--- title: "Why Most Banks Don’t Give You the Best Deal | Robora" description: "Robora CEO Cory Frank spent over 20 years at a top 5 US bank. He explains why most banks hold back their best deposit rates from customers." url: https://my-site-de67291e.ploy.build/blogs/why-most-banks-dont-give-you-the-best-deal --- # Blogs Share [![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ployai/f6e136ef-41f0-40f7-b3e7-3406b7d03e38/user/d2644ccf-share-linkedin.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/robora-financial) ## Why Most Banks Don’t Give You the Best Deal ![Cory Frank](https://storage.googleapis.com/ployai/f6e136ef-41f0-40f7-b3e7-3406b7d03e38/user/307205e9-avatar-cory-frank.webp)Cory Frank The uncomfortable truth is that banks are not obligated to act in customers’ best interests. After spending over 20 years working for a top 5 US bank, I became very familiar with the deposit pricing strategies of large banks. Generally, both large and regional banks follow similar deposit strategies—rarely offering the best interest rates to the majority of their customers. ## Why Do Banks Hold Back on Rates? There are a few key reasons why banks don’t offer their best rates to most clients: 1. **Product-Driven Strategy:** Traditional banks were built for convenience, emphasizing branch networks and product variety rather than competing on interest rates. The assumption was that convenience, not rates, would keep customers loyal. 2. **Operational Costs:** Maintaining extensive branch networks and a wide range of products is costly, leading banks to believe they can’t afford to offer the best rates to everyone. 3. **Market Power:** Historically, many U.S. cities had a small number of banks dominating the market, which gave these banks less incentive to offer competitive rates. Despite the rise of fintechs and branchless banking, this mindset still lingers. ## Who Gets the Best Rates? Banks typically reserve the highest deposit interest rates for select groups, such as large corporations with hundreds of millions in deposits or ultra-high-net-worth individuals invited to private banking services. While it may seem logical to reward high-value clients, this selective strategy is ultimately about maximizing profits by offering lower rates to everyone else. Moreover, banks often communicate selectively about rates. Relationship managers don’t have a fiduciary responsibility to the customer—they represent the bank's interests, not yours. This leads to a strategy where the bank offers just enough interest to keep customers from leaving. If you ask for a better rate, they might give you a slight bump, but rarely the best available rate. ## The Legacy of Product Differentiation Historically, product offerings like checking accounts, savings accounts, and CDs were regulated with respect to ability to pay interest, maximum monthly transactions, etc., with checking accounts not paying interest and CDs offering the highest returns. While those regulations have evolved, the product structure remains mostly the same—but now driven by pricing strategies, not regulations. Today, banks can offer interest on checking accounts, and savings accounts have fewer transaction limits than before. Yet, banks still differentiate products based on interest rates in ways that prioritize their profit margins. ## Deposit Pricing in Action The chart below highlights the average rates paid by U.S. banks on various deposit types, including checking, savings, money market, and NOW accounts. This $13.8 trillion sample includes deposits from large corporations and wealthy individuals who receive market rates. The overall weighted average interest rate paid is 1.97%, skewed by high-value clients. In comparison, as of July 15, 2024, the average rates paid were just 0.08% for interest-bearing checking, 0.45% for savings accounts, and 0.66% for money market accounts. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ployai/f6e136ef-41f0-40f7-b3e7-3406b7d03e38/user/51bd618f-why-deposit-pricing-chart.webp) Data sourced from call reports as of 06/30/2024 ## What Can You Do? 1. **Ask for Better Rates:** Don’t hesitate to push back on your bank. Many relationship managers can offer non-standard rates or request approval for higher rates. 2. **Explore Alternatives:** If you’re tired of negotiating with your bank (or don’t want the hassle), consider signing up for a [Robora Cash Account](/). We link and sync with 95% of U.S. bank accounts via Plaid, offering a high-yielding, FDIC-insured sweep account. You can keep your existing checking account for payments and earn up to 3.36% APY — higher than any rate offered by traditional banks. --- [![Robora](https://storage.googleapis.com/ployai/f6e136ef-41f0-40f7-b3e7-3406b7d03e38/user/440c0f72-robora-logo-white-wordmark.svg)](/) Want to give your excess cash a boost? [Get Started](https://app.roborafinancial.com/signup) --- ## Quick links * [Home](/) * [How it works](/how-it-works) * [Who we are](/who-we-are) * [Pricing](/#pricingsection) * [Customer stories](/?testimonial=open) [support@roborafinancial.com](mailto:support@roborafinancial.com) ## Copyrights © Robora Financial. All rights reserved. ![AICPA SOC for Service Organizations](https://storage.googleapis.com/ployai/f6e136ef-41f0-40f7-b3e7-3406b7d03e38/user/51e06399-image.webp) SOC 2 Type II Independently audited ## Resources * [FAQs](/get-help) * [Blogs](/blogs) * [Contact Us](/contact-us) * [Privacy policy](/policy/privacy) * [Terms of Service](/policy/terms-of-service) ## Disclaimer Robora Financial or Robora is a brand of FinOpti Treasury, LLC (“Robora”), a financial technology company, not a depository institution, bank, or credit union, and is not itself a FDIC insured company. FinOpti Treasury, LLC partners with OMB Bank, Member FDIC. By opening an OMB Bank account through Robora, your funds are held in a deposit account at OMB Bank. 1\. Annual percentage yield (APY) is 2.90% if the monthly average balance at the relationship level is less than $250,000, or 3.36% if the monthly average balance at the relationship level is greater than or equal to $250,000, effective as of September 17, 2026 and may change at any time, before or after the account is opened, without rate limitation. Rates are determined by varying prevailing economic and business conditions, including the U.S. Federal Reserve interest paid on reserves. 2\. Robora is not an FDIC-insured depository institution and FDIC insurance only applies to the failure of the bank where your account is maintained. By opening an account through Robora, Customers deposit their funds into either: A deposit account at OMB Bank, Member FDIC, and held by OMB Bank, with such funds (combined with any other of such Customers funds at OMB) FDIC Insured up to the current standard maximum deposit insurance amount of $250,000 ("SMDIA"); or a deposit account at OMB Bank, which sweeps those funds into deposit accounts across a network of FDIC-insured banks for access to millions of FDIC-insurance in aggregate across the accounts. Under this program, the Customer’s funds are placed into deposit accounts across a network of FDIC-insured banks for up to the current SMDIA of $250,000 per eligible depositor, per receiving bank, for each ownership capacity or category, including any other balances they may hold at that receiving bank directly or indirectly through other intermediaries, including broker-dealers. OMB Bank uses a third-party vendor and agent to help administer this deposit placement process. View the [Institution List](https://www.intrafi.com/network-banks) for a list of the banks and savings associations with which Robora and OMB Bank have a business relationship for the placement of deposits at receiving banks, and into which your deposits may be placed, subject to the [Terms of Service](/policy/terms-of-service) and any opt-outs by OMB Bank or you. You should review the Institution list and opt-out of any particular institution to which you do not want us to allocate your funds. Certain conditions must be met to obtain such insurance and [Terms and restrictions apply](https://app.roborafinancial.com/ICS%5FDeposit%5FPlacement%5FAgreement.pdf). Your account with Robora and all services are subject to the [Terms of Service](/policy/terms-of-service), and there are no other applicable terms, representations or warranties, express or implied, except as expressly set forth in the Terms of Service. If you have any questions regarding your account, please contact [support@roborafinancial.com](mailto:support@roborafinancial.com)