Question

Savings account A and savings account B both offer APRs of 2%, but savings account A compounds interest quarterly, while savings account B compounds interest monthly. Which savings account offers the higher APY?

Answer 1

Savings account B offers a higher APY because monthly compounding gives a better return than quarterly compounding.

Savings account A: Quarterly compounding: APY = (1+0.02/4)^4 -1 = 2.015%

Savings account B : Monthly compounding: APY = (1+0.02/12)^12 -1 = 2.018%

As we can see, Savings account B with monthly compounding produces a slightly higher APY than A and hence is better than A