The Bankrate Monitor Index is a critical tool for tracking money market interest rates on depository accounts in the United States, including checking, savings, money market, and CD accounts. Founded in 1976 by Robert K. Heady, it was established to help consumers understand prevailing trends in deposit rates, enabling them to find the best deals for their money.
In 1996, the Bankrate Monitor Index transitioned online, evolving into the widely recognized personal finance website, Bankrate.com. This platform offers a wealth of resources, including interest rate data, calculators, and financial planning tools for products like credit cards, mortgages, lines of credit, and car insurance.
Bankrate.com has become a leading aggregator of research and data on interest rates and personal finance news. It provides daily financial research and market conditions to leading media outlets such as the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. Through its website, Bankrate.com offers consumer-oriented content, including mortgage calculators and financial planning tools.
The Bankrate Monitor Index’s modern successors are the various surveys of interest rates and other features published on Bankrate’s website. These surveys include ratings for credit cards, mortgages, savings accounts, and other financial products. For instance, Bankrate compiles and ranks credit card information based on annual fees, credit requirements, interest rates, and membership benefits. Users can filter credit card providers based on their preferences. Similarly, for mortgages, users can access detailed information and filter offers based on their zip code and budget for down payments.
