Best Interest Report:

A 1-month CD (certificate of deposit) is a time deposit, FDIC-insured to $100,000 per person ($250,000 on retirement accounts), with a fixed maturity date of one month. It usually pays higher interest than a savings account and a penalty is charged for withdrawing funds before the maturity date.

The highest rate on a 1-month CD nationally is 1.49 percent, with an annual percentage yield of 1.50 percent. Six months ago, the average yield was 0.71 percent.

The yield on a CD is higher than the rate because the yield takes compounding into account. Of the 2,672 institutions that Bankrate surveys nationally that sell 1-month CDs, 1,629 institutions offer daily compounding, 805 institutions offer monthly compounding and eight institutions offer quarterly compounding. For consumers, more-frequent compounding produces a higher total yield.

Institutions also have different minimum deposit requirements. Bankrate's survey found the minimum for a 1-month CD ranged from $0.00 to $100,000.00.

Some institutions sell their CDs only in their local market; others sell CDs nationwide. Click here to see the 100 highest yields on a variety of CDs available nationally.

To see all of the results of Bankrate.com's surveys, go to www.bankrate.com.

The Your Best Interest report is a daily service of Bankrate.com, a financial news and information service based in North Palm Beach, Fla. Bankrate surveys more than 300 financial products from more than 4,800 institutions in all 50 states.