Banesco USA VS SmartyPig

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
1.35%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Low opening amounts for most accounts
  • Good variety of accounts available
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Options to contact customer service

Cons:

  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • MMA have high opening amounts
  • Tiered interest rates on some accounts
  • 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:

  • Free savings account
  • Tiered Interest Rates
  • Set up multiple goals
  • Direct withdrawals

Cons:

  • Only offer one type of account
  • Six withdrawals allowed per month
  • Maximum account balance
  • One external funding source allowed
Banesco USA Review

Most Banesco USA accounts have low opening required amounts. The personal deposit checking and savings accounts only require $100 to open. The personal deposit CDs require $1,500 to open.

Banesco USA has a good variety of accounts. They offer personal checking, savings, and money market accounts. They offer personal and business CDs with terms from 3-months to 60-months. They offer business checking, savings, and money market accounts. Banesco offers personal and business international banking accounts, along with lending options.

The Banesco USA accounts offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. The rates are much higher than typical bank rates.

There are a variety of ways to contact customer service. You can call during business hours or can have Banesco call you. You send an email, and customer service will call you. You can visit a local branch location or follow Banesco on social media. You can access account information anytime through BanescoVoice or logging in online.

Not all Banesco USA accounts can be opened online. To open their checking accounts, you must contact customer service. Other accounts may not be able to open online. Personal deposit money market and savings accounts can be opened online. Personal deposit CDs are also able to be opened online.

Most Banesco USA accounts have monthly fees. The fees range from $5 to $15 each month. To waive the fees, you must keep a set account balance in the specific account. This balance is not a combination of Banesco USA accounts. Those balances range from $100 to $2,500 depending on the account.

The Banesco USA money market accounts have high opening required amounts. Each of the personal deposit money market accounts require $2,500 to open. You must keep that amount in the accounts to avoid a monthly fee. If the amount falls below $2,500, the fee is between $5 to $15 per month.

Some Banesco USA accounts have tiered interest rates. The BanesFlex money market account requires $2,500 to earn any interest. But, to earn the most competitive rate offered you must have $100,000 in the account. Balances under this amount earn a much lower rate. The BanesGrown savings account only requires $300 to earn the most competitive rate.

Read the full Banesco USA review.

SmartyPig Review

SmartyPig accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. There is not a required amount to keep in the account. The first initial deposit to open the account is $25.

This savings account offers tiered interest rates. This means the more money you have in the account, the more interest you will earn. The interest rates do not vary much between tiers. The difference from a low amount to the higher amount is around 0.05%.

With this SmartyPig account, you can set up different savings goals. The savings accounts can be long-term, like saving for a college education. They can also be short term, like saving for a mountain bike or birthday party. You can transfer money from your SmartyPig primary account to different savings goals.

The best way to save money is to set up direct withdrawals. You set up when you want the money to come out of your account and how much to withdraw. Then, SmartyPig does the rest. Once the money is deposited into your account, you can transfer it into different savings goal. The withdrawals can be set up to occur monthly or biweekly.

SmartyPig has only one account offered: a high yield savings account. They do not offer checking accounts, CDs, money market accounts, or business accounts. The interest rate on this savings account is considerably higher than other banks savings accounts.

The website says you can withdraw money anytime, but federal regulation only allows six withdrawals per billing cycle. This includes transfers between your SmartyPig primary account and your different savings goals. The transfer or withdrawal will not take place if you have made more than six in a billing cycle. If you repeatedly try to make more than six, your account will be closed. Once you reach your goal, you cannot withdraw part of your money back to your external funding source. You must withdraw it all, or transfer the money between other savings goals.

This account is not meant for high account balances. There is a maximum account balance of $250,000. If your account has $250,000, you will earn interest on the money in the account, but you cannot add to the account.

Each SmartyPig account is only allowed to have one external funding source set up for it. That means you can only have one bank account connected to each SmartyPig account. You can change your external funding source if you want, but never have more than one.

Read the full SmartyPig review.

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