The double whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic shock waves could make anyone feel unsteady. And perhaps that extends to whether you feel safe about keeping your money in a bank.

But as we gain surer footing, both with COVID vaccinations and a renewed economy, you should know that there is no safer place for your money than a bank or credit union – not the proverbial mattress stuffed with cash, not the locked desk drawer in the den and not even the thick-walled safe hidden in the closet. That’s because banks have sophisticated security systems and technologies to protect your money and guard against theft and fraud. What’s more, most bank deposits are insured by an agency of the federal government.

“If your savings are held in a bank, sleep well knowing it’s the safest place your money can be,” says Jeff Jones, head of the department of finance and general business at Missouri State University.

Here are four reasons why bank accounts are super safe:

You don’t have to apply for FDIC insurance. This protection is provided automatically when you open an account. The types of accounts that are covered include checking, savings, money market deposit and certificates of deposit.

To find out if your bank is FDIC-insured, you can contact the bank and ask, look for an FDIC sign at the bank’s premises, call the FDIC at 877-275-3342, or look up the bank in the FDIC BankFind directory.

“The security precautions and systems of a bank are likely much better than you could replicate at your home,” Jones says, “and if a bank were to be robbed, the bank has insurance to cover those losses.”

So even if you worry about a run on the bank – like that scene in “It’s A Wonderful Life” where panicked depositors try to pull out all of their money, or a modern version where it can be done electronically – remember that your funds are protected by FDIC or NCUA insurance.

The standard FDIC insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per account ownership category. Examples of ownership categories include a single account, joint account, trust account or corporate account.

You can have more than $250,000 of insured deposits at one bank if your accounts have different ownership categories.

If your deposits in one ownership category exceed $250,000 and you want to ensure that all of your funds are covered by federal insurance, you could open accounts at more than one bank.

The FDIC website provides details about account categories and an Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator, or EDIE, to help you figure out whether your accounts are insured.

Though you don’t face any losses from a robber physically stealing cash from your bank, you do need to protect yourself from thieves trying to get at your funds, like the money in your checking account via debit card fraud.

“Debit card transactions usually go through checking accounts, so they’re more vulnerable, especially when your debit card is stolen or skimmed,” says Jones.

A skimmer is an electronic device that can capture card numbers from an ATM or payment card reader.

Since your savings accounts usually aren’t connected directly to your debit card, the funds in savings should be safer from debit card thieves.

Beyond your debit card, you also need to be vigilant about scams such as phishing schemes – don’t click on links in shady emails. In addition, be on the lookout for unfamiliar transactions in your accounts.

Even with the safety of banks, for extraordinary circumstances, some financial advisors recommend that you keep small amounts of cash at home in case of an emergency or natural disaster or if you’re strictly quarantined.

“A reasonable amount is one to two weeks of living expenses,” says Charles H. Thomas III, a certified financial planner and founder of Intrepid Eagle Finance in South Carolina.

You may want to invest in a fire-resistant safe for added protection.