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My Safra Bank FSB VS Citizens Access

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates for CDs
  • Variety of CD terms available
  • Can open CDs entirely online
  • Low opening required amounts

Cons:

  • No interest rate guarantee
  • Customer service not available 24/7
  • Link external accounts
  • Cannot add money to CDs
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates on CDs
  • CD Rate Pledge guarantee
  • Good variety of CD terms offered
  • Encourages CD laddering

Cons:

  • High opening required amounts
  • Limited ways to fund your CD
  • Customer service sets up maturity plan
  • Only two ways to receive CD interest
My Safra Bank FSB CD Review

MYSB Direct CDs offer competitive interest rates. Their rates are competitive with other online CDs. They are much higher than the typical bank rates. Even the shorter-term CDs offer competitive interest rates. Those rates are very competitive with short-term online CDs.

There are a good variety of CD terms available through MYSB Direct. The terms range from three months to 72-months. Between these terms, there are a total of nine different CDs. MYSB Direct CDs are entirely online CDs.

You can open each of the MYSB Direct CD terms entirely online. These CDs range in terms from three-months to 72-month terms. The application is available on the M.Y. Safra Bank website.

The opening required amounts for MYSB Direct CDs are low. The MYSB Direct accounts require either $500, $750, or $1,000 to open. The required opening balances vary depending on the CD term.

The MYSB Direct CDs offer competitive interest rates on their terms. But there is not an interest rate guarantee. If the interest rates increase shortly after you open your CD, your rates will not increase. MYSB Direct guarantees rates for the life of the CD term.

MYSB Direct is an online division of M.Y. Safra Bank. These accounts are entirely online. Customer service for these accounts is not available 24/7. Reach customer service through email, phone, mail, or their branch location in New York. Customer service hours are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST.

To deposit money into MYSB Direct CDs, you must link an account. The account can be another M.Y. Safra account or an external account. Because MYSB Direct accounts are entirely online, electronic transfers are necessary.

You cannot add money to your MYSB Direct accounts after the initial deposit. Once you open the CD, you must wait until it reaches maturity to add money to the CD. The opening required amounts for the MYSB Direct CDs is $500, $750, or $1,000 depending on the term.

Read the full My Safra Bank FSB review.

Citizens Access CD Review

Citizens Access CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates are much higher than typical bank rates. Each of the CD terms offers interest rates competitive with other online CDs. The interest rates are not tiered. Any balance above $5,000 earns the most competitive interest rate offered.

Each Citizens Access CD comes with the CD Pledge Rate guarantee. Once you fund your CD, Citizens Access watches interest rates for ten days. The Rate Pledge guarantees you lock in the highest interest rate during that time. Once you lock in the highest interest rate, the rate stays the same for the entire term.

Citizens Access offers a good variety of CD terms. Those terms range from a six-month term to a five-year term. In all, Citizens Access offers seven CD term lengths.

Citizens Access encourages CD laddering. This means dividing up your investment between different term CDs. Dividing up your money can earn more interest. You can invest your money into short-term or long-term CDs. The Citizens Access website offers tools to help you understand CD laddering better.

The Citizens Access CDs have high opening required amounts. Each of the CD terms require $5,000 to open. The savings account also requires $5,000 to open.

There are limited ways to open and fund Citizens Access CDs. You cannot deposit cash or make a wire transfer into the CD. You can link an external bank account or deposit a check to fund the account. Make changes to the account during the 10-day grace period or once the CD reaches maturity.

To set up a maturity plan for your Citizens Access CD you need to call customer service. They can help you figure out what happens to your CD once it reaches maturity. Customer service has set hours they are available. Find the hours listed below.

Citizens Access offers two ways for customers to receive the interest earned on their CDs. You can choose to have the money added to the CD principal or transfer the money to another account. Those are the only two options for how to receive the interest earned.

Read the full Citizens Access review.

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