| North Palm Beach, Fla. -- Nov. 26, 2009 (Bankrate.com) -- The average yield for a money market account in the United States fell 2 basis points to 1.02 percent on Thursday, according to Bankrate.com's daily Your Best Interest report. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percent.
A money market account is an FDIC-insured deposit account that allows you access to the money you have deposited. Withdrawals are limited to six monthly, three of which may be by check. It's sometimes called a money market deposit account to distinguish it from a money market fund, which is a type of mutual fund. The highest rate on a money market account nationally is 2.23 percent, with an annual percentage yield of 2.25 percent. Six months ago, the average yield was 1.34 percent. The yield on a MMA is higher than the rate because the yield takes compounding into account. Of the 14,166 institutions that sell money market accounts in the U.S., 10,587 institutions offer daily compounding, 3,510 institutions offer monthly compounding and 15 institutions offer quarterly compounding. For consumers, more-frequent compounding produces a higher total yield. Institutions also have different minimum deposit requirements. Across the United States, the minimum for a money market account ranged from $0.00 to $50,000.00. Some money market accounts are offered only locally; others are offered nationally. Click here to see the 100 highest yields on a variety of MMAs. 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. |