TotalDirectBank VS Bank of the West

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 2.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Application completely online
  • No monthly maintenance fees
  • Interest rates are not tiered

Cons:

  • High opening required amounts
  • Limited accounts available
  • Not available in all 50 states
  • Application response not immediate
  • Financial Rates: 2.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Business accounts are available
  • Direct deposit is not required
  • A variety of different lengths of CDs
  • Transfer money to others with PopMoney

Cons:

  • Low-interest rates on accounts
  • High initial required amounts for CDs
  • High required amounts for accounts
  • Products change based on states
TotalDirectBank Review

The interest rates for TotalDirectBank accounts offer competitive interest rates. The interest rates are much higher than typical brick-and-mortar bank rates. Their interest rates are competitive with other online accounts.

The application for TotalDirectBank accounts is entirely online. To open a money market or CD account with TotalDirectBank, visit their website. There are no branch locations. You cannot mail in your application.

There are no monthly fees for the TotalDirectBank money market account. You do not have to keep a set balance in the account to avoid a monthly fee. The money market account is free. The CD has a fee if you withdraw money before the CD matures.

Interest rates for TotalDirectBank are not tiered. Account balances over the opening required amount earn the most competitive interest rates.

Opening an account with TotalDirectBank requires a significant amount. The money market account requires $5,000 to open. The CD requires $25,000 to open. You must keep at least these amounts in the account to earn interest.

TotalDirectBank only offers a money market account and CDs. The CD terms range from 3-60 months. There are six terms available. Those include 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 60-month CD terms.

The TotalDirectBank accounts are not available in all 50 states. If you live in California, Florida, or Puerto Rico, you cannot apply for an account. You could be eligible if you live in other states across the United States.

Opening a money market account or CD with TotalDirectBank is entirely online. When you apply for an account, you receive an approval within two business days. You then must fund your account within 30 days. If you fail to fund it by then, the account could close.

Read the full TotalDirectBank review.

Bank of the West Review

Bank of the West offers checking, savings, CDs, and money market accounts for your business. Credit cards, loans, and lines of credit are also available. Bank of the West offers payroll services and payment processing options. Foreign exchange services for business accounts are also available. Interest rates for their different business accounts are not listed on the website.

Bank of the West does not require you to have direct deposit into their checking account. There is a monthly maintenance fee, but you can waive that fee by depositing money into your account each month. You can deposit any amount by an ATM, in-branch, direct, or mobile deposit to waive the fee.

Bank of the West offers Flexible-Term CDs, Premium Money Market CD, and a Relationship CD. Within these different CD types are a variety of term lengths, except the Relationship CD. That only has a 12-month term option. To apply for a CD and get the specific term lengths and rates you have to visit a branch. You cannot apply online.

With Popmoney you can send or receive money with only an email, text, or account number. You decide where the money is deposited. You will receive an alert when the transaction is complete. There is a fee to send money overnight, and not all customers qualify to use Popmoney.

Personal banking accounts of Bank of the West do not have competitive interest rates. The rates are much less than online-only banks but similar to typical bank interest rates.

To open a CD, you must have an opening balance of $1,000 for the Flexible-Term CDs and Premier Money Market CDs. To open a Relationship CD, you must have $2,500 and a checking account with Bank of the West.

To waive the Premier Checking account fee, you must have $25,000 in qualifying accounts. The Choice Money Market account requires $5,000. CD accounts require $1,000 to $2,500 to open. The Classic Savings account requires $300. There are other options for ways to have monthly fees waived. Know the options if you cannot keep the required amounts of money in the accounts.

Bank of the West accounts are not available in all states. To apply for an account, you must have an address in one of the states listed. Interest rates and products differ between states. The name of the bank may be slightly different as well depending on the area.

Read the full Bank of the West review.

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