The FDIC rate gap 2026: what verified accounts actually pay

The gap, product by product

Every FinanceRadar average below is taken only across products that publish the field. Sample sizes are in the table. FDIC national rates are the August 17, 2026 print, $2,500 product tier for savings and interest checking.

Sources: FinanceRadar catalog, September 17, 2026. FDIC National Rates and Rate Caps, as of August 17, 2026.

The CD gap is the smallest multiple and the highest absolute rate. A 12-month CD at 4.07% versus 1.71% is 236 extra basis points, and you lock the money to get them. The HYSA gap is the one that should bother anyone still sitting in a default savings account: 327 basis points, and 76% of the accounts we verify open with no minimum deposit.

Checking is the odd row. 10 of 14 accounts we track charge no monthly fee. Only 4 publish an APY at all. The 0.45% average is those four (Quontic 1.10%, SoFi 0.50%, Capital One 360 0.10%, Ally interest checking in the same band), not a claim that the typical checking account pays 0.45%. Most checking we verify pays nothing. The FDIC interest-checking national rate is 0.07%, which is another way of saying the same thing.

What the gap is worth in dollars

Simple annual interest, no compounding, on $10,000:

The middle row is the one I care about. You do not need the leaderboard to beat the national average. You need to leave the national average. The best high-yield savings guide is the buyer cut. Read the catch report before you chase the 4.50% name: several of the top prints still attach a habit, a floor, or a promo.

The fine print we can measure

Rates are not the only field we stamp.

• 26 of 29 HYSA (90%) charge no monthly maintenance fee.
• 22 of 29 HYSA (76%) open with no minimum deposit.
• 29 of 29 HYSA disclose FDIC insurance.
• 6 of 15 CDs (40%) open with no minimum deposit. All 15 disclose FDIC insurance.
• 4 of 6 money markets (67%) charge no monthly fee.

Source: FinanceRadar directory, September 17, 2026.

The FDIC national rate is a deposit-weighted average of what insured institutions pay, not a recommendation and not a cap. Healthy banks can and do pay more. The 9.6x figure is what that looks like in a catalog of accounts we actually opened the issuer page for.

Cards sit on the other side of the ledger

This report is about what cash earns. What revolving credit costs is the other half of the same snapshot. The 31 credit cards we verify average a $212 annual fee. 15 of 31 (48%) carry no annual fee. 17 of 31 (55%) advertise a 0% intro APR. Full cut: credit card APR and fee statistics.

How this data was measured

FinanceRadar APYs, fees, minimums and insurance flags are read from each provider's own published page or disclosure and date-stamped. Averages use only the products that publish the field. The FDIC numbers are the National Deposit Rates table as of August 17, 2026, at fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps: savings 0.38, interest checking 0.07, money market 0.63, 12-month CD 1.71. Savings and interest-checking national rates use the $2,500 product tier. Multiples are FinanceRadar average divided by the matching FDIC national rate, rounded to one decimal. Dollar examples are simple annual interest with no compounding. Nothing here is financial advice. Snapshot taken September 17, 2026. Refresh due December 17, 2026, or sooner if the September 21 FDIC print moves the national rates.