Trust & Transparency

How SwitchWize works

We believe you deserve to know exactly how we make money, how we rank products, and what we do with your data.

Quick answers

Does SwitchWize earn referral fees?: As of September 26, 2026, SwitchWize has no active affiliate or referral agreements and no compensated product links.
Are SwitchWize rankings paid?: No. Organic rankings are based on rate, fees, minimums, trust score, and switching friction. No institution can pay to rank higher.
How often are rates updated?: Daily, typically by 7 AM ET each weekday. Every product card shows the date it was last reviewed.

How we make money

As of September 26, 2026, SwitchWize has no active affiliate or referral agreements and no compensated product links.

This does not determine how products are ranked. Our editorial rankings are based on objective data: interest rates, fees, minimum balances, switching friction scores, and FDIC status. A bank cannot pay to rank #1 on SwitchWize.

Product links may lead to provider websites. Check the provider's current terms before applying.

How we rank products

Every product on SwitchWize is scored on five dimensions. The weighting varies by category.

Rate / Yield

APY for savings, APR for loans. Rates are collected from official provider pages where available and cross-checked against trusted third-party sources. National average data from Federal Reserve FRED API.

Fees

Monthly fees, origination fees, balance transfer fees, annual fees. Lower is better.

Minimum balance / deposit

Products with no minimum rank higher than those requiring $2,500+ to earn the advertised rate.

Switching friction

Our proprietary score: how hard is it to open this account and move your money? Online-only, instant approval = Low. Branch visit required = High.

Brand trust score

Based on years in operation, FDIC/SIPC status, Better Business Bureau rating, and public complaint data from the CFPB.

Full methodology →

Your data

SwitchWize does not sell your personal data. Ever.

If you create an account, we store your email, saved products, and Money Map results. This data is used solely to power your dashboard and rate alerts — nothing else.

We use Google Analytics to understand aggregate traffic patterns. Individual browsing sessions are not tracked or sold.

When you click through to a provider, we may pass campaign parameters to understand outbound traffic. The provider receives no data about other pages you visited on SwitchWize.

Security

SOC 2

SOC 2-aligned controls

Formal certification planned

ISO

ISO 27001-aligned controls

Security program mapped to ISO practices

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Clerk Auth

Bank-grade authentication, never stores passwords

We describe our security controls as aligned to these frameworks only. SwitchWize does not claim formal SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification unless a completed third-party report is available.

Questions or concerns?

We take editorial independence seriously. If you see something that doesn't look right, tell us.

Contact editorial team →