Brian McKay
Brian McKay
Co-Founder & Lead Data Architect- Automated Online Rate Data Aggregation
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MonitorBankRates Reader Survey: Half of Savers Say Their Bank Still Has Not Raised Their Rate After the September Fed Hike
The Federal Reserve raised rates 0.25% on September 16, 2026. From September 27 to October 4, 341 MonitorBankRates readers answered three multiple-choice questions. Half of savers said their bank still has not raised their savings or CD rate, while 29% got a higher rate and 21% switched banks. Half of homeowners on home loan pages have a mortgage rate under 4%, and 72% of borrowers would use a personal loan to pay off other debt.
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From September 27 to October 4, 2026, MonitorBankRates ran its second reader survey since the September rate increase, in a bar at the top of every page on the site. Each visitor saw one question matched to the section they were reading: savings, CD and other deposit pages asked whether the reader’s bank had raised their rate, home loan pages asked about the rate on the reader’s current mortgage, and loan and credit card pages asked how the reader would pay off debt. Readers cast 341 votes across the three questions.
One vote per browser per question. No names, email addresses or personal information were collected. Results describe MonitorBankRates readers who chose to answer, not a national sample. Margins of error for each question are in the methodology section below.
Key takeaways
- Half of savers say their bank has not raised their savings or CD rate since the September 16 increase: 108 of 216 votes.
- About one in five savers switched banks for a better rate (45 votes), while 29% (63 votes) say their bank raised their rate.
- Half of homeowners have a mortgage rate under 4% (36 of 72 votes), and a third pay over 6% (24 votes). Only 12 readers fall between 4% and 6%.
- 72% of borrowers would use a personal loan to pay off other debt (38 of 53 votes). 19% are waiting for rates to fall, and 9% would use a balance transfer card.
- 341 readers voted in total, anonymously, with one vote per browser per question.
Half of savers are still waiting on their bank
Has your bank raised your savings or CD rate since the Fed’s September hike?
216 votes on savings, CD, money market, checking and all other pages. Margin of error 6.7 points.
The saver question drew the most votes: 216. Of those readers, 108 said their bank has not raised their savings or CD rate since the September 16 increase, 63 said it has, and 45 said they switched banks for a better rate. With a margin of error of 6.7 points, the share of savers still waiting falls somewhere between 43% and 57%.
Banks tend to move rates on new accounts and promotional CDs first, and existing savings balances can lag behind. Among the 153 readers whose bank did not raise their rate, close to three in ten moved their money instead of waiting. In our September survey, 84% of savers said they planned to move money to a higher-yield account. The two surveys asked different questions and are not the same group of readers, but together they suggest many savers plan to move and fewer have done it so far.
A saver still waiting on a raise can compare current offers on the savings account rates, CD rates and money market rates pages, which list rates from banks and credit unions nationwide, updated daily.
Half of homeowners have a mortgage rate under 4%
What is the rate on your current mortgage?
72 votes on mortgage, refinance and home equity pages. Margin of error 11.5 points.
Readers on mortgage, refinance and home equity pages were asked the rate on their current mortgage. 36 of 72 said it is under 4%, and 24 said it is over 6%. Only 12 readers, about one in six, reported a rate between 4% and 6%. The answers cluster at the two ends rather than the middle.
Rates under 4% generally date from loans made or refinanced when mortgage rates were near record lows, and homeowners holding them have little reason to refinance or sell. Readers paying over 6% are in a different position: they are the group most likely to benefit if rates come down. A reader in that group can check current refinance rates and model the savings on the refinance calculator, or compare mortgage rates from lenders nationwide.
72% of borrowers would use a personal loan to pay off other debt
Would you take on new debt to pay off other debt right now?
53 votes on auto loan, personal loan, credit card and debt consolidation pages. Margin of error 12.1 points.
On loan and credit card pages, readers were asked whether they would take on new debt to pay off other debt right now. 38 of 53 chose a personal loan, 10 said they are waiting for rates to fall, and 5 chose a balance transfer card. Even at the low end of the margin of error, about six in ten of these readers would use a personal loan.
This question collected the fewest votes of the three, and it was shown on personal loan pages among others, so readers already researching personal loans are likely overrepresented. Readers weighing that choice can compare personal loan rates and debt consolidation loans, or look at balance transfer credit cards as an alternative.
Full results
| Question | Answer | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has your bank raised your savings or CD rate since the Fed's September hike? | No, still waiting | 108 | 50% |
| Yes | 63 | 29% | |
| I switched banks | 45 | 21% | |
| Total, margin of error ±6.7 pts | 216 | ||
| What is the rate on your current mortgage? | Under 4% | 36 | 50% |
| 4% to 5% | 7 | 10% | |
| 5% to 6% | 5 | 7% | |
| Over 6% | 24 | 33% | |
| Total, margin of error ±11.5 pts | 72 | ||
| Would you take on new debt to pay off other debt right now? | Personal loan | 38 | 72% |
| Neither, waiting for rates to fall | 10 | 19% | |
| Balance transfer card | 5 | 9% | |
| Total, margin of error ±12.1 pts | 53 |
Shares are rounded to whole percentages. Margins of error are at 95% confidence for each question’s leading answer and its own vote count.
How the survey was run
The October 2026 MonitorBankRates Reader Survey ran from September 27 through October 4, 2026 as three multiple-choice questions in a bar at the top of MonitorBankRates.com pages. The question a visitor saw depended on the section: mortgage, refinance and home equity pages asked about the reader’s current mortgage rate; auto loan, personal loan, credit card and debt consolidation pages asked about paying off debt; savings, CD, money market, checking and all other pages asked whether the reader’s bank had raised their rate.
Each browser could vote once per question, enforced with a setting on the visitor’s device. Votes were tallied by MonitorBankRates. The survey was anonymous: no names, email addresses or personal information were collected. Respondents are MonitorBankRates readers who chose to answer, so results describe this site’s readers rather than a nationally representative sample.
These results are free for editorial, academic and policy use. Cite them as “MonitorBankRates Reader Survey, October 2026.” The figures on this page are final and will not change.
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This article is for general information and is not financial advice. Results reflect the answers of MonitorBankRates readers who chose to respond and are not a nationally representative sample.
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