-
Financial Rates:
4.0
-
Customer Service:
5.0
-
Website Experience:
3.5
-
Bank Fees:
3.0
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
-
Financial Rates:
3.5
-
Customer Service:
2.5
-
Website Experience:
5.0
-
Bank Fees:
5.0
Pros:
- Competitive interest rates
- Low required opening amounts
- Variety of CD terms available
- No monthly fees
Cons:
- Limited personal accounts offered
- Customer service not available 24/7
- No business accounts offered
- Specific transfer regulations
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.
Vio Bank offers competitive interest rates on their CDs and high yield savings account. The interest rates are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates. Vio Bank interest rates are competitive with other online accounts. They monitor their interest rates to keep them competitive with national rates.
Vio Bank accounts have low opening required amounts. All the different CD terms only require $500 to open. The high yield savings account only requires $100 to open.
Vio Bank offers a good variety of CD terms. The CDs range in length from six-month to 120-month terms. Each of the CDs requires $500 to open. They are all FDIC insured and can be opened online. The CD terms all earn competitive interest rates.
The savings account at Vio Bank does not have a monthly fee. There is no required balance to avoid a monthly fee. The CDs only have a fee if the money is withdrawn before the maturity date of the CD.
Vio Bank offers limited personal deposit accounts. Only a personal savings account and CDs are available. The CD terms range from six-months to 120-months. No checking or money market accounts are available.
Customers cannot reach a Vio Bank representative 24/7. Customer service has specific hours of operation. They are open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Central Time. Saturday they are open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sunday they open from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Vio Bank does not offer business accounts. Only personal deposit accounts are available. Those accounts include a personal high yield savings account and CDs. The CDs range in term from six-month CDs to 120-month CDs.
Money can only be transferred from the savings account to external bank accounts. If you want to make a wire transfer, you must submit the forms 72 hours before the transfer takes place. Federal regulations only allow six withdrawals per month from your savings account.
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| Savings (Rate as of 11/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.00% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 3.92% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC | |
| Savings (Rate as of 11/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.75% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.64% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC No monthly maintenance fee, $0 to open, easily grow your money | |
The rate information is obtained by Bankrate from the listed institutions. Bankrate cannot guarantee the accuracy or availability of any rates shown. Institutions may have different rates on their own websites than those posted on Bankrate.com. The listings that appear on this page are from companies from which this website receives compensation, which may impact how, where, and in what order products appear. This table does not include all companies or all available products.
All rates are subject to change without notice and may vary depending on location. These quotes are from banks, thrifts, and credit unions, some of whom have paid for a link to their own website where you can find additional information. Those with a paid link are our Advertisers. Those without a paid link are listings we obtain to improve the consumer shopping experience and are not Advertisers. To receive the Bankrate.com rate from an Advertiser, please identify yourself as a Bankrate customer. Bank and thrift deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Credit union deposits are insured by the National Credit Union Administration.
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1 APY stands for Annual Percent Yield. It's different from Rate because it takes into account compounding interest for the year.
2 MMA stands for Money Market Account. It's a savings and checking hybrid, allowing you to earn interest and use checks 6 times a month.