NBKC Bank VS SmartyPig

Which bank is better for you?

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

  • No monthly fees on accounts
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Competitive interest rates
  • Interest rates not tiered

Cons:

  • Special CDs have high opening amount
  • Limited accounts available
  • Wire transfers have fees
  • Customer service not available 24/7
  • 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
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Free savings account
  • Tiered Interest Rates
  • Set up multiple goals
  • Direct withdrawals

Cons:

  • Only offer one type of account
  • Six withdrawals allowed per month
  • Maximum account balance
  • One external funding source allowed
NBKC Bank Review

There are no monthly maintenances fees for NBKC Bank accounts. There are no required amounts to keep in the accounts to avoid fees. NBKC accounts are completely free.

The opening required amounts for most NBKC accounts are low. The personal account and money market account only require $5 to open and earn interest. The health savings accounts do not have a set amount required to open. Each of the CD terms require $1,000 to open.

The accounts offered through NBKC Bank offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. They are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates.

The interest rates for NBKC Bank are not tiered. Any amount over $0.01 earns the most competitive interest rates offered. You will receive a slightly lower interest rate if you have more than $1 million in NBKC accounts. Any amount from $0.01 to $1 million earns a competitive interest rate.

NBKC Bank offers four special CDs. Those terms include a seven-month, 12-month, 14-month, and 18-month CDs. These CDs earn more competitive interest rates than the other accounts. The seven-month and 14-month CD terms require $25,000 to open. The 12 and 18-month CDs require $1,000 to open.

NBKC Bank offers personal and business accounts. The only personal accounts offered are a checking and money market account, with some CDs. There are some business accounts available. Other accounts may be offered if you contact the bank directly.

There are fees to make wire transfers with NBKC Bank. To send a domestic wire anywhere in the United States has a $5 fee. To send or receive an international wire has a fee of $45.

Customer service for online accounts is not available anytime. They have specific hours at their branch locations. The hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Some branch locations are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Read the full NBKC Bank review.

SmartyPig Review

SmartyPig accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. There is not a required amount to keep in the account. The first initial deposit to open the account is $25.

This savings account offers tiered interest rates. This means the more money you have in the account, the more interest you will earn. The interest rates do not vary much between tiers. The difference from a low amount to the higher amount is around 0.05%.

With this SmartyPig account, you can set up different savings goals. The savings accounts can be long-term, like saving for a college education. They can also be short term, like saving for a mountain bike or birthday party. You can transfer money from your SmartyPig primary account to different savings goals.

The best way to save money is to set up direct withdrawals. You set up when you want the money to come out of your account and how much to withdraw. Then, SmartyPig does the rest. Once the money is deposited into your account, you can transfer it into different savings goal. The withdrawals can be set up to occur monthly or biweekly.

SmartyPig has only one account offered: a high yield savings account. They do not offer checking accounts, CDs, money market accounts, or business accounts. The interest rate on this savings account is considerably higher than other banks savings accounts.

The website says you can withdraw money anytime, but federal regulation only allows six withdrawals per billing cycle. This includes transfers between your SmartyPig primary account and your different savings goals. The transfer or withdrawal will not take place if you have made more than six in a billing cycle. If you repeatedly try to make more than six, your account will be closed. Once you reach your goal, you cannot withdraw part of your money back to your external funding source. You must withdraw it all, or transfer the money between other savings goals.

This account is not meant for high account balances. There is a maximum account balance of $250,000. If your account has $250,000, you will earn interest on the money in the account, but you cannot add to the account.

Each SmartyPig account is only allowed to have one external funding source set up for it. That means you can only have one bank account connected to each SmartyPig account. You can change your external funding source if you want, but never have more than one.

Read the full SmartyPig review.

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