Live Oak Bank VS California First National Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
4.30%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Some business accounts offered
  • No minimum balance or monthly fees
  • Earn high interest on any amount

Cons:

  • Only savings account and CDs offered
  • Linked external accounts required
  • CDs have large opening required amounts
  • No checks or debit card offered
  • Financial Rates: 1.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Reimbursement of ATM fees
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Interest rates are not tiered
  • Free first order of checks with checking

Cons:

  • Not a wide variety of accounts
  • High opening required amounts
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Not all CDs offer competitive rates
Live Oak Bank Review

The interest rates of Live Oak Bank accounts are competitive. They are much higher than your typical brick and mortar bank rates. Account rates are competitive with other online-only accounts.

Live Oak Bank offers a few business accounts. They offer a savings account and CDs. There are seven CD terms offered for small business accounts. The terms range from six months to a five-year CD. The longer the CD term, the higher the interest rate offered.

There is no required amount to keep in a Live Oak savings account. There is no monthly fee. If your account gets to $10.01 and is inactivated for 24 consecutive months, you will be charged a fee. Live Oak Bank will then close the account. If you make more than six withdrawals per month, you will be charged $10 for each transaction.

Live Oak Bank savings account and CDs offer competitive interest rates. You earn the highest interest rates on any amount deposited in the accounts. There is no set balance required to earn the highest interest rates offered.

The only accounts offered are a savings account and CDs. These are the only accounts offered for personal banking, as well as business banking. There are seven different CD terms available. The terms range from six-months to five-years.

To open a Live Oak Bank, you must link an external checking account. Live Oak Bank does not offer a checking account. To make electronic transfers requires a linked checking account.

Live Oak Bank CDs have a large opening amount for each term. The opening amount required is $2,500 for each CD term. The different CD terms range from a six-month term to a five-year term.

There are no checks or debit cards available for Live Oak Bank accounts. The only way to access your money is to make an electronic transfer. Once you make the transfer online, the money will be available within one to two business days. Anything transferred after 4:00 p.m. is processed the next business day. Federal regulations only allow for six withdrawals each billing cycle.

Read the full Live Oak Bank review.

California First National Bank Review

You can withdraw money from any ATMs with the specific “Plus” logo. If you withdraw money from another ATM, you are reimbursed for the fees charged. CalFirst will reimburse up to $6.00 each statement cycle in ATM fees.

Most CalFirst accounts offer competitive interest rates. The interest rates are not tiered, so you earn the highest rates offered on any balance in the account. Interest is paid monthly on the actual daily balance.

The interest rates for CalFirst accounts are not tiered. Any amount you have in their accounts earns the competitive interest rates. You do not have to have a certain amount in the account to earn the most competitive rates.

The first order of checks is free when you open an interest checking account. You get an ATM card when you open an interest checking account. Free online bill pay comes with each CalFirst checking account opened.

CalFirst does not have a wide variety of accounts. No business accounts are available, only personal deposit accounts. One money market account and savings account are available. There is an interest checking and one regular checking account. CalFirst only offers five different CD terms.

CalFirst accounts have high opening amounts. The money market account and CDs require $5,000 to open. The interest checking account requires $2,500 to open. The savings account and regular checking account both require $1,000 to open.

The accounts at CalFirst all have a monthly fee. The fees range from $10 to $20 a month, depending on the account you open. Waive the fee by keeping a set amount in CalFirst accounts. You can also have a combined balance between a variety of CalFirst accounts.

Not all the CD terms offer competitive rates. The most competitive rates are the three-month, six-month, and the one-year terms. The two-year and three-year terms have interest rates much lower than the other terms. Regular CDs require $5,000 to open. The IRA CDs require $2,000 to open. The only fees are if you withdraw the money before the maturity date.

Read the full California First National Bank review.

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