NBKC Bank VS WaFd Bank

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
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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: 2.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.5 Star Icon
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Pros:

  • Good variety of accounts available
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Business accounts offered
  • Money market and CDs earn good rates

Cons:

  • Low interest rates on accounts
  • Tiered interest rates on some accounts
  • High rates require eligible checking
  • Accounts have monthly fees
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.

WaFd Bank Review

WaFd Bank offers a good variety of accounts. Those include:

  • Savings account
  • Savings account for minors
  • Checking accounts
  • Money market accounts
  • CD terms from three-months to five-years
  • Retirement accounts
  • Lending options
  • Credit cards
  • Small business accounts
  • Commercial options

The opening required amounts for WaFd accounts are low. Most savings and checking accounts only require $25 to open. A savings account for minors requires $10 to open. The Stellar Plus checking account requires $100 to open. The money market accounts require $100 to open. All CD terms require $1,000 to open.

WaFd Bank offers business accounts along with personal accounts. Those accounts include small business checking and savings accounts. They also offer some commercial business accounts. To open those accounts, you need to contact a commercial banker.

The WaFd Gold Money Market account has competitive rates. These account rates are the most competitive rates offered at WaFd. They are lower than other online money market accounts but still competitive. The seven-month and 13-month special CDs also earn higher rates than other WaFd CDs.

WaFd accounts besides the Gold MMA and special CD terms have low interest rates. These rates are similar to other brick-and-mortar bank rates. They do not compare to other online-only accounts.

Some WaFd accounts have tiered interest rates. To receive the highest rate for the Stellar Plus checking account requires a $10,000 balance. The regular money market account requires $90,000 to earn the best rate. Even the highest interest rate for these accounts is low.

Specific WaFd accounts require you to open other eligible accounts. To earn the best rates on the special CD terms, you must have an eligible checking account. The rates are only 0.05% higher if you have the checking account.

Most WaFd Bank accounts have monthly fees. The checking account fees range from $0-8 per month. The savings accounts have monthly fees from $3-10 per month. There are ways to waive some of the monthly fees. Those include keeping a set account balance. That balance ranges from $100-$20,000, depending on the account.

Read the full WaFd Bank review.

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