Popular Direct VS CIBC Bank USA

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
5.15%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: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
0.15%APY
Savings/MMA
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Variety of accounts offered
  • High interest rate for CIBC Agility
  • Low required opening amounts
  • Interest Rate Bonus on accounts

Cons:

  • Only one checking account earns interest
  • Account interest rates not listed
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Accounts have monthly fees
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.

CIBC Bank USA Review

CIBC offers a variety of accounts. These accounts include:

  • iCan checking
  • myChoice checking
  • myChoice Prestige checking
  • CIBC savings
  • Agility savings
  • CIBC money market
  • CD terms
  • Agility CDs 9, 12, 18, and 24-month terms
  • Personal lending and retirement options
  • Commercial and small business accounts and lending options

The CIBC Agility savings account offers competitive interest rates. This savings account requires $1,000 to open and does not have a monthly fee. The CIBC Agility savings account is an online-only account. The interest rates are competitive with other online-only savings accounts. They are much higher than typical brick-and-mortar banks.

CIBC accounts have low opening required amounts. The MMA and personal savings account require $50 to open the account. You must open these accounts at a branch location. The online savings account requires $1,000 to open. Regular CDs require $1,000 to open.

The myChoice checking account offers an interest rate bonus. This allows you to earn higher interest rates on your checking account balance. To earn the higher rates, you must meet a set amount. The amounts can come from a total of qualifying CIBC accounts. Those include myChoice checking account, money market and savings accounts. CDs and principal balances on personal loans count toward the balance total also. The more money you have in the accounts, the higher the bonus rate you receive.

Only one CIBC checking account earns interest. The CIBC myChoice Checking account is the interest-earning account. You must open this account at a branch location. If you have less than $5,000 in the account, there is a monthly fee.

Interest rates for CIBC accounts are not listed online. Only one CIBC savings account lists the interest rate for the account. The CIBC Agility offers competitive interest rates. The other CIBC accounts do not list the interest rates earned for their accounts. To open those accounts, you must visit a branch location.

Not all CIBC accounts can be opened online. To open a checking or savings account, or CDs, you must visit a branch location. CIBC has 46 branch locations in 19 states. The only accounts you can open online are the CIBC Agility savings account and Agility CDs. Those terms include 9, 12, 18, and 24-month terms

Most CIBC accounts have a monthly fee. To waive the fee, you must keep a set amount in the account. To avoid the checking account fees, you must have over $1,000 in the iCan account and $5,000 in the myChoice account. The savings account requires $250 to waive the fee, and the MMA requires $2,500.

Read the full CIBC Bank USA review.

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