First Bank VS People's United Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Checking account for 55 and older
  • Anywhere Accounts
  • Business accounts offered
  • Variety of personal products offered

Cons:

  • Accounts have fees
  • Online banking is not free
  • Accounts not offered everywhere
  • Low-interest rates
  • Financial Rates: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Low opening required amounts
  • Checking accounts offer ATM rebates
  • Variety of CD term lengths
  • Business accounts available

Cons:

  • Accounts are not offered everywhere
  • MMA needs a large initial deposit
  • Low interest rates
  • Must have a checking to open savings
First Bank Review

FirstBank offers a checking account for anyone over 55 years old. This account earns interest. There is no minimum balance to earn interest or required to keep in the account. This account does not have any fees, and direct deposit is not required.

The Anywhere Accounts are a savings and checking account. Both of these accounts do not have monthly fees. There is no minimum balance required to keep in the account. You can sign up to have money from transactions rounded up to the nearest dollar. The difference is deposited into your Anywhere eSave Savings account. Those transactions include debit transactions, bill pay, or other electronic transfers.

FirstBank offers accounts for businesses. Checking and money market accounts are available. There is a checking account offered specifically for nonprofits. There are no fees for the nonprofit checking and the basic business checking. The other accounts have a monthly fee.

Not just personal deposit accounts are available at FirstBank. Personal credit cards, home equity loans, and personal construction loans are available. Health Savings Accounts and accounts to help save for college are also offered.

Most FirstBank accounts have a monthly fee. The fees range from $5 to $20. The debit card has a yearly fee of $10. You are only allowed 25 deposits into the eSave Savings account per month. You are charged $0.10 for each item over 25.

Account interest rates at FirstBank are not competitive with other online banks. The interest rates are similar to your typical bank rates.

FirstBank offers products and accounts in Arizona, California, and Colorado. They have over 115 branch locations in these three states with over 200 ATMs. To open an account, you must live in one of these three states.

Online banking with FirstBank is only free if you sign up to receive electronic statements. The fee is $3 each month if you do not sign up. The money will be automatically withdrawn from your checking account on the first day of each month. If you want to receive paper statements, you must keep $10,000 in FirstBank accounts to waive the monthly fee.

Read the full First Bank review.

People's United Bank Review

The amount required to open a checking or savings account is low. People's United checking accounts only require $25 to open. The savings accounts require $50.

Two of the People's United checking accounts offer free ATM use or reimburse ATM fees. The Advantage checking account has unlimited rebates for out of state ATM fees. The Premier Advantage checking account has free ATMs, including international ATMs. These accounts require high investment balances to waive the monthly fee. The Advantage is $7,500, and the Premier is $75,000 across all investment accounts.

People's United offers a variety of CD term lengths. Their terms range from 91 days to five years. The interest rates vary depending on the term. The best interest rate on a People's United CD is the One Year Plus CD. Those interest rates are competitive with other online accounts; the other rates are not.

There are a variety of different business accounts offered through People's United. Checking, savings, and money market accounts are available. CDs, credit cards, loans, and investment opportunities are available.

People's United accounts are not offered everywhere. The branches are currently in the North Eastern states. Those include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. If you do not live in one of these states, you cannot open an account with People's United Bank.

The amount required to open a money market account is $2,500. There is not a monthly maintenance fee on the money market account. You will earn interest on the money deposited into the account. The money market account offers tiered interest rates. This means the interest you earn depends on the amount you have in the account.

The interest rates of the different accounts are not competitive. They are much lower than other online-only accounts. The interest rates are similar to your typical bank rates. The Plus CDs offer slightly more competitive rates.

You have to have a checking account with People's United to open a savings or money market account. The checking account determines what savings and money market account you can open. You must open a checking account before a savings account can be opened.

Read the full People's United Bank review.

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