Guides
Understand your bank
Clear, accurate explainers on the things that actually affect your money — deposit insurance, routing numbers, switching banks, and how to read a bank’s health. No jargon, no sales pitch.
Account basics
What is a routing number?
The 9-digit ABA number that tells money where to go — where to find yours, why banks have several, and how to avoid sending funds to the wrong place.
Read guide →Switching
How to switch banks (without missing a payment)
A step-by-step checklist for moving direct deposits and automatic payments to a new bank cleanly — and the order that keeps you from getting hit with overdrafts.
Read guide →Safety
Are online banks safe?
Online-only banks can be just as safe as a branch on Main Street — if you check the one thing that actually protects your money. Here is what to verify.
Read guide →Deposit insurance
FDIC vs NCUA: what's the difference?
Banks are insured by the FDIC; credit unions by the NCUA. Coverage is nearly identical — $250,000 — but the agencies, funds, and account names differ.
Read guide →Bank health
What is a good bank health score?
What capital ratios, return on assets, and our Sonar Score actually tell you about a bank — and the crucial thing a health score does not change.
Read guide →Saving
High-yield savings explained
Why some savings accounts pay 10x the national average, how APY and compounding work, and what to check before you move your emergency fund.
Read guide →Safety
What happens if my bank fails?
What actually happens between Friday afternoon and Monday morning — who takes over your accounts, when your card works again, and why insured deposits have never been lost since 1933.
Read guide →Deposit insurance
How to insure more than $250,000
Coverage is per depositor, per bank, per ownership category — which means it multiplies. Worked examples taking a couple to $1M at a single bank, and $2.5M across several.
Read guide →Deposit insurance
Are my joint, trust, and business accounts insured?
The most misunderstood part of FDIC rules. Why your sole-proprietorship money is not separately insured, but your LLC's is — and what that costs people who assume otherwise.
Read guide →Choosing a bank
Credit union vs bank: which should you use?
Member-owned versus shareholder-owned, and how that difference flows through to your rates, your fees, and the quality of the mobile app you'll use every day.
Read guide →Bank health
How to read a bank's call report
Every US bank files its numbers quarterly, and they're public. Which fields matter, what the reporting lag means, and how to check our figures against the FDIC yourself.
Read guide →Saving
CDs vs high-yield savings vs money market
The liquidity-versus-rate trade-off, how early-withdrawal penalties are calculated, a worked CD ladder — and the money market account/fund distinction that decides whether you're insured.
Read guide →Bank health
Too big to fail: what are systemically important banks?
Who the US G-SIBs are and what the designation means for your deposits. The honest answer: essentially nothing your $250,000 of FDIC insurance wasn't already doing.
Read guide →Check your own bank
Search any US bank to see its FDIC status, health signal, and coverage notes in seconds.
Scan your bankBankSonar guides are informational only and not financial advice. See our disclaimer.