The best national banks offer a mix of account options, a streamlined mobile banking platform, and an expansive ATM network.
Every bank has its pros and cons, so we evaluated the best nationwide banks and today’s current promotions to help you choose, no matter where you live across the US.
14 Best National Banks
Here are the top nationwide banks for September 2023:
- 🏆 Chase Bank
- CIT Bank
- Discover Bank
- PNC Bank
- Ally
- Wells Fargo
- Truist
- Barclays
- CitiBank
- Bank of America
- TD Bank
- US Bank
- Capital One
- Huntington Bank
1. Chase Bank
- 🏆 Best Overall
- Branches: 4,700+
- ATMs: 15,000+
- J.D. Power score: 678
As the largest bank in the US, Chase has a lot to offer. Its credit cards perennially have some of the best perks in the industry, and the bank touts impressive options for personal and business checking.
One of the Chase’s biggest draws is its sign-up bonuses for new customers. In addition to offering highly lucrative sign-up bonuses for credit cards, Chase regularly offers sizable cash bonuses for its checking and savings accounts.
Many of today’s banks are online, but if you prefer physical branches, Chase is also suitable for that. They have more than 4,700 branches and over 15,000 Chase ATMs.
The biggest strike against Chase could be that it doesn’t offer any high-yield checking or savings accounts, with meager interest rates compared to online banks.
In terms of customer experience, Chase is highly rated, securing second place in J.D. Power’s 2022 National Banking Satisfaction Study.
Learn More:
- Current Chase Bank Promotions
- Read our full Chase Bank Review
2. CIT Bank
- Branches: 600+
- ATMs: No ATMs; $30 monthly reimbursements
- J.D. Power score: NR
CIT bank offers checking accounts, savings accounts, CDs (certificates of deposit), and money market accounts.
CIT Bank has excellent savings rates and several accounts to choose from. The Savings Connect account offers a high APY compared to the national average, with no fees.
Interest rates on its money market and some of its CDs are higher than average.
You can also access home loans and mortgages from CIT Bank.
CIT Bank doesn’t have its own network of ATMs, but it does reimburse $30 of ATM fees each month.
While CIT Bank wasn’t featured in J.D. Power’s most recent National Banking Satisfaction Study, it holds an A- rating from the BBB, and its app is highly rated in the Apple Store.
Learn More:
- Read our full CIT Bank Review
3. Discover Bank
- Branches: 0
- ATMs: 60,000+
- J.D. Power score: NR
If you’re under the impression that Discover is a credit card company and nothing more, you’re mistaken. Discover has a full suite of banking products, comparable to the other banks on this list.
While Discover doesn’t have local branches, it excels at offering a user-friendly online banking experience.
Using the mobile app and website, you can access checking, MMAs, CDs, savings accounts, personal loans, student loans, IRAs, and home loans. You also get access to over 60,000 fee-free ATMs with Discover’s checking accounts.
One of the only things missing from the picture is business banking. Still, the bank’s online savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs have competitive to excellent interest rates, and the website has a friendly interface.
Learn More:
- Current Discover Bank Promotions
- Read our full Discover Bank Review
4. PNC Bank
- Branches: 2,400+
- ATMs: 60,000+
- J.D. Power score: 658
Since its merger with BBVA, PNC has solidified an even larger national presence in terms of brick-and-mortar locations.
PNC’s Virtual Wallet is one of its most popular products. It’s a bundle of accounts featuring checking, short-term savings, and long-term savings accounts in one package.
You can also use the Virtual Wallet to pay bills, manage cash flow, and set budgeting goals.
PNC additionally offers credit cards and specialized military and student bank accounts, with additional business and commercial banking services available.
5. Ally
- Branches: 0
- ATMs: 43,000+
- J.D. Power score: 709
Ally is one of the best online banks in the industry, gaining popularity in recent years. The bank offers checking, savings, and CD accounts, along with home, auto, and personal loans, and investing accounts.
One of the main reasons people are drawn to Ally is the higher interest rate it offers on its savings accounts. Ally’s rates are much higher than what brick-and-mortar banks offer.
Interest on Ally’s checking accounts is modest but still higher than traditional banks.
There are no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirements for Ally’s checking and savings accounts.
Although the bank is online-only, you do gain access to 43,000+ Allpoint ATMs, making it convenient to withdraw cash.
While Ally wasn’t featured in J.D. Power’s 2022 National Banking Satisfaction Study, it earned the third-highest spot in its National Direct Banking Satisfaction Study.
Learn More:
- Read our full Ally Bank Review
6. Wells Fargo
- Branches: 4,700+
- ATMs: 12,000+
- J.D. Power score: 625
With roughly 4,700 branches, Wells Fargo leads the pack in terms of nationwide accessibility.
Wells Fargo’s basic checking accounts are notorious for charging monthly fees ($10-$30), but there are several ways to waive the fees, like making a set number of debit card transactions or meeting minimum deposit requirements each month.
Wells Fargo gives customers access to all the standard banking products, such as deposit accounts, credit cards, loans, and investing accounts.
If you prefer a bank with a vast ATM and branch network and a wealth of account options, Wells Fargo is worth considering.
Learn More:
- See all Current Wells Fargo Promotions
7. Truist
- Branches: 2,100+
- ATMs: 2,100+
- J.D. Power score: 605
Truist is one of the largest financial institutions in the nation, resulting from the 2019 merger of BB&T and SunTrust.
The bank offers a wide array of products, from loans, insurance, and investment accounts to credit cards, checking accounts, and savings accounts.
Unique from most other banks, Truist offers tiered relationship benefits. The higher the balance you maintain across your Truist checking, savings, and investment accounts, the more perks you get.
That includes benefits like free checks, overdraft protection, and credit card bonuses that increase as your balances do.
8. Barclays
- Branches: 11 investment branches
- ATMs: No ATM access
- J.D. Power score: NR
Unlike the other banks on this list, Barclays is a global bank. Based in London, England, Barclays is popular in the UK and the US alike.
Barclays doesn’t offer quite the breadth of banking products of some other banks, with no checking accounts or ATM access. But the products it does have to offer are solid.
Perhaps most attractive are Barclays’ extensive lineup of credit cards, which have lucrative sign-up bonuses, and their online savings, with interest rates among the best in the industry.
The Barclays mobile app is among the highest-rated banking apps in both the App Store and Google Play store.
Learn More:
- Read our full Barclays Bank Review
9. Citibank
- Branches: 650+
- ATMs: 65,000+
- J.D. Power score: 647
One of the “Big Four” banks, Citi is the nation’s third-largest bank in terms of assets.
As you’d expect, it has several banking, lending, and investing products, along with popular rewards credit cards. That includes the Citi Double Cash Credit Card, which gives you unlimited 2% cashback on all spending categories.
While its checking account doesn’t offer high-interest rates, Citi’s Accelerate Savings account comes with a promising APY of up to 4.25% APY on all account balances in some areas.
Citi is also known for offering rewarding sign-up bonuses for new checking accounts.
Learn More:
- See all Current Citibank Promotions
10. Bank of America
- Branches: 3,900+
- ATMs: 15,000+
- J.D. Power score: 641
While Bank of America’s branch footprint has shrunken significantly as it’s shifted its focus to mobile banking, there are still nearly 4,000 bank branches nationally.
You can choose from a range of checking and saving accounts, CDs, credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans. You can also open and manage investment accounts with Merrill, BofA’s intuitive investing platform.
Bank of America has excellent customer support; you can call them from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Plus, you can message the bank on Facebook or Twitter at any time and find extensive resources online.
That said, interest rates on its checking and savings accounts are pretty low. While BofA’s checking accounts come with low fees, they can be avoided with qualifying activities.
Learn More:
11. TD Bank
- Branches: 1,100+
- ATMs: 2,600+
- J.D. Power score: 663
TD Bank offers comprehensive banking services, with checking and savings accounts, investing options, loans, and credit cards for personal and business use.
It also ranked third in the 2022 J.D. Power National Banking Satisfaction Survey.
TD Bank prides itself on making banking convenient. There are more than 1,100 branch locations and over 2,600 ATMs, which is pretty impressive, but TD Bank’s hours stand out the most.
While most national banks close their doors on the weekends, most TD Bank locations are open on Saturdays and Sundays, and you can access their ATMs 24/7. If you prefer to do your banking online, TD’s online and mobile banking experiences are solid, too.
Learn More:
- See all Current TD Bank Promotions
12. US Bank
- Branches: 2,000+
- ATMs: 4,700+
- J.D. Power score: 652
If you live in the West, Midwest, Florida, or North Carolina, U.S. Bank is worth considering. It has over 2,000 branches and over 4,700 ATMs.
One of the bank’s most significant advantages is its flexible lineup of account options. You can choose from several checking accounts, savings, and CDs with competitive rates, as well as several credit cards.
It also has the other products you would expect from a large national bank, like loans, investment options, wealth management resources, and business banking.
US Bank ranked among the nation’s top banks in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Banking Mobile App Satisfaction Study, so you can count on a streamlined mobile experience, too.
Learn More:
- See all Current U.S. Bank Promotions
13. Capital One
- Branches: 281
- ATMs: 70,000+
- J.D. Power score: 694
Capital One doesn’t have as many branches as some of its competitors, but its mobile platform is unmatched, ranking first in J.D. Power’s annual study.
But there’s more to Capital One than a great app. It also makes the list for its competitive interest rates on its 360 Performance Savings account and 360 Checking account, both of which are fee-free.
Capital One also has a pretty unique perk with its Capital One Cafés. There are over dozens of these locations that offer full-service banking in a laid-back coffee shop setting.
Capital One Cafés are open to anyone but offer 50% off for Capital One cardholders and give you access to Capital One Ambassadors and 1:1 financial mentoring sessions.
14. Huntington Bank
- Branches: 1,000+
- ATMs: 1,600+
- J.D. Power score: NR
Huntington offers a variety of products tailored to different banking needs.
You can choose from four different checking accounts with waivable monthly maintenance fees.
Huntington also offers investing, borrowing, and insurance products to individuals. On the business side, Huntington offers banking, loans, treasury management, and insurance.
Huntington provides relationship accounts that offer enhanced features and rates.
While it didn’t make the 2022 J.D. Power National Banking Satisfaction Survey, it has an A+ from the BBB and high app ratings, suggesting strong customer satisfaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is The Best Nationwide Bank?
The best nationwide bank, in terms of having a physical presence, has to be Chase.
Chase has over 5,000 branches and over 16,000 ATMs. In addition, many of Chase’s credit cards have some of the best sign-up bonuses and travel perks in the banking industry. Even their checking accounts regularly have nice sign-up bonuses.
The most significant thing Chase is lacking is checking/savings accounts with high-interest rates. If that is something you have to have, you may want to look elsewhere.
Which Banks Are All Over The United States?
Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo easily have the largest U.S. presence of any of the best banks in terms of brick-and-mortar locations.
These three banks have a combined 17,000+ branches and 45,000+ ATMs nationwide. If you are looking for a bank with brick-and-mortar locations, any of these banks are likely to have them in your area.
Methodology
To determine the best national banks, we evaluated several institutions and rated them based on the following factors:
- Third-party ratings: We factor in third-party ratings from sources like the BBB, J.D. Power’s Banking Mobile App Satisfaction Survey, and the J.D. Power U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Survey to assess each bank’s reputation with customers.
- Products: We also look at each bank’s product lineup, factoring in how many checking, savings, lending, and investment products are on offer.
- Account features: To gauge how competitive the products are, we compare features like their fees, account minimums, APY, and welcome bonuses.
- User experience: Additionally, we look into each bank’s online experience, mobile app, customer service availability, and online tools and resources and look at customer reviews and industry studies.
- Branches and ATM locations: We look into each bank’s availability to see how many brick-and-mortar bank and ATM locations there are and take their business hours into account.
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