TD Bank VS DCU

Which bank is better for you?

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

  • Wide variety of accounts offered
  • Specific checking accounts available
  • Business prepaid cards
  • Good variety of CD options

Cons:

  • Products not available everywhere
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Interest rates are low
  • Not all checking accounts earn interest
  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
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Pros:

  • Variety of accounts offered
  • Competitive interest rate for savings
  • Can open all accounts online
  • Low opening amounts and no fees

Cons:

  • Must become a member first
  • Tiered interest rates on MMA
  • High balances to earn interest
  • Only one withdrawal per month for Ltd.
TD Bank Review

TD Bank offers a large selection of bank accounts. They offer personal checking, savings, and money market accounts. CDs, loans, and prepaid cards are offered. TD Bank offers accounts for small and commercial businesses. Checking, savings, and money market accounts are available for businesses. Loans, CDs, and credit cards for businesses are also offered.

TD Bank offers two specific checking accounts. One is for those over 60 years old, and another account specific for students. The student checking account does not have a monthly fee. The TD 60 Plus account requires $250 be in the account to waive the $10 monthly fee. The TD 60 Plus checking earns interest.

TD Bank offers three prepaid cards for businesses. You can use the cards to pay employees their paycheck or as part of an incentive program. Load a specific amount for expenses to the card or use them as a reward or refund. TD Bank offers reloadable cards or one-time use cards. The cards are accepted anywhere Visa is accepted.

TD Bank offers a good variety of CDs. TD Bank’s No-Catch CDs allow you to make one withdrawal each CD term without penalty. Step Rate CDs increase your interest each year. The 12-month Rate Bump CD offers competitive interest rates. To qualify for that CD, you must have a qualifying checking account in good standing. The rate bump increases the amount of interest your CD earns by more than a full percent. Only $250 is required to open all TD Bank CDs.

Accounts with TD Bank are not offered everywhere. To qualify for an account, you must have an address within the footprint of TD Bank. Those areas are on the East Coast, ranging from Maine to Florida. They are also in parts of Canada.

Most all TD Bank accounts have a monthly maintenance fee. The fees range from $4 to $25 each month, depending on the account. Not all account fees are easy to waive. Having a required amount in the account is the most common way to waive the account fees. Signing up for online statements will lower the monthly fee, not waive it. Having a direct deposit into the account will not waive the monthly fees.

Interest rates for TD Bank accounts are low. They are competitive with your typical brick and mortar bank rates. The TD Bank account rates are not competitive with online-only accounts. Only a few CDs offer interest rates competitive with online-only accounts.

Not all TD Bank checking accounts earn interest. The Premier, Relationship, and the TD 60 Plus checking account are the three that earn interest. The 60 Plus checking account does not require a large balance to avoid the monthly fee. The Premier account requires $2,500, and the Relationship requires $20,000 between TD Bank accounts.

Read the full TD Bank review.

DCU Review

Digital Federal Credit Union offers a wide variety of personal deposit accounts. These accounts include:

  • Free checking with different benefit levels
  • HSA checking
  • Primary savings
  • Money market savings
  • Ltd. savings
  • Holiday Savings Club
  • Regular CDs with terms from 3 to 60 months
  • Jumbo CDs from 3 to 60 months
  • Jump-Up CDs with a 15-month and 27-month term
  • QuickStart CDs from 3 to 60 months
  • Loans and credit cards
  • Business accounts and lending options

The Primary savings account offers competitive interest rates. For the first $1,000, you earn over a six percent interest rate. Any amount over $1,000 earns a lower rate of 0.25 percent. Between the two rates, the account earns competitive interest rates. The Primary savings account is the account you must open to become a member of DCU.

You can open all DCU accounts online. You do not need to visit a branch location to open the accounts. To open DCU accounts, you must be at least 18 years old. You must provide a government-issued ID and Social Security Number. Your address, phone number, and date of birth are also required.

The highest amount required to open a DCU checking or savings account is only $5. To earn interest for some accounts requires a larger balance. The CDs require $100 or $500, depending on the CD. Jumbo CDs require $25,000. DCU accounts do not have monthly fees or a required amount to keep in the account to avoid a fee.

To open an account with DCU, you must become a member of the credit union. You become a member by opening the Primary savings account with at least $5. Once you open that account and become a member, you can open any other DCU account.

The DCU money market account has tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive interest rates requires a balance of at least $100,000. Lower balances earn interest, just not the highest rate.

The Ltd. savings account requires a balance of $25,000 to earn any interest. Any balance over $25,000 earns the most competitive rate, but balances below do not earn any interest.

Only one withdrawal is allowed per month from the Ltd. savings account. For every other withdrawal, there is a fee of $25. To earn interest on this account requires a balance of $25,000. There is no required amount to open the account.

Read the full DCU review.

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