Morgan Stanley Private Bank Review 2025
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At a glance
Overview
Deposit products offered by Morgan Stanley Private Bank are worth considering if you’re looking to consolidate your banking and investing at one financial institution. The savings and checking products — as well as the brokerage accounts — are offered through E*TRADE, which was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2020.
Highlights:
High APY ATM Fee Refunds Free CheckingHighlights:
CDs
Checking
Savings
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APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.6/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Offers featured here have been sponsored which impacts how, where, and in what order the products appear. Not all offers are displayed on this page.
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Overall
Morgan Stanley Private Bank offers above-average annual percentage yields (APYs) on its savings account and certificates of deposit (CDs) with terms ranging from six months to five years. The bank also has a basic checking account that comes with no monthly maintenance fees, as well as an interest-bearing checking account that offers an APY significantly above the national average interest rate for these types of accounts.
Pros
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The savings account, CDs and interest-bearing checking account earn yields that are significantly above average.
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There are no minimum deposit requirements to open a savings account or CD, which even many of the best high-yield savings accounts (HYSAs) and best CDs have.
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Customers have check-writing privileges, and the first checkbook is complimentary.
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The interest-bearing checking account has ATM fee and foreign transaction refunds worldwide and the basic checking account has ATM fee refunds nationwide.
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Customers also have access to a large suit of investing accounts, including individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
Cons
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No cash deposits.
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The requirements to avoid monthly fees on the Max-Rate Checking account are higher than what you’ll typically see for checking accounts.
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No 3-month CD.
Morgan Stanley Private Bank banking products
Morgan Stanley Private Bank Premium Savings overview
Pros
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The account earns an above-average interest rate that’s comparable to some of the best HYSAs on the market.
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There are no monthly service fees or minimum deposit requirements, which range from $500 to $5,000 for some of the best HYSAs.
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Provides up to $500,000 in FDIC insurance ($1 million for joint accounts), which is double the typical insurance.
Cons
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There’s no way to deposit cash into the account.
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The account will close if you don’t fund it within 30 days.
Morgan Stanley Private Bank CDs overview
Pros
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Above-average APY on all CDs.
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No minimum balance requirements, which is rare for even the best CDs.
Cons
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No bump-up, no-penalty or IRA CDs.
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Grace period to withdraw funds after the CD matures is only seven days, less than the common ten-day grace period.
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Early withdrawal penalties for the 3-year and 5-year CDs are high compared to what some other banks may charge on long-term CDs.
Morgan Stanley Private Bank Max-Rate Checking Account overview
Pros
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Customers can choose between a free checking account or an interest-rate-bearing checking account, which many banks don’t offer.
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The APY on the interest-bearing checking account is above average.
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Morgan Stanley provides unlimited ATM fee refunds nationwide for Checking customers and worldwide for Max-Rate Checking customers.
Cons
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Cash deposits aren’t accepted.
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Max-Rate account comes with a $15 maintenance fee unless you maintain a $5,000 average monthly balance, while many of the best high-yield checking accounts don’t have any minimum balance requirements.
Bank fees
| Fee | Charged? |
|---|---|
| Overdraft fee | $0 |
| Non-sufficient funds fee | $0 on checking, $25 otherwise |
| Monthly maintenance fee | $0 - $15 |
| Out-of-network ATM fee | None |
| Excessive withdrawal fee | None* |
Customer experience
Customer support
Branch availability. The checking and savings accounts are online-only accounts, so customers don’t have access to in-branch service.
Customer service. Customer service can be reached by phone or live chat.
Digital experience
Morgan Stanley Private Bank customers with checking or savings accounts can use the E-Trade mobile app to transfer cash, deposit checks and pay bills. Those with E-Trade investment accounts can also access those through the app. The app receives high marks on both the Apple App and Google Play store.
“The dashboard has all the clickable links I need to transfer money, which are easily displayed to access available balance, total balance and transfer money functions,” said a Bankrate staff member with a Morgan Stanley account. “The quick links feature allows me to get account details, see transfer activity, check statements, or set up a wire transfer with my routing and account number all in the same place for easy setup. “
Bankrate staff insights
“The online experience was the simplest and fastest of any bank account I’ve opened in the past several years,” said a Bankrate staff member with a Morgan Stanley bank account. “I’m not tech-savvy, so I was pleasantly surprised that I could open the account with such ease. I recommend it to anyone looking to earn some interest on their savings without the hassle of maintaining a minimum balance or paying minimum balance fees.”
Disclosure: To enhance our product reviews, Bankrate employees often open accounts and provide feedback. They may have been compensated for their time and account maintenance, but this does not affect the integrity of their review.
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Review methodology
We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.
Morgan Stanley Private Bank customer reviews
Morgan Stanley Private Bank has 50 reviews
Dive into community reviews below and see what others think about Morgan Stanley Private Bank.
In July 2024, Bankrate collaborated with a third-party vendor to survey 1,200 bank account holders nationwide. Bankrate and our vendor collected and summarized account holder responses to five rating questions on a 5-point scale as well as open-ended reviews of the banking experience. Responses are based on individual account holder product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Reviewers received an incentive for their feedback. Their ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by the associated bank or credit union, nor do these responses reflect Bankrate's own expert review of these banking products.
