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The major advantage is that the Public.com High-Yield Cash Account offers a much higher interest rate than traditional savings accounts. This is because it’s an online platform with fewer operating costs than a traditional brick-and-mortar bank. There’s also no cap on how much interest you can earn.
The account has no minimum balance requirements to get the best interest rate, whereas many other banks require you to keep a certain amount to remain eligible. It also gives you unlimited free transfers and withdrawals. In contrast, some banks have a free withdrawal limit and charge you for any withdrawals made beyond that.
Public.com offers a high-yield savings calculator that helps you see the interest you could earn. Just enter your initial deposit, your recurring deposit amount and frequency, and how long you’re planning on saving for.
As you enter amounts and adjust the slider, the tool updates in real-time to show how much you can expect to save. It also compares the interest you’ll earn to other high-yield savings account options. This feature is part of what makes Public one of the best online banks for high-yield savings.
It also has many other tools designed mainly for investors. This includes a bond screener tool to search through thousands of bonds to invest in, as well as a “Themes” page to view several categories of companies to find the right investment for you. Some of the themes include gaming and esports, digital infrastructure, space exploration, and green power.
Managing your account or accessing your cash on the go with Public is easy thanks to the user-friendly app and online platform. The app includes features like viewing transactions, setting up recurring deposits, making withdrawals, and investing. It also lets you see your accrued interest and current rate.
Because Public is an online fintech company, it doesn’t offer many traditional services you’d see with a brick-and-mortar bank. This includes checking accounts, access to ATMs, debit cards, and physical branches.
However, it provides other investment products like options, bonds, crypto, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and automated investment plans.
This account offers a 5.1% APY, which is among the highest in the industry. However, be aware that the interest rate is variable and can change at any time. Some other online banks provide a similar rate, while many traditional banks have rates closer to 0.5%.
Public doesn’t charge a fee for monthly maintenance or opening an account, and there’s no minimum balance requirement. There’s also no fee for withdrawals, and it offers free Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers. These are electronic bank-to-bank transfers such as bill payments, direct deposits, or person-to-person transfers.
However, there is a $5 paper check request fee and a $25 outgoing wire transfer fee. Accounts with less than $70 that have no activity over the last six months are charged a $3.99 inactivity fee each month, as well.
| APY | Monthly maintenance fee | Minimum balance required | Paper check request fee | Outgoing wire transfer fee |
| 5.1% | $0 | None | $5 | $35 |
The company offers customer service via email at support@public.com and through live chat in the app but doesn’t currently provide phone support. There’s also an active online community that helps answer your questions.
Public has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, but there aren’t reviews about the quality of the customer support on resources like Trustpilot.
The online experience is solid, and signing up for an account is only takes a few minutes. To get this account, you’ll have to open a standard brokerage account with Public first. To be eligible for an account, you need to:
During the application process, you’ll have to provide your:
Once you have the brokerage account, you can fund the High-Yield Cash Account from an external bank account or your existing Public cash balance.
Public’s website has several learning resources, such as a blog that focuses on subjects like investing, retirement, and crypto. There are also glossaries to help you understand common investing and finance-related terms.
It has a comprehensive FAQs section that answers dozens of questions about managing and funding your account, making withdrawals, and other topics.
The Public mobile app is available on Android and Apple devices. It’s user-friendly and features a streamlined design that’s easy to navigate. The app lets you view your transactions in detail, see your accrued interest, chat with support, withdraw funds, and set up recurring deposits.
It’s a straightforward app if you’re only using a high-yield cash account, as it’s primarily for investors. It has features like listening to earnings calls, making trades, and searching through investment opportunities.
The app has a 4.7 rating on the Apple App Store and a 4.1 on the Google Play Store. Many of the positive reviews note how beginner-friendly the app is and how users enjoy the seamless and minimalist design.
Public uses AES-256 and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption to protect all communications and data transfer between your computer and the company. It also lets you set up two-factor authentication for additional security on your account. The company also reviews outgoing transfers that go anywhere other than the original depositing account.
All deposit accounts with Public have FDIC insurance, which protects your money in case a bank or financial institution fails. But instead of the normal limit of $250,000 per account, the company offers combined coverage of up to $5 million.
It can do this because instead of holding your funds in a single account like most banks, Public spreads them out over its 20 partner banks.
So if you have $1,000,000, it’s swept into accounts at four partner banks, each with $250,000 worth of FDIC insurance. If all of these funds are kept in only one account, it’d only protect the first $250,000.
It’s also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which protects your investment funds up to $500,000 in case the firm fails.
The company has a detailed privacy policy that goes over the information it collects, what it’s used for, how it’s collected, where it’s shared, how it’s protected, and more. This policy also explains how to manage the information the company holds and lets you decide whether certain information (such as your investment portfolio and trades) is public or private.
The Public High-Yield Cash Account has an impressive 5.1% APY, with no minimum balance requirement or monthly fees. It offers unlimited free withdrawals and transfers and doesn’t cap how much interest you can earn.
The company has a highly-rated mobile app and the website provides several useful resources like an interest calculator, a blog, and a comprehensive FAQs section. Public also offers FDIC insurance and is a member of SIPC.
While it’s a new account with few reviews and testimonials, it’s a solid option for those looking to safely grow their savings at a higher rate than most banks offer.
This review was created using information from the Public website and the app details pages on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
