Customers Bank VS TIAA Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 2.0 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:

  • Free ATM transactions and fee refunds
  • Variety of personal deposit accounts
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Bonus checking account offers good rates

Cons:

  • Accounts have low interest rates
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Tiered interest rates on accounts
  • Monthly fees for most accounts
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.5 Star Icon
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Pros:

  • No monthly fees for accounts
  • High-interest rates on select accounts
  • Variety of business accounts offered
  • Interest on checking, high for first year

Cons:

  • Checking interest drops after first year
  • Large amount required to open accounts
  • Basic accounts have lower interest rates
  • ATM fee reimbursement requires high sum
Customers Bank Review

Customers Bank accounts offer free ATM transactions at PLUS and NYCE ATMs. The Convenience checking account offers ATM fee refunds. To qualify for the refunds, you must have at least $5,000 in Customers Bank accounts.

There are a variety of personal deposit and business accounts available. Those include:

  • Convenience checking
  • Free checking
  • Bonus checking
  • Money market account
  • Reserve savings
  • CDs from 3-60 months
  • Loans and mortgages
  • Business accounts and lending options

The personal deposit accounts with Customers Bank have low opening required amounts. Each of the checking and savings accounts only require $10 to open. The money market requires $50 to open. The CDs require $500 to open.

The Bonus checking account earns competitive interest rates if you meet the qualifications. That requires you to spend $500 a month using your debit card. Those rates are much higher than the standard rates and are competitive with other online checking accounts. To open the Bonus checking account, you must use new money. You cannot use money already in a Customers Bank account.

Most of the accounts with Customers Bank do not offer competitive interest rates. The accounts offer rates similar to traditional bank rates. Customers Bank used to offer accounts with competitive interest rates. Those accounts are no longer available.

Not all accounts at Customers Bank can be opened online. Some accounts require visiting a branch location to open. They have branch locations in eight states. Not all products are available at every location. Contact customer service to see which accounts are available near you.

Money market accounts at Customers Bank have tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive rates requires $250,001. Even the most competitive rate is not competitive with other online money market accounts.

Some Customers Bank accounts have monthly fees. The Convenience checking account has a monthly fee of $29 if you do not meet the requirements. You must keep a $5,000 balance in Customers Bank accounts to waive the fee. The money market account has a $5 fee if your balance falls below $1,000. The retirement savings account has a $5 fee if your balance falls below $100.

Read the full Customers Bank review.

TIAA Bank Review

Note: TIAA has acquired EverBank, rebranding the bank as TIAA Bank. The acquisition completed on June 12, 2018.

The Yield accounts at TIAA Bank do not charge monthly maintenance fees. There is no amount required to keep in the accounts to avoid fees. You will earn interest on any amount you have deposited in the account.

TIAA Bank guarantees that their account offerings will earn the top five percent interest in the nation. This makes them a competitive bank in the field of high-interest rates.

Business accounts are available through TIAA Bank. Your business can earn the high interest rates you earn with personal banking. There are checking accounts for small businesses and non profits. Interest earning and basic business checking accounts are available. Money market accounts, CDs, and credit cards are also available for your business.

The Yield Checking account offers a one-year spotlight APY. The rate for one year is much higher than the regular interest rates. This rate is only for new customers. Earn interest on any amount above $5,000, but less than $250,000.

After the one-year spotlight APY, the rate drops. The account still earns interest, but lower than the first year. The interest you earn after the first year depends on the amount you have in the account. The rates drop by almost one whole percentage point for balances under $10,000.

The high interest earning accounts have a high required opening balance. You must have $5,000 to open the Yield Pledge Checking, Yield Pledge Money Market, and Yield Pledge CD accounts. Once you open one of these accounts, you will earn the top five percent of yields on your money. TIAA Bank ensures the top interest rates on these accounts.

To open the TIAA Bank accounts with the high interest rates you must have $5,000. TIAA Bank does offer a basic checking and savings account. These accounts only require $25 to open. There is no monthly fee as long as you keep $25 in the account. The basic CDs only required $1,000 to open. These basic accounts get lower interest rates, but still competitive.

TIAA Bank does reimburse fees charged at ATMs, but only if your account balance is over $5,000. TIAA Bank does not charge fees for using their ATMs. The fees are only for other bank ATMs.

Read the full TIAA Bank review.

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