Vio Bank Online Savings Account review: No monthly fees and low minimum

Editor's Note: APYs listed in this article are up-to-date as of the time of publication. They may fluctuate (up or down) as the Fed rate changes. CNBC will update as changes are made public.

Interest rates have been rising across the board.

For savings accounts, including both brick-and-mortar savings accounts and high-yield savings accounts, banks are offering some of the highest annual percentage yields (APYs) we've seen in years. That's especially true for online banks, which generally outpace traditional banks.

At 1.10%, Vio Bank, the online division of MidFirst Bank, offers an above-average APY rate for its online savings account.

Below, we take a close look at the Vio Bank Online Savings Account by breaking down its annual percentage yield (APY), access to your cash, perks and fees so you can decide if this high-yield savings account is right for you.

• APY
• Access to your cash
• Perks
• Fees
• Bottom line

The current APY of the Vio Bank Online Savings Account is 1.10%. Users must make a minimum deposit of $100 to open an account and start earning interest.

Vio Bank compounds interest on your savings daily, like the best high-yield savings accounts mostly do. The APY offer reflects the total amount of interest that the account would earn over a year's time.

Overall, this APY is higher than many traditional savings accounts offered by brick-and-mortar banks but lower than the top high-yield savings accounts, which are offering APYs as high as around 5% to 6%.

Customers can complete and transfer funds internally between two Vio Bank savings accounts, and it's processed immediately. To transfer funds between a separate bank through an ACH transaction, account holders can use Vio's External Transfer Service (with external transfer limit of $25,000 per day and $100,000 per month). External transfers may take up to five business days to process.

Vio Bank customers can deposit cash into their account by mailing a check, depositing a check through Vio's mobile app (with limit of $100,000 per day and $250,000 per month) or via wire transfer.

Account holders can make any transactions (a deposit or a withdrawal) up to six times per month for free, as required by law. Note that this withdrawal limit is currently waived during the coronavirus outbreak under Regulation D, a federal law that limits the number of times deposit account holders can access their cash each month.

The biggest perk of the Vio Bank Online Savings Account is its higher-than-average APY offered.

Though it doesn't offer a checking account nor an ATM network, it's a smart choice for savers if all they want to do is stash their cash and watch it grow.

Account holders can reach customer service easily by phone seven days a week or through the live chat available on the bank's site.

Vio Bank deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) through MidFirst Bank for up to $250,000 making them as safe as brick-and-mortar banks.

There is a minimum $100 deposit required to open a Vio Bank Online Savings Account, which is fairly low. At the same time, there are also free savings accounts on the market with no minimum at all.

There are no additional monthly charges if you opt to go paperless. Otherwise, there's a $5 monthly fee for anyone receiving paper billing.

Vio Bank doesn't charge fees for incoming wire transfers (the cost for sending a domestic wire transfer is $30) or fees for outgoing or incoming external transfers.

You'll want to make sure you keep your account active because if you go 12 months without making any transactions (a deposit or a withdrawal), you will be charged a $5 dormant account fee every month.

Account holders are given the six free withdrawals per month as required by law. After, Vio Bank charges $10 per transaction.

The Vio Bank Online Savings Account is popular amongst savers who are looking for a simple account that earns an above-average interest rate on their cash set aside.

However, there are other savings accounts on the market that may offer greater returns. If the APY is the most important factor for you, consider CNBC Select's top-rated high-yield savings accounts, such as LendingClub High-Yield Savings and UFB Secure Savings.

There are also some high-yield savings accounts that offer additional perks. For instance, the Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings gives you easy access to your cash with an optional ATM card and the Ally Online Savings Account lets you create "buckets" to outline and organize your saving goals.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every high-yield savings account review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best savings accounts.

To determine which high-yield savings accounts offer the best return on your money, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. savings accounts offered by online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions. We narrowed down our ranking by only considering those savings accounts that offer an above-average APY, no monthly maintenance fees and low (or no) minimum balance requirements.

While the accounts we chose in this article consistently rank as having some of the highest APY rates, we also compared each savings account on a range of features, including ease of use and account accessibility, as well as factors such as insurance policies and customer reviews when available. We also considered users' deposit options and each account's compound frequency.

All of the accounts included on this list are FDIC-insured up to $250,000. Note that the rates and fee structures for high-yield savings accounts are not guaranteed forever; they are subject to change without notice and they often fluctuate in accordance with the Fed rate. Your earnings depend on any associated fees and the balance you have in your high-yield savings account. To open an account, most banks and institutions require a deposit of new money, meaning you can't transfer the money you already had in an account at that bank.

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