Scammers are increasingly defrauding consumers by either illegally obtaining their account information or deceiving them into making rash decisions. American consumers lost $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, a 25% increase from the prior year, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission.
As consumer losses to bank fraud mount, one bank is betting that savers will soon choose security over convenience. Austin Capital Bank, a Texas-based community bank with national fintech brands such as CreditStrong, just launched what it is calling a high-security savings account.
Fort Knox, one of Austin Capital’s fintech trademarks, debuted the new account on Thursday. It is available to consumers nationwide.
The account stands out for the simple fact that pulling money out of it isn’t particularly easy or fast. And that’s on purpose, says Erik Beguin, founder and CEO of Austin Capital Bank.
[Read: Best Online Banks.]
“It shouldn’t be easy to access your savings on a whim,” says Beguin. “It shouldn’t be easy to wire your life savings to eastern Europe or Africa or southeast Asia. We have intentional friction, and we’re going to be very upfront about the intentional friction.”
Fort Knox aims to protect customers’ savings from fraudsters by combining multiple layers of security. There are no passwords, account numbers or debit cards to steal. You can’t transfer money to anyone else. Want to move money into your own checking account? You’ll have to wait two business days to think about it. And those are just the most basic security measures. Customers can choose to add additional layers of security to their accounts.
[Read: Best Savings Accounts.]
What to Know About the Fort Knox High Security Savings Account
The Fort Knox savings account is intended to serve solely as a vault for funds you don’t need immediate access to. It doesn’t function like a checking account. In fact, you must have a separate checking account at another bank in order to open a Fort Knox account.
Here are some details you should know about the Fort Knox High-Security Savings Account:
One Way In, One Way Out
Your Fort Knox account must be linked to a bank’s checking account under your name. Your money can only flow to and from this checking account. You can’t send a Zelle payment or a wire transfer from your savings account, and you can’t access your funds at an ATM or make transactions with a debit card.
Instances of fraud often involve the customer being deceived into authorizing a transfer of funds or withdrawing cash and then depositing it into another account. The Fort Knox system is designed to prevent that from happening, says Beguin.
“Every other bank account is a truck stop on the interstate highway,” says Beguin. “We are a one-way street with a bank, with a vault, with safe deposit box in that vault, and all you can do is put money in and take money out.”
To add further protection, Fort Knox has “blacklisted” institutions or payment apps that may pose a greater threat of fraud or that are popular with fraudsters. This means you can’t select these options as your linked checking account.
If Fort Knox detects a security risk to your linked checking account, Beguin says it enables an automatic “lockdown” feature that freezes your account.
[Read: Best Checking Accounts.]
Accessing Your Fort Knox Account
The bank doesn’t use standard log-in credentials such as user names and passwords. To sign in, you’ll open the app on your phone and it will use facial recognition technology to verify your identity. Customers have the option to add further layers of security, such as tokens.
Wait For It
Any transfers you authorize from your Fort Knox savings account to your checking account require a waiting period of two business days. Experts say fraudsters often try to create a sense of urgency, convincing you to move money without taking time to think about it. Beguin says the waiting period will give customers time to consider the transfer and decline it if they don’t recognize it.
Interest, Fees and Limits
Here a few basic account details:
— Interest rate: While it isn’t advertised as a high-yield savings account, the Fort Knox savings account will pay a tiered interest rate of up to 4.07% APY. Meanwhile, the national average savings account interest rate is 0.38%, according to FDIC data from July 2025.
— Fees: Accounts with average monthly balances below $1,000 will incur a $10 monthly security fee. The fee is waived for balances of $1,000 or more.
— Minimum deposit requirement: An initial deposit of $100 is required to open an account.
— Maximum deposit: Fort Knox is currently capping individual deposits at $250,000, the amount protected by the FDIC. However, Beguin says that cap may be increased in the future.
[See: Best High-Yield Savings Accounts]
Who the Fort Knox High Security Savings Account Is For
If you’re looking for an account that protects your savings while earning a competitive interest rate, the Fort Knox High Security Savings account may be worth considering. Since the account restricts external linking to one checking account in your name and it has no password or debit card, it can eliminate opportunities for those funds to be stolen via payment app scams or ATM skimmers. The account’s two-business-day waiting period gives you time to reconsider any withdrawal a scammer may have tricked you into.
However, the heightened security comes at the expense of convenience, which some consumers may not be willing to give up. If you’re among the growing population who use digital payment apps on a regular basis, and are used to having one of the apps connected to your savings account, the Fort Knox account may not be a good fit. Take inventory of your financial behavior and preferences before deciding whether to switch to the high security account.
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High Security Savings? Fort Knox Account Aims to Shield Customers From Fraud originally appeared on usnews.com
