Vio Bank VS USAA

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
1.10%APY
Savings/MMA
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates
  • Low required opening amounts
  • Variety of CD terms available
  • No monthly fees

Cons:

  • Limited personal accounts offered
  • Customer service not available 24/7
  • No business accounts offered
  • Specific transfer regulations
  • Financial Rates: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Low opening required amounts
  • No monthly fees or required balances
  • Youth and college accounts available
  • ATM reimbursement for USAA accounts

Cons:

  • Low-interest rates
  • Business accounts are not offered
  • Not a wide variety of accounts
  • Must be a member to open accounts
Vio Bank Review

Vio Bank offers competitive interest rates on their CDs and high yield savings account. The interest rates are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates. Vio Bank interest rates are competitive with other online accounts. They monitor their interest rates to keep them competitive with national rates.

Vio Bank accounts have low opening required amounts. All the different CD terms only require $500 to open. The high yield savings account only requires $100 to open.

Vio Bank offers a good variety of CD terms. The CDs range in length from six-month to 120-month terms. Each of the CDs requires $500 to open. They are all FDIC insured and can be opened online. The CD terms all earn competitive interest rates.

The savings account at Vio Bank does not have a monthly fee. There is no required balance to avoid a monthly fee. The CDs only have a fee if the money is withdrawn before the maturity date of the CD.

Vio Bank offers limited personal deposit accounts. Only a personal savings account and CDs are available. The CD terms range from six-months to 120-months. No checking or money market accounts are available.

Customers cannot reach a Vio Bank representative 24/7. Customer service has specific hours of operation. They are open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Central Time. Saturday they are open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sunday they open from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Vio Bank does not offer business accounts. Only personal deposit accounts are available. Those accounts include a personal high yield savings account and CDs. The CDs range in term from six-month CDs to 120-month CDs.

Money can only be transferred from the savings account to external bank accounts. If you want to make a wire transfer, you must submit the forms 72 hours before the transfer takes place. Federal regulations only allow six withdrawals per month from your savings account.

Read the full Vio Bank review.

USAA Review

Most USAA accounts only require $25 to open the accounts. To earn interest on the Classic checking account, you must have $1,000 in the account.

There are no monthly fees for any USAA accounts. They do not have a set amount required to keep in any of their accounts. Some accounts only earn interest if the balance is a set amount. However, you will not be charged a fee for not having a certain amount in the account.

Youth and college accounts offered through USAA do not have a monthly fee. There is not a required balance to keep in the account. The youth savings account earns interest. The youth checking account offers parental controls. Parents can set debit or ATM limits and receive text alerts. The college account only requires $50 to open. Friends and family can contribute to these accounts.

There are over 60,000 free USAA ATMs. The first ten withdrawals from a USAA owned ATM are free. USAA refunds up to $15 in ATM fees charged from using other banks ATMs. The ATM reimbursement does not apply to the USAA Cashback Rewards checking account.

USAA accounts do not offer competitive interest rates. The rates are slightly higher than those of your typical brick and mortar banks. Some CDs receive more competitive interest rates. All other accounts are much lower than other online-only accounts.

USAA does not offer business accounts. The only accounts offered are personal checking and savings accounts and CDs. Insurance, investments, and retirement options are available. Loans, credit cards, and real estate options are offered.

USAA only offers two different checking accounts and two savings accounts. The basic savings account only requires $25 to open the account. The other savings account requires $10,000 to open. Only one checking account earns interest. The other checking account earns cashback rewards. They do not both have the same benefits.

To open an account with USAA, you must become a member. Those eligible to become a member are active and former military and their families. Cadets and midshipmen at academies are eligible to become a member. Once accepted, USAA will help you find the right accounts for your needs.

Read the full USAA review.

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