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moneylogoEveryone has probably heard of LendingTree – where the lenders compete for the chance at becoming your mortgage company. An extension of the money-auction concept is delivered by Money Aisle. At Money Aisle, you can search for the best rates on a high yield savings account or certificate of deposit product, as well as finding the best rates for creating a CD Ladder through a bank auction format.

You simply visit the website, choose whether you want a high yield savings account or a certificate of deposit, enter your deposit account (must be between $1,000 and $500,000), the state you live in and your zip code. In return, in about a minute’s time or less, you’ll receive the highest interest rate among participating banks and where you can get it. Then you have exactly 30 minutes to decide whether or not to take the offer and open your deposit account product with that bank.

Money Aisle does not have anything to do with your money. They are simply a website offering the ‘auction’ format to give you the highest interest rate among participating banks. All financial institutions participating through MoneyAisle.com are FDIC insured up to the federal limits for deposits.

The site claims the banks are bidding in real time, but part of me finds it difficult to believe bank workers are sitting in front of their computers on a holiday or Sunday waiting for requests to come through so they can bid on them. Personally, I think the bank simply updates their highest rates based on geographic location, and the system will automatically report it through the auction system and then show the site users their best option among participating banks. That seems far more likely than banks sitting around and “bidding” for your business – but the concept is still fun, and it’s fun to watch the rates flash across the screen.

You can do a test run with the website on either a Certificate of Deposit or a High Yield Savings account without any commitment – in fact, you don’t need to register an account unless you plan to try out a CD Ladder or take a bank up on their offer and actually open an account.

In addition to seeing the highest interest rate available to you from the MoneyAisle.com participating banks, you also get a handy chart that shows how that rate compares to the rest of the nation’s average interest rates, the US Treasury rates, and the average rate for that deposit account in your own state. Keep in mind that Money Aisle will return the best rate among the participating banks – but not all banks participate with Money Aisle so you could possibly find another bank outside of the system that offers higher rates. Make sure you compare the Money Aisle rates with other banks and other financial comparison tools to ensure you’re selecting your best option.



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