Charles Schwab CD Rates for June 2026

Charles Schwab certificates of deposit currently pay up to 4.30% APY on a 24 month term, with a $1,000 minimum purchase, making them one of the more competitive options among brokerage backed CDs as of June 16, 2026.

What Makes a Schwab CD Different

Schwab does not sell traditional bank CDs. What it offers instead are brokered CDs, meaning you buy them through a Schwab brokerage account rather than walking into a bank branch or opening a deposit account directly with a financial institution. The CD itself is still issued by a bank, but Schwab acts as the middleman that lines up the offering and handles the transaction.

That structure has a real upside. Because Schwab works with many different banks, you can build a mix of CDs from separate institutions inside a single brokerage account, and each one carries its own FDIC insurance coverage up to $250,000. Someone with $750,000 to park in CDs, for example, could spread it across three issuing banks through Schwab without opening three separate bank relationships.

Brokered CDs also trade on a secondary market. If you need cash before maturity, you are not stuck paying a fixed early withdrawal penalty the way you might be with a bank CD. Instead, Schwab will sell the CD at whatever the market will bear. That could mean a gain if rates have fallen since you bought in, or a loss if rates have risen and newer CDs now look more attractive to buyers.

Current Rates by Term

Schwab's brokered CD lineup runs from three months out to 24 months, and the rates climb steadily the longer the term. Here is where things stood as of June 16, 2026, at 10:32 a.m. ET.

Notice how tight the spread is between the shortest and longest terms. A three month CD still pays close to 4%, so investors who cannot commit their cash for a full year are not giving up much yield by staying short. That is a departure from many bank CD ladders, where the gap between a three month rate and a two year rate tends to be wider.

Weighing the Trade Offs

Schwab's CDs come with clear strengths and a few limitations worth knowing before you buy in.

On the plus side, the rates on short terms are unusually strong, the FDIC coverage can stretch well past $250,000 if you spread deposits across issuing banks, and there is no fixed penalty for selling early. On the downside, selling before maturity exposes you to market pricing, so you could walk away with less than you put in. Schwab also caps its CD terms at 24 months, so anyone hoping to lock in today's rate for three, four or five years will need to look elsewhere. And the $1,000 minimum, while reasonable, is still higher than what some banks and credit unions require, including Capital One, which offers CDs with no minimum deposit at all.

Opening an Account and Buying a CD

Buying a Schwab CD requires a Schwab brokerage account first. That can be an individual brokerage account, a joint account, or one of several IRA types, including Roth, Traditional or Rollover. During signup you will need your Social Security number or taxpayer ID, your employer's name and address, an email, and a mobile number.

Once the account is open, you fund it with at least $1,000, often by linking an existing checking or savings account. From there, log into the online portal, click Trade, then CDs, and browse the available offerings by term and rate. Purchases must be made in $1,000 increments, so a $2,500 CD purchase, for instance, is not possible; you would round up to $3,000 or down to $2,000.

How Schwab Fits Into a Broader Savings Strategy

Schwab is primarily known as an investment platform, but it also runs banking products including checking accounts, savings accounts and loans. Investors who already hold brokerage assets there, whether stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds or even cryptocurrency, may find it convenient to add CDs to the same account rather than opening a new relationship elsewhere.

The company itself is sizable. As of the end of 2024, Schwab reported more than 36 million client brokerage accounts and 2 million banking accounts. It is headquartered in Texas, runs more than 400 branches and operational centers nationally, and employs over 1,200 financial consultants. Schwab also backs a satisfaction guarantee, refunding eligible fees or commissions if a customer is unhappy with their investing experience. The firm dates back to 1971 and offers 24/7 customer support through live chat and phone.

Fees on the CDs themselves are modest. New issue CDs include selling concessions baked into the offering price, so there is no separate charge to buy one. Selling on the secondary market before maturity costs $1 per bond, with a $10 minimum and a $250 maximum.

Some of Schwab's CDs are callable, meaning the issuing bank can redeem the CD before maturity, typically if interest rates drop enough that refinancing the debt becomes advantageous for the bank. That is a detail worth checking before purchase, since a called CD returns your principal early and cuts off the higher rate you had locked in.

How Schwab Stacks Up Against Other Options

Comparing Schwab to Edward Jones, another brokerage that sells CDs, highlights the trade off between rate and flexibility. Schwab's rates edge out Edward Jones on some terms, but Schwab tops out at 24 months while Edward Jones offers terms as long as 60 months. Anyone wanting to lock in a rate for three, four or five years will need to look at Edward Jones or a bank offering longer CD terms.

Beyond brokered CDs, savers have several alternatives. High yield savings accounts typically pay less than CDs but offer more liquidity, since funds are not locked in. Money market accounts work similarly, trading a lower rate for easier access. Series I savings bonds from the U.S. government are built to track inflation, though their current rate may run higher or lower than what CDs pay, and they cannot be redeemed at all in the first 12 months. Treasury bills, backed fully by the federal government, are considered close to risk free and come in terms of one year or less.

Is a Two Year Cap the Right Fit for Your Timeline

The real question for anyone comparing CD options is how long they are comfortable locking money away and how much they value flexibility if rates move. Schwab's short maturity ceiling and lack of a fixed early withdrawal penalty suit savers who want decent yield without a long commitment. Those chasing a guaranteed rate for several years out will need to look past Schwab's shelf of offerings entirely.