CommunityWide FCU VS Washington Savings Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Accounts offer competitive rates
  • Low opening amounts and no monthly fees
  • Variety of savings accounts offered
  • Funds savings account

Cons:

  • Must join the credit union first
  • No ATM fee reimbursement
  • Only one checking account offered
  • CD early withdrawal penalty can be high
  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
0.05%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Low opening required amounts
  • Variety of bank accounts
  • Online Rewards checking account
  • Checking and CDs offer competitive rates

Cons:

  • Must meet requirements to earn interest
  • Not competitive rates for savings and MMA
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Not everyone can open accounts
CommunityWide FCU Review

Accounts at CommunityWide FCU offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. CommunityWide rates are much higher than typical bank rates. Their rates are not tiered. Any balance above the required amount earns competitive interest rates.

CommunityWide accounts have low opening required amounts. The savings accounts require $5 to open. The checking account requires $15 to open. The CD terms each require $1,000 to open. The CommunityWide FCU checking and savings accounts do not have a monthly fee. If you only open a savings account and the account does not have any activity, there is a $5 dormant account fee. That fee applies for each month with no activity.

CommunityWide offers a wide variety of savings accounts. The accounts offered include:

  • Personal savings account
  • High-yield savings account
  • Funds savings account
  • CD terms from six months to five years
  • IRA accounts

A Funds savings account is available through CommunityWide FCU. This account acts as a savings account but earns a higher interest rate. Members can only withdraw money deposited in the account at specific times. You can choose whether to withdraw the money monthly or quarterly. Money can be deposited into the Funds savings account anytime.

Before you can open an account with CommunityWide, you must become a member of the credit union. To be eligible to join, you must have worked for a certain company or be a spouse of someone who has. Members of certain organizations are eligible. Immediate family members of CommunityWide members qualify to open an account. Once you qualify, you must show a valid government-issued ID and your Social Security Number.

CommunityWide Federal Credit Union does not offer ATM fee reimbursements. They offer over 30,000 ATMs free for members to use. If you make a transaction with another ATM, not in their network, you may be charged a fee. CommunityWide will not reimburse you for those fees.

CommunityWide FCU offers many accounts, but only one checking account. The checking account earns interest for balances over $1 and requires $15 to open. It is the only checking account available through CommunityWide FCU.

The early withdrawal fee for CommunityWide FCU CDs can be higher than other CD fees. CommunityWide FCU uses a specific formula to determine the penalty. First, they take the withdrawn amount times the remaining days at twice the current APR. They then divide the amount by 365. There is not a set penalty based on term length.

Read the full CommunityWide FCU review.

Washington Savings Bank Review

Accounts at Washington Savings Bank have low required opening amounts. All the checking and money market accounts only require $10 to open. The savings account opening balances range from $1 to $50, depending on the account. All the CD terms require $500 to open.

Washington Savings Bank has a variety of personal deposit and business accounts. They offer three personal checking accounts and a variety of savings accounts. They also offer CDs, business accounts, and lending options.

Washington Savings Bank offers an Online Rewards checking account. This account is available to U.S. citizens across the country. You earn debit card cash rewards for purchases. You must have a direct deposit into this account. There is a monthly fee of $9.95. This is a checking account for those who need a second chance. After one year of good accounts history, you can receive a lower monthly fee.

The Washington Savings Bank checking accounts and CDs offer competitive interest rates. Not all CDs offer competitive rates. There are five special CD terms that have competitive rates. The checking account does have tiered interest rates. The most competitive rate is for balances between $0 and $10,000. Some qualifications must be met to earn the competitive rate.

The checking account has set requirements to earn the competitive interest rate. Those qualifications include having at least 12 debit card purchases post and clear. You must receive eStatements. You must also have one automatic payment, direct deposit, or bill pay post and clear. If these qualifications are met each month, you earn the competitive interest rate.

The savings and money market account do not have competitive interest rates. Washington Savings Bank offers a variety of savings accounts, but the rates are low. These account rates are not competitive with other online accounts.

Some Washington Savings Bank accounts have a monthly maintenance fee. Those fees range from $3 to $10 depending on the account. To waive the fees requires a set amount be in the accounts. Those balances range from $50 to $2,500. The Online Rewards checking has a monthly fee of $9.95.

Not everyone can open Washington Savings Bank accounts. Savings accounts are only for residents of Massachusetts or New Hampshire. Two of the checking accounts are only offered to those residents as well. The Online Rewards checking account is available for anyone. That account has a $9.95 monthly fee.

Read the full Washington Savings Bank review.

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