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Vio Bank is the online division of the largest privately held bank in the United States, MidFirst Bank. As such, Vio Bank carries all of the benefits and drawbacks of an online-only institution.
Specifically, Vio Bank focuses on offering high earning rates and low fees, but it has no physical branches and a very limited product line, with no checking account offered. Assuming they know what they are getting into, customers can find a lot to like at Vio Bank, as it does deliver when it comes to its headline features of high rates and low costs.
If you’re looking for high interest rates on your savings, you don’t need to look much further than this account. Still, there are a few important things to know before signing up for Vio Bank’s High Yield Online Savings Account.
This account is first and foremost an online savings account. That means many of the traditional services you might expect to come with a bank account aren’t offered for this savings account. For example, this account doesn’t come with an ATM/debit card, meaning your only real way of accessing your money is by moving it around through ACH or wire transfers. There are also no cash deposits available; you must deposit money via wire transfer, ACH transfer, mobile app deposit or by mailing a check.
Even though the account doesn’t have a monthly fee, there are a few hidden fees to watch out for. Since it’s a savings account, it follows federal Regulation D rules, which limit you to six withdrawals per month. Any withdrawals beyond that will cost you a $10 penalty. Stop payments incur a $30 fee, and there is a $5 fee for paper statements. Although Vio Bank doesn’t charge an overdraft or negative balance fee, it also doesn’t provide any overdraft services such as overdraft transfers or protection.
For more options beyond Vio Bank, see our list of the best savings accounts on the market.
At the present time, Vio Bank does not offer any checking accounts as part of its deposit account lineup.
If you are interested in opening a checking account, check out our selection of the best checking accounts.
| Term | APY on all balances above minimum | Minimum opening deposit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 4.65% | $500 |
| 3 years | 3.50% | $500 |
| 5 years | 1.25% | $500 |
Vio Bank offers a range of different CD term lengths for those looking to earn higher interest rates by keeping their money on deposit for a longer time. Customers can choose from 10 different CD maturities at Vio Bank, with terms as short as six months or as long as 10 years. Interest on these CDs is compounded daily.
When the CD matures, Vio Bank will automatically renew it. These CDs do come with a 10-day grace period after the CDs renew, however, in case you want to withdraw the money at that point, or make any other changes to the CD (such as choosing a different term length, or depositing more money into the account).
One drawback of the Vio Bank CD line is that there are no jumbo CDs or no-penalty CDs available. Also, early withdrawal penalties can reach as high as 3% of principal invested, plus a $25 fee, for maturities greater than 12 months.
For more options aside from Vio Bank, check out our top picks for CDs here.
Vio Bank is a completely online experience, so it’s not for every customer. You’ll have to be at ease banking with an institution that has no physical branches or ATM/debit card access. However, many customers do prefer this type of institution, which carries few fees and offers decent rates and a complete banking experience via its website and mobile app.
Speaking of the Vio Bank mobile app, customers rate the Google Play version just 3.2 out of 5 stars, but the App Store version fares much better, garnering a 4.5-star rating out of 5 stars from iOS users. The app provides all of the basic functionality you might expect from a bank, such as an account overview and transaction search, mobile check deposit functionality and the ability to make cash transfers between accounts.
You can reach Vio Bank customer service at 888-999-9170 for 24/7 automated customer service. Live representatives are available from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT on Saturday. Sunday hours are from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT. Vio Bank also offers a live chat feature.
John CsiszarJohn Csiszar earned a Certified Financial Planner designation and served for 18 years as an investment counselor before becoming a writing and editing contractor for various private clients.
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