As inflation rises, a few local institutions are paying at least 9% interest for your cash

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate products and services to help you make smart decisions with your money.

• Rising inflation rates could impact the Fed's commitment to lowering rates.
• Some local financial institutions are offering very high rates on bank accounts.
• These accounts offer rates between 9% to 10% on your cash — if you qualify.

According to the consumer price index, inflation rose higher than expected in January 2025, hitting 3% year-over-year instead of the expected 2.9%. While the Federal Reserve was originally expected to continue 2024's trend of lowering interest rates, rising inflation might continue to put a pause in rate drops.

Even with an uncertain financial future, there are still ways to keep earning interest on your cash meantime. High-yield savings accounts, checking accounts, and CDs from local financial institutions offer extremely high interest rates from 9% to 10% Annual Percentage Yield (APY). All of these accounts come with limitations, additional requirements, and drawbacks, but if you qualify for one, you'll earn a great interest rate.

A high-yield savings account with 10% interest

The highest interest rate you can get on a deposit account right now is from the Community Financial Credit Union High Yield Savings Account, with an interest rate of up to 10.00% APY. This high-yield savings account also happens to have the least requirements to earn that rate of any of the institutions on our list.

The biggest hurdle to earning this rate is that you need to be a member of the credit union to open the account. To become a member, you need to live, work, attend school, or worship in Michigan. You can also join if your immediate family member is eligible to join or if you live in the same household as a current member. Businesses can join if they regularly conduct business in Michigan.

Once you've opened the account, you'll automatically earn a 10% annual percentage yield on the first $1,000 in the account. You don't need to meet any requirements to earn that rate, but you'll only earn 0.05% APY on amounts over $1,000 — that's significantly less than the average savings account rate.

You might not want to have it as your primary savings account, but the Community Financial Credit Union High Yield Savings Account's high interest rate makes it worthwhile as a low-risk way to earn a high rate on $1,000 for Michigan residents.

A 9.50% APY CD that might not be around for long

If you're interested in opening a fixed-rate account, the California Coast Credit Union Celebration Certificate offers one of the best CD rates you can find, with a rate of 9.50% APY. This CD has been around for several months.

To join the credit union, you'll need to live or work in San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Imperial, or San Bernadino counties in California. If you live in another county in California, you might prefer one of the other best banks and credit unions in California.

This 5-month CD comes with a significant number of requirements to open. Once you're a member, you'll need to open the account with at least $500 but no more than $3,000. You have to use new money, which is money that isn't currently in a California Coast Credit Union account, and you can only open one certificate per Social Security number.

You'll also have to have one of the following accounts with California Coast Credit Union:

• A checking account with eStatements and at least one transaction a month
• A new money market account with at least $5,000 in it
• A new regular certificate with at least $5,000 in it
• A new IRA certificate with at lest $5,000 in it
• A new, funded, consumer loan that isn't either a credit card or a share secured loan

Note that none of the listed deposit accounts have very high interest rates, so you'll dilute the interest rate you earn overall if you open one of the accounts with minimum balance requirements.

A checking account that offers 9% interest

There is currently one high-yield checking account with a very high interest rate: the Farmers Savings Bank Star Checking account. You can earn up to up to 9.01% APY from this account, but you'll need to open it in person at a Farmers Savings Bank branch. You can find branches in the following Iowa cities: Arlington, Colesburg, Elgin, Elkport, Strawberry Point, and Wadena.

In order to earn the high interest rate, you'll need to make at least 15 debit card transactions each month (not including ATM transactions), have at least one direct deposit or automatic withdrawal each month, and turn on eStatements. You'll earn the top interest rate on the first $4,000 in the account if you meet those requirements. If you meet those requirements, balances over $4,000 will earn an APY of 0.32%; otherwise, your entire balance will only earn 0.05% APY.

What nationwide high-yield bank accounts offer

If you don't qualify for any of these local accounts, you can still find high rates from the best banks and credit unions nationwide.

Right now, it's easier to find high interest rates from variable-rate accounts, like high-yield savings accounts and high-yield checking accounts, than fixed-rate accounts, like CDs, from nationwide banks and credit unions. Banks and credit unions are still expecting interest rates to go down, and they don't want to be locked into a high rate down the line, especially with long-term CDs such as 5-year CDs.

The best rates for savings accounts from online banks and credit unions are in the 4.50% to 5.00% APY range, while the best nationwide banks and credit unions offer CDs with rates around 4.00% to 4.60% APY, depending on the CD's term length.

If you're going to traditional brick-and-mortar banks with generally low rates, though, you're still likely to find CDs with better interest rates than savings accounts. According to the FDIC's average bank account interest rates, the average savings account rate is 0.41% APY, while the average interest rates for 3-month to 5-year CDs range from 1.24% to 1.82% APY. That's because traditional banks tend to offer very low rates on savings accounts while offering rates closer to online bank rates for CDs.