Gateway First offers competitive interest rates on most accounts. The interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates. The online savings account and 12-month CD offers the most competitive interest rates.

The opening required amounts for Gateway First accounts are low. The online savings account requires $10 to open. The CDs need $1,000 to open. The checking accounts require either $50 or $1,000 to open. The money market account does require $2,500 to open.

Gateway First offers a good variety of accounts. These include:

• Three personal checking accounts
• Online savings account
• CD terms from six-months to five-years
• One, two, and three-year IRA CDs
• Home and consumer loans
• Business checking account
• Commercial and specialty lending options

Customers can send and receive money through Zelle. Gateway First Bank offers Zelle as a feature for each of their checking accounts. You can initiate Zelle payments through the mobile app or online.

Gateway First accounts have tiered rates. The CDs require $500 to open, but to earn interest requires a $25,000 balance. Each CD earns competitive rates if you have $25,000. You cannot add money to the CD after the opening amount. The money market account requires $100,000 to earn the most competitive rate. The checking account requires $50,000.

Not all Gateway First accounts can be opened online. The only accounts available online are the high yield savings account and CDs. The CD terms range from six-months to five-years.

Gateway First accounts are not currently available in all 50 states. If you live in the following states, you cannot open an account:

• Alaska
• California
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• New York
• Rhode Island
• Vermont

Some Gateway First Bank accounts have monthly fees. The fees for the checking accounts are between $7-8. There is a fee of $0.15 per debit item if you do not keep a set account balance. To waive the account fees, you must keep an account balance between $250 and $2,500.

Read the full Gateway First Bank review.

Dollar Savings Direct does not require you to keep a specific amount in their accounts. There are no monthly fees for their savings account. As with all CDs, you will be charged a fee if you withdraw your money before the maturity date.

The interest rates for Dollar Savings Direct accounts are competitive. The interest rates are much higher than your typical brick and mortar banks. They are competitive with other online-only accounts. Any balance in the savings account and CDs earn the highest interest rates. There is not a specific amount required to earn those rates.

Everything for your Dollar Savings Account is online. You open your account online. To transfer money, you must link account to an external checking account. Transfer the money electronically between the two accounts. You can access everything for your account online.

Dollar Savings Direct has five different CD terms. Each of the different terms has competitive interest rates. All the CDs at Dollar Savings Direct required $1,000 to open. The terms range from six months to a five-year term. The longer the term, the higher the interest rates. Fees only apply if you withdraw the money before the maturity date.

Dollar Savings Direct only offers a savings account and CDs. No checking accounts or money market account are available. There are five different CD term lengths offered. Those terms are 6-months, one-year, 16-month, two-year, and five-year.

Dollar Savings Direct requires you link account to an external checking account. You can transfer money between the saving account and the linked external account. You can link another external checking account to the savings account after 60 days. The names on all accounts must match.

There are no business accounts offered through Dollar Savings Direct. The only accounts offered are personal deposit accounts. One saving account and five different CD term lengths are available.

Any deposit made into a Dollar Savings Direct savings account must be in the account for five days. You cannot withdraw the money until after the five days. Once the money is in the account five days, you can transfer the money.

Read the full DollarSavingsDirect review.