Truist does not currently offer a dedicated high yield savings account

Truist's standard savings products do not compete on interest rate. Their regular savings accounts and money market accounts earn rates well below what you can find elsewhere — often 0.01% to 0.05% APY depending on the account type and your balance. If earning meaningful interest on savings is your goal, you will need to look outside Truist or use a different product within their lineup.

The reason matters: Truist is a traditional bank with physical branches in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. They make money partly by paying depositors low rates and lending that money out at higher rates. Online banks and some credit unions have lower overhead and can pass higher rates to savers. Truist has chosen not to match those rates on savings accounts, even as a loss leader to bring in customers.

Key Takeaways

  • Truist savings accounts and money market accounts pay rates between 0.01% and 0.05% APY, which is significantly lower than high yield options elsewhere.
  • Truist does offer certificates of deposit (CDs) with higher rates, but your money is locked away for a set term and early withdrawal carries a penalty.
  • If you keep most of your money in a Truist checking account for convenience, moving only your savings to a high yield account at another bank costs nothing and takes a few days.
  • Truist's value proposition is branch access and integrated checking, not savings rates — if rates matter to you, that is not the product they are built for.

What Truist savings accounts actually pay

Truist offers a Truist One Savings account and a Truist Money Market account. Both are deposit products, meaning your money is FDIC-insured up to $250,000. Neither pays a rate that would be called competitive in the current market.

The Truist One Savings account typically pays 0.01% APY on balances under $25,000 and slightly higher on larger balances, but still well under 0.10%. The Truist Money Market account pays a tiered rate that increases with your balance, but even the highest tier rarely exceeds 0.05% APY. These rates change, and Truist adjusts them infrequently — they tend to lag behind both the federal funds rate and what online banks offer.

For comparison, online banks and credit unions currently offer high yield savings accounts paying 4% to 5% APY on the same type of account. The difference on $10,000 is roughly $400 to $500 per year in interest you would not earn at Truist.

Certificates of deposit (CDs) as an alternative within Truist

If you want a higher rate and are willing to lock your money away, Truist offers CDs with terms ranging from 3 months to 5 years. CD rates are higher than savings account rates — currently in the 4% to 5% range depending on the term — but come with a tradeoff: you cannot withdraw the money without paying an early withdrawal penalty.

The penalty varies by term length. A 3-month CD might have a penalty of one month's interest; a 5-year CD might have a penalty of six months' interest. If you need the money before the term ends, you lose some or all of the interest you earned. CDs make sense if you have money you genuinely will not need for a specific period and want to lock in a rate.

Even with CDs, you should compare Truist's rates to what online banks offer. Online banks often pay the same or higher CD rates without requiring you to visit a branch or maintain a relationship with them.

Moving money to a high yield account elsewhere

You do not have to choose between Truist and a high yield savings account. Most people keep their checking account at Truist for convenience — branch access, debit card, bill pay — and move savings to a separate institution that pays a real rate.

The process is straightforward. You open a high yield savings account at an online bank or credit union (this takes 10 to 15 minutes online). You link your Truist checking account to the new account using the routing and account numbers from your Truist checks or online banking. You transfer money from Truist to the new account (this takes 1 to 3 business days). Your money sits in the high yield account earning 4% to 5% instead of 0.01%, and you can transfer it back to Truist whenever you need it.

There is no fee for this, no penalty, and no requirement to close your Truist account. You straightforward use Truist for what it is good for — checking and branch access — and use another bank for what Truist does not offer.

Why Truist does not compete on savings rates

Truist is a regional bank with a physical footprint. They have buildings, employees, and overhead costs that online banks do not. They also have a different business model: they profit by taking deposits at low rates and lending them out at higher rates. Offering high yield savings would compress that margin and reduce profitability.

Some traditional banks have launched high yield products to compete, but Truist has not. This is a business decision, not a technical limitation. They are betting that customers value branch access and integrated banking more than they value savings rates. For many customers, that bet is correct. For savers, it is not.

Checking accounts and other Truist products

Truist's checking accounts are competitive in features — no monthly fee if you maintain a minimum balance or set up direct deposit, online bill pay, mobile deposit, and access to a large ATM network. If you are a Truist customer primarily for checking, there is no reason to leave. The issue is only with savings rates.

Truist also offers investment products, retirement accounts, and lending products like mortgages and personal loans. None of these are relevant to the high yield savings question, but they may be relevant to your overall banking relationship.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I earn a better rate by keeping a larger balance at Truist?

Truist's savings accounts have tiered rates that increase slightly with balance, but even the highest tier pays less than 0.10% APY. A high yield account at another bank will pay 40 to 50 times more, regardless of your balance. Balance tier does not close the gap.

What if I want to stay with Truist for everything?

That is a valid choice. You will earn very little interest on savings, but you gain convenience and simplicity. The cost of that choice is real — on $50,000 in savings, you would earn roughly $2,000 to $2,500 per year less than you would at a high yield account. Whether that trade-off is worth it depends on how much you value Truist's branch access and integrated banking.

Are Truist savings accounts safe?

Yes. Truist is a federally chartered bank, and all deposits up to $250,000 per account type are insured by the FDIC. Your money is as safe at Truist as it is at any other FDIC-insured bank, including online banks that offer high yield rates.

If I move my savings to another bank, do I have to close my Truist account?

No. You can keep your Truist checking account open and straightforward move your savings to another institution. The two accounts can talk to each other via transfers, and you can move money back and forth whenever you need to.

What is the best high yield savings account to move to?

That depends on your priorities — some banks offer higher rates, some offer better customer service, some have no minimum balance, some have no monthly fees. Compare current rates at online banks like Marcus, Ally, American Express Personal Savings, or credit unions in your area. Rates change frequently, so check the current offerings before you decide.