Popular Direct VS KS StateBank

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: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Variety of accounts offered
  • Most accounts have low opening amounts
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • No monthly maintenance fees

Cons:

  • Not all accounts are available online
  • MMA has tiered interest rates
  • Jumbo CDs rates same as regular CDs
  • Fee for bank-to-bank transfers
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.

KS StateBank Review

A variety of accounts are available through KS StateBank. They offer a variety of personal deposit accounts. Those accounts include checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and CDs. KS StateBank offers regular CDs and jumbo CDs. The CD terms range from six months to seven years. They also offer business accounts.

Most KS StateBank accounts have low amounts required to open the accounts. The checking and savings account require $100 to open. The regular CDs require $500 to open. The Jump Up CD requires $1,000 to open, and the MMA requires $2,500. The jumbo CDs do require $100,000 to open.

The Checking Plus account and CDs offer competitive interest rates. The savings and money market accounts offer slightly lower rates. Those rates are still good rates for online accounts. These rates are competitive with other online-only accounts. The rates are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates.

KS StateBank accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. The accounts do not have required account balances to avoid monthly fees. There is a fee for paper statements or if you make more withdrawals each month than allowed.

Not all KS StateBank accounts are available online. The online checking account is only for residents of Kansas, Missouri, and Arizona. The other online accounts include a savings account, money market account, and CDs. Those accounts are available for any citizens around the United States. Open other accounts by visiting a local branch location.

The KS StateBank money market account has tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive rate requires a balance of $100,000. Amounts under $100,000 earn interest, just not the most competitive rate. This account requires $2,500 to open. There is no required amount to keep in the account; you earn lower rates depending on your balance.

The interest rates for KS StateBank jumbo CDs are the same as their regular CDs. They do not offer higher interest rates. The jumbo CDs require $100,000 to open. Jumbo CDs are only for consumer accounts. They must be opened online.

KS StateBank has a fee for electronic transfers made between banks. They do not charge a fee for money transferred from another bank into your KS StateBank account. However, there is a $3.99 fee for each transfer made from KS StateBank to another financial institution.

Read the full KS StateBank review.

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