Most products that look like a dollar bank account are not one. The distinction between a deposit, safeguarded e-money and a stablecoin balance only becomes visible when the provider fails — so it is the first column here, not a footnote.
| Go | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed bank | Bank deposit guarantee — Gibraltar deposit protection up to the scheme limit on USD deposits | 4.1% | Visit Xapo Bank | |
| Licensed bank | Bank deposit guarantee — Up to €100,000 under the Lithuanian deposit guarantee scheme for EU bank accounts | 4.0% | Visit Revolut | |
| E-money / fintech | FDIC pass-through — FDIC pass-through, extended via sweep networks well beyond $250k | 4.5% | Visit Mercury | |
| E-money / fintech | E-money safeguarding — None — customer funds are safeguarded in segregated accounts instead | 4.3% | Visit Wise | |
| E-money / fintech | None — None on the platform balance | — | Visit Deel | |
| E-money / fintech | E-money safeguarding — None; safeguarded client funds | — | Visit BVNK | |
| Crypto platform | None — None — this is a lending relationship, not a deposit | 12.0% | Visit Nexo Account | |
| Crypto platform | E-money safeguarding — None; safeguarded funds | 6.0% | Visit Wirex Account | |
| Crypto platform | None — None — balances are stablecoin holdings, backed by T-bill collateral | 4.2% | Visit Dakota | |
| Crypto platform | FDIC pass-through — FDIC pass-through insurance on the fiat balance via the partner bank | 2.0% | Visit Juno |
Yield source: Money market funds and deposit rates
Custodian: Revolut Bank UAB (Lithuania)
If they fail: Fiat balances are bank deposits and fall under the Lithuanian deposit guarantee scheme up to €100,000; crypto holdings sit with the group's separate crypto entity and are not covered by any deposit scheme.
Verified 2026-08
Yield source: Government money market fund
Custodian: Segregated accounts at partner banks (e.g. Barclays, JPMorgan)
If they fail: Wise is not a bank, so failure does not trigger deposit insurance. Safeguarding rules require customer funds to be held separately from Wise's own money, so a well-run administration should return most funds, but you become a claimant in the wind-down rather than an insured depositor.
Verified 2026-08
Yield source: —
Custodian: Partner banking institutions, jurisdiction dependent
If they fail: Platform balances are not insured deposits. In an insolvency, unpaid balances would be a claim against Deel's estate; the company markets itself for payroll flow-through, not for holding cash.
Verified 2026-08
Yield source: Partner bank rate and promotions
Custodian: Partner bank (varies; historically routed through banking-as-a-service providers)
If they fail: FDIC pass-through coverage should protect balances up to $250,000 per depositor, but only if the partner bank's ledger correctly identifies each customer — the exact record-keeping failure that froze funds in the 2024 Synapse collapse.
Verified 2026-08
Yield source: Government money market funds
Custodian: Choice Financial Group / Evolve Bank & Trust, swept across a partner network
If they fail: Sweep networks spread deposits across many partner banks so coverage can exceed $250,000 in aggregate, but access to funds can still be delayed during a partner bank's own resolution process.
Verified 2026-08
Yield source: Bank interest on deposits
Custodian: Xapo Bank (Gibraltar banking licence)
If they fail: As a licensed bank, USD deposits fall under the Gibraltar deposit guarantee scheme up to its limit — smaller than the EU or US schemes, and dependent on Gibraltar's compensation fund actually being able to pay out quickly.
Verified 2026-08
Yield source: Tokenized treasuries
Custodian: Not applicable — balances are stablecoin holdings
If they fail: Dakota states plainly that this is not a bank account. If the underlying stablecoin issuer or the treasury collateral behind it fails, holders have no deposit guarantee and no FDIC pass-through to fall back on.
Verified 2026-08
Yield source: —
Custodian: Segregated client-money accounts at partner banks
If they fail: BVNK safeguards client funds separately from its own balance sheet under its EMI licences, so a failure should leave customer funds outside the general creditor pool, but payout still depends on an administrator unwinding the segregated accounts.
Verified 2026-08
Yield source: Platform lending — you are an unsecured creditor
Custodian: None — Nexo lends out deposited balances
If they fail: This is an unsecured lending relationship, not a deposit. If Nexo becomes insolvent, depositors queue behind secured creditors with no deposit guarantee or insurance behind the balance at all.
Verified 2026-08
Yield source: Platform promotions and token staking
Custodian: Partner banks under UK/Lithuanian EMI licences
If they fail: Fiat balances are meant to be safeguarded separately from Wirex's operating funds, but crypto holdings and token-staking positions carry no safeguarding at all — only the fiat portion has any protection.
Verified 2026-08
Only the ones with a banking licence: Revolut in the EU and UK, and Xapo in Gibraltar. Everything else is an electronic money institution, a partner-bank arrangement, or a crypto platform — and the difference only becomes visible when something goes wrong.
Deposit guarantee schemes cover licensed bank deposits, not stablecoin balances and not safeguarded e-money. Pass-through FDIC coverage through a partner bank sits in between: real, but dependent on the intermediary's records being correct, which is exactly what failed in the Synapse collapse.
Because short-term treasuries set the ceiling for a genuinely low-risk dollar return. Anything materially above that is being paid out of lending, leverage or a token subsidy, and the extra points are compensation for credit risk you are taking on the platform.
Yes, through a multi-currency account with local USD details, or through stablecoins. The trade is protection versus access: the account may be insured but can be closed for compliance reasons, while the stablecoin cannot be frozen by your bank but carries issuer risk instead.
Related: on and off-ramps · crypto cards · on-chain dollar yields
Informational only, not financial advice. Terms, fees and availability change frequently — always verify on the provider's own site before committing funds. Some outbound links may be partner links; they never affect ranking or scoring.