What changed
After the September rate cut, half the leaderboard quietly dropped their APY without a press release. We tracked twelve banks for sixty days, comparing the advertised rate against what actually appeared on statements.
Who held the line
Three banks held the rate within 0.05% of the headline. Two of those are worth opening. The third has a chequing requirement that defeats the point.
The quiet winner
One challenger bank dropped its APY but kept a no-strings welcome bonus that, after the cut, still beats the field for the first six months. If you’re parking an emergency fund, that’s the open-today pick.