Home Savings Bank VS SmartyPig

Which bank is better for you?

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

  • Competitive interest rates for CDs
  • Personal deposit accounts offered
  • Can open CDs online
  • Online mortgage options

Cons:

  • High opening required amounts
  • Monthly maintenance fees are high
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • MMA has tiered interest rates
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Free savings account
  • Tiered Interest Rates
  • Set up multiple goals
  • Direct withdrawals

Cons:

  • Only offer one type of account
  • Six withdrawals allowed per month
  • Maximum account balance
  • One external funding source allowed
Home Savings Bank Review

Home Savings Bank CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. Their rates are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates. The rates are competitive whether you open the account in the branch or online.

Personal deposit accounts are available through Home Savings Bank. These accounts include a checking account, money market account, CDs, and IRAs. Not all accounts can be opened online. Only the CDs and IRAs have the option to open online.

Home Savings Bank offers CDs that are entirely online. These accounts are available for anyone across the United States to open. You must be at least 18 years old. You must be a resident of the United States or a resident alien. You must have an address in the U.S., a social security number, and a driver license or other ID.

Home Savings Bank offers online mortgage options. You apply for your loan online. A loan officer will contact you by phone, email, or online chat to answer your questions. Because the mortgage is online, the rates and fees are typically lower than other banks.

Each of the accounts with Home Savings Bank has a high required opening amount. The CDs, money market account, checking account, and IRA accounts all require $5,000 to open. The opening required amount is the same whether opening in the branch or online.

The monthly maintenance fees for Home Savings Bank accounts are high. The fee for the money market account and checking account is $35 a month. Waive this fee by keeping a set balance in the account. The checking account requires $5,000 in a combination of Home Savings Bank accounts to waive the fee. The money market account must have $2,500 in the account to waive the fee.

Not all Home Savings Bank accounts have the option of opening online. Only the Home Savings Bank CDs and IRAs have the online option. To open the checking or money market account visit the branch location. There is one branch location in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The interest rates for the Home Savings Bank MMA are not competitive. These rates are also tiered. To earn the best rate requires an account balance over $200,000. Even the highest rate is not competitive with other online money market accounts. Only the CDs with Home Savings Bank earn competitive interest rates.

Read the full Home Savings Bank review.

SmartyPig Review

SmartyPig accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. There is not a required amount to keep in the account. The first initial deposit to open the account is $25.

This savings account offers tiered interest rates. This means the more money you have in the account, the more interest you will earn. The interest rates do not vary much between tiers. The difference from a low amount to the higher amount is around 0.05%.

With this SmartyPig account, you can set up different savings goals. The savings accounts can be long-term, like saving for a college education. They can also be short term, like saving for a mountain bike or birthday party. You can transfer money from your SmartyPig primary account to different savings goals.

The best way to save money is to set up direct withdrawals. You set up when you want the money to come out of your account and how much to withdraw. Then, SmartyPig does the rest. Once the money is deposited into your account, you can transfer it into different savings goal. The withdrawals can be set up to occur monthly or biweekly.

SmartyPig has only one account offered: a high yield savings account. They do not offer checking accounts, CDs, money market accounts, or business accounts. The interest rate on this savings account is considerably higher than other banks savings accounts.

The website says you can withdraw money anytime, but federal regulation only allows six withdrawals per billing cycle. This includes transfers between your SmartyPig primary account and your different savings goals. The transfer or withdrawal will not take place if you have made more than six in a billing cycle. If you repeatedly try to make more than six, your account will be closed. Once you reach your goal, you cannot withdraw part of your money back to your external funding source. You must withdraw it all, or transfer the money between other savings goals.

This account is not meant for high account balances. There is a maximum account balance of $250,000. If your account has $250,000, you will earn interest on the money in the account, but you cannot add to the account.

Each SmartyPig account is only allowed to have one external funding source set up for it. That means you can only have one bank account connected to each SmartyPig account. You can change your external funding source if you want, but never have more than one.

Read the full SmartyPig review.

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