What Counts as "New Money" for Bank Bonuses?

When a bank offers you a bonus for depositing cash, they usually require it to be "new money." This simply means the funds must come from a completely different financial institution. You cannot just move money over from another checking or savings account you already have at that exact same bank.

The bank pays you because they want to bring fresh capital into their ecosystem. If you just transfer your existing balance from their savings account to a new checking account, they are not gaining any new deposits. They want to pay you to move your cash over from a competitor.

The easiest way to meet a new money requirement is to transfer funds from an outside account using an ACH transfer. You can also use a wire transfer or deposit a check drawn on a different bank. As long as the money originates externally, it counts as new. One common question: Zelle does not count as a new money transfer at any bank. It codes as a peer-to-peer payment rather than an external bank ACH, so banks will not treat it as an outside deposit.

Pay attention to the timeline. Many banks include a lookback period in their fine print. They might define new money as funds that have not been held at their bank in the last 30 or 60 days. If you recently withdrew cash from the bank and then deposit it back a week later to try and claim a new money bank bonus, it will not trigger the reward.

This process involves no investing and no market exposure. You are simply moving your cash from one safe, FDIC-insured place to another to collect the payout. Just make sure you leave the funds there for the entire required hold period so the bank actually pays you the bonus. When you are ready to move your cash, this month's best bank bonuses lists the current offers with the simplest new money requirements.