Barclays VS Popular Direct

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
4.35%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • High-interest rates
  • Savings assistant helps visualize goals
  • No minimums, fees, or required amounts
  • Options on how to receive interest

Cons:

  • Limited types of accounts offered
  • Transfers take 2-3 business days
  • Customer service is not open 24/7
  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
5.15%APY
Savings/MMA
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • High-interest rates on accounts
  • Account available everywhere
  • Variety of CD terms
  • Online and mobile banking

Cons:

  • Opening accounts requires large deposit
  • The savings account has a monthly fee
  • Only offer CDs and one savings account
  • Linked external account required
Barclays Review

Barclays offers extremely high-interest rates. Their rates are higher than other banks and even other online banks. Their high yield savings account and CDs earn great interest rates. Even their short-term CDs earn higher interest rates than most other banks.

Barclays offers a Savings Assistant tool. First, input your goal. Next, decide how much you want to save and how much you have saved already. Finally, decide how much you can contribute to the account each month. With one click, the Savings Assistant tells you how long it will take you to reach your goal.

There is not a set amount to open a savings or CD account with Barclays. Their accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. There is also not a set amount you are required to keep in the different accounts.

You have the choice of how to receive the money earned on interest. You can choose to have the money kept in the CD or transferred into your Barclays savings account. You can choose to have the money transferred to a verified external account. To set up different interest options log in to your account.

Barclays only offers one high yield savings account and CDs. They do not offer a checking account. Barclays used to offer accounts for minors but stopped in June of 2017. Even though they only offer one savings account, you can open up to 25 different accounts if needed.

Your money is not available immediately. Transfers into your Barclays account take five business days. Electronic transfers from your Barclays account to your external account take 2-3 business days. Money transferred between Barclays accounts are immediate.

There isn’t an app for the Online Savings account and the CD accounts. You can access your accounts and do whatever you need to do online, but not through an app.

Customer service is not available all the time. You can reach customer service through the mail or by the phone. They are open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

Read the full Barclays review.

Popular Direct Review

The interest rates on Popular Direct accounts are very competitive. They are considerably higher than your typical brick and mortar banks. The rates are competitive with other online-only accounts.

Because Popular Direct is an online-only bank, the accounts are available everywhere. Applying for the account is quick and completed online. Everything you need for your account is accessed online. There are no branch locations.

Popular Direct offers a variety of different CD term lengths. The terms range from a three-month term to five-year terms. The other terms include six months, one year, eighteen months, two, three, and four-year terms. The interest rates increase the longer the term length.

All Popular Direct accounts come with online and mobile banking. With online banking, you can set up account notifications and see statements. You can transfer funds between the linked external account. Mobile and online banking allow you to transfer money between Popular Direct accounts. You can check account balances and deposit checks.

To open a savings account with Popular Direct, you must have $5,000 as your opening deposit. To open a CD with Popular Direct, you must have $10,000 as the opening required deposit. You will still earn interest if your balance drops below these required amounts.

Popular Direct savings account has a monthly fee. The fee is $4 per month if your balance falls below $500. No fee is charged if your balance remains above $500. There is also a fee for closing the account before 180 days after opening it. A $5 monthly fee is charged each month if your account is inactive for 12 months. Following the 12th month, the fee is charged each month the account is inactive.

Popular Direct only offers CDs and one savings account. They do not offer a checking account, money market account, or any business accounts. The CDs range from 30-day CDs to a five-year term.

Popular Direct requires you link your account to an external account. The linked account allows you to make deposits into your Popular Direct account. The external bank account cannot be changed within the first 60 days of opening the account.

Read the full Popular Direct review.

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