Thursday, July 3, 2008

Money Market Interest Rates

Interest rates seem to be constantly changing these days. Since it is a constantly moving target, it is hard to keep track of the rates that I've been getting in my various money market accounts. I've decided to compile a list of the annual percentage yields (APYs) for institutions that I have accounts at, or have otherwise mentioned in the blog. These rates are sorted by APY.

3.65% Countrywide SavingsLink
3.50% HSBCDirect Online Savings
3.40% Umbrellabank Pot O'Gold Money Market
3.30% Washington Mutual (WaMu) Online Savings
3.15% E*TRADE Complete Savings
3.00% ING Direct Orange Savings
2.65% Citibank Ultimate Money
2.43% Western FCU Money Market
2.33% PayPal Money Market
2.30% Guaranty Bank Gold Rewards Money Market
1.65% TD Ameritrade Money Market

Rates are believed to be accurate as of 7/1/08. I did not include banks that had special, or introductory rates in the list because these are not ongoing interest rates. I am also not including non-liquid accounts such as CD's in the list.

My own assessment is that Countrywide has the best money market rate. For those people who are not comfortable with an online only account, I would recommend WaMu's Online Savings. Although that account has to be opened online, you can use a local branch for most transactions. I will probably close out one or more of the accounts that are paying me a lower interest rate.

Does anybody know of any money market rate better than Countrywide's 3.65% SavingsLink account. If so, I'll add it and update my list.

DC

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this rate comparison list - I have gradually been moving more and more of our savings from CD's into Countrywide SavingsLink. However, I'm wondering if you - or anyone - could also offer a comparison of current interest rates for CDs with a term of 12 months or less. We'll be paying college costs for our two kids over the course of the next 4 years, so we don't need all our savings available immediately. Thanks!

pfstock said...

Thanks for your comments. I usually suggest looking on Bankrate.com to compare interest rates. I took a quick look, and noted that 12 month CDs are paying only a little bit more than money market accounts are. It is definely a good idea to shop around for the best rates. Good luck!