Best Banks in Delaware

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Contributor, Benzinga
July 21, 2020

Looking for a new bank in Delaware? Whether you choose an online institution or prefer banking at a branch, many banks today offer fully-loaded digital tools and attractive incentives to create your all-in-1 financial hub. 

You can use Benzinga’s list of the best places to bank with in Delaware to find your best fit.

Best Banks in Delaware Near You:

  • Best for Money Market Accounts: CIT Bank
  • Best for Branch Access: M&T Bank
  • Best Checking Accounts: Axos Bank
  • Best for Linked Accounts: PNC Bank
  • Best for Mobile Banking: BBVA
CIT Bank
Best For
  • Business and Personal Checking
securely through CIT Bank's website

Best for Money Market Accounts: CIT Bank

CIT Bank exists online-only and has a solid roster of personal banking accounts that make building savings easier.

The CIT Bank Money Market is 1 of the bank’s most attractive offerings. This account acts as sort of a crossover between a checking and savings account. It allows you to earn interest on your balance, but you can access your funds without a hassle if necessary. 

If you’re trying to save on a tight budget, this is probably your best bet. You can make up to 6 transactions per month without penalty. You’ll face an excessive transaction fee after that, but CIT caps this at $50 per month. 

Money market accounts usually offer a more competitive interest rate, so you won’t sacrifice on building your balance for the convenience of having easy access to your money. The CIT Bank Money Market is no exception — it offers a high annual percentage rate or APY. Interest is compounded daily but paid monthly.

It’s easy to sign up. Aside from standard identifying information, you’ll need $100 to open an account. You’ll also need another account to make your funding deposit from. Once you’re set up, you’ll immediately start earning on your deposits. This account comes with all of CIT’s digital banking tools like Bill Pay and 24/7 online access.

M&T Bank – banking
securely through M&T Bank – banking's website

Best for Branch Access: M&T Bank

M&T is a regional bank with numerous locations in Delaware. In addition, the M&T Mobile Banking app provides banking tools like mobile deposits and Zelle® transfers. As an M&T customer in Delaware, you’ll enjoy the convenience of both in-person and digital banking. 

M&T Bank offers checking, loans, credit cards, savings, investments and insurance to its personal banking customers. 

M&T has 4 checking accounts to choose from. EZ Choice Checking is a no-frills free account. MyWay Banking is a checkless account with no overdraft fees. MyChoice Plus is an interest-bearing account offering ATM reimbursements. MyChoice Premium is also an interest-bearing account that gives back to high-balance customers with improved rates on things like loans.

For savings accounts, choose between the MyChoice Money Market account, Relationship Savings and the M&T Starter Savings account. Each of these accounts tailors its benefits to different needs and come with different perks like earning interest or goal-based savings.

Axos Bank Savings
Best For
  • No Maintenance Fees
securely through Axos Bank Savings's website

Best Checking Accounts: Axos Bank

Celebrating 20 years in the online banking industry, Axos Bank is a digital bank that prides itself on bringing its customers the most innovative banking products. 

The line-up of checking accounts from Axos Bank are tailored to a certain kind of user, guaranteeing you’ll find something well-suited to your needs.

Customers love Rewards Checking — it’s the most popular account for good reason. This is a tiered, interest-earning account. You earn interest by performing the following qualifying actions: 

  • Have at least $1,000 in direct deposits monthly
  • Use your Axos Visa Debit Card for at least 10 transactions monthly
  • Use your Axos Visa Debit Card for at least 5 more transactions for a total of 15

You’ll earn 1/3 of the total potential or APY when you meet each of these standards. 

This is an almost free account. You don't pay any maintenance fees, overdraft or insufficient fund fees. And, Axos reimburses you for all domestic ATM fees you incur when using your Rewards Checking. 

Other checking accounts from Axos include Essential Checking and CashBack Checking. Essential Checking is a basic free checking account. You can earn up to 1.00% cashback with CashBack Checking on qualified purchases. 

Golden Checking serves the needs of customers 55 and older, while First Checking is for teens aged 13 to 17. Golden Checking offers senior-friendly perk, like free personal checks, and First Checking shows teens the ropes of banking.

PNC | banking
securely through PNC | banking's website

Best for Linked Accounts: PNC Bank

With multiple Delaware locations, PNC operates a large presence both in the state and nationwide. 

Personal banking products span checking and savings accounts, credit cards and borrowing options. Loans include home, auto, student and personal loans along with lines of credit and refinancing. You can also enlist PNC for wealth management services. 

PNC’s Virtual Wallet is a checking-savings account hybrid. The 3 sub-accounts link together under the umbrella of your Virtual Wallet to give you a 1-stop shop for all your banking needs.

Your Spend account is a basic deposit account that you can use to receive deposits and make purchases. It also has financial tools like Free Balance. This allows you to set a monthly budget and identify any surpluses, so you know what you can spend without overdoing it.

The Reserve account is both an interest-bearing and a checking account. Reserve also operates as overdraft protection for your Spend account. You can save for targeted financial goals, earn interest and easily transfer funds into your Spend account when needed. 

The last account is called Growth. This is a long-term savings account, earning higher-tier relationship APY rates when you make qualified transfers to this account from either Spend or Reserve while maintaining a certain balance. 

PNC also offers other Virtual Wallet packages, Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend and Virtual Wallet with Performance Select. These accounts offer premium-tier perks to those who maintain higher balances.

Best for Mobile Banking: BBVA

Banking with BBVA comes with a 6-time award winning mobile banking app. The app scores major points for the recent upgrade to the BBVA Mobile App 9.0, which improved navigation. BBVA makes managing your finances easier by keeping your balances always visible for a real-time view of pending and posted transactions. 

BBVA operates in the personal, small business, commercial, corporate and wealth management sectors. If you’re looking for personal banking options, you have much to choose from. In Delaware, you have access to the products available across the nation. These include 2 checking accounts: Premium Checking and Online Checking.

With either account, enjoy fee-less online and mobile banking, a debit card and fee-less transactions at more than 64,000 BBVA and co-op ATMs. It’s only $25 to open both accounts. 

Premium Checking earns interest and Online Checking comes with a cashback debit card.

Delaware doesn’t have any physical BBVA branches, but its online and mobile banking covers most of the bases. And you can make cash transactions at qualified ATMs throughout the state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do banks keep my money safe?

A: Your deposits are insured up to $250,000 with the FDIC or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Many banks also offer fraud protection and enhanced security features to further reduce the risk of anything happening to the money you keep in your account.

Q: What do I need to open a bank account?

A: Some kind of government-issued ID is standard. Some banks will require further identifying documents like a Social Security card. You can usually find details on account opening requirements on a bank’s website.

Find Your Bank Today

Banking today means much more than depositing money and writing checks. Find an account that goes the extra mile by earning your interest or providing digital tools to help you track your finances.

 Benzinga can help you out. Start with our list to find a bank that does the most for your money.

Methodology

To determine the best banks in Delaware, Benzinga analyzed over 100 banks and financial institutions. We gave weight to banks in Delaware with co-op ATMs and cash-back options. We also gave greater rankings to banks which offered the following: checking and savings accounts, online banking, personal loans, mortgages, educational resources, and a mobile app.

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