When opening a checking or savings account, what are the features and benefits that you expect the most? While you won’t find the best interest rates, you’ll experience terrific customer service and get a wide variety of benefits when opening an account. To find out if Santander Bank is right for you, continue reading this review below.
Santander is a bank located in the northeast with branches in only 8 states. This is a full-service bank which offers low interest rates and high overdraft costs, but comes with benefits that may make banking more convenient.
Checking Account Options
Every checking account comes with a debit card that can be used at retailers and ATM’s. The accounts also allow you to access online and mobile banking. Learn more about these accounts here.
Their most simple checking account. It requires a $25 deposit to open and has a $3 monthly fee that cannot be waived. There is no minimum balance required.
This checking account requires no minimum balance. If you make one transaction a month, them there will be no service fee. You can open a Santander Savings or Santander Money Market Savings along with this account to bypass the monthly service fee.
This is the account for the big spenders. You’ll need a combined balance between your balances and investments of $75,000 in your account in order to waive the monthly service fee.
You can also waive it with $6,000 monthly deposits. This is the only checking account that earns interest.
This is the best account for students 16 – 25. There is no monthly service charge or minimum required balance. You need at least $10 deposit required to open the account.
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 • New Chase checking customers enjoy a $300 bonus when you open a Chase Total Checking® account with qualifying activities • Chase Mobile® app - Manage accounts, pay bills, send money to friends with Zelle® and deposit checks from almost anywhere. • Chase Overdraft AssistSM – no overdraft fees if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day or if you’re overdrawn by more than $50 and bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day* • Help keep your money protected with features like Zero Liability Protection, fraud monitoring and card lock. • Chase Total Checking includes FDIC insurance up to the maximum amount allowed by law. • With over 4,700 branches, Chase has the largest branch network in the U.S. plus access to more than 15,000 ATMs. • Open your account online now • Available online nationwide except in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. For branch locations, visit locator.chase.com. *With Chase Overdraft AssistSM, we won’t charge an Overdraft Fee if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day OR if you’re overdrawn by more than $50 and you bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day (you have until 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) to make a deposit or transfer). Chase Overdraft Assist does not require enrollment and comes with eligible Chase checking accounts. |
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Savings Account Options
Santander has a pretty good variety of savings and money market accounts that offer competitive rates.
There is only a $25 deposit required to open this account. If you have any Santander checking account, then you can waive the monthly service fee. Another option is having $100 as your balance upon account opening.
Santander offers a Youth Savings option for minors under the age of 18 to teach them how to manage their money. It only costs $10 to open an account and even students can earn interest on it.
This is mainly geared towards children who have trouble saving money and can learn from an early age on how to budget. In order to open this kind of account you must visit a branch, so, this option is not available to everyone.
Compare Savings Accounts
 Open a Discover® Online Savings Account for all these features: • Earn $200/$150 Bonus with promo code LOP325 by 9/11/2025 • Earn high interest rate of 3.50% APY • No minimum opening deposit, no minimum balance requirement, and now no fees • Interest on Discover Online Savings Accounts is compounded daily and credited monthly • Manage your account online or with the Discover mobile app • FDIC insurance up to $250,000 • See advertiser website for full details To qualify for Bonus: Apply for your first Discover Online Savings Account, enter Offer Code LOP325 at application, deposit into your Account a total of at least $15,000 to earn a $150 Bonus or deposit a total of at least $25,000 to earn a $200 Bonus. Qualifying deposit(s) may consist of multiple deposits and must post to Account within 45 days of account open date. Maximum bonus eligibility is $200. What to know: Offer not valid for existing or prior Discover savings customers. Eligibility is based on primary account owner. Account must be open when bonus is credited. Bonus will be credited to the account within 60 days of qualifying for the bonus. Bonus is subject to tax reporting. Offer ends 09/11/2025, 11:59 PM ET. Offer may be modified or withdrawn without notice. Due to new customer funding limits, you may wish to initiate fund transfers at your other institution. For information on funding, see FAQs on Discover.com/Bank. |
Money Market Options
Money Market accounts allow for a higher yield and gives access to your funds with either checks or a bankcard.
This Money Market Savings earns high interest when you keep a balance of at least $10,000 while also avoiding the monthly service fee. If you already have a checking account with Santander, you can avoid the fee.
You will earn a higher interest on $10,000+ balance and also have access to a dedicated personal banker. You must be a premier plus checking account holder to have this account. There is no monthly service fee.
Compare Money Market Accounts
 • Get started and open a Discover® Money Market Account in 3 easy steps. • Available nationwide online • Earn high yields with flexible access to your cash. • Earn 3.45%% APY balances $100,000 and over • Earn 3.40% APY balances under $100,000 • No hidden fees. No surprises. • Easy cash access via debit or check, or via ATM at over 60,000 no-fee ATMs |
CD Account Options
Down below are how you can earn a higher interest rate by obtaining a CD account with Santander Bank.
The “Choose Your Term CD” option offers CD maturities that range from 3 months to 10 years. With a minimum of $500 as your balance, you can open a CD account with Santander.
You can open a 3-month to 5 year CD; however, you must go in-person to a branch to get started. There is also a minimum deposit of $500 upon account opening. Premier Plus Checking customers benefit more from a higher interest rate.
Compare CD Accounts
• Available nationwide online, Discover® offers CDs with some of the highest & most competitive rates! with select terms as short as 3 months up to 120 months • Rates ranging from 2.00% APY up to 4.00% APY. • Opening a Discover Bank Certificate of Deposit is extremely quick and easy. • Funds on deposit are FDIC-insured up to the maximum allowed by law. • Get started and open a Discover CD in 3 easy steps. |
Overdraft Fees
Unfortunately if you come across an overdraft fee, Santander will charge you $35. You can be charged up to 6 times a day if you make transactions while unaware. If you continue to leave your account in a negative balance amount, there will be another additional fee of $35.
However, Santander also offers overdraft protection transfers if you have a linked savings account for a fee of $12 per day. The bank also has an annual overdraft line credit fee that is about $50.
Reasons to Bank With Santander
- They have extended customer service hours that go past their branch hours. 6 AM–10 PM
- You can set up automatic transfers to your savings accounts. This is a great way to make sure you are saving the right amount!
- If you link your Santander checking and savings accounts you can waive overdraft fees.
- There is free online banking that comes with a ton of great benefits, such as online check deposits when using the app.
- You can instantly lock your debit card at any time if you think you can’t find it or had it stolen. However, if you want to replace your debit card you’ll have to call them directly.
- This bank has low opening deposits and monthly fees that are easy to waive. The highest opening deposit is $50/
- Santander sends you consolidated statements that keeps all of your account information onto what form, which helps to eliminate any confusion or paper clutter.
- CDs earn a very high APY that is competitive. Interest earned can be deposited into any account, including rolling over in the CD to accumulate even more interest.
- Using their mobile app, you can customize what type of alerts they will send you. They can send it to you on text, email, or both if you prefer
- You can sign up for eBills with partner companies.This eliminates the need to have endless paper bills sent to you and allows you to manage the bills in a much more efficient manner.
Reasons Not To Bank with Santander
- The premier plus checking account has a very low interest rate. Only the Premier Plus Checking offers interest, but it has a $35 monthly service charge if you don’t meet the $75,000 combined balance in deposits and investments. This balance requirement is very high, and the interest rate doesn’t make up for it.
- They charge between $2 and $3 every time you use a non-Santander Bank ATM. This adds on to the fee the third-party bank charges for you to access your own money.
Santander Bank Routing Number
Normally, your routing number should be located on the bottom left of your check. If you are unsure on how to find your routing number, please click here for instructions.
Contact Customer Service
Learn more about Santander’s customers service through their website.
How Santander Compares
- Chase Bank: Chase is one of the biggest banks in the U.S and offers just about almost everything. Compared to its other competitors, Chase offers much more checking account options.
- Bank of America: As one of the larger banks in the U.S. Many may choose BoA for the convenience of locations through out 35 states. However, BoA offers limited account options.
- US Bank: US Bank does charge hefty monthly fees and has slightly hard to reach requirements to waive those fees, such as direct deposits of at least $1,000 per month or average monthly balances of at least $1,500.
- Wells Fargo: They have many more ways that you can waive your monthly maintenance fee, such as making 10 debit card purchases per month or receiving at least $500 in monthly direct deposits.
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Bottom Line
If you are interested in being able to have a variety of account options with low minimum opening requirements, then consider Santander Bank.
They have a Choose Your Own Term CD feature that allows you to choose from 3 months or higher. Although the minimum balance requirements are definitely on the high side, their money markets also earn competitive interest rates if you manage to maintain $10,000 or more as a daily balance.
However, keep in mind that when you look for a checking or savings account be sure to look into all the fees charged. Don’t focus on the interest rate alone, but on what the account will cost you overall.
If you’re interested in banking with Santander Bank, see our list of the latest Santander bank bonuses! For more options from a variety of banks, see our list of the best bank promotions!
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