A savings account is a balance of funds maintained with a depository institution in order to accumulate money. It is a useful and time-tested way of saving up money for whatever the future holds. The bank or depository institution makes a pledge to repay the amounts maintained in the account. Typically, such institutions are regulated in the United States and provide a depositor protection insurance, which guarantees the funds will be available when needed by depositor.

Typically, longer-term investments are put into equities or fixed deposits because they yield a higher rate of interest. Each depository institution maintains their own policies about how savings accounts can be used. In many cases one bank can have several savings account offerings depending on the type of customer they seek.

People may open a time deposit account, wherein the cash deposited is kept for a predetermined tenure. However, withdrawals can be made after giving a notice or incurring loss of interest. A dormant savings account typically has no transactions except collecting interest from the savings amount for a specified period of time.

A passbook savings account is one in which deposits and withdrawals are documented in the depositor's passbook. Other types of savings also include corporate retained earnings and a government budget surplus.

In simple terms, ‘savings’ sounds easy to understand. However, there are a few definitions of what exactly the term savings can mean. One may argue that the portion of a person's income that is utilized on mortgage settlements and not spent on present consumption should consequently be termed as savings.