Community First Bank VS Home Savings Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 3.0 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:

  • Christmas savings account
  • Business accounts, including nonprofits
  • Business Premium Package
  • Cash Management options for businesses

Cons:

  • Have to open accounts at a branch
  • Interest rates not listed on website
  • Unlimited withdrawals, but only in person
  • Most accounts have high opening deposits
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates for CDs
  • Personal deposit accounts offered
  • Can open CDs online
  • Online mortgage options

Cons:

  • High opening required amounts
  • Monthly maintenance fees are high
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • MMA has tiered interest rates
Community First Bank Review

Community First Bank offers a special savings account for Christmas. This account only requires $10 to open. You can set up automatic transfers for monthly, twice a month, or weekly. After October 1 of each year, you can withdraw an unlimited amount of times until the last day of December. Withdrawals are only allowed those three months. There is a withdrawal fee if not withdrawn during the designated time.

A variety of different business accounts are available. There are four different checking accounts, including one for a nonprofit. Community First Bank offers savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs. Loans, credit cards, and retirement accounts are available for business accounts.

You can sign up for the Business Premium Package. This sets you up for a checking account, savings account, and a money market account. You also sign up for two other accounts from ten other options. HSA, credit cards, loans, and cash management all qualify. With the package, you receive 100 free additional transactions from your business checking.

The cash management lets you have different levels of authority on accounts. You decide what employees can see about customer accounts. You can add more users to the accounts. The premium option pays taxes and payroll. Cash management automatically deducts customer fees or payments.

You cannot open accounts online. Some account applications are available to download and send to the local branch. To open checking, savings, money market, CDs, and business accounts you must apply in a local branch. Community First Bank only has branches in Wisconsin.

To know the interest rates on Community First Bank accounts, you must call a local branch. The interest rates are not available on the website. You could earn higher interest rates on CDs by opening certain accounts.

The Community First Bank's money market accounts offer unlimited withdrawals. The withdrawals must be made in person at a local branch. You are only allowed six withdrawals from other methods per billing cycle. Those methods include withdrawals made by ATMs, checks, check cards, and electronic transfers.

The basic accounts have low opening balances. However, to earn the competitive interest rates, there is a high opening balance. The required amounts range from $1,000 to $10,000.

Read the full Community First Bank review.

Home Savings Bank Review

Home Savings Bank CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. Their rates are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates. The rates are competitive whether you open the account in the branch or online.

Personal deposit accounts are available through Home Savings Bank. These accounts include a checking account, money market account, CDs, and IRAs. Not all accounts can be opened online. Only the CDs and IRAs have the option to open online.

Home Savings Bank offers CDs that are entirely online. These accounts are available for anyone across the United States to open. You must be at least 18 years old. You must be a resident of the United States or a resident alien. You must have an address in the U.S., a social security number, and a driver license or other ID.

Home Savings Bank offers online mortgage options. You apply for your loan online. A loan officer will contact you by phone, email, or online chat to answer your questions. Because the mortgage is online, the rates and fees are typically lower than other banks.

Each of the accounts with Home Savings Bank has a high required opening amount. The CDs, money market account, checking account, and IRA accounts all require $5,000 to open. The opening required amount is the same whether opening in the branch or online.

The monthly maintenance fees for Home Savings Bank accounts are high. The fee for the money market account and checking account is $35 a month. Waive this fee by keeping a set balance in the account. The checking account requires $5,000 in a combination of Home Savings Bank accounts to waive the fee. The money market account must have $2,500 in the account to waive the fee.

Not all Home Savings Bank accounts have the option of opening online. Only the Home Savings Bank CDs and IRAs have the online option. To open the checking or money market account visit the branch location. There is one branch location in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The interest rates for the Home Savings Bank MMA are not competitive. These rates are also tiered. To earn the best rate requires an account balance over $200,000. Even the highest rate is not competitive with other online money market accounts. Only the CDs with Home Savings Bank earn competitive interest rates.

Read the full Home Savings Bank review.

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