EBSB Direct VS CIT Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • High interest rates on accounts
  • CDs have low opening required amounts
  • Accounts are entirely online
  • Debit card offered for MMA

Cons:

  • Limited deposit accounts offered
  • Highest rates require a large amount
  • MMA has a fee and high opening amount
  • Must link to another account
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
5.05%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Custodial accounts available
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Wide range of CDs offered
  • No monthly fees

Cons:

  • High opening required amounts
  • Long transaction periods
  • Hard to access custodial account money
  • High early withdrawal fees for CDs
EBSB Direct Review

The EBSB Direct accounts offer good interest rates. The rates are slightly lower than other online-only accounts. They are higher than your typical brick-and-mortar bank rates.

The EBSB Direct accounts have low opening required amounts. The 15-month CD only requires $1,000 to open. The six-month CD and the money market account both require $2,500 to open.

EBSB Direct accounts are entirely online accounts. You apply for the accounts online, not at a branch location. You can make transactions for your EBSB Direct accounts at an EBSB branch location. Everything for your EBSB Direct accounts are online.

The money market account with EBSB Direct offers a debit card for you to access your money. Federal regulations allow six withdrawals per month from the money market account. There is a fee if you withdraw more than six times.

EBSB Direct only offers a money market account and two personal CD terms. The term lengths are six-months and 15-months. There are no other personal or business accounts available.

To earn the highest interest rate offered on the MMA, you must have at least $10,000 in the account. Balances from $10 to $9,999 earn interest, but a lower rate. The highest interest rate requires at least $10,000.

The money market account has a monthly fee of $8. Waive the fee by keeping at least $2,500 in the account. That is also the amount required to open the MMA. Keeping $2,500 in the account waives the fee and earns the lower interest rate.

To make electronic transfers, link your EBSB Direct accounts to an external account. You can link the accounts to another financial institution in the United States. More than one account can be linked to your EBSB Direct account.

Read the full EBSB Direct review.

CIT Bank Review

CIT Bank offers custodial accounts. You open the account in your child's name, but you control the account until the child is eighteen years old. There are no limits on how much you deposit into the account. There are tax benefits to having a custodial account.

The interest rates for CIT Bank accounts are very competitive. The high yield savings account rates are much higher than your typical bank. CIT Bank rates are even higher than other online-only accounts. CD rates are also competitive.

CIT Bank offers a variety of CDs including regular term CDs, no-penalty CD, jumbo CDs, and Ramp Up CDs. The no-penalty CD is an eleven-month CD. You earn interest on a CD with the options to withdraw the money at any time after the first seven days. The Ramp-Up CDs allow you to get a better rate once during the term of the CD. With the Ramp-Up Plus CD, you can get a better rate and make a deposit once during the term of the CD.

CIT Bank does not have a fee to open any of their banking accounts. There are no monthly maintenance fees for any of their banking accounts either.

The required amount to open a CD with CIT Bank is high. The minimum deposit for CDs is $1,000, including custodial accounts. Jumbo CDs require $100,000 to open. Other CDs require either an opening balance of $25,000 or $50,000. The minimum deposit to open a savings account is $100.

Transferred funds are not available until five to ten business days after the deposit is made. Deposits transferred from an external account are available after five days. Deposits mailed take ten days after the deposit is received.

Any money deposited into a custodial account is an irrevocable gift. You cannot withdraw or transfer the money from the account. It cannot be used for any purpose that doesn't directly affect the child listed on the account. Once the child reaches eighteen years of age, the money can be accessed.

CIT Banks fees for early CD withdrawals are higher than other banks. The fee for withdrawing money early from a CD with a term of more than three years is twelve months of interest. The fee for terms from one to three years is six months interest. Fees for CD terms up to one year are three months interest.

Read the full CIT Bank review.

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