Marcus by Goldman Sachs review

Marcus by Goldman Sachs offers competitive rates on savings and certificates of deposit (CDs), plus some basic credit card and investment account options, but little else. You won’t find a checking account or debit card access here.

If you’re comfortable with online banking and don’t mind using a different institution for your day-to-day financial needs, Marcus by Goldman Sachs could be a good fit for you.

Annual percentage yields (APYs) and account details are accurate as of February 9, 2024.

Marcus By Goldman Sachs basics

• Checking accounts: None.
• Savings accounts: Marcus by Goldman Sachs High-Yield Online Savings Account.
• Money market accounts: None.
• Certificates of deposit (CDs): Marcus by Goldman Sachs High-Yield certificates of deposit — Traditional CDs with terms between six months and six years; Marcus by Goldman Sachs No-Penalty CDs with terms from seven to 13 months; a 20-month Marcus by Goldman Sachs Rate Bump CD; all with a $500 minimum deposit requirement.
• Other accounts: Installment loans, credit cards and investments. 
• Bank branches or online only: Online only.

Pros

• Competitive rates: The Online Savings Account offers a 4.40% APY, while traditional CDs earn between 3.90% to 5.15% APY.
• No service fees: You needn’t worry about monthly service fees dragging down your earnings on your savings account or CD.
• Same-day transfers: If you initiate a transfer of $100,000 or less by 12 pm ET on a business day, Marcus will process it by 5 pm the same day.

Cons

• No checking account: Marcus doesn’t offer a checking account, so you’ll have to rely on your current one to pay bills online and remember to transfer money over on a regular basis.
• No debit or ATM card access: Marcus does not provide a debit card for purchases nor an ATM card for cash withdrawal.
• No physical branches: All transactions must be done online through its website or mobile app.

About Marcus By Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 and today operates as one of the most well-known asset and wealth management companies, and is the eighth largest financial institution in the U.S. by assets. Marcus was launched in 2016 as its retail arm, offering deposit accounts and loans.

While you can’t walk into a brick-and-mortar branch, you can contact Marcus’ 24/7 customer service by phone or chat.

And if you’re tempted to make a large deposit, as Marcus tends to feature higher yields than traditional banks, know that your account is backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) with protection up to $250,000 per depositor, per account type.

Savings accounts

Marcus keeps it simple by offering one savings account aptly named: Marcus by Goldman Sachs High-Yield Online Savings Account. You don’t have to maintain a minimum balance and there are no monthly fees. The current yield is a 4.40% APY and you can make unlimited withdrawals by transferring funds to a linked savings or checking account.

To help compensate for the fact that you can only make withdrawals by first transferring funds to another account, Marcus has same day transfers available. As mentioned above, Marcus will process a transfer of $100,000 or less by 5 pm the same business day, if the transfer order is made by 12 pm ET.

Certificates of deposit (CDs) 

You can choose between three types of CDs here, all which offer competitive interest rates on some terms, require a minimum deposit of $500 and have a 10-day rate guarantee.

The rate guarantee promises that if interest rates increase within 10 days of you opening the account, you’ll receive the new, higher APY. For example, if you open a 12-month CD with a 5.20% APY and the very next week, Marcus raises its one-year CD yield to 5.30% APY, you’ll get the 5.30% APY on your CD.

This can help prevent a type of buyer’s regret that may come with locking in your funds. (See our CD rate forecast).

You can withdraw earned interest at any time; but partial withdrawals of the principal aren’t allowed. Early withdrawal of the entire principal is allowed but will trigger a penalty, unless you have a no-penalty CD.

High-yield CD

The traditional, Marcus by Goldman Sachs High-Yield certificates of deposit offer terms from six months to six years with fixed rates so you’re guaranteed a set amount of interest.

You can use our CD calculator to see how much you’ll earn.

CD TERM	APY
6 months	5.10%
9 months	5.00%
12 months	5.15%
18 months	4.70%
2 years	4.40%
3 years	4.15%
4 years	4.05%
5 years	4.00%
6 years	3.90%

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Rate-bump CD

A rate-bump CD lets you lock in an interest rate today and, if yields increase, switch to the higher rate. You can get a rate increase only one time during the CD term, but changing to the higher rate doesn’t result in a penalty or fee.

The Marcus by Goldman Sachs Rate Bump CD has a 20-month term and a 4.40% APY.

No-penalty CD

A no-penalty CD doesn’t have an early withdrawal penalty so, if you suddenly need to use your funds, you don’t have to pay a fee. In exchange, however, no-penalty CDs typically have lower yields compared to their traditional counterparts. Really, only the 13-month option offers a yield worth considering.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs No-Penalty CDs have three term options:

• Seven months, with a 4.70% APY.
• 11 months, with a 4.70% APY.
• 13 months, with a 4.70% APY.

Other accounts

You’ll find a limited amount of other banking products here, but you can get investment options, credit cards and personal loans.

Marcus Invest offers investment portfolios with three preset asset allocations depending on your risk appetite. You’ll pay an annual management fee of 0.25% — so if you have $5,000 invested as your average daily account balance, your annual fee would be $12.50.

Marcus also provides rewards credit cards that are aimed at General Motors (GM) customers. You could get one branded as GM or one of the other brands GM owns, including Cadillac, GMC, Chevrolet and Buick. The amount of points you could earn by using a GM credit card to purchase or put a down payment on a GM vehicle might make the card worth it.

For a potentially smaller interest rate than what credits cards tend to offer, a personal loan could be an option. You can no longer find “regular” personal loans at Marcus, but you could get a “buy-now, pay-later” personal loan by choosing MarcusPay as the checkout payment option at select businesses, including JetBlue and JetBlue Vacations. You could borrow between $300 and $10,000 in a fixed installment loan with a fixed interest rate and choose a six-, 12- or 18-month repayment term.

How Marcus By Goldman Sachs stacks up

Marcus vs. Ally Bank

Ally Bank has deposit rates comparable to Marcus’ and it has more banking products — including a checking account, money market account, mortgages, auto loans and “regular” personal loans.

Marcus does offer two more CD terms, which can be helpful if you are building a CD ladder.

Marcus vs. Discover® Bank

Discover Bank also offers more banking services than Marcus, such as personal, student and home loans in addition to checking, savings, CDs and investment portfolios. It doesn’t charge banking fees, either, so you don’t have to worry about monthly fees, insufficient funds or overdraft fees.

However, while its deposit rates are competitive, it only offers traditional CDs (Discover® Certificates of Deposit), all of which require a much higher minimum deposit of $2,500.

Marcus vs. First Foundation Bank

A full-service bank, First Foundation Bank offers more product types than Marcus and typically features great rates, but requires higher minimum deposits. For example, you can earn 4.90% APY on the First Foundation Bank Online Savings Account, which has no monthly fees, but you’ll need an opening deposit of $1,000.

First Foundation Bank Online CDs only comes with two term options: nine-months and 12-months — but the bank makes them competitive. The nine-month term offers 5.00% APY and the 12-month term offers 4.85% APY; both terms require a minimum deposit of $2,500.

Learn more: See the best CD rates.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)