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ableBanking VS Barclays

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Low opening required amounts
  • Competitive interest rates on CDs
  • Lower balance required to earn interest
  • Can open CD accounts online

Cons:

  • Limited CD terms available
  • No interest rate guarantee
  • Link an external account to CDs
  • Cannot add money to CDs
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates on most CDs
  • Good variety of CD terms
  • No required amount to open CDs
  • Encourages CD laddering

Cons:

  • CDs under 12-months have low rates
  • Limited ways to fund CDs
  • Link external account to CDs
  • Rate guarantee not offered
ableBanking CD Review

Each of the ableBanking CDs has low opening required amounts. All the terms only require $1,000 to open. The CD terms available range from six months to four years.

The ableBanking CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online CDs. They are higher than the typical bank rates.

ableBanking CDs require $1,000 to open, but only $500 to earn competitive interest rates. The CD rates are not tiered. Any balance over $500 earns the competitive rates.

You can open ableBanking CDs online. ableBanking is an online division of Northeast Bank. Because of this, you open your accounts and access your accounts entirely online. You do not need to visit a branch location to open an account.

There are five CD terms offered through ableBanking. They offer six-month, one, two, three, and four-year CDs. These are the only CD terms available through ableBanking.

The ableBanking CDs do not offer an interest rate guarantee. If CD rates increase shortly after you open your account, your rates will not increase. The interest rates for each CD term are competitive.

ableBanking is an online bank. To transfer money into your account, you must link another account. This account can be the ableBanking money market account or an external account. Once you link the accounts, you can transfer money. Only one external account can be linked to an ableBanking account at a time.

The only time you can add money to ableBanking CDs is when you open the CD and once the CD reaches maturity. They do not offer CDs that you can add money to at any time. ableBanking does not accept cash deposits. Only electronic, wire, or check deposits are accepted.

Read the full ableBanking review.

Barclays CD Review

The interest rates for Barclays CDs are competitive for most terms. For terms longer than 12-months, the rates are competitive with other online CDs. The interest rates for all CD accounts are much higher than typical bank rates. Barclays CDs interest rates are not tiered. Any balance in the CD earns the competitive interest rate.

Barclays offers a good variety of CD terms. The shortest term offered is a three-month term. The longest term is a 60-month term. Barclays offers a total of nine different CD terms. All the terms are entirely online CDs. Each CD term is available to open online.

There is not a set amount required to open Barclays CDs. Open any of the nine CD terms with any amount. There is not a set amount required to earn the most competitive interest rates. The only balance requirement is that you have enough money in your CD to earn $0.01 in interest.

Barclays encourages CD laddering. This means customers can earn the most competitive interest rates but with more flexibility. CD laddering is investing money in CDs varying in term length. Customers invest in multiple long term CDs. By doing this, one CD will mature each year. This gives customers more access to their money while earning competitive rates. The Barclays website offers a CD ladder calculator. This allows customers to see how to build a successful CD ladder.

The Barclays short term CDs do not offer competitive interest rates. The three, six, and nine-month CDs offer interest rates that are lower than other online banks. These rates are higher than typical bank CD rates of the same term. They are not competitive with other online CDs of the same term length.

Barclays only offers two ways to fund their CDs. Customers can fund the account through an electronic transfer or mailing in a check. If you plan to transfer the money electronically, you must link the CD with an external bank account. Barclays does not accept cash or money orders to deposit into CDs.

The easiest way to make electronic transfers into a Barclays CD is to link it to an external account. You can link up to three external accounts to your Barclays CDs. The linked accounts must be with another bank that is chartered in the United States. You can link accounts when you initially fund your CD or at a later date.

Barclays does not offer an interest rate guarantee. The interest rate you earn on your Barclays CD is the rate on the day you open your account. The interest rates on CDs are competitive with other online accounts. But, if the rates increase shortly after you open your account, Barclays does not increase the interest rate for your CD.

Read the full Barclays review.

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