Keep the Change rounds up your purchases and saves the difference
Keep the Change is a savings feature that rounds up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and moves the difference into a linked savings account. If you buy coffee for $3.50, the program rounds the transaction to $4.00 and transfers $0.50 to savings. The money comes from your checking account, so you need sufficient funds to cover both the purchase and the round-up amount.
The program is optional. You enroll through your Bank of America online banking portal or mobile app, and you can turn it off at any time. There is no monthly fee to use Keep the Change itself, though your savings account may have its own terms depending on which account type you hold.
Transactions round up only when you use your Bank of America debit card. Transfers, bill payments, ATM withdrawals, and purchases made with other payment methods do not trigger round-ups. The program also does not explore to transactions that are pending or declined.
Key Takeaways
- Keep the Change rounds debit card purchases up to the nearest dollar and moves the difference to your linked savings account automatically.
- You must have enough money in your checking account to cover both the purchase and the round-up amount, or the transaction may be declined.
- The program only works with Bank of America debit cards and does not explore to transfers, bill payments, or ATM withdrawals.
- You can enroll or stop using Keep the Change at any time through your online banking portal or mobile app with no penalty.
- Bank of America may offer promotional bonuses on round-up savings during certain periods, though these are not may provide and vary by account type.
How to enroll in Keep the Change
To turn on Keep the Change, log into your Bank of America online banking account or open the mobile app. Navigate to the settings or account management section and look for the Keep the Change option under savings or account features. Select the savings account where you want round-ups to be deposited, then confirm enrollment.
You will need a Bank of America checking account and a linked savings account to use the program. If you do not have a savings account yet, you can open one through the same portal before enrolling in Keep the Change. Once enrolled, the program begins working on your next debit card purchase.
If you have multiple debit cards or multiple checking accounts with Bank of America, you can choose which cards and accounts participate in the program. You do not have to enroll all of them.
What happens when you do not have enough money for the round-up
If your checking account balance is too low to cover both the purchase and the round-up amount, the transaction itself may still go through, but the round-up will not occur. Bank of America does not decline transactions because of insufficient round-up funds—only because of insufficient funds for the purchase itself.
For example, if you have $10.00 in your account and attempt to buy something for $9.75, the purchase will process (leaving you with $0.25), but no round-up will happen because there is not enough to round up to $10.00. You will not be charged an overdraft fee for the missing round-up amount.
Promotional bonuses and matching offers
Bank of America periodically offers bonuses on Keep the Change savings. These may include matching a percentage of your round-ups (for example, Bank of America adds $0.50 for every $1.00 you round up) or a flat bonus after you reach a certain savings threshold. These promotions are not permanent and vary by account type and region.
To find out whether a promotion is currently running on your account, check your online banking portal or call Bank of America customer service. Promotional terms, including how long the bonus lasts and any conditions you must meet, are disclosed when the offer is active.
Turning off Keep the Change or moving your savings
You can stop using Keep the Change at any time by returning to your account settings in online banking or the mobile app and toggling the feature off. Existing round-up savings remain in your linked savings account and are not affected by disabling the program.
If you want to move your round-up savings to a different account, you can transfer the money through Bank of America's standard transfer tools. You can also change which savings account receives future round-ups without losing money already saved.
How Keep the Change differs from other savings tools
Keep the Change is automatic and requires no action on your part after enrollment. Other savings methods, such as setting up a recurring transfer or manually moving money to savings, require you to remember to do it. The round-up approach works because it happens invisibly with every purchase.
The trade-off is that you have less control over how much you save. With Keep the Change, the amount depends on your spending patterns and how often your purchases end in cents rather than whole dollars. A person who makes many small purchases may accumulate savings faster than someone who makes fewer, larger purchases.
Some people use Keep the Change alongside other savings methods rather than instead of them. There is no rule against doing both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Keep the Change with a debit card from another bank?
No. Keep the Change only works with Bank of America debit cards linked to a Bank of America checking account. If you use a debit card from another bank, the program will not round up those transactions.
What if I dispute a transaction that was rounded up?
If you dispute a purchase, Bank of America will reverse both the original transaction and the round-up amount. The round-up money returns to your checking account, not your savings account. You will need to contact Bank of America's dispute department to start the process.
Does Keep the Change work internationally?
Keep the Change rounds up debit card purchases made in the United States. Transactions made outside the U.S. or in foreign currency may not trigger round-ups, depending on how the transaction is processed. Check with Bank of America about international transaction rules specific to your account.
Can I set a limit on how much Keep the Change saves per month?
Bank of America does not offer a built-in monthly savings cap within the Keep the Change program itself. If you want to limit how much you save, you can disable the program temporarily or transfer excess savings to another account manually.
What happens to my Keep the Change savings if I close my savings account?
If you close the savings account linked to Keep the Change, the program stops working and future round-ups cannot be deposited. Money already in that account remains there until you withdraw it or the account is fully closed. You can link Keep the Change to a different savings account before closing the original one.