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.

The interest rates for Rising Bank accounts are competitive. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. They are much higher than typical bank rates. The rates are not tiered. Any amount above the required opening amount earns competitive interest rates.

The Rising Bank high yield savings account and the regular CDs have low opening amounts. The regular CDs are available in one, two, and three-year CDs. These CDs and the savings account each only requires $1,000 to open.

There are no monthly fees on the high yield savings account. This account is free. To earn interest, you must keep $1,000 in the account. The CDs only have a fee if you withdraw money before the CD reaches maturity.

Rising Bank offers two Rising CDs. These come in 18-month and 36-month terms. Each of these CDs requires $25,000 to open. During the CD term if interest rates increase you can increase the rate on your CD. The 18-month CD allows for one rate increase; the 36-month allows two rate increases. When you increase the rate of the CD, you can also deposit more money into the CD.

Rising Bank has limited types of accounts available. They offer a high yield savings account and CDs. The CD terms range from one year to three-year terms. There are not a wide variety of term lengths available through Rising Bank. They offer regular CDs, one jumbo CD, and two Rising CDs. Rising Bank does not offer a money market account or checking accounts. No business accounts are currently available.

The Rising CDs and the jumbo CD have high opening amounts. The Rising CD terms each require $25,000 to open. The jumbo CD has one term length, and it requires $100,000 to open the account. You must keep these amounts in the CDs to earn interest.

The interest rates for the Rising Bank high yield savings account are not fixed. Rising Bank may change the rate you earn on your account at any time. The bank does not have to notify you if the rates change. Interest credits to your account every month for the savings account and every three months for CDs. If you close your accounts before interest credits, you will not receive the earned interest.

Rising Bank offers limited ways to contact customer service. Reach a representative through phone, mail, or email. They are open Monday through Friday. The Rising Bank website says their customer service representatives offer personalized help. The ways to contact someone are limited though.

Read the full Rising Bank review.