Marcus by Goldman Sachs® Savings Account Review

Got cash or extra money—even a little? If yes, then the time is now to put it to work for you. How? In a high-interest savings account, like the Marcus by Goldman Sachs High-Yield Online Savings Account. The account is paying a whopping 2.25% annual percentage yield or APY. That’s 2.05% more than the national average of 0.01%.¹And a full 2.24% more than the meager .01% that some regular savings accounts are paying.

To give you the full skinny on this product and its high-interest rate, the editors at Credit.com put together this review. Before investing in this or any other product, know what you’re getting into and do your homework by comparing a few savings accounts to find the one that best meets your needs.

The Benefits of a Marcus Goldman Sachs Savings Account

The Marcus by Goldman Sachs Savings Account’s high-interest rate of 2.25% is just one of its benefits—not that by itself, it isn’t enough. Additional benefits of the account include:

No minimum deposit needed to open your account.
No monthly service fees and no transaction fees.
An easy, quick online application process^.
An FDIC-insured
A joint account ownership

Funding the account is as easy an opening one. You can:

Transfer money into your account for any linked external bank or credit union account—the easiest way by far.
Make a deposit by wire transfer.
Mail a check.

You start earning interest on the first business day you make your opening deposit. And the interest you earn is compound interest that compounds daily and is added to your account each month.

The Drawbacks of a Marcus by Goldman Sachs Savings Account

No everyone likes the digital age. If you prefer face-to-face interaction with a human being, you won’t get that with this account. It is, after all, an online savings account. That’s why your interest rate is higher, but it also leaves out a human element.

However, you can still speak to a real person when you call the Goldman Sachs customer care line. It operates seven days a week.

Other potential drawbacks depending on your use habits and preferences include:

The lack of a mobile app for managing the product.
No mobile bank deposits using your phone.
No ATM access to your money.
No checking writing, debit card or checking account.
A maximum of six withdrawals/debits per month/statement cycle—a limit on any online savings account that’s mandated by federal regulation.

How to Open an Account

You can open a Marcus by Goldman Sachs Savings Account quickly and easily and right online. All you need in addition to the normal stuff like your address and email are your bank account and routing numbers if you want to connect an external account, and your Social Security number.

Why You Need a High-Interest Savings Account

Having a high-interest savings account, which may also be called a high-yield savings account, is a good strategy to get more out of your money. Simply setting aside money in a traditional bank account for savings isn’t enough because many standard savings accounts don’t earn enough interest to even outpace inflation.

When you instead take advantage of the higher interest rates that high-yield savings accounts offer, you can at least keep pace with inflation if not beat it. This way, you’ll earn money without having to do much more than make deposits into the account. Although even if you never make a deposit, you’ll still earn interest with at least a minimum opening deposit of $1.

For example, if build up $1,000 and put it in a high-interest savings account that yields 2.25% with no added deposits, in 10 years, you’ll have earned $1,252.31 dollars, a $252.32 increase. But add $75 per month and you’ll see a return rate of $10,344.87 in deposits and interest, leading to a grand total of 11,344.87 after 10 years.

Compare that to a traditional bank at the max offering of 1.5%, you end up with only $10,871.57. Take things down a notch further to the 0.01% offered by Wells Fargo on their savings account, and you wind up with just $10,005.05 and $9,925 was yours and only $80.50 of that is form interest earned—ouch!¹

Interest Earned on Different APYs Over 10 Years

APY on Beginning Balance of $1,000	Added Monthly Deposit	Ending Balance at 10 Years	Interest Earned
2.25%	$75	$11,344.87	$1,419.87
1.50%	$75	$10,871.67	$946.67
.01%	$75	$10,005.50	$80.50
0%	$75	$9,925.00	$0

With a high-interest savings account, you also enjoy the flexibility of accessing your money and your earnings from interest when you. The alternative is a slighter higher interest CD, but CDs or high-yield CDs have a maturity date, which means taking your money out before that date may result in an early withdrawal penalty and lost interest.

Who Is Goldman Sachs?

As far as banking goes, Goldman Sachs is one of the most recognizable in the industry. It’s been around since 1869. Goldman Sachs has a solid reputation and consistently offers investment products designed to increase customers’ net worth. It focuses on investment strategies, corporate wealth management, consumer banking and more.

And even though many people associate Goldman Sachs with the wealthiest 1% of the world’s population, the company offers a variety of investment products for all types of consumers.

Online Savings Account Convenience

Today, almost all banks offer online access. And some financial institutions have completely eliminated the in-person branch experience.

It’s a personal choice when deciding if online banking or traditional banking is best for you. Online banking gives you the benefit of accessing your money and information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also helps you manage your money with notifications, such as texts and emails.

And without the overhead of physical buildings and people to staff those buildings, online banks and even online accounts from banks with physical branches, can afford to float the savings to customers in the form of higher interest rates.

How APY Works

Before opening your Marcus by Goldman Sachs savings account or other savings product, it’s important to understand how APY works. APY stands for annual percentage yield. The higher the percentage, the more money you earn in your bank account each year. You also need to know how compounding works. For most savings accounts, the interest rate isn’t simple, meaning your interest isn’t calculated once per year and paid out to you.

Instead, interest or APY often works as compound interest. The interest goes into effect multiple times per year and helps your balance grow even more. The Marcus by Goldman Sachs savings account’s interest rate compounds daily, giving you more savings over time.

How the Marcus by Goldman Sachs Savings Account Compares

There are other high-interest savings accounts around that offer similar benefits to the Marcus by Goldman Sachs savings account and even similar APYs. Here are a few details about how the Goldman Sachs brand measures up to other high-interest savings accounts offered by Credit.com.

HSBC Direct Savings account also offers 2.25% APY. Customers get complete online and mobile app access, mobile bank deposits, no minimum deposits and zero fees. The account requires a $1 minimum balance.
Barclays Online Savings Account has benefits including direct deposit, online access, no fees and no minimum balance.
American Express® Personal Savings account pays a 2.10% APY. Customers get online transactions and 24-hour customer support.

Make Your Balance Do More

Letting your money sit in an account that doesn’t earn much interest isn’t a great strategy to grow your wealth. Even if you don’t have a lot of cash to save, take advantage of any opportunity you can to grow your money—especially ones that won’t result in your losing money down the road, think Ponzi scheme.

Whatever your reason for opening a savings account—you want to save for a rainy day or save for down payment on a house—you can’t go wrong with a Marcus by Goldman Sachs Savings Account.

The account has a lot of attractive benefits including its higher interest rate of 2.25% that lets your money grow faster than it will at your local bank or credit union. Before you open your Marcus by Goldman Sachs Savings Account, take a moment to review your other options.

1 National savings rate average from the FDIC.gov website as of 3/18/2019. https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/rates/historical/2019-03-18.html.

NOTE: Accounts mentioned here may not be visible on Credit.com at certain points due to partner caps on the number of accounts that can be opened in a given day or timeframe.

DISCLOSURE: At publishing time, the Marcus by Goldman Sachs® High-Yield Online Savings Account is offered through Credit.com product pages, and Credit.com is compensated if our users apply and ultimately sign up for this account. However, this relationship does not result in any preferential editorial treatment. This content is not provided by the financial institution(s). Any opinions expressed are those of Credit.com alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer(s).