Marcus lets you make as many withdrawals as you want, but federal rules limit free transfers to six per month

You can withdraw money from your Marcus savings account whenever you need it. However, the U.S. Federal Reserve has a rule that limits you to six transfers per month without paying a fee. A transfer is any movement of money out of your savings account — whether you move it to another bank, to a Marcus checking account, or to pay a bill from savings.

The key word here is "transfer," not "withdrawal." If you walk into a branch and withdraw cash in person, that does not count toward the six-transfer limit. But if you move money electronically — through an ACH transfer, a wire, a check, or an automatic payment — that counts as one of your six.

Marcus charges a $10 fee for each transfer beyond six in a calendar month. So if you make seven transfers in January, you pay $10 for the seventh one. The limit resets on the first day of each new month.

Key Takeaways

  • You can make unlimited cash withdrawals at ATMs or in person, and these do not count toward any limit.
  • Electronic transfers out of your savings account are limited to six per month before a $10 fee applies to each additional transfer.
  • Transfers include ACH payments, wire transfers, checks, and automatic bill payments — anything that moves money electronically.
  • The six-transfer limit resets on the first day of each calendar month, so a transfer on January 31 and another on February 1 are counted separately.
  • If you regularly need more than six transfers per month, a checking account or a different savings product may be a better fit.

What counts as a transfer versus a withdrawal

The difference matters because only transfers count toward your limit. A withdrawal is taking cash out of your account. A transfer is moving money electronically from your savings account to somewhere else.

Withdrawals that do not count toward the limit: using an ATM, visiting a Marcus branch in person and asking for cash, or requesting a check be mailed to you from Marcus (though requesting a check is technically a transfer, Marcus does not charge for it).

Transfers that do count toward the limit: moving money to another bank via ACH, sending a wire transfer, setting up an automatic payment from savings to pay a bill, or transferring money from savings to a Marcus checking account.

How the monthly limit works in practice

The limit is per calendar month, not per rolling 30 days. This means your count resets at midnight on the last day of each month. If you make three transfers in January and four in February, you have not exceeded the limit in either month — each month stands alone.

If you make six transfers by the 15th of the month and then make a seventh on the 20th, Marcus charges you $10 for that seventh transfer. You can still make more transfers after that, but each one beyond six costs $10.

Marcus does not prevent you from making transfers beyond six; they straightforward charge the fee. You will see the $10 fee appear as a debit on your account statement.

Why this limit exists

This rule comes from the Federal Reserve, not from Marcus alone. For many years, the Fed required banks to limit savings account transfers to six per month. The rule was meant to distinguish savings accounts (meant for storing money) from checking accounts (meant for frequent transactions).

The Federal Reserve suspended this rule in 2020 during the pandemic, but many banks, including Marcus, kept the limit in place. Some banks removed it; others kept it as a way to manage their own operations. Marcus chose to keep the six-transfer limit and charge a fee for overages.

What to do if you need more than six transfers per month

If you regularly move money in and out of savings more than six times a month, you have a few options. The simplest is to open a Marcus checking account alongside your savings account. Checking accounts have no transfer limits, and you can move money between your Marcus savings and Marcus checking as often as you want without triggering the fee.

Another option is to keep most of your money in checking and use savings only for money you truly want to set aside. This way, you make fewer transfers overall.

If you use Marcus primarily for savings and do most of your transactions elsewhere, the six-transfer limit may not affect you at all. Many people make only one or two transfers per month — moving money in from their paycheck and moving it out for a planned expense.

How to track your transfers

Marcus shows your transaction history in the app and online. You can see each transfer listed with the date and the amount. At the end of each month, you can count how many transfers you made to see whether you are approaching the limit.

If you are close to six transfers in a month and need to move money again, you can wait until the first day of the next month to make that transfer. This is a straightforward way to avoid the $10 fee if you have a little flexibility on timing.

Marcus does not send you a warning when you are about to hit the limit, so it is up to you to keep track. Some people set a phone reminder on the 25th of each month to count their transfers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does transferring money between my Marcus savings and Marcus checking count toward the limit?

Yes. Any electronic movement of money out of your savings account counts as a transfer, including moves to a Marcus checking account. However, moving money from checking into savings does not count — only transfers out of savings are limited.

If I set up an automatic payment from my savings account, does each payment count as one transfer?

Yes. Each automatic payment is one transfer. If you have three automatic payments set up and make three manual transfers in the same month, that is six transfers total, and you have reached your limit.

What happens if I exceed six transfers in a month?

Marcus charges $10 for each transfer beyond six. The fee appears on your account statement as a debit. You can still make the transfers — Marcus does not block them — but you pay the fee for each one over the limit.

Can I avoid the fee by withdrawing cash instead of transferring electronically?

Yes. If you withdraw cash from an ATM or in person at a Marcus branch, that does not count toward the six-transfer limit. However, this only works if you need physical cash or plan to deposit it elsewhere in person.

Does the limit reset on a specific date each month?

Yes. The limit resets at the start of each calendar month — on the first day of January, February, March, and so on. A transfer made on the last day of the month and another made on the first day of the next month are counted in separate months.