SmartyPig Rate Continues to Impress

With the Fed. keeping rates around zero and now firing up the printing press (or more accurately magically pressing a few keys on its computers) to ease rates, online savings and CD rates continue to fall off a cliff. Most of the major players who a year or so ago were offering 5%+ APY's are now in the 1-2% range. SmartyPig is a newer player and seems to be holding the line with its rate. The bank, which is FDIC insured, offers online savings accounts with no minimums and a 3.25% APY (as of 3/22/2009).

There's no guaranty that this rate will stick around for the long-term, but it might be worth a look for some of you out there looking to park some short-term cash. From what I can tell, over its short life, SmartyPig has been consistently offering high(er) returns and now offers rates that are more than double those of other major players like INGDirect (1.5%). So, it might be worth a try. Especially now that one year CD rates are around 2% and online savings accounts have the benefit of much more liquidity.

Full disclosure, I haven't been able to try the site myself. I'd love to hear from anyone who has an some experience with the site, its interface and speed of its ACH transfers.