My eBanc VS PenFed Credit Union

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: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Competitive rates on all accounts
  • Interest rates not tiered
  • Accounts entirely online
  • Check writing for MMA and checking

Cons:

  • Minimum opening deposit high
  • Money market and checking have fees
  • Limited personal deposit accounts
  • No business accounts available
  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • CDs have competitive interest rates
  • Low opening required amount
  • CDs offered to save for education
  • Low monthly fee for checking account

Cons:

  • High opening balances for CDs
  • Low-interest rates
  • Best rates require large balances
  • Do not offer a variety of accounts
My eBanc Review

Every My eBanc account offers competitive interest rates. The rates are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates. The accounts are personal deposit checking and money market account and CDs. My eBanc offers regular CDs, jumbo, and one fixed rate CD.

The account interest rates at My eBanc are not tiered. There is not a required balance to earn the most competitive interest rate. Any amount in the account earns the competitive interest rate. However, the money market and checking account do have a monthly fee if the balance falls under $5,000.

My eBanc accounts are entirely online. Everything for your account is done through the website or mobile app. Make deposits through electronic transfers or by mailing in a check. There is only one branch location in Florida.

The My eBanc money market accounts and checking accounts allow you to write checks and have a debit card. The money market account only allows for six withdrawals each month. The checking account has unlimited check writing options with no charge. Your first 50 checks are free.

The minimum deposit required to open My eBanc accounts is high. The checking, money market, and regular CDs all require $5,000 to open. The jumbo CDs require $100,000. The Flex Time Deposit CD requires $10,000 to open.

The money market and checking account have a monthly fee. The fee for both accounts is $15 monthly. Waive both of those fees if you keep an average daily balance of more than $5,000. You still earn interest on amounts under $5,000, but your earnings will be cut into by the fee.

There are limited accounts offered through My eBanc. Only personal deposit accounts are available. My eBanc offers one checking account and one money market account. There are five different term lengths of CDs. Those same terms are available in jumbo CDs. One fixed rate CD is offered.

My eBanc does not offer any business accounts. Only personal deposit accounts are available. Personal deposit checking and money market accounts and some CDs are offered.

Read the full My eBanc review.

PenFed Credit Union Review

PenFed CDs have competitive interest rates. The rates on CDs are competitive with online-only accounts. The longer you can invest the money in the CD the higher the interest rates you will earn. CD terms range from six months to seven years.

All accounts, other than CDs, have a low opening balance of only $25. The more you invest in the money market account, the higher interest rates you will earn. However, you are only required to have $25 to open an account with PenFed.

PenFed offers CDs designed to save specifically for education costs. These CDs only require $500 to open instead of $1,000. The education CDs range in term from one year to seven years. The interest rates earned on these CDs are competitive with other CD accounts.

Only the checking account has a monthly maintenance fee. The fee is low and is easy to waive. The fee is waived by having a daily balance of $500 in the account. Having a direct deposit into the account of more than $500 each month will also waive the fee. The savings account and money market accounts do not have a monthly fee.

To open a CD, PenFed requires $1,000. The CD terms vary in length from six months to seven years. The longer you can invest your money in a PenFed CD the higher interest you will earn over the CD term. The interest rates on these CDs are competitive with other online-only CDs.

The interest rates for PenFed savings, checking, and money market accounts are not competitive. The rates are low. Those interest rates are competitive to your typical bank rates. Online only accounts offer much higher interest rates for these accounts.

To earn the highest interest on the PenFed checking account, a daily balance of $20,000 to $50,000 is required. If you do not have at least $20,000, you will earn much lower interest rates. Any amount earns interest. To get the highest rates, your daily balance must meet the requirements.

PenFed only offers one checking account, savings account, and money market account. This does not allow you to find the account that best fits your needs.

Read the full PenFed Credit Union review.

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