-
Financial Rates:
4.0
-
Customer Service:
3.0
-
Website Experience:
5.0
-
Bank Fees:
5.0
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:
4.5
-
Customer Service:
4.0
-
Website Experience:
4.0
-
Bank Fees:
4.5
Pros:
- Competitive rates on all accounts
- Low opening required amounts
- Good variety of accounts
- Can send and receive money with Zelle
Cons:
- Tiered interest rates for most accounts
- Cannot open all accounts online
- Accounts not available to everyone
- Monthly fees for some accounts
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.
Gateway First offers competitive interest rates on most accounts. The interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates. The online savings account and 12-month CD offers the most competitive interest rates.
The opening required amounts for Gateway First accounts are low. The online savings account requires $10 to open. The CDs need $1,000 to open. The checking accounts require either $50 or $1,000 to open. The money market account does require $2,500 to open.
Gateway First offers a good variety of accounts. These include:
- Three personal checking accounts
- Online savings account
- CD terms from six-months to five-years
- One, two, and three-year IRA CDs
- Home and consumer loans
- Business checking account
- Commercial and specialty lending options
Customers can send and receive money through Zelle. Gateway First Bank offers Zelle as a feature for each of their checking accounts. You can initiate Zelle payments through the mobile app or online.
Gateway First accounts have tiered rates. The CDs require $500 to open, but to earn interest requires a $25,000 balance. Each CD earns competitive rates if you have $25,000. You cannot add money to the CD after the opening amount. The money market account requires $100,000 to earn the most competitive rate. The checking account requires $50,000.
Not all Gateway First accounts can be opened online. The only accounts available online are the high yield savings account and CDs. The CD terms range from six-months to five-years.
Gateway First accounts are not currently available in all 50 states. If you live in the following states, you cannot open an account:
- Alaska
- California
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
Some Gateway First Bank accounts have monthly fees. The fees for the checking accounts are between $7-8. There is a fee of $0.15 per debit item if you do not keep a set account balance. To waive the account fees, you must keep an account balance between $250 and $2,500.
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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.
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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.