Your savings account has two jobs: keep your money safe and pay you something for parking it there. At most traditional banks it does the first job and pays almost nothing on the second. The average savings account in the U.S. pays well under 1 percent, the biggest banks pay as little as 0.01 percent, and many still cap how many times per month you can move your own money out.

That gap comes straight from how banks make money. Once you see the mechanics, you can also see why a newer group of accounts, including SoFi, Chime, and Robinhood, can pay several times the national average while letting you move money in and out freely. This post explains both halves: why the limits exist, and what to check before you switch.

Your deposits are a loan to your bank

A bank's core business is simple: gather money cheaply, lend it out at higher rates, and keep the difference. That difference is called the net interest margin.

Checking accounts are the cheapest funding a bank can get. The national average interest rate on interest-bearing checking is around 0.07 percent, and many accounts pay nothing at all. Savings accounts cost banks slightly more, but the national average is still only about 0.4 percent according to FDIC data, while the largest banks commonly pay 0.01 to 0.05 percent on standard savings. Meanwhile, a 30-year mortgage costs a borrower around 6.5 percent. The spread between those numbers is why your deposits are so valuable to your bank, and why the bank is in no hurry to pay you more for them.

Why banks limit savings withdrawals to six per month

Is there still a federal limit on savings withdrawals? No. The six-per-month rule ended in April 2020; any limit you hit today is your bank's own policy.

Until 2020, a federal rule called Regulation D capped "convenient" withdrawals and transfers from savings accounts at six per month. The Federal Reserve suspended that requirement in April 2020, and it has never come back. Banks are free to allow unlimited savings withdrawals.

Many traditional banks kept the limits anyway, or replaced them with excess-withdrawal fees, often several dollars per transaction beyond the sixth. The business reason is the same one behind low rates: money that is harder for you to move is money the bank can lend out with more confidence. Withdrawal limits make your deposits stickier, and stickier deposits are more profitable.

Savings accounts with no withdrawal limits: SoFi vs. Chime vs. Robinhood

A newer generation of accounts competes for deposits instead of assuming you will never leave. Three popular examples, as of July 2026:

| SoFi | Chime | Robinhood --- | --- | --- | --- Savings APY | 3.10% with eligible direct deposit or $5,000+ in monthly deposits, plus a limited-time 0.70% boost (3.80% total) for meeting the same requirement, available through the end of 2026 | Up to 3.75% for Prime members; lower tiers earn 2.75% or 0.75% | 3.35% on swept cash with Gold ($5/month) Monthly withdrawal limit | None | Withdrawals route through checking; Chime policy allows up to six per month | None; cash is available for spending or investing anytime Savings to checking transfers | Instant, in-app | Instant, in-app | Instant to the spending account Zelle | Yes ($1,000 per day send limit) | No (Chime-to-Chime transfers instead) | No Structure | Chartered bank (SoFi Bank, N.A., Member FDIC) | Fintech; deposits held at The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank | Brokerage cash sweep to partner banks (not a savings account)

APYs are variable and change frequently. Always check the current rate and terms before opening an account.

A few details worth knowing about each:

SoFi is the most complete replacement for a traditional bank in this group. It is an actual chartered bank, checking and savings sit side by side with instant transfers between them, savings withdrawals are unlimited, and it supports Zelle for person-to-person payments, with a $1,000 per day sending limit. The headline savings rate requires an eligible direct deposit or $5,000 in deposits every 31 days.

Chime pairs a fee-free checking account with a high-yield savings account and instant moves between the two. Its best savings rate is tied to membership tiers that depend on qualifying direct deposits. Chime's own policy still allows up to six savings withdrawals per month, a leftover of the old Regulation D framework, so it is the least flexible of the three on paper even though day-to-day transfers to checking are instant.

Robinhood takes a different route. Uninvested cash in a brokerage account is swept to a network of partner banks and earns a Gold-only rate that has ranged well above 3 percent. There is no savings account and therefore no withdrawal rule; the tradeoff is the $5 per month Gold subscription, and the account is a brokerage product rather than a bank account.

The fine print to check before you switch

• Rate conditions. SoFi's top rate requires direct deposit. Chime's best tier requires qualifying deposits. Robinhood's rate requires a paid subscription. At 3.35 percent, the $60 annual cost eats all the interest earned on balances under about $1,800, and against a free high-yield account paying 3 percent or more, the subscription generally does not pay for itself on cash alone (Gold's other perks may change that math).
• FDIC coverage structure. SoFi is itself a bank. Chime and Robinhood pass your money to partner banks, and coverage depends on that pass-through arrangement working as designed. This is generally fine for everyday balances, but it is a real structural difference worth knowing.
• Moving money out. Instant transfers usually apply inside each ecosystem. Getting money to an outside bank is still ACH, which may take one to three business days, and some providers cap ACH transfer amounts per day or month.
• No branches. All three are app-first. If you regularly deposit cash or want a banker to talk to, a local bank or credit union still earns its place.

A simple setup that beats the average

• Keep a lean checking balance for bills, at a bank with no monthly fees.
• Park everything else in a high-yield savings account with no withdrawal limits, so moving money is never a decision about fees.
• Recheck your rate a couple of times a year. Banks count on you not looking.
• When you open a new account anyway, collect a new account bonus for it. A $300 checking bonus on top of a high savings rate is the best of both.

If you are opening one of these accounts anyway, start from the current listings below so the signup bonus comes with it.

The six-withdrawal rule died in 2020, but many banks are still acting like it exists because sticky, cheap deposits are their favorite kind. You do not have to play along. Compare current savings rates, check the withdrawal policy before you open anything, and use our Bank Bonus ROI Calculator, linked below, to see whether a signup bonus or a higher APY earns more for your balance.

This article is for general education, not financial advice. Rates, tiers, and account terms change often; confirm details with each institution before opening an account.