Yes, online savings accounts are FDIC insured if the bank holds the insurance

Most online savings accounts offered by FDIC-insured banks carry the same deposit insurance protection as brick-and-mortar accounts. The key word is if—not every online bank is FDIC-insured, and not every account type gets the same coverage limit. An online savings account at a bank like Ally, Marcus, or Discover is insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per account category. An online savings account at a fintech app or money transfer service that is not itself a bank may have zero FDIC protection, even if it holds your money in an FDIC-insured bank behind the scenes.

The FDIC does not care whether you walk into a branch or log in from your phone. It cares whether the institution holding your money is an FDIC member bank. You can check this in under a minute using the FDIC's BankFind tool on fdic.gov.

Key Takeaways

  • Online savings accounts at FDIC-insured banks are covered up to $250,000 per account, the same as in-person accounts.
  • You must verify the bank itself is FDIC-insured using the FDIC's BankFind search tool—do not assume based on the app or website.
  • If you have multiple accounts at the same FDIC-insured bank (checking, savings, money market), each category is insured separately up to $250,000.
  • Money held in fintech apps, payment platforms, or investment apps is not FDIC-insured unless the company explicitly states it partners with an FDIC bank and holds funds there.
  • Joint accounts and retirement accounts have their own separate $250,000 coverage limits at the same bank.

How to check if an online bank is FDIC-insured

Go to bankfind.org, the official FDIC search tool. Type the bank's name. If it appears in the results with an FDIC certificate number, it is insured. If it does not appear, it is not.

Many online banks display an FDIC logo on their website or in their app, but this is not proof. Logos can be copied. The BankFind search is the only way to know for certain. Some online banks are chartered by states rather than the federal government and may carry state deposit insurance instead of FDIC insurance—the coverage limits and rules differ.

If you cannot find the bank in BankFind, contact the bank directly and ask for its FDIC certificate number. A real FDIC-insured bank will have one and will tell you immediately.

What counts as separate coverage at the same bank

The FDIC insures $250,000 per account category at each bank, not $250,000 total. This means you can have more than $250,000 in coverage at a single FDIC-insured bank if your money is spread across different account types.

A savings account and a checking account at the same bank are two separate categories, so each gets $250,000 of coverage. A money market account is a third category. A certificate of deposit (CD) is a fourth. If you have $250,000 in savings, $250,000 in checking, $250,000 in a money market account, and $250,000 in a CD, all at the same FDIC-insured bank, all $1 million is covered.

Joint accounts are a separate category too. If you and your spouse each have $250,000 in individual savings accounts at the same bank, and you also have a joint savings account with $250,000, the joint account is covered separately. The coverage is $250,000 per person in the joint account, so you and your spouse together can have up to $500,000 in that joint account and both be fully covered.

Retirement accounts (IRAs, SEP-IRAs, and similar) are insured separately from regular accounts. You can have $250,000 in a regular savings account and $250,000 in an IRA at the same bank, and both are covered in full.

What online savings accounts are not covered

Money held in a fintech app, payment app, or investment app is not FDIC-insured unless the company explicitly states it holds funds in an FDIC-insured bank. Read the fine print. Some apps say they "partner with" an FDIC bank but do not actually hold your money there—they may hold it in a brokerage account or a money market fund, which are not FDIC-insured.

If an app holds your money in an FDIC-insured bank, the company should tell you the bank's name and let you search it in BankFind. If they will not tell you the bank's name, your money is probably not FDIC-insured.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, peer-to-peer lending platforms, and investment apps that hold stocks or bonds do not carry FDIC insurance. Money market funds, even if they hold very safe short-term bonds, are not FDIC-insured. Brokerage accounts are not FDIC-insured, though they may carry SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) coverage instead, which works differently and covers up to $500,000 per account.

What happens if an FDIC-insured bank fails

If an FDIC-insured bank closes or fails, the FDIC steps in and pays depositors up to the coverage limit. You do not have to do anything. The FDIC will contact you, usually within a few business days, and tell you how to access your money. In most cases, your funds are available within one to three business days.

You will receive your money up to $250,000 per account category. If you had $300,000 in a savings account at a failed bank, you would receive $250,000 and lose $50,000. This is rare—the FDIC has insured deposits since 1933, and the vast majority of banks do not fail.

The FDIC does not charge you for this protection. It is built into the bank's operating costs.

Coverage limits for online savings accounts opened together

If you open multiple savings accounts at the same FDIC-insured bank on the same day or over time, they are still treated as one account category. You do not get $250,000 coverage for each account—you get $250,000 total across all savings accounts at that bank. The FDIC adds them together.

If you want more than $250,000 in savings coverage, you must use more than one FDIC-insured bank. You could have $250,000 in savings at Bank A and $250,000 in savings at Bank B, and both would be fully covered.

Some people use this strategy to keep large amounts of money safe: they split savings across multiple online banks, each FDIC-insured, so that no single bank holds more than $250,000 in any one account category. This is a legitimate way to get coverage above $250,000.

How to verify coverage for your specific account

The FDIC offers a tool called the FDIC Coverage Calculator, also on fdic.gov. Enter your bank's name, the account type, the balance, and whether the account is individual or joint. The calculator will tell you exactly how much is covered.

Use this tool before you move a large amount of money to an online savings account. It takes two minutes and removes doubt. If the calculator shows your money would not be fully covered, you know to either use a different bank or split the money across multiple banks.

Keep records of your account setup—the bank name, account type, and balance. If the bank fails, this information helps the FDIC process your claim faster.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have $300,000 in an online savings account at an FDIC-insured bank, how much is covered?

$250,000. The remaining $50,000 is not covered. To protect the full $300,000, you would need to split it between two FDIC-insured banks—for example, $250,000 at Bank A and $50,000 at Bank B.

Is my money at a fintech savings app covered if it says "FDIC-insured" on the website?

Only if the app explicitly names the FDIC-insured bank where it holds your money and you can verify that bank in BankFind. Many apps claim FDIC protection but do not actually hold money in an FDIC bank. Ask the company for the bank's name in writing before you deposit.

If I have a savings account and a checking account at the same online bank, are both covered up to $250,000?

Yes. Savings and checking are separate account categories, so each gets its own $250,000 coverage limit at the same bank. You can have $250,000 in savings and $250,000 in checking, and both are fully covered.

What if my online bank fails? How do I get my money back?

The FDIC will contact you within a few business days and explain how to access your funds. In most cases, your money is available within one to three business days. You do not need to file a claim or take action—the FDIC handles it automatically.

Can I get more than $250,000 in coverage at one online bank?

Yes, if you spread the money across different account categories. A savings account, checking account, money market account, and CD at the same bank each get $250,000 coverage. Joint accounts and retirement accounts are also separate categories with their own $250,000 limits.