On Wednesday, September 17, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 0.25% in response to a softening labor market. As we’ve written about in the past, the fed funds rate is a direct input to the Cash Account Annual Percentage Yield (APY). As a result of the Fed’s decision, the new APY is 3.75%.
This new APY is still 9x the national average, which means the Cash Account remains an ideal home for your cash, whether you’re building a rainy day fund, organizing your spending money, or getting ready to invest. In addition to the high APY, we offer up to $8 million of FDIC insurance through our program banks with no monthly fees, ever. The Cash Account also comes with many ways to conveniently access your cash, including free 24/7 instant withdrawals, a debit card, compatibility with apps like Venmo & Apple Pay, the ability to send and deposit checks for free, and free wire transfers. You can access 19,000+ free ATMs, and we’ll reimburse up to two out-of-network ATM fees per month. You can even use your account and routing numbers to pay bills like your credit card, daycare, and mortgage.
We know that changing interest rates might make you wonder how to make the most of your savings in the current market conditions. We wrote a blog post to help you navigate the current interest rate environment.
Why is the APY going down?
The APY is highly dependent on the federal funds rate, which is the interest rate at which banks lend each other money, and the basis for most consumer interest rates. In general, the FOMC raises this rate when they are concerned about inflation, and they lower it when economic growth is slowing or unemployment is rising. For a deeper dive on why the federal funds rate goes up and down, check out our blog post on the subject.
Wealthfront is not a bank, so we work with program banks where we broker your Cash Account deposits. Those program banks pay a rate based on a premium relative to the fed funds rate. When the fed funds rate goes up, we are able to raise the APY as we did several times in 2022 and 2023. On the other hand, it also means that when the fed funds rate declines, the APY also declines. You can rest assured that we’ll continue to navigate relationships with our program banks so you can benefit from a competitive APY in all rate environments.
An ideal place to save and manage your day-to-day finances
At Wealthfront, we want to help you build wealth on your own terms. We’re proud to offer a Cash Account that allows you to earn more interest on your deposits so your cash can grow faster with no extra effort, no monthly fees, and no market risk. The Cash Account is an ideal home for your everyday cash and short-term savings until you’re ready to invest, and it comes with best-in-class automation features so you can organize your saving and spending money into categories, track your progress against your goals, and invest your money within minutes during market hours. Best of all, the Cash Account just keeps getting better.
Don’t have a Cash Account yet? You can sign up for one here.
Disclosure
The Cash Account is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“Wealthfront Brokerage”), Member of FINRA/SIPC. Neither Wealthfront Brokerage nor any of its affiliates are a bank, and the Cash Account itself is not a deposit account. The Annual Percentage Yield (“APY”) on cash deposits as of September 26, 2025, is representative, requires no minimums, and may change at any time. The APY for the Wealthfront Cash Account represents the weighted average of the APY on the aggregate deposit balances of all clients at insured depository institutions that participate in our cash sweep program (the “Program Banks”). Wealthfront sweeps available cash balances to Program Banks where they earn a variable rate of interest and, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, are eligible for FDIC insurance.
A list of current Program Banks can be found here: https://www.wealthfront.com/programbanks. Deposit balances are not allocated equally among the participating program banks. FDIC pass-through insurance is not provided until the funds arrive at the Program Banks, and protects against the failure of Program Banks, not Wealthfront. While cash balances are at Wealthfront Brokerage, and while they are transitioning to and/or from Wealthfront Brokerage to the Program Banks, they are not eligible for FDIC pass-through insurance, but are eligible for SIPC protection, subject to the limit of $250,000 for cash. FDIC insurance coverage is limited to $250,000 for the total amount of all deposits a customer holds in the same ownership capacity per banking institution, regardless of whether those deposits are placed through Wealthfront Brokerage, so you are responsible for monitoring your total deposits at each Program Bank to avoid exceeding FDIC limits. Wealthfront Brokerage partners with more than one Program Bank to make available up to $8 million (or up to $16 million for joint accounts) of FDIC pass-through coverage for your cash deposits. For more information on FDIC insurance coverage, please visit www.FDIC.gov. Customers are responsible for monitoring their total assets at each of the Program Banks to determine the extent of available FDIC insurance coverage in accordance with FDIC rules. The deposits at Program Banks are not covered by SIPC.
“9x national average” is based on https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps as of September 15, 2025, for the national average interest rate for savings accounts.
Wealthfront Brokerage has partnered with Green Dot Bank to offer certain checking features including The Wealthfront Visa® Debit Card, send a check, and mobile check deposits to Wealthfront Cash Accounts. The Wealthfront Visa® Debit Card is issued by Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa USA. Inc. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association. Green Dot Bank also offers Wealthfront Individual Cash Accounts opened prior to July 15, 2025, Green Dot account & routing numbers which support additional checking features including bill pay, direct deposits, and payments through third-party sites. The checking features provided by Green Dot Bank for Wealthfront Cash Accounts are subject to identity verification by Green Dot Bank and the Wealthfront Visa® Debit Card is optional and must be requested. Green Dot Bank operates under the following registered trade names: GO2bank, GoBank and Bonneville Bank. All of these registered trade names are used by, and refer to, a single FDIC-insured bank, Green Dot Bank. Deposits under any of these trade names are deposits with Green Dot Bank and are aggregated for deposit insurance coverage.
Wealthfront Brokerage has established a relationship with UMB Bank, National Association (“UMB Bank”), Member FDIC, which may allow certain Wealthfront Individual Cash Accounts opened prior to July 15, 2025, all Wealthfront Individual Cash Accounts opened on or after July 15, 2025, and Wealthfront Joint Cash Accounts to opt-in to a limited-purpose account number and UMB Bank routing and transit number which will enable certain withdrawals and deposits into Wealthfront Cash Accounts including bill pay, direct deposits, and payments through third-party sites through the Automated Clearing House network.
Wealthfront Brokerage and Wealthfront Advisers are not affiliated with Green Dot Bank or UMB Bank.
Fee-free ATM access applies to in-network ATMs only. For out-of-network ATMs and bank tellers a $2.50 fee will apply, plus any additional fee that the owner or bank may charge. Fees and Eligibility requirements may apply to certain checking features, please see the Wealthfront Customer Debit Agreement for details. Copyright 2025 Green Dot Corporation. All rights reserved.
The domestic out-of-network ATM fee reimbursement program (the “Program”) allows Wealthfront Brokerage clients with open and funded Individual and Joint Wealthfront Brokerage Cash Accounts (“Cash Account”) who have requested and received an accompanying debit card(s) (“Debit Card”) issued by Green Dot Bank to be eligible for certain account benefits when using their Debit Card for a domestic out-of-network ATM cash withdrawal of US dollars (“ATM Transactions”) when their Wealthfront accounts, Green Dot Bank accounts (collectively, “Accounts”), and Debit Card remain open, active, and in good standing.
Instant and same day withdrawals may be processed through the Real-Time Payments (RTP) network or the FedNow service, enabling same day withdrawals. Real-Time Payments (RTP) transfers and FedNow instant payment transfers may be limited by destination institutions, daily transaction caps, and by participating entities such as Wells Fargo, the RTP® Network, and FedNow® Service. New Cash Account deposits are subject to a 2-4 day holding period before becoming available for transfer. Wealthfront doesn’t charge for transfers, but some receiving institutions may impose an RTP or FedNow fee. Processing times may vary.
Fees and Eligibility requirements may apply to certain checking features, please see the Wealthfront Customer Debit Agreement for details.
Wealthfront does not charge for wire fees to title and escrow companies and accounts you own at other institutions, but the receiving entity or institution may charge a fee. For more information about wires, visit www.wealthfront.com/legal/online-transfer-agreement.
The information contained in this communication is provided for general informational purposes only, and should not be construed as investment or tax advice. Nothing in this communication should be construed as tax advice, a solicitation or offer, or recommendation, to buy or sell any security. Any links provided to other server sites are offered as a matter of convenience and are not intended to imply that Wealthfront Advisers or its affiliates endorses, sponsors, promotes and/or is affiliated with the owners of or participants in those sites, or endorses any information contained on those sites, unless expressly stated otherwise.
Wealthfront Advisers, Wealthfront Brokerage, and Wealthfront Software are wholly owned subsidiaries of Wealthfront Corporation.
Copyright 2025 Wealthfront Corporation. All rights reserved.
