Live Oak Bank Review 2024
- Overall bank rating
- Pros and cons
- Savings
- CD
- Business Savings
- How Live Oak Bank works
- Live Oak Bank trustworthiness and BBB ratings
- Live Oak vs. Ally
- Live Oak vs. Marcus
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Live Oak Savings RatesLive Oak Bank Personal Savings Account
The bottom line: Live Oak Bank is good if you're searching for an online bank that pays high rates. But because there's no personal checking account, you might want to look at our guide to the best checking accounts if you're worried about accessing your savings quickly.
Overall bank rating
| Feature | Personal Finance Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Savings | 4 |
| Business savings | 4.25 |
| CD | 3.25 |
| Trustworthiness | 3 |
| Total: | 3.5 |
Pros and cons
| Pros: | Cons: |
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Live Oak Bank Personal Savings Account
Live Oak Bank Personal Savings Account Start saving On Live Oak Bank's website Insider’s Rating A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp It indicates a confirmed selection. PerksFeesno monthly service fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)4.40%
Minimum Opening Deposit$0 (must have at least $0.01 to earn interest)
Pros- Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. High APY
- Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No monthly service fees
- Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No minimum opening deposit (must have at least $0.01 to earn interest)
- Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Mobile check deposit
- con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. $19 outgoing wire transfer fee
- con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No way to deposit cash
- To access savings, transfer funds to external bank account
- Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
- FDIC insured
The Live Oak Bank Personal Savings Account doesn't require a minimum opening deposit (must have at least $0.01 to earn interest) or charge monthly fees. It also pays a competitive interest rate.
Depositing and receiving cash are the tricky parts. Although you can transfer funds into your account and deposit checks digitally, there's no way to deposit cash. You'll have to transfer funds to an external bank account, which can take a couple of business days.
Live Oak Bank CD
Live Oak Bank CD Start saving Live Oak Bank, FDIC Insured. Insider’s Rating A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Annual Percentage Yield (APY)2.00% to 5.00%
Minimum Opening Deposit$2,500
Pros- Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Competitive APY
- Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Low-to-standard early withdrawal penalties
- con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No terms under 3 months or over 5 years
- con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. $2,500 minimum deposit
- Terms ranging from 3 months to 5 years
- Early withdrawal penalties: 90 days simple interest for terms under 24 months, 180 days simple interest for terms of 24 months or more
- Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
- FDIC insured
Live Oak's minimum deposit of $2,500 is pretty steep. If you don't have $2,500 on hand, you can open a CD with less at another online bank.
Live Oak Bank Business Savings
Live Oak Bank Business Savings Start saving Live Oak, FDIC Insured. Insider’s Rating A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Feesno monthly service fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)4.00%
Minimum Opening Deposit$0
Pros- Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. High interest rate
- Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No monthly service fee
- Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No minimum opening deposit
- con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Cannot deposit cash
- Big banks offer high fees and low interest rates. Enjoy a better way to save for your business. High-yield interest.
- No monthly maintenance fees. No minimum balance requirements.
- 4.00% APY (accurate as of 03/29/23) - one of the best rates for business savings in the country
- No online banking or monthly maintenance fees
- No minimum balance requirements
- Open account online in minutes
- Human-powered support
- Available to businesses nationwide
- FDIC insured up to $250,000
- Access to over 55,000 ATMs in the Allpoint ATM network for business checking account
How Live Oak Bank works
Live Oak is an online bank with a savings account and CDs. Not many customers have reviewed the mobile app in the Apple or Google Play stores, but the average review ratings so far are mediocre.
Speak to a customer service representative over the phone Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. There's no customer support available on weekends. There's no live online chat feature, but you can fill out an online form and wait for a response.
Your deposits are FDIC insured for $250,000, or $500,000 for a joint account.
Live Oak Bank trustworthiness and BBB ratings
The Better Business grades companies based on responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency. Live Oak Bank current has a C- rating from the BBB due to several customer complaints and failure to respond to one complaint.
Trustpilot also scores companies based on age and number of reviews received. It is rated 4.4 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot with nearly 800 reviews.
Live Oak Bank vs. Ally
For a full banking experience, you'll likely prefer Ally Bank to Live Oak Bank. Ally is the only financial institution of the three compared here to offer checking and money market accounts.
Live Oak Bank has a pretty straightforward and simple saving account – there's no minimum opening deposit and no monthly services. Meanwhile, Ally has savings tools that let you sort your money into "savings buckets" to help you save for financial goals.
Live Oak Bank vs. Marcus
Live Oak Bank and Marcus have similar savings accounts that require no minimum opening deposit and no monthly service fees.
If you don't have a lot of money to deposit into your CD, Marcus might be a stronger contender than Live Oak Bank. Marcus has a minimum opening deposit of $500 and also no-penalty CDs.
Laura Grace Tarpley, CEPF Personal Finance Reviews Editor Laura Grace Tarpley (she/her) is an expert in mortgage rates, refinance rates, lenders, bank accounts, and borrowing and savings tips for Personal Finance Insider. She worked on Business Insider's "The Road to Home" series, which won a Silver award from the National Associate of Real Estate Editors.She has written about personal finance for over seven years. Before joining the Business Insider team, she was a freelance finance writer for companies like SoFi and The Penny Hoarder, as well as an editor at FluentU. Read more Read less 
Evelyn He Compliance and Operations Associate Evelyn He is a Compliance and Operations Associate on the Personal Finance team to ensure content accuracy and editorial independence so readers get up-to-date and objective financial advice.The compliance team's mission is to provide readers with fact-checked and current stories so they can make informed financial decisions. The team also works to minimize risk for partners by ensuring language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Read more Read less Top Offers From Our Partners 
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