HSBC Direct Bank VS CIBC Bank USA

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Options of personal deposit accounts
  • Low required opening amounts
  • Business accounts available
  • Variety of other products offered

Cons:

  • Checking accounts have a monthly fee
  • Low-interest rates on accounts
  • Amount required to waive fees is high
  • Tiered interest rates
  • Financial Rates: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
0.15%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Variety of accounts offered
  • High interest rate for CIBC Agility
  • Low required opening amounts
  • Interest Rate Bonus on accounts

Cons:

  • Only one checking account earns interest
  • Account interest rates not listed
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Accounts have monthly fees
HSBC Direct Bank Review

Each type of personal deposit account has more than one option. There are four different checking accounts and three different savings accounts offered. This allows you to find the account to fit your needs best. There are only three different term lengths of CDs offered. A six-month, one-year, and two-year terms.

The HSBC savings accounts all require only $1 to open. The checking account does not have an amount required when you open the account. The HSBC CDs require $1,000 to open.

There are a wide variety of different business accounts offered through HSBC. Savings accounts, checking accounts, and CDs are all available through HSBC. There are loans and credit cards for businesses. There are options for corporate accounts. Different cash management options are also available.

Along with business accounts, HSBC offers a wide variety of other products. That includes credit cards and insurance. They offer options for investing and retiring. There are also different loan options to meet your needs.

HSBC checking accounts have a monthly fee. The fees range from $3 to $50 each month. Most of the fees can be waived by meeting certain requirements. One checking account only allows eight checks or withdrawal slips to be written. After those eight you are charged for each check you write.

Interest rates on HSBC accounts are not competitive. They are much lower than other online-only accounts. Their rates are competitive with other brick and mortar banks.

The amounts required to keep in HSBC checking accounts to waive the fees are high. The amounts range from $1,500 to $100,000, depending on which account you open. Some accounts allow the fee to be waived if you have a direct deposit into the account of certain amounts. Know the fees and requirements to waive the fees before you open an account.

To receive the highest interest rates offered on HSBC accounts you must have a large balance. The savings accounts require $100,000 to earn the best rates offered. Lower amount still earn interest, just a lower rate.

Read the full HSBC Direct Bank review.

CIBC Bank USA Review

CIBC offers a variety of accounts. These accounts include:

  • iCan checking
  • myChoice checking
  • myChoice Prestige checking
  • CIBC savings
  • Agility savings
  • CIBC money market
  • CD terms
  • Agility CDs 9, 12, 18, and 24-month terms
  • Personal lending and retirement options
  • Commercial and small business accounts and lending options

The CIBC Agility savings account offers competitive interest rates. This savings account requires $1,000 to open and does not have a monthly fee. The CIBC Agility savings account is an online-only account. The interest rates are competitive with other online-only savings accounts. They are much higher than typical brick-and-mortar banks.

CIBC accounts have low opening required amounts. The MMA and personal savings account require $50 to open the account. You must open these accounts at a branch location. The online savings account requires $1,000 to open. Regular CDs require $1,000 to open.

The myChoice checking account offers an interest rate bonus. This allows you to earn higher interest rates on your checking account balance. To earn the higher rates, you must meet a set amount. The amounts can come from a total of qualifying CIBC accounts. Those include myChoice checking account, money market and savings accounts. CDs and principal balances on personal loans count toward the balance total also. The more money you have in the accounts, the higher the bonus rate you receive.

Only one CIBC checking account earns interest. The CIBC myChoice Checking account is the interest-earning account. You must open this account at a branch location. If you have less than $5,000 in the account, there is a monthly fee.

Interest rates for CIBC accounts are not listed online. Only one CIBC savings account lists the interest rate for the account. The CIBC Agility offers competitive interest rates. The other CIBC accounts do not list the interest rates earned for their accounts. To open those accounts, you must visit a branch location.

Not all CIBC accounts can be opened online. To open a checking or savings account, or CDs, you must visit a branch location. CIBC has 46 branch locations in 19 states. The only accounts you can open online are the CIBC Agility savings account and Agility CDs. Those terms include 9, 12, 18, and 24-month terms

Most CIBC accounts have a monthly fee. To waive the fee, you must keep a set amount in the account. To avoid the checking account fees, you must have over $1,000 in the iCan account and $5,000 in the myChoice account. The savings account requires $250 to waive the fee, and the MMA requires $2,500.

Read the full CIBC Bank USA review.

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