SaveBetter partners exclusively with federally insured financial institutions, so your savings are protected up to the applicable legal limits.

There are two main federal agencies that provide insurance coverage for the cash savings held by banks and by credit unions on behalf of their customers and members, respectively. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits through its Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) at FDIC member banks in case of failure. The National Credit Union Administration performs a similar function for credit unions through its Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF).

In the event that a financial institution backed by one of these agencies somehow becomes insolvent and cannot honor the deposits it has been holding for its customers — or members, in the case of credit unions — then the FDIC and NCUA would provide the funds to those individuals in order for them to recoup their losses, dollar-for-dollar. Generally the amount of coverage is limited to $250,000 per category of covered account, such as an individual savings account in the case of banks.

FDIC and NCUA insurance are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. According to the FDIC, no depositor has lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds since 1933. And per the NCUA, credit union members have never lost even a penny of insured savings at a federally insured credit union.

For this reason, keeping your cash in a bank or in a credit union offering deposit insurance through the federal government stands in stark contrast to stocks, bonds and other types of investments, where there’s no institutional protection against loss of principal. In short, holding cash in a federally insured bank or credit union is very safe relative to other forms of assets.

FDIC insurance. For SaveBetter customers who hold savings products offered by one of our partner banks, funds are insured by the FDIC up to the maximum amount in accordance with and as permitted by law at each bank holding their funds.

The standard deposit insurance coverage limit is $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per account ownership category. Ownership categories as defined by the FDIC include single bank accounts (owned by one person/depositor) and joint bank accounts (owned by two or more persons/depositors). Revocable trust accounts and some types of retirement accounts (e.g., IRAs) are among the other ownership categories covered by FDIC insurance.

All deposits you have at a bank — whether facilitated through SaveBetter or otherwise — count toward the deposit insurance limit. If funds held at a bank in a certain ownership category exceed the coverage limit, then the amount in excess of the limit will not be insured.

This means that if your individual savings account(s) at a particular bank hold/s in excess of $250,000 in cumulative deposits, you would be exposed to risk of loss in the uncommon event of the bank’s failure for the amount exceeding $250,000.

Refer to fdic.gov for more information about FDIC insurance.

NCUA insurance. If you hold a savings product offered by one of our partner credit unions — making you a member of the institution — funds are insured by the NCUA through the NCUSIF. According to the NCUA, each credit union member has at least $250,000 in total coverage. The NCUSIF insures individual accounts up to $250,000. Additionally, a member’s interest in all joint accounts combined is insured up to $250,000.

Refer to ncua.gov for more information about NCUA insurance.

You may be wondering, where does the money come in the event these agencies must bail out an insured institution?

The FDIC notes that its Deposit Insurance Fundis made up of premiums that insured banks have paid and interest earnings on its investment portfolio of U.S. Treasury securities. Federal or state tax revenues don’t contribute to the Deposit Insurance Fund. Likewise, the NCUSIF’s funding sources include capitalization deposits from insured credit unions, guarantee fees, premium payments and U.S. Treasury securities.