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What is an opening deposit?

The minimum amount of money you need to deposit when first opening a bank account.

Updated March 2026

An opening deposit is the initial amount of money you need to put into a new account when you first open it. Some banks require a minimum just to activate the account. Others have no minimum at all and will let you start with whatever you want.

For bonus purposes, the opening deposit is separate from any minimum balance you need to maintain to earn the bonus itself. You might only need $25 to open the account, but then need to deposit and hold $1,500 for 60 days to collect the reward.

Opening deposits are usually pretty modest, often somewhere between $25 and $100. A lot of online accounts have no minimum. It's worth checking before you apply just so you're not caught off guard, but it's rarely a reason to skip a good offer.

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