Popular Direct VS BMO Harris Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
4.60%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • High-interest rates on accounts
  • Account available everywhere
  • Variety of CD terms
  • Online and mobile banking

Cons:

  • Opening accounts requires large deposit
  • The savings account has a monthly fee
  • Only offer CDs and one savings account
  • Linked external account required
  • Financial Rates: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • MMA earns competitive rates
  • Good variety of accounts available
  • Special CDs earn competitive rates
  • Many ways to open accounts

Cons:

  • High opening required amounts
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Most interest rates not competitive
  • Tiered interest rates on accounts
Popular Direct Review

The interest rates on Popular Direct accounts are very competitive. They are considerably higher than your typical brick and mortar banks. The rates are competitive with other online-only accounts.

Because Popular Direct is an online-only bank, the accounts are available everywhere. Applying for the account is quick and completed online. Everything you need for your account is accessed online. There are no branch locations.

Popular Direct offers a variety of different CD term lengths. The terms range from a three-month term to five-year terms. The other terms include six months, one year, eighteen months, two, three, and four-year terms. The interest rates increase the longer the term length.

All Popular Direct accounts come with online and mobile banking. With online banking, you can set up account notifications and see statements. You can transfer funds between the linked external account. Mobile and online banking allow you to transfer money between Popular Direct accounts. You can check account balances and deposit checks.

To open a savings account with Popular Direct, you must have $5,000 as your opening deposit. To open a CD with Popular Direct, you must have $10,000 as the opening required deposit. You will still earn interest if your balance drops below these required amounts.

Popular Direct savings account has a monthly fee. The fee is $4 per month if your balance falls below $500. No fee is charged if your balance remains above $500. There is also a fee for closing the account before 180 days after opening it. A $5 monthly fee is charged each month if your account is inactive for 12 months. Following the 12th month, the fee is charged each month the account is inactive.

Popular Direct only offers CDs and one savings account. They do not offer a checking account, money market account, or any business accounts. The CDs range from 30-day CDs to a five-year term.

Popular Direct requires you link your account to an external account. The linked account allows you to make deposits into your Popular Direct account. The external bank account cannot be changed within the first 60 days of opening the account.

Read the full Popular Direct review.

BMO Harris Bank Review

The BMO Harris money market account offers competitive interest rates. These rates are competitive with other online accounts. They are much higher than typical bank rates. There are no monthly fees for this account.

BMO Harris offers a good variety of personal and business accounts. Those accounts include:

  • Checking accounts
  • Savings and money market accounts
  • CD terms from three to 60-months
  • IRA savings accounts and CDs
  • Lending options
  • Credit cards
  • Investment options

BMO Harris Bank offers specific CD terms with more competitive interest rates. Their CD terms range from three to 60-months. They offer a six-month, 12-month, and 18-month CD with more competitive interest rates. These rates are competitive with other online CD accounts. BMO Harris CDs require $1,000, $5,000, or $100,00 to open.

There is more than one way to open BMO Harris accounts. You can open bank accounts online through the website. Customers can open accounts at a branch location or by calling customer service.

Some BMO Harris accounts have high opening required amounts. The money market account requires $5,000 to open. BMO Harris Bank offers regular CDs and jumbo CDs. To get the most competitive interest rate requires $5,000. The jumbo CDs require $100,000 to open.

Most BMO Harris accounts have monthly fees. The fees for their checking accounts range from $5 to $30. The savings account has a $5 monthly fee. These fees can be waived by keeping a set amount in the accounts. Those balances range from $100 to $50,000 depending on the account. Electronic statements and being under 25 years old will also waive some account fees.

BMO Harris Bank account rates are not competitive with other online accounts. The money market account and some CD terms offer competitive interest rates. Other account rates are not competitive with online accounts.

The premier checking account has tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive rate for this account requires a balance of $50,000. The money market account has tiered interest rates, but the tiers are not on the website.

Read the full BMO Harris Bank review.

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