Marcus savings accounts are FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category

Yes. Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a bank, and all deposits held there are covered by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protection. The standard limit is $250,000 per person, per account category. If you have $250,000 or less in your Marcus savings account, your money is fully protected if Marcus fails. If you have more than $250,000, only that amount is covered.

FDIC insurance is not a service Marcus offers — it is a federal may provide that comes with being a bank. The FDIC is an independent agency of the federal government. When a bank fails, the FDIC steps in and pays depositors directly, up to the insurance limit. This has happened dozens of times in U.S. history. The most recent bank failure was Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023.

The coverage applies to your Marcus savings account automatically. You do not need to do anything, sign anything, or pay anything to be covered. If you have multiple accounts at Marcus — for example, a savings account and a money market account — they are treated as separate accounts for insurance purposes, meaning you could have up to $250,000 covered in each.

Key Takeaways

  • Marcus savings accounts are covered by FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per depositor, and this protection is automatic.
  • If you hold more than $250,000 at Marcus, only $250,000 is insured; the rest is not protected if the bank fails.
  • Different account types at Marcus (savings, money market, checking) are each insured separately up to $250,000.
  • FDIC insurance covers the account holder, not the account itself, so a joint account has a separate $250,000 limit for each owner.

How FDIC insurance limits work with multiple accounts

The $250,000 limit is per depositor, per bank, per ownership category. This means the way you own the account matters. If you have a savings account in your name alone at Marcus, that is one category. If you have a joint savings account with your spouse at the same bank, that is a different category, and each of you has a separate $250,000 limit on that joint account.

If you have $200,000 in a Marcus savings account in your name and $100,000 in a Marcus money market account also in your name, both accounts are added together for insurance purposes. Your total coverage is $250,000 (the limit), so the extra $50,000 is not insured. The account type does not create a separate insurance bucket — only the ownership structure does.

If you are married and have a joint savings account at Marcus with $300,000, the account is covered up to $250,000. The FDIC does not split the limit between spouses on a joint account; instead, each spouse is insured up to $250,000 on their share of the joint account. In practice, this means a joint account can be insured for up to $500,000 total if each spouse owns half.

What FDIC insurance does and does not cover

FDIC insurance covers the balance in your account — the money itself. It does not cover investment losses, fees, or interest that was promised but not paid. If you had $100,000 in a Marcus savings account earning 4% annual interest, and Marcus failed before paying that interest, the FDIC would cover your $100,000 principal but not the unpaid interest (though in practice, the FDIC usually pays accrued interest up to the date of failure).

FDIC insurance covers deposits only, not investments. If Marcus offered stocks, bonds, or mutual funds (it does not), those would not be FDIC insured. Marcus offers savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs). All three are deposit products and are FDIC insured.

The insurance covers the account holder's money, not the account itself. If you are the beneficiary of someone else's account but do not own it, you are not covered under FDIC insurance. If you are named as a beneficiary on a payable-on-death (POD) account, that creates a separate ownership category and a separate $250,000 limit, but only if the account is set up that way at Marcus.

What happens if Marcus fails

If Marcus were to fail, the FDIC would take over and pay depositors directly. The process typically takes a few days to a few weeks. The FDIC would contact you with information about how to access your insured funds. You would not lose money up to the $250,000 limit, and you would not need to file a claim or provide proof of deposit — the FDIC has records of all accounts.

In most cases, the FDIC arranges for another bank to take over the failed bank's deposits, and your account straightforward moves to the new bank with no action required on your part. This happened when Silicon Valley Bank failed in 2023; the FDIC transferred deposits to First-Citizens Bank within days. Depositors with balances under $250,000 saw no interruption in access to their money.

If your balance exceeds $250,000, the amount over the limit is at risk. The FDIC would cover only up to $250,000, and the remaining balance would be treated as a claim against the failed bank's assets. In practice, uninsured depositors often recover some portion of their uninsured balance, but there is no may provide, and recovery can take months or years.

Marcus's bank status and FDIC membership

Marcus operates as a division of Goldman Sachs Bank USA, which is a federally chartered bank and a member of the FDIC. This is why Marcus deposits are insured. Marcus does not have its own FDIC membership; it operates under Goldman Sachs Bank USA's charter and insurance coverage.

You can verify FDIC membership by searching the FDIC's Bank Find tool on the FDIC website. Searching for "Goldman Sachs Bank USA" will show you the bank's charter number, insurance status, and the date it joined the FDIC. This public information confirms that your Marcus account is covered.

How to check your coverage if you have multiple accounts

If you have accounts at multiple banks, each bank's deposits are insured separately. A $200,000 balance at Marcus and a $200,000 balance at another FDIC-insured bank means you have $200,000 covered at each bank, for a total of $400,000 in coverage. The $250,000 limit applies per bank, not across all banks.

If you have multiple accounts within Marcus itself, use the FDIC's Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE) tool to calculate your exact coverage. You enter your account balances and ownership structure, and EDIE tells you how much is insured. This is useful if you have joint accounts, trust accounts, or other complex ownership arrangements.

Marcus statements do not show FDIC insurance information, so you cannot rely on your account statement to confirm coverage. The FDIC website is the authoritative source. If you have questions about whether a specific account structure is covered, contact Marcus customer service and ask them to explain your coverage, or use the FDIC's EDIE tool yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have $300,000 at Marcus, how much is insured?

Only $250,000 is insured. The remaining $50,000 is not protected by FDIC insurance. If you want full coverage, you would need to move $50,000 to another FDIC-insured bank or use a different ownership category (such as a joint account with another person) to create a separate $250,000 limit.

Does FDIC insurance cover my Marcus CD?

Yes. Certificates of deposit at Marcus are FDIC insured up to $250,000, just like savings accounts. The maturity date and interest rate do not affect coverage. If Marcus fails before your CD matures, the FDIC covers your principal and accrued interest up to $250,000.

If I have a joint account with my spouse at Marcus, is each of us covered for $250,000?

Yes. A joint account is a separate ownership category. Each owner is insured up to $250,000 on the joint account, so a joint account with $500,000 would be fully covered if each spouse owns half. However, if one spouse owns more than half, the coverage is still limited to $250,000 per person.

What if Marcus is bought by another bank?

If Marcus is acquired by another bank, FDIC coverage continues. Your deposits remain insured up to $250,000. If the acquiring bank is also FDIC insured (which any bank taking over Marcus would be), there is no change to your protection. The acquisition does not affect your coverage.

Can I increase my FDIC coverage by opening multiple accounts at Marcus?

Only if you use different ownership categories. Opening two savings accounts in your name alone does not increase coverage — both accounts are added together and covered up to $250,000 total. However, a savings account in your name and a joint savings account with your spouse would each have a separate $250,000 limit.