WaFd Bank VS Citizens Trust Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 2.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.5 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Good variety of accounts available
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Business accounts offered
  • Money market and CDs earn good rates

Cons:

  • Low interest rates on accounts
  • Tiered interest rates on some accounts
  • High rates require eligible checking
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Financial Rates: 1.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Variety of personal deposit accounts
  • Most accounts have low opening amounts
  • Business accounts available
  • Other products offered

Cons:

  • Most accounts have a monthly fee
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Personal accounts have low rates
  • Jumbo and regular CDs earn same rates
WaFd Bank Review

WaFd Bank offers a good variety of accounts. Those include:

  • Savings account
  • Savings account for minors
  • Checking accounts
  • Money market accounts
  • CD terms from three-months to five-years
  • Retirement accounts
  • Lending options
  • Credit cards
  • Small business accounts
  • Commercial options

The opening required amounts for WaFd accounts are low. Most savings and checking accounts only require $25 to open. A savings account for minors requires $10 to open. The Stellar Plus checking account requires $100 to open. The money market accounts require $100 to open. All CD terms require $1,000 to open.

WaFd Bank offers business accounts along with personal accounts. Those accounts include small business checking and savings accounts. They also offer some commercial business accounts. To open those accounts, you need to contact a commercial banker.

The WaFd Gold Money Market account has competitive rates. These account rates are the most competitive rates offered at WaFd. They are lower than other online money market accounts but still competitive. The seven-month and 13-month special CDs also earn higher rates than other WaFd CDs.

WaFd accounts besides the Gold MMA and special CD terms have low interest rates. These rates are similar to other brick-and-mortar bank rates. They do not compare to other online-only accounts.

Some WaFd accounts have tiered interest rates. To receive the highest rate for the Stellar Plus checking account requires a $10,000 balance. The regular money market account requires $90,000 to earn the best rate. Even the highest interest rate for these accounts is low.

Specific WaFd accounts require you to open other eligible accounts. To earn the best rates on the special CD terms, you must have an eligible checking account. The rates are only 0.05% higher if you have the checking account.

Most WaFd Bank accounts have monthly fees. The checking account fees range from $0-8 per month. The savings accounts have monthly fees from $3-10 per month. There are ways to waive some of the monthly fees. Those include keeping a set account balance. That balance ranges from $100-$20,000, depending on the account.

Read the full WaFd Bank review.

Citizens Trust Bank Review

Citizens Trust Bank has a variety of personal deposit accounts. There is a checking account for students and those over 50 years old. Citizens Trust Bank offers regular savings, holiday savings accounts, and youth accounts. The different accounts require different balances, allowing you to find the best account for your finances.

The opening required amounts for most Citizens Trust Bank accounts are low. The amounts needed to open accounts range from $25 to $100. Most checking accounts require $50 to open. The basic savings account requires $100 to open. CDs require $500 to open. The money market account and Silver Investor savings account have higher opening amounts. They require between $1,000 to $5,000.

Citizens Trust Bank offers business accounts. Checking and savings accounts are available. There are merchant services and cash management options available to businesses. They also offer loans, credit cards, and investment accounts for businesses.

There are a variety of products offered through Citizens Trust Bank. They offer personal and business credit cards and loans. They offer investment accounts, life insurance, disability insurance, and final expense insurance.

Most Citizens Trust Bank accounts have a monthly fee. The fees range from $0.30 per check or debit card transaction to $15 a month. Waive the fees by keeping a minimum balance in the account. The required balances range from $5 to $7,500, depending on the account. Some accounts require enrolling in online banking and receiving eStatements.

Not all Citizens Trust Bank accounts can be opened online. Some accounts require visiting one of the financial centers. The youth savings account and the Christmas Club account must be opened in a branch location.

The interest rates for Citizens Trust Bank are low. The rates are similar to your typical brick and mortar bank rates. Their rates are not competitive with online bank rates.

Citizens Trust Bank offers regular and jumbo CDs. The regular CDs require $500 to open. The jumbo CDs require $100,000 to open. The interest rates are the same for regular CDs and jumbo CDs. Both rates are not competitive with other online CDs. The CD terms range from seven-days to five-years.

Read the full Citizens Trust Bank review.

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