If you’ve ever taken out a personal loan or have refinanced a loan with popular online lenders, you may have noticed a line in the fine print that refers to “WebBank” as the originating bank. While the Salt Lake City-based WebBank indeed does a large part of its business supplying the funds for these loans, you might not know that it also offers deposit accounts to consumers. Its repertoire is somewhat limited – just a high-interest savings account and a handful of CDs that it refers to as “time deposits.”
This bank has been around since the early days of internet commerce, established in 1997. Just like its name promises, it’s an internet-only bank. There are no branches you can visit to make transactions and you can’t even deposit paper checks or cash. All deposits into these accounts must be made either by wire transfer or ACH transfer. If you’re curious to learn more about this bank and whether it might work for you, read on.
APY | Account Type | Account Name | Compare Rates from Similar Accounts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2.50% | Savings | WebBank Savings | 2.10% | American Express National Bank High Yield Savings Account | on American Express National Bank’s secure website Member FDIC |
2.80% | CD Rates | WebBank 1 Year CD | 2.60% | Goldman Sachs Bank USA High-yield 12 Month CD | on Goldman Sachs Bank USA’s secure website Member FDIC |
3.10% | CD Rates | WebBank 5 Year CD | 2.90% | Goldman Sachs Bank USA High-yield 5 Year CD | on Goldman Sachs Bank USA’s secure website Member FDIC |
In this review, we’ll cover:
WebBank’s savings account option
Savings
APY | Minimum Balance to Earn APY |
|---|---|
2.50% | $1,000 |
- Minimum opening deposit: $1,000
- Minimum balance to earn APY: $1,000
- Monthly account maintenance fee: None
- ATM fee: N/A
- ATM fee refund: N/A
- Overdraft fee: N/A
WebBank’s savings account is a great choice for savers looking to stash their money in a separate bank in order to earn a high rate. This bank doesn’t offer a checking account, so your money is somewhat isolated. This can be a good thing, however, especially if you’re often tempted to dip into savings for everyday spending.
Access to your money is more limited than with many other savings accounts. There are only two ways to add money to a WebBank savings account: by ACH transfer or wire transfer. Similarly, there is no access to ATMs, checks, or branches in order to make withdrawals. It does adhere to the six withdrawal monthly limit imposed by Regulation D. If you go over this limit, this bank can deny those extra withdrawals and even close your account.
Secondly, you’ll need to deposit — and maintain — at least $1,000 in the account in order to keep it open and earn interest. This isn’t a huge amount of money, but the account isn’t for those who are just beginning to save. If your balance ever drops below $1,000, the bank will close your account and return your funds “in a manner deemed appropriate by us.”
How to get WebBank’s Savings account
As long as you meet the following simple criteria, you can easily open up a savings account with this bank today:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have a Social Security Number or other taxpayer ID
- Have a physical address inside the U.S.
In addition, you’ll need to make your first deposit with an ACH transfer. The bank does use wire transfers, but you’ll need to wait for the account to be opened first before you can use this option.
How WebBank’s savings account compares
Good news for those looking to max out their savings account interest rate: this bank currently offers one of the highest interest rates of any savings account available today. It also falls a bit in the “Goldilocks” zone for the minimum deposit: Some banks offering similar rates require a higher minimum deposit, while some offer less.
If you’re still shopping around, it’d be worthwhile to take a look at the best online savings accounts to compare other similar banks based on factors that may be important to you as well, such as the ability to use ATMs, or banks that also offers a checking account.
WebBank’s CD rates
Time Deposits
Term | APY |
|---|---|
6 months | 2.50% |
1 year | 2.80% |
2 years | 2.90% |
3 years | 3.00% |
5 years | 3.10% |
- Minimum opening deposit: $2,500
- Minimum balance amount to earn APY: $2,500
- Early withdrawal penalty: This depends on your CD’s term length:
- For the 6-month CD, you’ll pay three months’ worth of interest
- For the 1-year and 2-year CD, you’ll pay six months’ worth of interest
- For the 3-year CD, you’ll pay nine months’ worth of interest
- For the 5-year CD, you’ll pay one years’ worth of interest
CDs are pretty well insulated from spending temptations by their nature, since they come with early withdrawal penalties. But if you’d like another layer of removal from your checking account or if you’d like to transfer money from an existing savings account at this bank, opening a CD with this bank is a great choice because it offers high APYs.
The downside is that it only offers four different term lengths. Still, the most useful terms — short-term six-month CDs and long-term, five-year CDs — are represented here.
Once you deposit the money into one of these CDs you generally won’t be able to get it out again until it matures without paying a penalty. Once the CD does mature, you’ll have a 10-day grace period to decide what to do with it. Lest you forget, this bank will also send you a notice in advance. If you don’t do anything with the CD, such as add more money or withdraw it, the bank will automatically roll over the funds into a new CD and you won’t be able to access the money again until it matures.
How to get WebBank’s CDs
It’s very easy to open one of WebBank’s CDs. Again, you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, have a physical address within the U.S., and have a Social Security Number or other taxpayer ID. You’ll need to make your opening deposit with an ACH transfer from your current WebBank savings account or from another bank.
How WebBank’s CD rates compare
WebBank’s CD rates are very competitive, and rank near the top of the highest-paying CDs nationwide for every one of its term lengths. If you’re looking for a higher APY, you can find better rates in some cases but not by much. The only downside is that this bank doesn’t offer a four-year term, so if you won’t be able to do a staggered set of one-year CDs as per a standard CD ladder. But if any of these term lengths fit, they’d be good options.
Overall review of WebBank’s banking products
Since it doesn’t offer a checking account, WebBank isn’t a bank for your everyday needs. But if you’re just looking for a place to stash your cash and earn some of the best rates possible, this bank is a fantastic choice. It may have made a name for itself as the originating bank for many online lenders, but it’s more than that. It can help you grow your own wealth, too.
