Discover Bank VS Wells Fargo

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
4.00%APY
Savings/MMA
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • No monthly fees or required balances
  • Personal deposit accounts offered
  • Can open all accounts online
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts

Cons:

  • Only personal deposit accounts
  • Not wide variety of accounts
  • Outgoing wires have a high fee
  • MMA has high opening balance and fee
  • Financial Rates: 1.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.5 Star Icon
0.01%APY
Savings/MMA
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Opportunity checking account
  • Business accounts are available
  • Checking account for teenagers
  • Low opening required amounts

Cons:

  • Low-interest rates
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Few CD options and high opening amount
  • No money market account offered
Discover Bank Review

Most Discover online bank accounts do not have monthly fees. They also do not have required balances to keep in the accounts. The online checking account, savings accounts, and CDs do not have a monthly fee. They are completely free. Only the money market account has a fee if your balance falls below $2,500.

Personal deposit accounts are available through Discover. They offer online savings, money market, and checking accounts. Their CDs range in terms from three months to ten years. Discover offers IRA CD terms as well as regular CDs.

These Discover accounts are entirely online accounts. Open the savings, money market accounts, and CDs online or by calling customer service. The checking account can only be opened online. Everything for these accounts is done online.

Discover accounts offer competitive interest rates. The rates for every account are much higher than your typical brick and mortar bank rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. The only account that has tiered interest rates is the money market account. The difference between the two-tiered rates is very small. Balances over $100,000 in the money market account earn a slightly higher rate. All balances earn competitive rates.

Discover Bank offers only personal deposit accounts. Those accounts include a savings, checking, and money market account, as well as CDs. Discover Bank does not offer any business accounts.

There is not a wide variety of personal deposit accounts offered through Discover. Discover offers one savings, one money market, and one checking account. No business accounts are available. CD terms range from three months to ten years.

One way to access your money in your Discover accounts is through a wire transfer. There is a fee to complete each wire. That fee is $30 for each outgoing wire sent from your Discover account. There is not a fee for domestic wire transfers received into Discover accounts. There may be a $20 fee for wire transfers received in a foreign currency.

The Discover money market account has a high opening required amount. That account requires $2,500 to open. There is a monthly fee of $10. Waive that fee by keeping $2,500 in the money market account.

Read the full Discover Bank review.

Wells Fargo Review

Wells Fargo offers an Opportunity Checking account. This account is for those who do not qualify for a regular checking account. It offers checks, a debit card, bill pay, and mobile banking. With the Opportunity account, there is a $10 monthly fee. There are options to waive the fee.

Many business accounts are available through Wells Fargo. Business savings and checking accounts are available. They offer CDs, loans, and credit cards. Commercial finance options are available. Wells Fargo offers retirement and investment options for businesses, along with payroll options.

Wells Fargo offers a checking account specifically for kids 13-17 years old. A parent must open the account with the child. There are no monthly fees and it offers a debit card and mobile banking. Parents can set limits on the number of purchases and withdrawals made from the account.

To open a Wells Fargo checking and savings requires a low opening deposit. The savings and checking accounts only need $25 to open. The accounts may require more money to earn interest, but to open the account only requires $25.

The interest rates for Wells Fargo accounts are low. They are not competitive with other online-only accounts. Even the highest interest rates offered are low compared to other online accounts.

Most Wells Fargo accounts have a monthly fee. The fees range from $10-30, depending on the account. Ways to waive the fees include:

  • Signing up for electronic statements
  • Having an average daily balance above a set amount
  • Setting up a reoccurring savings deposit
  • Account holder is between a certain age
  • Having a direct deposit over a certain amount
  • Combined account balances are above a set amount
  • Making a set number of debit card transactions

Wells Fargo does not offer many CD term lengths. There are only four CDs with an opening amount of $2,500. Those terms are three-month, six-month, and one-year CDs. The 9, 29, and 39-month CDs require $5,000 to open. The Step Rate CD is a 24-month term. To open requires $2,500 and must be done in a branch location.

Wells Fargo does not offer a money market account. They offer a basic and a Platinum savings account. Neither account offers interest rates competitive to online accounts.

Read the full Wells Fargo review.

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