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Savers: Shop around, and you may finally make some money

FILE- In this Aug. 1, 2018, file photo a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the rate decision of the Federal Reserve. In the low-interest rate environment that followed the recession, banks routinely paid little to nothing on many personal accounts. As the Federal Reserve began to raise its rates in 2015, traditional banks were slow to do the same for customers. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE- In this Aug. 1, 2018, file photo a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the rate decision of the Federal Reserve. In the low-interest rate environment that followed the recession, banks routinely paid little to nothing on many personal accounts. As the Federal Reserve began to raise its rates in 2015, traditional banks were slow to do the same for customers. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) FILE- In this Aug. 1, 2018, file photo a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the rate decision of the Federal Reserve. In the low-interest rate environment that followed the recession, banks routinely paid little to nothing on many personal accounts. As the Federal Reserve began to raise its rates in 2015, traditional banks were slow to do the same for customers. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

By Associated Press 7 min read

photo FILE- This June 10, 2015, file photo shows a chip credit card in Philadelphia. Banks, particularly online institutions, have been getting more competitive with the rates they are offering on savings, CDs and even checking accounts to draw more customers. That means a savvy consumer may be able to earn far beyond the norm if they are willing to shop around. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Savers rejoice – you can finally earn a little more on the money you’ve been setting aside.

To draw in customers, banks – particularly online institutions – have been getting more competitive with the rates they are offering on savings, CDs and even checking accounts. That means a savvy consumer may be able to earn far beyond the norm if they are willing to shop around.

Take the humble savings account: The average interest rate in the U.S. is 0.09 percent, according to the FDIC. And that is just an average – some banks are offering rates as low as 0.01 percent while many others are at or above 2 percent.

To someone with $5,000 sitting in an account, that means the difference between earning 50 cents a year in interest versus $100.

In the low-interest rate environment that followed the Great Recession, banks routinely paid little to nothing on many personal accounts. The Federal Reserve began to raise its rates in 2015 but traditional banks were slow to do the same for customers.