Salem Five Direct VS Citizens Access

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
5.01%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • No required balances or monthly fees
  • High interest rates on accounts
  • No required amount to earn interest
  • Low opening required amounts on accounts

Cons:

  • Not wide variety of accounts
  • Business accounts are not offered
  • eOne checking only for new customers
  • No branch locations for accounts
  • Financial Rates: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
4.50%APY
Savings/MMA
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • No monthly maintenance fees
  • Competitive interest rates
  • Any account balance earns interest
  • Good variety of CD terms

Cons:

  • High opening required amounts
  • Must link accounts to external bank
  • No ATM or debit cards or checks
  • Limited accounts offered
Salem Five Direct Review

Salem Five Direct savings and checking account do not have a required balance to waive fees. Only $100 is required to open the account. After the account is open, there is no amount you must keep in the account to avoid fees. There are no monthly fees for the savings or checking account. A fee is charged if you withdraw money from your CD before maturity.

Salem Five Direct savings and checking accounts offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online-only accounts. They are much higher than your typical brick and mortar rates. Salem Five Direct offers three different CD term lengths. Each of the three CDs offers competitive interest rates.

The accounts at Salem Five Direct do not have a set amount required to earn the highest interest rates. Any savings or checking account balance earns the highest interest rates. Each of these accounts requires $100 to open.

All Salem Five Direct accounts have low amounts required to open the accounts. The minimum amount required to open a savings or checking account, or a CD, is $100. Once you open the account, there is no set amount required to keep in the accounts.

Salem Five Direct offers one savings account and one checking account. They only offer three different term lengths of CDs. Those are 18-month, 36-month, and 48-month CD terms. Only personal deposit accounts are available.

There are no business accounts offered through Salem Five Direct. The only accounts are personal deposit accounts. Those include a savings account, a checking account, and three different CD term lengths.

To open the Salem Five Direct eOne checking account you must be eligible. To be eligible for the account you cannot have an existing account with Salem Five Bank. The funds to open the eOne account cannot come from a Salem Five Bank account. This account is only available to open online. You cannot open it at a branch location.

Each of these Salem Five Direct accounts is entirely online accounts. There are no branch locations for Salem Five Direct. If you make a transaction to your Salem Five Direct accounts at a Salem Five branch, you will be charged a fee. Reach customer service for Salem Five Direct accounts by online chat, phone, or email.

Read the full Salem Five Direct review.

Citizens Access Review

Looking for Citizens Bank? Click here for our review on the local bank.

Citizens Access bank accounts do not have any fees. There are no monthly maintenance fees or fees to open the account. The Citizens Access savings account is completely free. The only fee with the CDs comes if you withdraw money before the maturity date.

The online savings account and each of the CD terms earn competitive interest rates. Citizens Access rates are much higher than your typical brick and mortar bank rates. They are competitive with other online accounts. To earn the most competitive rate requires a balance of $5,000 in each account.

Any account balance in the Citizens Access savings account earns interest. If the account balance falls below $5,000 the interest you earn is less, but you still earn interest. To earn the most competitive rate requires a $5,000 balance in the account.

Citizens Access offers a good variety of CD terms. Those terms range from six-month terms to five-years. Each of these CDs requires $5,000 to open. The interest rates are competitive on each term. The longer the CD term, the higher the interest rate.

To open an online savings account or CD with Citizen Access requires a large sum. Each of these accounts requires $5,000 to open the accounts. To earn the most competitive interest rate requires a balance of $5,000.

To transfer money in and out of your Citizens Access account you must link to an external bank account. That account can be a different banking institution. Once you link the accounts, you can transfer money electronically between the two accounts. To withdraw money, you could request a check.

Currently, Citizens Access does not offer ATM cards, debit cards, or checks for their online savings account. Access your money easiest through electronic transfers. You can call customer service to request a check.

Citizens Access has a limited variety of account. Only personal deposit savings account and CDs are available. No personal checking accounts or money market accounts are available. There are no business accounts offered.

Read the full Citizens Access review.

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