Top cash management accounts compared

About Top cash management accounts compared

Cash management accounts hold the money that sits between income and the next payment, and this ranking sets 45 of them side by side. It covers business accounts that hold a balance, pay interest on it and let the money move again without a notice period. Three things decide the outcome for a reader: what the balance earns, what the account costs to run, and what stands behind the money. The trade-off runs through all of them, since a rich rate can come with a monthly charge or a term that locks the balance, while a free account can pay very little. Where you bank changes the last point, with euro area members covered to EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, UK members to FSCS up to GBP 85,000 and a US member to FDIC up to USD 250,000. Rate type matters as much as the rate itself, and most accounts in this ranking are variable at 88.9%. Business users make up 61.1% of the field, the median monthly fee is €0 and the median headline rate is 3.41%, so the gaps between members come down to rate, protection and access terms.

How we picked

Each member of this ranking is scored on three weights taken from our own data. Trust of the money carries the most at 40%, built from the licence type behind the account and the deposit protection the provider publishes. Cost comes next at 35%, covering the monthly fee, the minimum deposit and the headline rate. The offer carries 25%, weighing the rate type, the access terms and the support channels. Figures come from each provider's own pricing, fees, help and legal pages, and from regulator registers used to confirm the legal entity and the protection scheme. Our wider data set holds 929 brands, 635 of them licensed, and 45 of those are cash management accounts with 26 licensed and 3 partners. Every account in this ranking is licensed as a payment institution, at 100%. Partners are listed first and everyone else follows in score order, and a commercial relationship never moves a score. Where members rest on the same facts, such as Wise and Wise Account, the order follows the score alone.

Our top picks

1. 1. eToro: best for top-pick

   eToro takes the top pick in this ranking by putting a variable rate of 3.8% on a USD cash balance with no lock-in: interest is calculated daily, paid monthly, and you can withdraw at any time. There is a monthly fee of $0, deposits run $1 to $10,000, and the balance is covered to EU DGS up to EUR 100,000 by eToro (Europe) Ltd, which has been trading since 2007. Two things to weigh sit against the rate. Support runs on help centre only, and the interest applies to a USD balance, so this ranking suits readers who hold money in that currency. Wise, ranked next, pays a slightly lower variable rate of 3.29% with a monthly fee of £0.

   • Headline rate: 3.8%
   • Rate type: Variable
   • Minimum deposit: $1 to $10,000

   Pros

   • Access to shares, funds and crypto through one platform
   • Fractional shares for smaller purchases in higher priced companies
   • Data and analysis tools alongside views from the investor community

   Cons

   • Investment values can fall, so holdings may end below their starting value
   • Copying other investors can bring risks that are hard to judge

2. 2. Finom: best for highest-headline-rate

   Finom carries the highest headline rate label in this ranking, set at a fixed rate of 5%, which means the number holds rather than following the market. That suits anyone budgeting ahead, and the cost side is plain: a monthly fee of €0 and a minimum deposit of €0. Access is instant, with withdrawal at any time and no withdrawal penalties, and deposits are covered to EU DGS up to EUR 100,000 by PNL Fintech B.V. in NL. The limit sits in support, which runs on email, chat and help centre with no phone line. MaxMyInterest, ranked next, pays a variable rate of 3.86% and keeps a help centre in the mix.

   • Headline rate: 5%
   • Rate type: Fixed
   • Minimum deposit: €0

   Pros

   • The minimum deposit is €0, so an account can be opened without a large opening balance.
   • The transfer fee leaves outgoing SEPA transfers free on the Solo plan within a monthly limit.
   • Local IBAN details sit alongside 17 currencies, so one account can take payments in several currencies.
   • The account is aimed at business and freelancer, so the pricing and features are built around money that moves for work.
   • Free ATM withdrawals are included (free atm), a feature shared by 52.9% of the brands in this group.

   Cons

   • The interest rate is fixed, so it will not rise with the market while most savings accounts here are variable (79%).
   • The transfer fee for outgoing international payments is higher on the Solo plan than on the Pro plan.
   • Deposit protection is EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, so any balance above that cap sits outside the scheme.
   • Support runs on email, chat and help centre only, with no phone line, while 79.5% of the brands here have one.

3. 3. Qonto

   Qonto is in this ranking for how the account works rather than for what it pays. The variable rate of 1.5% sits below the ranking median of 3.41%, but access is instant with no notice period, remuneration is switched on in the app, calculated daily on the total balance and paid each month once you make a minimum number of eligible payments. Support is the strongest in the field through chat, phone and email, deposits are covered to EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, and the account has run since 2017. The cost to weigh is the monthly fee of €19, the top figure in this ranking. Insignis Cash, next in line, keeps a higher rate of 4.4% to 4.61% under a UK limit of FSCS up to GBP 85,000.

   • Headline rate: 1.5%
   • Rate type: Variable
   • Minimum deposit: €0

   Pros

   • Minimum deposit of €0, so the account opens without tying up money
   • Support runs on chat, phone and email
   • Currency conversion of 0.8% to 1.8% suits frequent international invoicing
   • A local IBAN is provided

   Cons

   • The monthly fee of €19 makes it expensive for anyone holding a small balance
   • The account is digital only, so there is no branch to visit
   • The 1.5% rate is only paid while the transaction condition is met

4. 5. Novo

   Novo closes this ranking as a fee-free business account: a monthly fee of $0, a minimum deposit of $0, and on-demand access with no minimum balance requirement. Its strongest card is protection, with deposits covered to FDIC up to USD 250,000 under Novo Platform Inc., while members higher in this ranking sit under EU DGS up to EUR 100,000 or FSCS up to GBP 85,000. Support runs on chat, email and help centre, covering chat, email and a help centre, but it has no phone line. Read it beside Found, the member ranked just above, which shares the fee-free business checking base and adds a rate to compare.

   • Minimum deposit: $0
   • Deposit protection: FDIC up to USD 250,000
   • Access terms: On-demand access, no minimum balance requirement

   Pros

   • Both physical and virtual card access are described.

   Cons

   • Virtual-card activation follows account approval.

What to look for

Monthly fee

The median monthly fee across this ranking is €0 and the top of the range is €19, so a monthly charge is the exception rather than the rule. Weigh the fee against the rate first, because it leaves the same balance every month.

Headline rate and rate type

The median headline rate in this ranking is 3.41%, with 3.59% at the upper end. Most accounts are variable at 88.9%, so the number can move, which makes a fixed rate worth a lot to anyone budgeting ahead.

What stands behind the money

Protection is a licence question before it is a rate question. Every account here sits with a payment institution at 100%, and the cover on a balance follows the scheme the provider names, from a euro area cap to a UK cap to FDIC cover on a US account.

Minimum deposit and access

The median minimum deposit is €0 and the upper end here is €2.62, so opening costs little. Access matters more: all of these are cash management accounts at 100%, and bank payouts cover 94.1% of the field.

Support you can reach

A help centre appears on 93% of accounts in this ranking, a phone line on 58.1% and chat on 30.2%. The distance between a help centre alone and a phone line matters on the day a payment is stuck.

Currencies and conversion cost

Members here hold a median of 15 currencies, and the median foreign exchange fee is 0.12%. If you move money across currencies often, that fee and the rate compete for the same balance.

Frequently asked questions

Top cash management accounts compared by country

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV