California First National Bank VS Presidential Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 1.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Reimbursement of ATM fees
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Interest rates are not tiered
  • Free first order of checks with checking

Cons:

  • Not a wide variety of accounts
  • High opening required amounts
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Not all CDs offer competitive rates
  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
0.25%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Variety of personal deposit accounts
  • Some accounts offer competitive rates
  • Business accounts and services offered
  • Low opening required amounts

Cons:

  • Must meet requirements to earn interest
  • High required amounts for MMA
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Accounts have monthly fees
California First National Bank Review

You can withdraw money from any ATMs with the specific “Plus” logo. If you withdraw money from another ATM, you are reimbursed for the fees charged. CalFirst will reimburse up to $6.00 each statement cycle in ATM fees.

Most CalFirst accounts offer competitive interest rates. The interest rates are not tiered, so you earn the highest rates offered on any balance in the account. Interest is paid monthly on the actual daily balance.

The interest rates for CalFirst accounts are not tiered. Any amount you have in their accounts earns the competitive interest rates. You do not have to have a certain amount in the account to earn the most competitive rates.

The first order of checks is free when you open an interest checking account. You get an ATM card when you open an interest checking account. Free online bill pay comes with each CalFirst checking account opened.

CalFirst does not have a wide variety of accounts. No business accounts are available, only personal deposit accounts. One money market account and savings account are available. There is an interest checking and one regular checking account. CalFirst only offers five different CD terms.

CalFirst accounts have high opening amounts. The money market account and CDs require $5,000 to open. The interest checking account requires $2,500 to open. The savings account and regular checking account both require $1,000 to open.

The accounts at CalFirst all have a monthly fee. The fees range from $10 to $20 a month, depending on the account you open. Waive the fee by keeping a set amount in CalFirst accounts. You can also have a combined balance between a variety of CalFirst accounts.

Not all the CD terms offer competitive rates. The most competitive rates are the three-month, six-month, and the one-year terms. The two-year and three-year terms have interest rates much lower than the other terms. Regular CDs require $5,000 to open. The IRA CDs require $2,000 to open. The only fees are if you withdraw the money before the maturity date.

Read the full California First National Bank review.

Presidential Bank Review

Presidential Bank offers a wide variety of personal deposit accounts. They offer seven checking accounts, two savings accounts, and a variety of CDs. Each account has requirements to open the account and to earn interest. Find the one that works best for you.

The Presidential Bank Checkless Checking account and the Money Market Plus Checking account offer competitive interest rates. Most of the CDs also offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. They are much higher than other brick and mortar bank rates.

Presidential Bank offers a variety of business accounts. Those accounts include checking, savings, and money market accounts, and CDs. They also offer a variety of lending options for businesses. Those include real estate lending, equipment lending, and working capital lines of credit.

Most Presidential Bank accounts have low opening required amounts. Most checking accounts require either $100 or $500 to open. One savings account only requires $100 to open. All the CD terms require $1,000 to open. Some accounts do have higher required amounts.

The Checkless Checking account has the most competitive rates. You must meet account requirements to earn the most competitive interest rates. Those requirements include having a direct deposit into the account each month. You must also make a set amount of electronic withdrawals per month. Other requirements may apply.

The Presidential Bank Money Market Plus Checking account offers competitive interest rates. To earn the most competitive rate requires a high balance. That account must have $100,000 to open and earn interest. The interest rates are considerably lower if your account balance falls below $100,000.

Not all Presidential Bank accounts can open online. Some accounts require opening in a branch location. Those accounts include checking accounts. Most other Presidential Bank accounts can be opened online.

Checking, savings, and money market accounts with Presidential Bank all have monthly fees. Those fees range from $2 to $5 a month, depending on the account. Waive those fees each month by keeping your account balance above a certain amount. The amount changes based on the accounts.

Read the full Presidential Bank review.

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