Bank of the West VS E*TRADE

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 2.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Business accounts are available
  • Direct deposit is not required
  • A variety of different lengths of CDs
  • Transfer money to others with PopMoney

Cons:

  • Low-interest rates on accounts
  • High initial required amounts for CDs
  • High required amounts for accounts
  • Products change based on states
  • Financial Rates: 1.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • No minimum opening deposits
  • Interest rates not tiered
  • ATM fee reimbursement
  • Can open accounts online

Cons:

  • Max-Rate checking account has a fee
  • Limited personal accounts offered
  • Low interest rates on accounts
  • Business accounts limited
Bank of the West Review

Bank of the West offers checking, savings, CDs, and money market accounts for your business. Credit cards, loans, and lines of credit are also available. Bank of the West offers payroll services and payment processing options. Foreign exchange services for business accounts are also available. Interest rates for their different business accounts are not listed on the website.

Bank of the West does not require you to have direct deposit into their checking account. There is a monthly maintenance fee, but you can waive that fee by depositing money into your account each month. You can deposit any amount by an ATM, in-branch, direct, or mobile deposit to waive the fee.

Bank of the West offers Flexible-Term CDs, Premium Money Market CD, and a Relationship CD. Within these different CD types are a variety of term lengths, except the Relationship CD. That only has a 12-month term option. To apply for a CD and get the specific term lengths and rates you have to visit a branch. You cannot apply online.

With Popmoney you can send or receive money with only an email, text, or account number. You decide where the money is deposited. You will receive an alert when the transaction is complete. There is a fee to send money overnight, and not all customers qualify to use Popmoney.

Personal banking accounts of Bank of the West do not have competitive interest rates. The rates are much less than online-only banks but similar to typical bank interest rates.

To open a CD, you must have an opening balance of $1,000 for the Flexible-Term CDs and Premier Money Market CDs. To open a Relationship CD, you must have $2,500 and a checking account with Bank of the West.

To waive the Premier Checking account fee, you must have $25,000 in qualifying accounts. The Choice Money Market account requires $5,000. CD accounts require $1,000 to $2,500 to open. The Classic Savings account requires $300. There are other options for ways to have monthly fees waived. Know the options if you cannot keep the required amounts of money in the accounts.

Bank of the West accounts are not available in all states. To apply for an account, you must have an address in one of the states listed. Interest rates and products differ between states. The name of the bank may be slightly different as well depending on the area.

Read the full Bank of the West review.

E*TRADE Review

E*TRADE accounts do not have set amounts required to open accounts. You can open the Premium savings, Max-Rate checking, and E*TRADE checking with any amount. To avoid a monthly fee may require a set balance, but not to open the account.

The interest rates for E*TRADE Bank accounts are not tiered. Any balance earns the most competitive interest rate. The highest rates are not competitive with other online-only accounts. But any balance earns the best rate.

E*TRADE Bank accounts offer unlimited ATM fee reimbursement. There are no ATM fees for money withdrawn from ATMs across the nation. To get a refund, you must meet certain qualifications. If you qualify for the refund, the money should be in your account by the end of the day of the ATM transaction. Not all accounts offer ATM fee refunds.

You can open E*TRADE accounts online. They are available for anyone to open across the United States. You can transfer money from external bank accounts into your E*TRADE account.

The E*TRADE Max-Rate checking account has a monthly fee. The fee is $15 a month. Waive the fee by keeping a set account balance in one account or an average in multiple accounts. Having a direct deposit over $200 waives the fee. Making a set amount of trades can also help waive the fees.

The types of personal accounts offered through E*TRADE Bank are limited to new customers. Those accounts include a savings account and two checking accounts. More accounts may be available once you become a customer.

The E*TRADE Bank accounts earn interest, but the rates are low. The interest rates are not competitive with other online accounts. Any account balance earns the most competitive rate. Even the highest rates are not competitive with other online accounts.

E*TRADE offers limited accounts for small businesses. They do not offer traditional accounts for small or commercial businesses. The accounts offered to small businesses include retirement accounts.

Read the full E*TRADE review.

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American Express
Savings (Rate as of 4/26/2024)
APY 4.25%
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