Discover Bank’s CD Rates and Money Market Account

Discover Bank, originally known as Greenwood Trust Company before joining Discover Financial Services in 2000, offers FDIC insured bank CDs (certificates of deposit) as well as money market accounts and high yield online savings accounts. By consistently offering interest rates that beat the national average they have grown to manage over $25 billion in consumer deposits.

Discover Bank’s Popular Products:

Discover Bank’s 12-month CDs : This is a 12 month timed deposit. You will earn a fixed interest rate and your money is FDIC insured. You will want to make sure you can keep your money in this account until the duration is over. There may be penalties for early withdrawal.

Discover Bank CDs 24-month CDs: This is a 24 month timed deposit. You will earn a fixed interest rate and your money is FDIC insured. You will want to make sure you can keep your money in this account until the duration is over. There may be penalties for early withdrawal.

Discover Bank Money Market: This is a liquid account. You will earn a variable interest rate and your money is FDIC insured. You can make fast and free online money transfers and you can access your account from anywhere (online, ATMs, w/ Discover debit card, etc).

SallieMae: CD rates and savings account review

SallieMae, traditionally a provider of student loans both federally and privately, has entered the online banking retail space by offering both “high yield savings accounts” and high interest CD’s (certificate of deposits). These accounts are federally insured by the FDIC and SallieMae claims the rates to be 5x the national average.

Their online savings account comes with no monthly fees and no minimum balances, similar to other online banking products such as Ally Bank’s online savings account and American Express’s high interest savings account.

Features of Online Savings Account by SallieMae:

• No minimum balance required
• No monthly fees
• Interest compounded daily
• FDIC insured
• 1.35% APY
• 10% annual match on Upromise earnings. Learn more.

Features of CD accounts (Certifate of Deposits) by SallieMae:

• No monthly fees
• FDIC insured
• minimum deposit not disclosed - contact SallieMae for this information
• 12 month CD’s paying 1.50% APY
• 36 month CD’s paying 2.20% APY
• 60 month CD’s paying 3.00% APY

SallieMae’s interest rates are subject to change without notice. Like most CD’s, the interest paid is fixed for the life of the product. The interest paid on the online savings account, however, is variable and subject to change based on market conditions. View SallieMae’s current savings rates here.

Lending Club’s Net Annualized Returns to Investors: 9.65% APY

Once again Lending Club has come into our radar after raising their net annualized returns to their investors by 0.60% APY. A few months ago Lending Club had provided average returns of 9.05% APY, now this number has increased to 9.65% APY.

What is Lending Club?

Essentially Lending Club has set out to eliminate the complexity of the banking system by allowing borrowers and lenders to directly invest from each other through a moderated online platform. Investors open an account and build a portfolio of loans. Investors can select the loans they would like to fund based on how aggressive their investment style is. The investor may also spread their deposit over hundreds of different loans to diversify their savings. Since Lending Club’s inception in 2007 they have provided investors with an annual return of 9.65% APY and were recently given the “Breakthough idea of 2009″ award by Harvard Business Review. Learn More.

Lending Club Facts:

• As of February 28, 2010, Lending Club has funded over $89,000,000 in loans and provided $6,200,000 in interest to it’s individual investors.
• Lending Club’s approval rate for loan applications sit at roughly 14% (only prime borrows approved), reducing risk for investors.
• Extremely low default rate on loans - less than 3% after 18 months
• Eliminates the high cost of traditional banks to provide you with better rates

Lending Club’s Recognition in the Press:

• “Breakthrough idea for 2009.”
  Harvard Business Review
• “As major financial institutions stumble or fail completely, online lending sites like Lending Club are on the rise.”
  CBS News
• “…the increased efficiency of cutting out the banks…”
  The New York Times

Start Investing with just $100!

Capital One’s online savings account sign-up bonus: $50

Capital One has a pretty decent promotion going on with their online savings account. Thanks to BankVibe reader James for tipping us off on this one!

When you sign up for Capital One’s online savings account and fund it with at least $10,000 they will toss in an extra $50 into your account. This account is also yielding a fairly respectable 1.60% APY. 

Click here and use the promotional code: SAVER50DF

…so if my math serves me correct, this account essentially yields an APY of 2.10% APY for the first year when you add in the $50 bonus (assuming you only fund it with the minimum balance required -$10k). 

Quick breakdown:

$50 is 0.50% of $10,000.

add the 0.50% to the 1.60% they already provide and you have just netted yourself a 2.10% APY.

The national average for money market rates sits at roughly 1.25% APY to put this offer in perspective…

Provident NJ Direct limits withdrawals to $2k per day

We just received an interesting email from a Provident NJ Direct customer who took advantage of their Power Savings Account we reported on in April.

As a quick recap, the Power Savings Account offered by Provident NJ Direct currently provides a promotional 90 day APY of 2.0%, which is then followed up by either a 1.0% interest rate or 1.50% interest rate (depending on your minimum balance). For balances above $10k you will earn 1.50% APY and for balances between $50 - $9,999 you will earn the lower 1.0% APY.

This is an online savings account which features no fees or service charges as well as an ATM card. This account soley operates online and is available throughout the country.

The email we received highlights the fact that apparently Provident NJ Direct only allows withdrawals of $2,000 per business day. Therefor if you were to invest, say, $100k into this account, it would take you roughly 10 weeks to receive your money. I can see why this particular customer is so frustrated as he had a rather large sum wrapped up in this account. Here is the email they sent him when he requested to withdrawal his funds:

Dear Valued Customer, The world of Internet banking continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, to which banks must continuously look at industry best practices to protect both customer and bank assets. This notice is being sent to inform you of two changes to The Provident Bank’s Internet Banking service, which will become effective on September 29, 2009. Transaction Limitations: The Provident Bank has implemented a daily limit of $2,000 on external transfers from each of your Provident accounts, as conducted via Provident Connect. This daily limit is applicable to external transfers (transfers from your Provident account to an account at another financial institution) conducted Monday through Friday. Any transfers requested on Saturday or Sunday will be added to transfer requests made on the following Monday. Note: This transaction limitation does not affect transfers to or between your Provident accounts. In order to close accounts with balances exceeding $2,000, you must send a secure message through Provident Connect providing the Bank authorization to close your account. Within one business day after we receive your authorization, a check for the balance of your account will be mailed to the address we have on file. Funds Availability: Electronic funds transfers processed via online banking to your Provident accounts from another financial institution will be available for withdrawal or transfer outside of The Provident Bank on the third business day following the day of deposit. Please understand that the above limitations are being implemented to protect your accounts from unauthorized activity. As Internet services continue to evolve, The Provident Bank is continuing to work with industry experts to ensure our practices meet both the high standards of performance expected by our customers, as well as the security needed to give you peace of mind. Sincerely, The Provident Bank

After digging a little further, we were not able to find this stipulation within their “terms of service” but realize this became effective only a few days ago (according to the email). Has anyone else come across this issue?

Lending Club’s average returns rise to 9.60% APY

Since BankVibe first dubbed Lending Club as a lucrative alternative to bank CDs, we have seen their average returns raise from roughly 7.0% APY to a whopping 9.60% APY!

Lending Club is the industry leader for peer to peer lending. They can provide better returns to investors by connecting qualified borrowers with people looking to invest money.

For those of you whom are unfamiliar with Lending Club, here are some crucial facts to consider…

• Since June 2007, Lending Club investors have earned an average net annualized return of over 9.0%.
• The money you invest funds loans made to creditworthy borrowers.
• Many borrowers apply, but less than one in ten are accepted. Lending Club approves only credit worthy borrowers as members.
• They make it easy to build a portfolio based on your criteria. Most lending members spread their investment across tens or hundreds of qualified borrowers.
• Their rates are based on historical trends and the current economic climate. Borrowers pay a fixed rate for the 3-year life of the loan.
• You can reinvest any interest and principal payments each month or withdraw them like an annuity. You can also put your notes up for sale on the “Note Trading Platform”
• Many of their lender members find it rewarding to help others meet their financial goals. Especially in this economic environment, Lending Club members claim to come through when big banks do not.

Learn more about Lending Club!

Discover Bank’s online savings account rate

Discover Bank’s online savings account rate remains strong while the others fall. Below is their rate along with the current national average. To learn more about the product follow the link below.

Discover Bank’s online savings account:2.0% APY

National Average 1.05% APY

Throughout the last several weeks we have monitored the online savings rates offered by the industry leaders and have seen a consistent downward trend by the majority of the institutions. Ally Bank, ETrade, ING Direct and others have all decreased their rates substantially since the beginning of 2009.

Although the savings environment is rough for consumers right now, Discover Bank is striving to keep a competitive rate on their online savings account. Currently, their rate almost doubles the national average.

Keep in mind, they are still new to the online savings account game (just launched last month). And this account holds a variable interest rate which is subject to change without notice.

This account offer now compliments Discvoer Bank’s other high yielding products such as their cetificates of deposit and money market accounts.

Learn more about: Discover Bank

Health savings account rates through Choice Financial

Thanks to BankVibe reader John for tipping us off on a pretty lucrative savings account being offered by Choice Financial. Currently they have a “Health Savings Account” which provides competitive rates set-up in tiers based on the amount you deposit.

Currently you can earn an APY of 2.53% with a deposit amount of $15,000. You can earn 2.28% APY with a deposit range of $5,000 - $14,999. You can earn an APY of 1.78% with a deposit amount of $2,500 - $4,999 and an APY of 1.04% with a deposit amount of $0 - $2,499.

After reading through their fine print it seems that these rates came into effect back in December of 2008 and are subject to change at anytime without notice. Unlike other savings accounts we’ve covered, Choice Finacial does a credit report check before accepting funds and they state that your eligibility is subject to credit approval.

Benefits of the Health Savings Account through Choice Financial:

• tax-deductible contributions
• tax-deferred growth
• tax-free withdrawals
• competitive product features, benefits and rates

Tennessee Commerce Bank’s certificate of deposit rates

Recently, Tennessee Commerce Bank has been showing some very competitive rates with their savings accounts and certificate of deposit products, so we figured we give you a run-down of their current offerings. Currently they have an online savings account that is yielding 2.30% APY for balances up to $100k. This account has a second tier which accommodates balances of $100k and above and it only yields an APY of 1.50%.

A Note From Tennessee Commerce Bank: We are a different kind of bank, a true “business bank,” we have built-in cost efficiencies that translate into better rates for our customers. Check our rates against the competition and we think you’ll find that TCB takes care of you…and your business

Tennessee Commerce Bank CD Rates:

(as seen on their rates page)

Terms and Conditions:

A minimum deposit amount of $2,500 is required to open. Annual Percentage Yields (APY) for deposit instruments with no maturities or maturities of less than one year assume reinvestment at the current rate for original term. Interest is accrued daily and compounded monthly. Interest rates are subject to change without notice. An interest penalty is required on early withdrawal of time deposits. Regular fees or other conditions could reduce the yield

Bank of Internet’s high yield savings account: 2.06% APY

Bank of Internet has a pretty solid deal on their high yield online savings account which is available to customers nationwide. Currently their online savings account is yielding an APY of 2.06% with absolutely no fees or balance requirements.

This rate offered by Bank of Internet currently tops the rates offered by the once high yielding online savings accounts of etrade, IngDirect and HSBC. The Bank of Internet is located in Southern California and is a registered member of the FDIC (which means your deposits are federally insured up to $250,000).

Bank of Internet account features:

(as seen on their promo page)