MemoryBank VS Community First Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • 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
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Pros:

  • Low opening amounts and no fees
  • Accounts are entirely online
  • Competitive interest rates
  • Interest rates are not tiered

Cons:

  • Limited personal deposit accounts offered
  • MMA does not offer checks or debit card
  • Customer service not available 24/7
  • Business accounts not offered
  • Financial Rates: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Christmas savings account
  • Business accounts, including nonprofits
  • Business Premium Package
  • Cash Management options for businesses

Cons:

  • Have to open accounts at a branch
  • Interest rates not listed on website
  • Unlimited withdrawals, but only in person
  • Most accounts have high opening deposits
MemoryBank Review

MemoryBank accounts only require $50 to open. Their accounts do not have monthly maintenances fees. There is no balance required to keep in the account to avoid the fees. The MemoryBank checking account and money market accounts are completely free.

The MemoryBank accounts are entirely online. You apply for the accounts online, and everything for your account is online. Any permanent resident of the U.S., over the age of 18, with an SSN or ITIN, are eligible to open a MemoryBank account.

Both MemoryBank accounts offer competitive interest rates. The checking and money market account rates are competitive with other online accounts. These interest rates are much higher than other brick and mortar bank rates.

MemoryBank interest rates are competitive, and they are not tiered. You do not have to have a large account balance to earn the most competitive interest rates. Any balance earns the most competitive rate offered.

MemoryBank offers limited personal deposit accounts. Those accounts include a checking account and a money market account. You can open as many of these two accounts as you would like, but only the two accounts are available.

The MemoryBank money market account does not offer checks or a debit card. To withdraw money from the money market account, you can make an electronic transfer from the MMA into your checking account. You can also request a check to withdraw money from the MMA.

MemoryBank is an entirely online bank. There are no branch locations. You can reach customer service through email, mail, phone, or through online chat. Customer service does have set hours. Those hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

MemoryBank only offers personal deposit accounts. No business accounts are available at this time. The personal deposit accounts offered are a checking account and a money market account.

Read the full MemoryBank review.

Community First Bank Review

Community First Bank offers a special savings account for Christmas. This account only requires $10 to open. You can set up automatic transfers for monthly, twice a month, or weekly. After October 1 of each year, you can withdraw an unlimited amount of times until the last day of December. Withdrawals are only allowed those three months. There is a withdrawal fee if not withdrawn during the designated time.

A variety of different business accounts are available. There are four different checking accounts, including one for a nonprofit. Community First Bank offers savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs. Loans, credit cards, and retirement accounts are available for business accounts.

You can sign up for the Business Premium Package. This sets you up for a checking account, savings account, and a money market account. You also sign up for two other accounts from ten other options. HSA, credit cards, loans, and cash management all qualify. With the package, you receive 100 free additional transactions from your business checking.

The cash management lets you have different levels of authority on accounts. You decide what employees can see about customer accounts. You can add more users to the accounts. The premium option pays taxes and payroll. Cash management automatically deducts customer fees or payments.

You cannot open accounts online. Some account applications are available to download and send to the local branch. To open checking, savings, money market, CDs, and business accounts you must apply in a local branch. Community First Bank only has branches in Wisconsin.

To know the interest rates on Community First Bank accounts, you must call a local branch. The interest rates are not available on the website. You could earn higher interest rates on CDs by opening certain accounts.

The Community First Bank's money market accounts offer unlimited withdrawals. The withdrawals must be made in person at a local branch. You are only allowed six withdrawals from other methods per billing cycle. Those methods include withdrawals made by ATMs, checks, check cards, and electronic transfers.

The basic accounts have low opening balances. However, to earn the competitive interest rates, there is a high opening balance. The required amounts range from $1,000 to $10,000.

Read the full Community First Bank review.

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