Live Oak Bank VS Nationwide

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
4.40%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: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Chief Customer Advocates on your side
  • Free ATM transactions
  • Earn cash back on debit transactions
  • Low minimum opening account amount

Cons:

  • Popmoney has fees and isn't instant
  • High deposit needed to open CDs
  • No credit cards or prepaid cards offered
  • Fee for dormant accounts
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.

Nationwide Review

If you have a question, the Chief Customer Advocate is there to help. This person works with the CEO of Nationwide to ensure the customer's needs are being met. If you have a policy problem or a question about a statement, call the Chief Customer Advocate.

Nationwide customers can make eight transactions at any ATMs each billing cycle. Nationwide will not charge you a fee, but the ATM owner might. If you are a premier member, you get unlimited ATM transactions without fees. To be a premier member, you must have another bank account, loan, credit card, or an insurance policy with Nationwide. There are over 77,000 surcharge-free ATMs.

As a premier member, you earn cash back on your debit card purchases. If you use your debit card for at least $1,200 in purchases each month, you will earn 0.25% on those purchases. The reward cap is $20 per month. This reward will not start until your account is active for 180 days.

Opening a savings or checking account with Nationwide only requires $25. You start earning competitive interest rates with the $25 you deposit to open the account.

Nationwide uses Popmoney to transfer money between people. Money transferred with Popmoney is not instant. The delivery takes three business days. If you want the money sent instantly, it will cost $0.25 per transaction. Each transfer must be at least $5.

To open a CD, you must have at least $500. Once you open an account, you can choose from three month to five-year CDs.

Nationwide does not offer credit cards or prepaid cards anymore. If you already have a prepaid card, you can use it until the money is gone, but you cannot reload money onto it. If you currently have a credit card with Nationwide, you can use it as normal, but Nationwide is no longer taking credit card applications.

There is a fee if you do not use your checking account for 365 consecutive days. On the 366th day, a $5 fee will be charged. Each month the account is not active will have a $5 fee. To avoid the fee, sign up for direct deposit.

Read the full Nationwide review.

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