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My Safra Bank FSB VS Popular Direct

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:

  • All CD terms offer competitive rates
  • Good variety of terms available
  • Customer service available 24/7
  • Opening CDs is completely online

Cons:

  • High opening required amount
  • Early withdrawal penalties are high
  • Cannot withdraw interest without a fee
  • Only one way to fund CDs
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.

Popular Direct CD Review

Each Popular Direct CD offers competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. The terms are shorter than 12-months offer competitive interest rates as well. Popular Direct interest rates are much higher than typical bank interest rates.

There are a good variety of CD terms offered through Popular Direct. The terms range in length from three-months to five-years. There are eight CD term lengths in all. You can open any of these CD terms online.

If you have a question and need to contact customer service, they are available anytime. Customers can reach a customer service representative every day, all day. Their customer service phone line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also contact customer service through email or mail.

The process of opening Popular Direct CD terms is entirely online. It takes around ten minutes to complete the application for a new CD account. Once you successfully open an account, everything for your account is online. Access your accounts from anywhere, anytime.

Popular Direct CDs have a high set amount required to open their CDs. The requirement is $10,000 to open each CD term. If you do not have at least the $10,000 balance, you cannot open a Popular Direct CD.

The fee for withdrawing money from Popular Direct CDs before the maturity date is high. For terms less than 91 days, the fee is 89 days of interest. For terms greater than 91 days, but shorter than 12-months, the fee is 120 days of interest. The fee for terms longer than 12-months, but shorter than 36-months, is 270 days of interest. For terms from 36-months to 60-months, the fee is 365 days of interest. Terms 60-months or longer has a fee of 730 days of interest.

Some CDs allow you to withdraw interest earned on CDs without paying an early withdrawal fee. Popular Direct does not. They do not allow for withdrawals of the CD principal or the interest earned without paying a fee. You can only make withdrawals without a fee during the grace period.

There is only one way to fund your Popular Direct CDs. Customers must link each CD to an external bank account. When you open a CD, you must make the deposit from a linked external account. This is part of the account opening process. Once the accounts are linked, you can make electronic transfers into your CD. To avoid a fee, only transfer money when you first open the account and during the grace period.

Read the full Popular Direct review.

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