Santander Bank Review 2025
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At a glance
Overview
Santander Bank’s account options are only available if you live within the bank’s eight-state branch network in the Northeast or the Miami metro area. Compared with other banks, Santander has a relatively small U.S. branch network of just under 400 locations. While the bank’s CD rates are competitive, it only offers a few short terms. And you can easily find better earning potential on checking and savings accounts elsewhere.
Highlights:
Top CD Rates Free Checking Highly Rated AppHighlights:
CDs
Checking
Savings
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These are sponsored offers rated highly by us for competitive rates, fees, and minimums.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.1/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
Offers featured here have been sponsored which impacts how, where, and in what order the products appear. Not all offers are displayed on this page.
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Overall
Santander Bank is headquartered in Spain and has a bigger international presence than it does in the U.S. with more than 3,000 branches in Europe and just under 3,000 branches in South America. In the U.S., the bank primarily serves customers in eight states: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, along with a local footprint in the Miami metro area.
While Santander offers a full product suite of savings, checking and CDs, you can only open some accounts online. Others need to be opened in branches.
Santander also owns and operates Openbank, an online-only division that offers a competitive high-yield savings account.
Pros
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Santander Bank operates around 400 branches almost exclusively in the Northeast.
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The bank has a large international presence.
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The bank offers competitive APYs on a few short-term CDs.
Cons
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You won’t be able to open an account if you don’t live in the bank’s operational footprint.
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Relatively small network of 2,000 ATMs.
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The Santander Savings Account rate is well below the national average for annual percentage yields (APYs).
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The bank’s branch footprint has been shrinking, closing nearly 200 locations in the past five years.
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Santander Bank banking products
Santander Savings Account
Pros
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Only $25 is needed to open the Santander Savings Account.
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No minimum balance is required if you have a linked Santander checking account.
Cons
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The savings account pays basically no interest.
This savings account can be opened online, where applying will take about 15 minutes, or at a Santander branch. You can avoid the $1 monthly fee if you maintain a daily minimum balance of just $100, have a personal checking account with Santander, or if you or another account owner is under age 26. Account holders under the age of 26 also avoid the $3 out-of-network ATM fee.
However, the Annual Percentage Yield is negligible — check out Bankrate's picks for the best high-yield savings accounts to find better rates.
Santander certificates of deposit
Pros
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Competitive yields are available on some short-term CDs.
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Only $500 is required to open a CD.
Cons
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You have to go to a branch to open one, which is unusual compared with other banks that have an easy online application process.
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Santander doesn’t offer any alternative CD types such as no-penalty CDs or bump-up CDs.
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Rates are only listed for three terms online.
Santander offers certificates of deposits with terms ranging between three months and five years. It only publicly posts rates for its three-, six- and 12-month CDs at the time of this review — for other terms, you'll have to speak to a banker to learn more. Its six-month yields are well above the national average and on par with some of the best six-month CDs.
Santander Simply Right checking
Pros
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The bank is part of the Zelle network, which makes it easy to send and receive payments with friends.
Cons
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There is a $10 monthly fee, though you can avoid it by completing one transaction each month.
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You’ll pay a $3 fee each time you use an out-of-network ATM (or $2 if any account owner is 25 or younger).
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The bank still charges a $15 overdraft fee, although this is much lower than other big banks.
Santander's Simply Right checking account, which was scored for this review, can be opened with a $25 deposit and requires no minimum balance. Its $10 monthly fee is easy to avoid by making one transaction per calendar month and is waived for account owners under 26 years old.
Santander also offers two other personal checking accounts:
- Santander Essential, which charges a $4 monthly fee to customers between the ages of 26 and 64 and requires no minimum balance, and charges no overdraft fees (transactions that would overdraft your account are typically declined or returned).
- Santander Select Checking, which has a $25 monthly fee that's waived for maintaining a minimum balance of $25,000 in bank deposits or investments at Santander Investment Services. Customers are rebated up to $30 per service fee period for ATM surcharges and avoid international transaction fees for purchases and withdrawals.
Bank fees
| Fee | Charged |
|---|---|
| Overdraft fee | $15 |
| Non-sufficient funds fee | $0 |
| Monthly maintenance fee | $1-$25 |
| Out-of-network ATM fee | $2-$3 |
| Paper statement fee | $0-$3 |
Customer experience
Customer support
Customer service by phone. Customers seeking assistance can speak with a live agent by phone at 877-768-2265 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Saturday. Unlike some competitors, Santander does not offer a live chat option.
Limited ATM network. Santander’s network of 2,000-plus ATMs is much smaller than most big banks and shared ATM networks.
Scored slightly above average by J.D. Power for customer satisfaction. Among banks in the New England region included in J.D. Power’s 2024 Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, Santander scored eight points above the average and outpaced banks including M&T Bank, Citizens and Bank of America.
Digital experience
Santander Bank’s app is highly rated. It earned 4.8 stars in the Apple App Store and 4.1 stars on Google Play. Customers can use the app to receive and send funds via Zelle.
Review methodology
We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.
