Axos VS Merrick Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
0.25%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Variety of accounts available
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Most accounts do not have monthly fees
  • Low opening required amounts

Cons:

  • Earning interest has set requirements
  • Tiered interest rates on accounts
  • Not all rate information listed
  • Interest rates may change without notice
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates on CDs
  • Credit cards available
  • Accounts are online
  • Interest credited monthly

Cons:

  • High opening required amount
  • Not everyone qualifies for an account
  • Acceptance takes a long time
  • Limited accounts offered
Axos Review

Axos Bank offers a good variety of bank accounts. They offer cash-back and interest-earning checking accounts. They offer a checking account for those over 55 and for teens. Axos offers money market and savings account, along with CDs. Their CD terms range from three to 60 months. Axos offers checking, savings, and money market accounts for businesses. They also offer lending options for personal accounts and business accounts.

The Axos Bank accounts offer competitive interest rates. The rates are slightly lower than other online accounts but still competitive. Axos Bank interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates. There is not a set account balance required to earn interest.

The Axos Bank accounts do not have monthly fees. The accounts do not have set balances that you must keep in your account to avoid fees. These accounts are free. The only accounts with a fee are the Second Chance and World checking accounts. That fee is $6.95 a month with a direct deposit for the Second Chance account. The World checking account fee is $30 if your balance falls below $150,000.

The minimum opening required amount for Axos accounts are low. Most of the Axos checking accounts require $50 to open. The World checking account requires $75,000 to open. The savings accounts require $50 to open. The High Yield savings and IRA savings accounts requires $250. The High Yield money market account and CDs both require $1,000 to open.

The Axos Rewards checking account has requirements to earn competitive interest rates. The more requirements you meet, the more interest you earn. To earn the most competitive rate, you must have a direct deposit into your account and make 15 debit card transactions each month.

Most Axos accounts have tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive interest rates requires a high account balance. The highest tier requires more than $100,000 in the account. Some checking accounts will not earn interest if the balance is over $150,000.

Not all the rate information for Axos accounts is on the website. The disclosures say accounts have tiered interest rates. The Axos website does not list the rates for the different tiers. To find the specific rates for the tiers call customer service.

Interest rates for Axos accounts may change without notice. This applies to their checking, savings, and money market accounts. The rates are subject to change without giving the customer notice. The interest rates on CDs are also subject to change at the bank's discretion.

Read the full Axos review.

Merrick Bank Review

Interest rates on Merrick Bank CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online CDs. They are much higher than other brick and mortar bank rates.

Merrick Bank offers personal credit cards. They offer a Secured Visa credit card specifically to build or rebuild customer’s credit. They also offer a Platinum Visa for customers who have better credit. Each credit card comes with Zero Liability for Unauthorized Use and account alerts.

Merrick Bank is an online account. Once you are approved to open a CD everything else for your account is online or on the mobile app. You can deposit or withdraw money from the CD during the grace period or at maturity.

The Merrick Bank 12-month CD term offers competitive interest rates. The interest you earn is credited to your account each month. You can watch your money grow. You can withdraw money from your CD during the grace period or once the CD reaches maturity.

To open a CD through Merrick Bank requires a large sum. The 12-month CD requires $25,000 to open the account. The opening deposit must be one transaction. Deposit money electronically through a linked bank account.

When applying for a CD with Merrick Bank, you must qualify. Each CD is carefully reviewed. Acceptance to open a CD is based on the person's credit. If you do not meet the set criteria, you cannot open an account with Merrick Bank. If you receive an offer in the mail, you are eligible to open a CD.

After you apply for an account with Merrick Bank, you will receive a letter in the mail. This will inform you if you qualified for an account or not. The letter takes two to three weeks to receive. If after the allotted time you have not heard from Merrick Bank, you can call customer service.

Merrick Bank offers a limited amount of personal deposit accounts. Only one 12-month CD is available. They do offer personal credit cards and lending options. This bank helps customers build or rebuild their credit. To open an account, you must qualify.

Read the full Merrick Bank review.

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