Deal no longer being offered, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 4/11/20: Deal is back but bonus has been reduced to $100.
Update 4/18/19: Confirmed to be a soft pull, keep in mind they are ChexSystems sensitive.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $100
- Availability:Â Must be 25 years of age or younger and have residency in Ohio, Indiana or Michigan
- Direct deposit required:Â None
- Additional requirements:Â 8 debit card transactions
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
- Credit card funding:Â None
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â $25, 180 days
- Household limit:Â None listed
- Expiration date:Â None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Farmers & merchants state bank is offering a bonus of $200 when you open a new smart 25 checking account. This is only available if you’re under 25 years of age. Bonus is broken down as follows:
- $100 bonus will be deposited within 10 days of account opening when you complete as long as you have 8 point of sale debit card purchases post and settle to the account
Addtional $100 bonus will be deposited within 90 days as long as you have 8 point of sale debit card purchases post and settle to the account
The Fine Print
- Minimum to open a Smart 25 Checking account is $50.00. A $200.00 account opening bonus will be paid on this account as follows: 1) $100.00 within 10 days of account opening; and 2) $100.00 within 90 days of account opening if eight (8) Point-of-Sale (POS) purchases have posted and settled to this account.
- Account opening bonus paid will be treated as interest for IRS (Form 1099-INT) reporting.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees as long as you have paperless statements
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not. According to this comment there is a $25 fee if closed within 180 days.
Our Verdict
Shame that you need to be 25 or younger to do this bonus, because it’s definitely worth doing as it’s a soft pull. Keep in mind they are ChexSystems sensitive so most people won’t be eligible. I’ll still be adding this to our list of the best checking bonuses. Please share your experiences with this bank in the comments below.
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
- PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
- Introduction To ChexSystems
- Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
- What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
- How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
- Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
- How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
- Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
- Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
- Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
FYI, tried opening this account for my 17-year-old daughter and it’s not accepting the DOB as valid. Tried contacting the bank to get it fixed and have heard nothing back.
Does Amazon reloads count as “POS Debit Purchases”?
ETF $25/180 days
Great bank, no problem getting the bonus last time around. I’m now too old for this account.
Under “the offer” it should say 90 days to meet requirements instead of 10 days.
Denied due to Chex 18/12
No end date shown (yet) this time around. Hopefully will last through my kid’s 17th birthday in a couple of months.
The offer is valid again but for $100.
FWIW I closed after 6 months, but within a year (turned 26 and didn’t want to get fees in the new year). No early close fee and they closed via SM and mailed me a check for the remaining balance.