02/2020 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 43*Fund is waiving all or a portion of its expenses. †Internet only. #Money market deposit
account. &Must be a member; to become a member, see website. SOURCES: Bankrate,
DepositAccounts, Money Fund Report (iMoneyNet).number but not the card
itself is stolen. For both
regular debit cards and
prepaid cards, your liability
is a maximum $50 if you re-
port loss or theft within two
days of learning about it; up
to $500 if you report fraud
less than 60 days after your
statement is sent to you; and
unlimited if you wait more
than 60 days. (Register your
prepaid card with the issuer
to ensure protections.) If
your debit card number is
compromised but not the
physical card, you have
no liability as long as you
report it within 60 days.
With payment apps such
as Google Pay, PayPal or
Venmo, if you use a balance
held by the app rather than
a connected credit or debit
card to transfer money,
you’ll generally receive the
same liability protections
as with debit and prepaid
cards. The liability rules do
not extend to gift cards, in-
cluding stored funds usable
only at a single merchant.
For added protection, lock
your phone’s home screen
as well as any payment apps
with a PIN, password or
biometric identifier. Set
up the ability to wipe your
device of data remotely in
case it’s lost or stolen. For
an Android phone, enable
“Find My Device.” With
an iPhone, turn on “Find
My iPhone.” LISA GERSTNER
[email protected]YIELD BENCHMARKS*To earn the maximum rate, you must meet requirements such as using your debit card several
times monthly and receiving electronic statements. †Portion of the balance higher than the list-
ed range earns a lower rate or no interest. #Must be a member; to become a member, see web-
site. ‡Requires spending $1,000 or more in CCU Visa credit card purchases. §T-Mobile Money
offers a similar yield for wireless customers. SOURCE: DepositAccounts.Consumers Credit Union (Ill.)# 5.09%‡ $0-$10,000 myconsumers.org
La Capitol FCU (La.)# 4.25 0-3,000 lacapfcu.org
TA B B a n k (Utah)§ 4.00 0-50,000 tabbank.com
One American Bank (S.D.) 3.50 0-10,000 oneamericanbank.comHigh-Yield CheckingTOP CHECKING ACCOUNTS
Must meet activity requirements*Annual
yield as
of Dec. 6Minimum
amountWebsite
(www.)Savings and Money Market
Deposit Accounts
CFG Bank (Md.)†# 2.30% $25,000 thecfgbank.com
State Bank of India (Ill.)† 2.25 500 sbichicago.com
Customers Bank (Pa.)† 2.25 25,000 customersbank.com
BrioDirect (N.Y.)† 2.20 25 briodirectbanking.com
Annual
yield as
of Dec. 6Minimum
amountWebsite
(www.)Certifi cates of Deposit
1-Year
CommunityWide FCU (Ind.)& 2.25% $1,000 comwide.com
Quontic Bank (N.Y.)† 2.25 1,000 quonticbank.com
USAlliance Financial (N.Y.)& 2.20 500 usalliance.org
Live Oak Bank (N.C.)† 2.15 2,500 liveoakbank.com
Annual
yield as
of Dec. 6Minimum
amountWebsite
(www.)Certifi cates of Deposit
5-Year
Lafayette FCU (Md.)& 3.03% $500 lfcu.org
Pen Air FCU (Fla.)& 2.95 500 penair.org
Hiway FCU (Minn.)& 2.85 25,000 hiway.org
DollarSavingsDirect (N.Y.)† 2.80 1,000 dollarsavingsdirect.com30-day
yield as
of Dec. 3Taxable Money Market
Mutual FundsWebsite
(www.)Minimum
investment
Vanguard Prime MMF (VMMXX) 1.78% $3,000 vanguard.com
Gabelli US Treas AAA (GA BX X) 1.74 10,000 gabelli.com
Vanguard Federal MMF (VMFXX) 1.66 3,000 vanguard.com
Meeder Prime MMF (FFMXX)* 1.59 2,500 meederinvestment.comAs of December 6, 2019.● (^) EE savings bonds purchased
after May 1, 2005, have a
fi xed rate of interest.
● Bonds purchased before
May 1, 1995, earn a minimum
of 4% or a market-based
rate from date of purchase.
● (^) Bonds bought between
May 1, 1995, and May 1, 2005,
earn a market-based rate
from date of purchase.
Yield
Month-
ago
Ye a r -
ago
U.S. Series EE savings bonds 0.10% 0.10% 0.10%
U.S. Series I savings bonds 2.22 2.22 2.83
Six-month Treasury bills 1.56 1.57 2.56
Five-year Treasury notes 1.67 1.63 2.75
Ten-year Treasury notes 1.84 1.81 2.87
SOURCE: U.S. Treasury
Vanguard Muni MMF (VMSXX) 1.07% 1.41%/1.65% $3,000 vanguard.com
M Stanley T-F Daily Inc (DSTXX)* 0.94 1.24/1.45 5,000 morganstanley.com
BNY Mellon Ntl Muni (MOMXX) 0.90 1.18/1.38 10,000 bnymellon.com
Fidelity Muni MMF (FTEXX) 0.81 1.07/1.25 1 fidelity.com
30-day
yield as
of Dec. 2
Tax eq. yield
24 %/35%
bracket
Tax-Free Money Market
Mutual Funds
Minimum
investment
Website
(www.)
APPLE PAY DEBUTED MORE
than half a decade ago, and
some other mobile wallets
were around years before
that. But Americans still
have qualms about making
payments with their smart-
phones. A Pew Charitable
Trusts survey shows that
29% of respondents say that
they sometimes or always
choose not to use mobile
payments because they are
concerned about potential
loss of funds. What’s more,
38% of respondents said
that mobile payments are
poorly protected, compared
with 28% who shared that
view about prepaid debit
cards, 22% about standard
debit cards and 9% about
credit cards.
How you’re protected. In
fact, the federal liability
rules that cover credit and
debit card accounts apply
whether you use a card or
link your account through
a mobile-payment service.
For unauthorized use of a
credit card, you’ll owe no
more than $50 for fraudu-
lent transactions—and you’ll
have no liability if the card
Make Your Mobile
Payments More Secure
BANKING
RATE UPDATES
For the latest savings yields
and loan rates, visit kiplinger
.com/links/rates. For our top
rewards cards, go to kiplinger
.com/links/rewards.
Website
(www.)
Annual
yield as
of Dec. 6
Balance
range†
TOP-YIELDING SAVINGS