VirtualBank Raised The Bar, Again
In the heated war of saving rates, VirtualBank raised the bar again. This time, VirtualBank is paying 2.60% APY at its eMoney Market account.
Mind you, VirtualBank now adopts a reverse tiered model when it comes to interest rate. Take a look at its rate sheet: 2.60% APY only applies to the first $10,000 in the account; anything above that only fetches 2.30% APY (which is still good enough).
If you follow Bankrate's Moeny Market Rate Scorecard, you can see VirtualBank is now steps ahead; the nearest competitor is Zions Bank, which offers 2.43% APY right now with a minimal deposit of $1,000. Just hold your breath and expect many to soon follow suit by raising interest rates to the next level.
VirtualBank
ING Direct
Shameless plug: if you want to open an account, I appreciate if you can follow the links below, which will get me a small referral bonus. You have nothing to lose but only great financial products to grow your money!
[2/28/05 Update: Both VirtualBank and ING Direct have raised the APY to 2.60%]
(This post is part of PFBlog Product Review series. Check out more reviews here.)
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Best rates are now at EmigrantDirect.
It is 3%.
works like virtual or ING
I read EmigrantDirect's account disclosure: the 3% account is a 1 year CD with a 180-day interest penalty for withdrawal of principal and there's a $1,000 minimum balance requirement. VirtualBank's offer is for a money market account and can be opened with as little as $100. There are no withdrawal penalties (except if you close your account within 90 days of opening). EmigrantDirect and VirtualBank's offers are not the same types of accounts.
That is not true about Emigrant Direct. Their disclosure is for both the American Dream account and the CD account. You need to read the section headings carefully, I almost thought the same thing.
That's right, my mistake. The "Account Disclosures" link has lots of fine print. I missed the headers for the Dream Savings account versus the CD information.
Read the disclosure VERY CAREFULLY!
You earn 2.6% for each day your account balance is less than $10,000. If your account balance is over $10,000 you earn 2.3% on the full account balance.
