Dime Community Bank VS WaFd Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 2.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

Pros:

  • Low opening required balances
  • Some CDs offer competitive rates
  • Variety of different types of accounts
  • Business accounts are available

Cons:

  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Most account rates are not competitive
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Branch locations only in New York
  • Financial Rates: 2.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.5 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

Pros:

  • Good variety of accounts available
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Business accounts offered
  • Money market and CDs earn good rates

Cons:

  • Low interest rates on accounts
  • Tiered interest rates on some accounts
  • High rates require eligible checking
  • Accounts have monthly fees
Dime Community Bank Review

Most Dime accounts have a low required opening amount. All the checking accounts only require $25 to open. The money market account requires $1,000, and CDs require $500. The club savings accounts only require $5 to open.

Some Dime CD terms offer competitive interest rates. The rates with the most competitive terms are the 4, 24, 36, 48, and 80-month CDs. The rates for these accounts are competitive with other online CDs. Dime CDs can be opened in a branch location.

Dime offers a variety of personal accounts. The accounts include:

  • Statement savings account
  • Student savings account
  • Money market savings account
  • Club savings accounts
  • Personal checking
  • Fabulous 50 Interest checking
  • Direct Interest checking
  • Prime Dime Interest checking
  • CDs from three months to 84-months
  • Retirement accounts
  • Personal mortgage and lending options

Dime offers many business accounts. Savings, checking, and money market accounts are available for businesses. CDs and lines of credit are available. Business account holders have access to different money management options. Online and mobile banking are also available for business accounts.

You cannot open Dime accounts online. To open a CD and savings account, you must visit a branch location. To open a checking account, you can call customer service or visit a local branch. Dime has branch locations in New York.

Most of the interest rates offered on Dime accounts are not competitive. The interest rates are similar to typical brick-and mortar-rates. Only a few CDs offer interest rates competitive with online-only accounts.

Some Dime accounts have monthly fees. The fees range from $4 to $10 a month. Waive the fees by keeping a set account balance. Those balances range from $500 to $1,500, depending on the account.

All Dime branch locations are in New York. If you do not live close to a branch, you are not able to open those accounts. You must visit a branch location to open Dime accounts. They have 28 branch locations around New York.

Read the full Dime Community Bank review.

WaFd Bank Review

WaFd Bank offers a good variety of accounts. Those include:

  • Savings account
  • Savings account for minors
  • Checking accounts
  • Money market accounts
  • CD terms from three-months to five-years
  • Retirement accounts
  • Lending options
  • Credit cards
  • Small business accounts
  • Commercial options

The opening required amounts for WaFd accounts are low. Most savings and checking accounts only require $25 to open. A savings account for minors requires $10 to open. The Stellar Plus checking account requires $100 to open. The money market accounts require $100 to open. All CD terms require $1,000 to open.

WaFd Bank offers business accounts along with personal accounts. Those accounts include small business checking and savings accounts. They also offer some commercial business accounts. To open those accounts, you need to contact a commercial banker.

The WaFd Gold Money Market account has competitive rates. These account rates are the most competitive rates offered at WaFd. They are lower than other online money market accounts but still competitive. The seven-month and 13-month special CDs also earn higher rates than other WaFd CDs.

WaFd accounts besides the Gold MMA and special CD terms have low interest rates. These rates are similar to other brick-and-mortar bank rates. They do not compare to other online-only accounts.

Some WaFd accounts have tiered interest rates. To receive the highest rate for the Stellar Plus checking account requires a $10,000 balance. The regular money market account requires $90,000 to earn the best rate. Even the highest interest rate for these accounts is low.

Specific WaFd accounts require you to open other eligible accounts. To earn the best rates on the special CD terms, you must have an eligible checking account. The rates are only 0.05% higher if you have the checking account.

Most WaFd Bank accounts have monthly fees. The checking account fees range from $0-8 per month. The savings accounts have monthly fees from $3-10 per month. There are ways to waive some of the monthly fees. Those include keeping a set account balance. That balance ranges from $100-$20,000, depending on the account.

Read the full WaFd Bank review.

Sponsored Offers
From Our Partners

Advertiser Disclosure
Sponsored Offers
American Express
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 3.80%
Rate 3.73%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.
Next >
Openbank
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.75%
Rate 4.65%
Min to Open $500
Min to Earn APY $500
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.
Next >
Capital One
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 3.80%
Rate 3.80%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.

Promoted offer: It only takes about 5 minutes to open a fee-free account.
Next >
EverBank
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.40%
Rate 4.30%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.

Promoted offer: No monthly maintenance fee, $0 to open, easily grow your money
Next >
Western Alliance Bank
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.46%
Rate 4.46%
Min to Open $500
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.
Next >
Barclays
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.35%
Rate 4.35%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.

Promoted offer: $200 Bonus w/ Tiered Savings Account and Qualifying Activities
Next >
CIT Bank
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.35%
Rate 4.35%
Min to Open $100
Min to Earn APY $5,000
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.

Promoted offer: CIT Bank, a division of First Citizens, 125+ years of experience.
Next >
BMO Alto
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.30%
Rate 4.21%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.
Next >
Sallie Mae
MMA (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.10%
Rate 4.02%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook Yes
Member FDIC.
Next >
Synchrony Bank
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.10%
Rate 4.10%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.
Next >
Poppy Bank
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.75%
Rate 4.64%
Min to Open $1,000
Min to Earn APY $1,000
Monthly Fee $5.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.
Next >
Betterment
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.75%
Rate 4.75%
Min to Open $10
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
FDIC insured at program banks†.

Promoted offer: var. APY a/o 11/8/24. New customers only. Betterment LLC, not a bank
Next >
Sallie Mae
Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.10%
Rate 4.02%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.
Next >