SmartyPig VS Northfield 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
No Rate Information
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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: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Online accounts have competitive rates
  • Variety of personal deposit accounts
  • Online and mobile banking
  • Business accounts available

Cons:

  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Tiered interest rates
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • High required amounts for online
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.

Northfield Bank Review

The Northfield Bank online accounts offer competitive interest rates. The rates for the online accounts are competitive with other online accounts. The online account rates are higher than other Northfield Bank account rates.

There are a variety of personal accounts offered by Northfield Bank. They offer an interest-earning checking account, one for students, and traditional checking accounts. They offer a savings account for children, CDs, and money market accounts.

Northfield offers online and mobile banking for their accounts. These services are not just for the online accounts. All Northfield Bank accounts have the option of online and mobile banking. You can see account balances, transfer money, and deposit checks. You can pay bills and pay others with PopMoney.

Along with personal deposit accounts, Northfield offers business accounts. Those accounts include a checking and money market account for businesses. Northfield also offers credit cards, lending, and cash management services for businesses. All business accounts must be opened in a branch location.

Not all Northfield Bank accounts can open online. Most Northfield accounts require you to visit a branch location to open. Their branches are in the New York and New Jersey area. The accounts you open online include one savings account and CDs. The CD terms include a nine-month, 11-month, 16-month, and 60-month.

The interest rates for Northfield accounts opened in a branch location are tiered. To earn the most competitive rates on those accounts requires large account balances. The money market account requires $15,000. The high yield money market and premier savings account requires $100,000.

Most Northfield accounts have monthly fees. The fees for accounts opened in the branches range from $3 to $25. To waive the fees requires a set account balance. Those balance range from $500 to $100,000. The online savings account has a monthly fee of $8 if your balance falls below $2,500.

The online accounts with Northfield have high opening required amounts. The online CDs require $2,500 to open. The savings account only requires $0.01 to open, but there is an $8 monthly fee if your balance falls below $2,500. Any amount over $0.01 earns interest. You must also link the Northfield account to another bank account. You fund your Northfield online account through the linked account.

Read the full Northfield Bank review.

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