SmartyPig VS MutualOne Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
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Pros:

  • Free savings account
  • Tiered Interest Rates
  • Set up multiple goals
  • Direct withdrawals

Cons:

  • Only offer one type of account
  • Six withdrawals allowed per month
  • Maximum account balance
  • One external funding source allowed
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Low required opening amounts
  • Checking account earns interest
  • Business accounts offered
  • Competitive interest rates

Cons:

  • To earn highest rates requires a large sum
  • Some accounts have fees
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Low interest rates on MMA
SmartyPig Review

SmartyPig accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. There is not a required amount to keep in the account. The first initial deposit to open the account is $25.

This savings account offers tiered interest rates. This means the more money you have in the account, the more interest you will earn. The interest rates do not vary much between tiers. The difference from a low amount to the higher amount is around 0.05%.

With this SmartyPig account, you can set up different savings goals. The savings accounts can be long-term, like saving for a college education. They can also be short term, like saving for a mountain bike or birthday party. You can transfer money from your SmartyPig primary account to different savings goals.

The best way to save money is to set up direct withdrawals. You set up when you want the money to come out of your account and how much to withdraw. Then, SmartyPig does the rest. Once the money is deposited into your account, you can transfer it into different savings goal. The withdrawals can be set up to occur monthly or biweekly.

SmartyPig has only one account offered: a high yield savings account. They do not offer checking accounts, CDs, money market accounts, or business accounts. The interest rate on this savings account is considerably higher than other banks savings accounts.

The website says you can withdraw money anytime, but federal regulation only allows six withdrawals per billing cycle. This includes transfers between your SmartyPig primary account and your different savings goals. The transfer or withdrawal will not take place if you have made more than six in a billing cycle. If you repeatedly try to make more than six, your account will be closed. Once you reach your goal, you cannot withdraw part of your money back to your external funding source. You must withdraw it all, or transfer the money between other savings goals.

This account is not meant for high account balances. There is a maximum account balance of $250,000. If your account has $250,000, you will earn interest on the money in the account, but you cannot add to the account.

Each SmartyPig account is only allowed to have one external funding source set up for it. That means you can only have one bank account connected to each SmartyPig account. You can change your external funding source if you want, but never have more than one.

Read the full SmartyPig review.

MutualOne Bank Review

MutualOne accounts have a low required amount to open the accounts. There are 15 different CDs to choose from. Three CDs require $5,000 to open, but the rest only need $500 to open. Checking accounts only need $100 to open. The MMA requires $500. All MutualOne saving accounts only require $10 to open.

The MutualOne Advantage checking account earns interest. The account only requires $100 to open the account. Any amount over $10 will earn interest. The rates are tiered so to earn the highest rates, you must keep $50,000 in the account. Amounts under that still earn competitive interest rates, just not the highest amount.

MutualOne offers competitive, tiered interest rates on their accounts. The more money you have in the accounts, the higher the interest rates you earn on your money. The MutualOne online savings account earns competitive interest rates and is entirely online. Any amount earns the highest rate.

Business accounts are available through MutualOne Bank. A checking account, savings account, money market account, and CDs are available. There are two different checking accounts. One tailored to commercial businesses. To find out more about business accounts, or apply to open one, you must contact a personal banker.

To earn the highest interest rates available, you must keep a certain amount in the accounts. The advantage checking account required $50,000 be in the account to earn the highest rates. To earn the highest MMA rates, $200,000 must be in the account. The online saving account only requires $100 to earn the highest rates. Lower amounts in these accounts earn interest, just not the highest rate.

Some MutualOne accounts have a monthly maintenance fee. There are ways to waive the fees. Keeping a set amount in the account, or between deposit and loan accounts, will waive the fees. The monthly fee amounts are not listed on the website.

Not all MutualOne Bank accounts are available to open online. The online savings account and CDs can be opened online. Checking, money market, and some savings accounts require a personal banker. Business accounts need a personal banker to open.

To earn the highest interest rates on MMAs, you must have $10,00 in one account and $200,000 in the other MMA. The interest rates for balances under those amounts are low. They are competitive with your typical brick and mortar banks. The more money you invest, the higher the rates. However, the rates for lower amounts are not competitive with other online accounts.

Read the full MutualOne Bank review.

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