As of August 10, 2009, Enterprise Bank is offering a 15 month promotional CD yielding 2.50% APY as well as a 27 month promotional CD yielding 3.25% APY. The national average for 12 month CDs sits at roughly 1.70% APY and the national average for 24 month CDs sits at roughly 2.05% APY (to put these promotional products in perspective).

Surprisingly enough they do not mention any sort of minimum deposit amount associated with their CD products on their rates page, however, I would venture to guess it’s between $500 and $1000. If you have experience with this bank and know what the minimum deposit requirements are, please share by leaving a comment.

Although Enterprise Bank has online banking options, you cannot open these certificate of deposits online, therefor it may be difficult to invest in one of these if you reside outside of South Carolina.

They have branch locations and ATMs in the following cities: Bamberg, Barnwell, Blackville, Cottageville, Denmark, Edisto Island, Ehrhardt, Ridgeville, Springfield, Walterboro, and Williston.

If you do live in South Carolina and are looking at opening a certificate of deposit through a local bank, you may want to browse through our archive of CD rates in South Carolina.

After visiting their rates page, we noticed that their rates, in general, haven’t been updated since January of 2009 and the disclaimer on this promotion states that the interest rate is subject to change on a daily basis (doesn’t seem like it’s changed within the last 6 months though…)

3.75% APY on a 27 month deposit is a pretty substantial return considering the national average for 2 year CD’s (24 months) sits at roughly 2.0% APY.

Enterprise Bank also offers a promotional 15 month CD which is yielding a very noteworthy 2.75% APY as well. The national average for 1 year CD’s is currently 1.65% APY.

Enterprise Bank of South Carolina was established in 1920 and has roughly 12 locations/branches throughout SC. You may be eligible to take advantage of these products even if you do not reside in that state, however it may require a physical trip to a branch. To get further info or to apply contact a representative at: (803) 267-3191

Some of the institutions listed below have strict eligibility requirements (esp. credit unions) so you may want to contact a representative directly to see if you are eligible. However, even if you do not live in South Carolina you may be able to take advantage of the products but it will most likely depend on your living situation (ie where you work, live, worship, attend school, etc).

How did we compile this list? As you are probably aware, higher CD rates tend to accompany longer maturities and since we did not want to strictly list long maturity CD’s we decided to list the deposit rates which beat the national average by the highest margins.

Top 3 CD rates (South Carolina):

(clicking on the institution will bring you to their rates page)

Southeast Federal Credit Union: Ware Shoals, SC. 12 month CD yielding 2.75% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $500. You can also obtain this rate (2.75% APY) on a 9 month through 18 month deposit. Credit Union membership is open to all employees, their family members and retirees of any company within Southeast Federal CU’s chartered field of membership. Membership is also open to anyone related to a primary member. Once you join the credit union you may remain a member for life, as long as the minimum balance is maintained, regardless of where you work or live.

Enterprise Bank of South Carolina: Walterboro, SC. 27 month CD yielding 3.75% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $500. This is a limited time promotional offer by Enterprise and is subject to change without notice. Enterprise Bank was established in 1920 and now offers 12 locations throughout the state of South Carolina. To take advantage of this promotional offer you must stop in to one of their local branches for an application. If you reside in SC, then you should have no problem.

Coastal Carolina National Bank: Myrtle Beach, SC. 12 month CD yielding 2.50% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $1,000. This is a promotional offer as well and is subject to change at anytime. They also have a promotional money market account with an intro-rate period of 2.50% APY as well. Coastal Carolina highlights a “switch-kit” on their website which (they claim) makes transferring over to their institution fairly easy. You will still need to stop by one of their locations to complete the transaction.

All the institutions mentioned above are federally insured by the FDIC or NCUA and your deposits are guarenteed up to $250k. If you live in South Carolina and know of a better CD rate offered by your local institution please share by leaving a comment.

Keep in mind deposit rates are time-sensitive in nature. Please refer to the date of this article for accuracy. Compare CD rates nationally for up to date rate info.