# Are online CDs safe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 11, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-online-cds-safe/817694 "2018-07-11T02:15:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-online-cds-safe/817694/1 "2018-07-11T02:15:04Z")
OK, maybe I’m a hopeless luddite, but for whatever reason I’m more secure with having my money in a CD at a local brick-and-mortar bank. However, I can get an online rate that’s much higher, up to a whole point or more. These are seemingly reputable outfits such as Capital One and Citizens Bank. Convince me that I’m being ridiculous, please? It just seems like I’d be sending my money off “into thin air.”… ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-online-cds-safe/817694/2 "2018-07-11T03:02:45Z")
n/m ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-online-cds-safe/817694/3 "2018-07-11T03:15:25Z")
When you buy a CD at a bank aren’t you really just giving them your info and they type it “into thin air”? Doing it online, through a well-known bank, just cuts out the middleman. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-online-cds-safe/817694/4 "2018-07-11T03:16:19Z")
If it’s a reputable place, sure. I have some at GSBank dot com (Goldman Sachs) and some at Capital One Savings, which before that was ING Direct. I’ve had savings and CDs with ING (again, now Capital One) for probably 15 years. There’s a handful of others that, while I haven’t really looked to closely at, seem to have about the same reviews as any other bank. ---
**Author:** ![Caldazar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Caldazar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caldazar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-online-cds-safe/817694/5 "2018-07-11T03:23:58Z")
The FDIC insures CD accounts at banks. Go to [https://research.fdic.gov/bankfind/](https://research.fdic.gov/bankfind/) and search for the bank of interest. Note that the search form has a ‘Bank URL’ field so you can more easily look up online banks. If the FDIC status of the bank is ‘Active’, deposits at the bank are covered up to $250,000.