ATM network with over 60,000 machines. So, unless there is a specific Chase product that appeals to you, you are likely to find Discover Bank a better option.
Is Discover checking better than Chime?
Both Discover and Chime offer fee free banking with a variety of products. However, Chime does have daily spending and withdrawal limits and no overdraft protection.
The main advantage of Chime is its Pay Friends feature. This allows you to instantly send money to others. All you need is the name, phone number or email to transfer up to $2,000 per month.
So, if you do frequently send funds to family or friends, you may find Chime a better option.
Is Capital One 360 better than Discover Checking?
While Capital One 360 offers competitive rates for its savings accounts, Discover Bank has some of the highest rates on the market. Although there are some minimum deposit requirements, you won’t need to pay service fees.
Discover also offers 24/7 customer support, cashback checking, but no interest checking accounts. On the other hand, Capital One 360 has no account minimums and some overdraft protection options. So, unless you are looking to open up a savings account with a lump sum, you may find Capital One 360 a better choice.
Is Ally Bank better than Discover Bank?
Ally Bank offers a full line of banking products including savings, checking and CD accounts. Discover Bank offers similar products, with comparable interest rates. Either bank is a good option if you want to keep all your accounts with the same institution.
Both Ally and Discover offer online banking services, but the Ally platform is more user friendly. You can access classic banking features, but there is a voice enabled, built in banking expert with the app called Ally Assist. This can help you to manage your accounts and the Ally banking platform is also compatible with Amazon Alexa.
Which is better: Barclays Bank or Discover Bank?
Like Barclays Bank, Discover offers online banking with no monthly fees or minimum account balances. However, Discover offers both savings and checking accounts with money market accounts. You can open and manage your accounts online and enjoy competitive insurance rates.
While the rates are comparable, if you are looking for a full service bank where you can have both checking and saving accounts, you will find Discover a better option. However, if you don’t have the need for a checking account, you may find the Barclays products and rates interesting.
Is Citibank better than Discover Bank?
While Citibank offers a variety of accounts with low opening required amounts, Discover has no monthly fees or required balances. However, Discover does have fewer account choices with only personal deposit accounts available.
Another key difference is that Discover offers competitive rates across all of its accounts, while the competitive rates with Citibank have requirements you need to meet to access them. So, which one is best will depend on your priorities.
If you prefer access to a wider variety of banking products, you’ll likely prefer Citibank, but this will come at the cost of requirements to access the more competitive rates.
Alternatives Banks For Consideration
Here are our alternatives to Discover Bank:
Ally Bank is a US company that offers a series of online banking services like checking, money market, savings, and certificates of deposit.
All accounts are insured by FDIC, no monthly maintenance fees and no minimum deposit. Checking accounts have an APY of 0.25% for a minimum daily balance of $15,000. There are some advantages for using checking accounts, such as; no ATM charges, activities are fully managed online, deposit checks can be photographed on mobile phones to make payments, and easy movement of funds. Savings accounts require no minimum balance and have a 0.60% APY. Also, there is an option to automate your savings to move money into the account on a schedule. A big plus is the Bank's high-functioning website that makes it easy to navigate and manage accounts effectively.
The Bank may require clients to fill in personal and public details to create an account, like; name, date of birth, social security number, account number, and tax identification number.
Ally Bank puts a monthly transaction limit on the savings account, after which there is a $10 charge per time. It isn’t suitable for clients who prefer the traditional in-house banking system.
JD Power ranks Ally in the second position with a score of 0f 864 for direct banking satisfaction. Business Bureau awards the Bank a B- for customer support.
Varo Bank is an online bank with a high-quality mobile application offering savings and checking investment accounts.
There are numerous banking benefits with Varo like; no minimum deposit amount, no overdraft fees, no transfer charges, no hidden fees, no ATM charges, and FDIC insurance coverage up to $250,000. The savings account has an APY of 0.81% and may increase based on certain conditions. There are two savings accounts: Save Your Pay, an automated account to save a percentage of direct deposits, and Save Your Change, which rounds the deposit amount up to the nearest dollar and transfers the remaining cents to the savings account. Checking accounts can be opened on mobile with no monthly charges.
You may want to prepare some details before applying for a Varo bank account. They include; name, date of birth, identification like driver's license, social security number, contact address and residential details.
One disadvantage of Varo bank is the limit on cash deposits for the savings account. The organization also fails to provide a wide range of investment and financing offers like loans, Certificates of deposit, and joint accounts. There are no physical offices; hence, it is only suitable for customers who like full online banking services.
Varo bank meets Better Business Bureau accreditation requirements and has an A+ rating for overall organizational performance.
Summary
Discover Bank is a premium online banking service that offers competitive rates on their accounts with no minimum balances or fees. With your checking accounts, you can earn one percent cash back, which is a rarity in the banking industry.
Discover banking prioritizes their accounts by offering comparisons to other banks, by providing absolute transparency and maintaining flexibility. Because of the user-friendly banking products, you can safely use their services without any fear of the security of your account.
Discover Bank online bank is a great example of a company that is offering services for the adult with a busy schedule while offering reliable software you can use without concern. This is a high-yield earning offer that you should take advantage of through using Discover Bank.
Discover Bank is a safe option for anyone looking to grow their financial portfolio is a safe way, where their money is secure and will grow. Discover Bank is a great opportunity to secure your finances and looks forward.
