when overall interest rates are higher as they were during the 1980s 1990s and much of the 2000s the gap between the two types of accounts will be wider money market accounts can offer higher interest rates because they re permitted to invest in certificates of deposit cds government securities and commercial paper which savings accounts cannot do 
the interest rates on money market accounts are variable so they rise or fall with inflation how that interest is compounded yearly monthly or daily for example can have a substantial impact on the depositor s return especially if they maintain a high balance in their account unlike savings accounts many money market accounts offer some check writing privileges and also provide a debit card with the account much like a regular checking account the lines between high yield savings accounts and money market accounts are increasingly blurred and you may want to compare both money market accounts and savings account rates to ensure you re picking the best product for you money market accounts mmas vs checking accountsmoney market and checking accounts share some basic characteristics the same way they do with savings accounts account holders can make unlimited deposits 7 some of them even offer debit cards which allow account owners to make point of sale pos transactions they can also write checks against an mma too in april 2020 the federal reserve lifted restrictions set for accounts like mmas under regulation d 8 prior to this depositors were limited to a total of six transfers and electronic payments per month the types of transfers affected were pre authorized transfers including overdraft protection telephone transfers electronic transfers checks or debit card payments to third parties ach transactions and wire transfers depositors who exceeded the limits were fined 7although the rules were amended under federal regulations some banks may still impose limitations and restrictions on how their mmas may be used as such it s important to check with your financial institution about the rules money market accounts mmas vs mutual fundsunlike the various bank and credit union accounts described above money market mutual funds offered by brokerage firms and mutual fund companies are not fdic or ncua insured banks may also offer mutual funds but they aren t insured either however because they invest in safe short term vehicles such as cds government securities and commercial paper they are considered to be very low risk 2both money market accounts and money market mutual funds offer quick access to the depositor s cash the companies that offer them however can place limits on how often depositors can make withdrawals or redeem shares others may require that any checks they write be for over a certain amount the returns on money market mutual funds tend to be higher than those on money market accounts the table below compares some of the common features found in money market accounts and other types of deposit accounts because interest rates and other provisions can vary from one financial institution to another it s worth shopping around source investopedia