The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits at member banks in the US. Understanding whether your bank is FDIC-insured and what that insurance actually covers is an important part of managing your money safely. This page explains how to check, and what to watch out for when apps or websites claim FDIC coverage.
FDIC insurance covers deposits in checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). It does not cover investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds or crypto assets, even if those products are sold through an FDIC-insured bank. The standard insurance limit is $250,000 per depositor, per institution, per ownership category. This means that joint accounts, individual retirement accounts and certain trust accounts may qualify for higher total coverage depending on how they are structured. The FDIC provides a deposit insurance estimator at fdic.gov that you can use to calculate your coverage based on your specific account types and balances.
Go to banks.data.fdic.gov and use the BankFind Suite. You can search by bank name, city or state. Look for institutions with an active status. The results show the FDIC certificate number, the date the bank became insured, the bank's charter class (which indicates what type of institution it is and which primary regulator supervises it), and current operational status. If a bank does not appear in BankFind, or appears with an inactive or historical status, it is not currently FDIC-insured. This is a quick, free check and requires no account or login.
Many fintech apps and neobanks are technology companies, not banks. They partner with FDIC-insured banks to hold customer deposits. When an app says your deposits are "FDIC insured," the insurance technically applies at the partner bank, not the app itself. This arrangement is called pass-through insurance, and it depends on specific conditions being met. The most important condition is that the fintech properly segregates customer funds from its own operating funds and maintains accurate, up-to-date records identifying which customer owns which funds. If the app fails and its records are incomplete or inaccurate, the FDIC may have difficulty determining whose money belongs to whom. Recent fintech failures have highlighted these risks and prompted regulatory attention to how pass-through insurance claims are communicated to consumers.
Check the app's terms of service, its help or FAQ pages, or the footer of its website. Look for phrases such as "banking services provided by [Bank Name]" or "deposits held at [Bank Name], member FDIC." Once you have identified the bank partner's name, go to FDIC BankFind and confirm that the bank is currently FDIC-insured and active. If you cannot identify a banking partner after checking these sources, contact the app's customer support and ask directly before depositing any meaningful amount. A legitimate fintech with a real banking partner should be able to tell you the partner bank's name clearly and promptly.
When an FDIC-insured bank fails, the FDIC steps in quickly, often by the next business day. Deposits up to the insurance limit are protected, and the FDIC typically arranges for customers to have access to their insured funds with minimal disruption. Deposits above the standard limit may be partially or fully recovered depending on the failed bank's available assets, but there is no guarantee of recovery above the insured amount. This is why it is important to understand your actual coverage limits if you hold large balances at a single institution.
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This page is general educational information only. It is not financial, legal, tax, credit or debt advice. Rules and regulations can change. Always verify current information with official sources before taking any action.