Marcus Bank review

Marcus is an online bank set up by Goldman Sachs, the multinational investment bank. Its primary offerings are savings accounts, personal loans, and liquid certificates of deposit. The company is based in the USA, where Goldman Sachs was founded in 1868 and is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Funds that are deposited into Marcus’s accounts are insured up the maximum amount allowed by law.

How to open Marcus account

You can apply for a Marcus account online in the US only by providing your email address and mobile phone number. You’ll be able to manage the account online and can also speak to the Marcus team over the phone. To open an account, you must be aged over 18 and be a US resident for tax purposes.

At present, a High Yield Savings Account is Marcus’s primary, and only, account offering. It offers an interest rate of 1.7 percent APY, with interest being calculated daily and paid into the account monthly. There is no minimum deposit and a $250,000 limit for savings covered by the FDIC.
There is also a certificate of deposit (CD) option – choose between High Yield CDs, which offers a fixed rate for a guaranteed return, or a No-Penalty CD, which allows you to withdraw your full balance.

You add funds to your Marcus Online Savings Account by transferring the money from a linked account – this is the only way to top up your account. To do this, you will need the sort code and account number of your Marcus Online Savings Account.

Marcus review – mobile app

After initially launching as an online bank that was only accessible from a web page, in 2020, Marcus launched an app for its customers, which is available in the Apple Store, but not on Android. The app is also fundamental, and at the time of writing, does not accept deposits, leaving it lagging behind many feature-packed digital banking apps on the market.

Marcus loans

The loan product offers unsecured personal loans, for which applicants’ credit scores and income will be assessed before they are accepted. For this reason, the loans can appeal to those with a good credit rating. No collateral needs to be pledged to secure the loans.

There are no fees, and there is the option to change the payment date or defer a single payment providing other payments that have been made on time. On the downside, there is no option to include a co-signer.

For travel

There are no cards available with a Marcus Online Savings Account. There are no implications in terms of using the account while abroad.

Conclusion

Impressive APY – you might find that the annual percentage yield (APY) offered by Marcus Online Savings Account stacks up very favorably compared to your current savings account, especially if a traditional high street bank offers it. If your priority is to make your money work harder for you, this is undoubtedly a massive boon.

No minimum deposit – with Marcus, you don’t have to spend masses of cash into your account to get going. You can open it with nothing, and then fund it with more money later down the line.

‘Real’ customer service – in a departure from today’s digital banks’ standard offerings, Goldman Sachs has ensured that Marcus has a ‘real’ customer service team, rather than an automated set of options.

No card – if you are looking for an account full of perks, including card use and travel benefits, this might not be ‘the one’ for you. That’s because Marcus is a straight Online Savings Account product with no card available at this time.

No mobile depositing – at the time of writing, you cannot make deposits into your Marcus account using your phone. You will have to link it to another external current or savings account.

Limited mobile app – if you are keen on digital banking app features such as spending notifications and savings tools that can allow you to manage your money better, it might be a good idea to look elsewhere. The Marcus app is certainly ‘simple but sweet’ and will not provide some other digital banking apps’ functionality.

If your priority is to find a savings account that offers you more for your money, Marcus can certainly fit the bill. However, be aware that it doesn’t come with many of the ‘bells and whistles’ as other digital banking products.