--- title: This Is the Best Online Bank description: Here’s where to find the best online checking account in 2017, as online banking continues to become more popular. authors: - name: Megan Leonhardt url: https://money.com/author/megan-leonhardt/ at_money_since: 2016 articles: 204 covers: - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/Megan_Leonhardt former_staff: true - name: Kaitlin Mulhere role: Editor url: https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/ bio: Kaitlin Mulhere is an editor at Money.com. Since joining in 2015, she’s written and edited about a variety of personal finance topics, including banks, credit, student debt, saving strategies and more. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2015 articles: 217 covers: - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/KMulhere - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-mulhere-64503048/ - name: Martha C. White role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/martha-c-white/ education: BA, English, Princeton University at_money_since: 2015 articles: 355 covers: - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The New York Times - The Wall Street Journal - CNN - Kiplinger Personal Finance - Time social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/martha-c-white/ published: '2017-10-23T04:01:21.000Z' modified: '2020-07-07T11:26:55.000Z' section: Banking tags: - Banking - Banks - Best Banks 2017-18 - checking account word_count: 392 canonical: https://money.com/best-online-bank-2017/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We may earn a fee if you click on the links below. Compensation does not determine ranking. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![171023-best-online-bank](https://img.money.com/2017/10/171023-best-online-bank-2.jpg) Like shopping and making travel reservations, basic banking chores have now migrated online—and maybe you should, too, because it can save you money. More than two-thirds of Americans now rely on phones and computers to handle much of their banking, according to American Bankers Association research. If you can go without the traditional branch experience—say, if you already use your desktop or mobile device to check balances, pay bills, and make deposits—an online bank can be a great solution. Digital-only banks offer checking accounts with fewer fees and more bang for your buck, and many are willing to reimburse any fees you might incur on the rare occasions when you have to use brick-and-mortar bank facilities. - [**See all of Money's Best Banks winners**](https://money.com/tag/best-banks-2017-18/) The best of the bunch—like our top pick right here—go a step further by letting you earn a [generous interest rate](http://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/rates/) on your deposited funds, which they can afford to do because they don't have the sprawling branch networks and staffing expenses of traditional banks. If you're shopping for a free online checking account, you should definitely check out this offering from Bank of Internet USA, Money's best online bank for 2017. ## The Winner: Bank of Internet USA **Why It Wins:** Bank of Internet's Rewards Checking Account, with a whopping interest rate of 1.25%, was the highest among the online checking accounts surveyed by Money and [Bankrate.com](http://www.bankrate.com/banking/best-banks-in-america/). Because the online bank doesn't have an ATM network of its own, BofI doesn't charge "out-of-network" ATM fees; in addition, three separate Bank of Internet checking accounts—Rewards, Cashback, and Essential—refund all outside ATM surcharges in the United States. The accounts don't have monthly maintenance fees, or minimum balance requirements, and on the Rewards and Essential accounts, there are also no overdraft fees. As a bonus, with Bank of Internet's purchase rewards program, you can earn cash back at its network of retail partners. **Caveat:** To earn the whopping 1.25% interest on Bank of Internet's Rewards Checking account, you’ll need to set up direct deposit and use your debit card regularly (15 transactions a month). And if you prefer to stash your savings in a separate account, try Ally, whose 1.2% rate beats BofI’s 1.05% on savings. **Key Terms: Rewards Checking** Monthly fee: $0 Outside ATM fee: $0, and refunds all surcharges from other ATMs Interest: 1.25% once you meet all the requirements ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/best-online-bank-2017/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Banking", "item": "https://money.com/banking/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Online Banking", "item": "https://money.com/online-banking/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This Is the Best Online Bank" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/best-online-bank-2017/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/best-online-bank-2017/", "name": "This Is the Best Online Bank", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2017-10-23T04:01:21.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/best-online-bank-2017/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/best-online-bank-2017/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2020-07-07T11:26:55.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "This Is the Best Online Bank", "articleSection": "Banking", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2017/10/171023-best-online-bank-2.jpg", "width": 2800, "height": 1867, "caption": "171023-best-online-bank" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Megan Leonhardt", "url": "https://money.com/author/megan-leonhardt/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/megan-leonhardt/#author", "email": "megan.leonhardt@moneymail.com", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/Megan_Leonhardt" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kaitlin Mulhere", "url": "https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/#author", "description": "Kaitlin Mulhere is an editor at Money.com. 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