Betterment Cash Reserve

Betterment Cash Reserve is a cash-management account, not a bank account in its own right. Betterment itself is not a bank; your money is swept to program banks that hold the deposits, and the page says the account requires a Betterment Securities brokerage account. It combines a variable rate, a new-client boost and FDIC coverage across program banks. It is most useful to savers already inside Betterment's robo-investing platform, where goal-based buckets and two-way sweep automation coordinate cash against investing goals. The concrete terms are straightforward. The account pays a variable 3.50% APY as of September 21, 2026, per Betterment's page, which we read on October 14, 2026. New clients who make a qualifying deposit can add a 0.75% boost on balances up to $1M, for 4.25% APY, through February 15, 2027; the page does not state the qualifying amount, and if the base APY changes the boosted APY changes with it. Opening takes $10, and Betterment states no fees or minimums otherwise. On coverage, deposits sweep to program banks for pass-through FDIC insurance of up to $4 million for individual accounts and $8 million for joint accounts, subject to certain conditions, with $250,000 per depositor per bank. That aggregate figure depends on the sweep spreading balances across multiple program banks, so the advertised caps assume that distribution rather than coverage at Betterment directly. On access, Betterment's page lists unlimited withdrawals. Cash Reserve itself is a savings product; Checking, which carries the page's ATM wording, is a separate Betterment product you would open alongside it. The honest flags are worth stating plainly. Because the APY is variable, it can move up or down after you open, in either direction, independent of the boost. The boosted rate is for new clients with a qualifying deposit and is advertised through February 15, 2027, after which the base rate in effect at that time is the number that matters. And because Cash Reserve requires a Betterment Securities brokerage account, it fits savers who already use or plan to use Betterment more naturally than savers who want a standalone cash account. The short version: built for savers using Betterment's robo-investing and its goal-based buckets, and a less direct fit as a pure cash account.