Update 1/29/23: Rate now 4.25%
Now 3.5% APY
As of 6/2/20 this is now 1.35%
[Update 8/12/19: Rate decreased to 2.25%.]
Offer at a glance
- Interest Rate: 1.35% APY
- Minimum Balance: None
- Maximum Balance: $3M
- Availability: Nationwide
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: None
- Insured: FDIC
The Offer
- Western State Bank offers a high yield money market with an interest rate of 2.50% APY and no minimum balance requirement.
The Fine Print
- Rate effective 2/12/19 and may change after account is opened.
Avoiding Fees
This account has no monthly fees.
Our Verdict
From the account application, it appears that this account is available nationwide. That makes them the best currently available saving rate anywhere with the exception of this NASB account which has a $50,000 minimum and a couple of others who have a $50,000 maximum.
That being said, we don’t have any rate history with this bank, and no knowledge of whether this rate will stick around. Hopefully readers will share what they know in the comments below.
Thanks to reader Steven for sending this in.
it’s 5.03% as of today
Thinking of opening a MMA (online only) and this is in the online banking access agreement:”Fees and Charges
There is no additional charge for Bill Pay. You agree to pay any additional
reasonable charges for services you request which are not covered by this
Agreement. You are also responsible for telephone and Internet service fees you
incur in connection with your use of online banking. You agree that all such fees and
charges will be deducted from the Western State Bank account designated as the
primary account on your Enrollment Form. If you close that account, you must
contact us immediately to designate another account as your primary account.”
Can anyone tell me if this means they will charge me for telephone and internet service fees for accessing an online MMA ?
US CITIZEN ONLY! On the 2nd account application page it ask you if you are a US CITIZEN. If you choose No, then you can NOT proceed.
U.S Person is what they really mean.
Their money market interest rate is 5.15% as now. Can you confirm if their phone support is limited to North Dakota only?
I’ve had plenty of phone support with them from the eastern timezone
Email from WSB:
We’d like to inform you of an interest rate change to your account. Effective February 9, 2023, your High Yield Money Market Account will earn 4.40% APY.*
Our rate is 13x the national average,** and our Customer Care team is here to help you reach your savings goals.
Confirmed EWS inquiry via MyIDCare alert.
Reason: Inquiry
Financial Institution Name: Western State Bank
Financial Institution Phone: 7014996363
Inquiry Date: January 19, 2023
Double-checked – no Chex inquiry was done.
The other bank wire fee (Ally $20) was refunded on 1/26/2023. I did remind them before the wire transfer arrived with a screen capture of the transfer and fee, but apparently it did not get handled on 1/20 when the funds arrived. I’d recommend contacting them the day the funds arrive vs before.
I read a bunch of these threads and find it amazing (and concerning) that people are so willing to give up so much personal information to so many places for a measily couple of hundred bucks.
$200 is a lot more to me than it is to many of the other posters, but my privacy is worth a whole lot more.
But even without hacks, since our info is collected by all 3 major credit reporting agencies, and LexisNexis, etc., etc., etc., every company and person can find out anything they want, especially if they’re willing to pay for it.
Sorry if I am being slow here, but I am not seeing anything special about this rate. Isnt 4% like pretty common these days? thanks
I signed up for P2 for this. Applied two days ago. The online account application specifically asks for a Cell or home phone bill to be uploaded, but you can skip it. (I chose to Skip because P2 is not on the home phone, and using Prepaid cell service)
Yesterday evening they sent an email request for a post-paid cell phone bill OR a utility bill, that did not say the bank name and looked like SPAM. (tell Ken Turmin to suck it,
Diego ) The email said to reply with an attachment – done this AM.
This afternoon, P2 spoke to the rep on the phone. I believe it was just an explanation of what to expect. Basically, more emails.
They use a knock-off DocuSign service called Epic River with a weird URL of “prosign.online/”. Be sure to check your SPAM. The online banking service they use is Fiserv, just like T-B-K bank.
Per an email the banker sent, they pull Transunion. I checked P2’s Credit Karma just now and it pulled a new report, and it did not have a hard pull, so I am assuming it was a soft pull. I also pulled ChexSystems just now. No Chex inquiry was done.
Since they use Fiserv OLB, they likely report and pull Early Warning Services (EWS) report. I won’t know for sure for a while. So, the tradeoff for not getting the Chex hit is NOT going to help my P2 get approved at PNC. Trade-offs of being an interest rate chaser. Takes a lot of interest earnings to make up for a $400 bonus at another bank.
SA
Hit Read more » at the bottom to expand.
Info about funding, and money movement thereafter. From the banker’s email:
You have several convenient options to fund your account. Please be aware that the account must be funded within 10 days of the account opening, with a minimum deposit of $5,000. Your account number is listed on the Signature Card of the ProSign documents. If you need it again, please let me know:
• Check: If you send a check to Western overnight, we’ll cover your delivery/shipping fees.
• Wire transfer: When you wire the funds to Western State Bank, we’ll cover the fee on both sides of the transaction. Western also allows one free outgoing wire transaction per month.
• External transfers from Western State Bank Online Banking: You can set up to five external accounts and transfer money back and forth. The limits are $5,000 per day ($10,000 per rolling 30 day period) transferred in and $10,000 per day ($20,000 per rolling 30 day period) transferred out. This option is restricted for the first 60 days.
• Bank visit: You can make a deposit at any of our locations. Otherwise, you can drop the check off at a night deposit drop box at any location other than Mesa.
• “Push Funds” to us from another bank: Using your external bank’s online banking platform, you can link your Western State Bank account and transfer the funds to us. There is no dollar-amount restriction for this option on our side. Check with your external bank to see if they have restrictions as far as the amount you are able to initiate from that bank.
How can I transfer funds out of my account?
• Official check: Upon request, Western will mail an official bank check to your address on file and cover your delivery/shipping fees.
• Wire transfer: Western allows one free outgoing wire transaction per month. Other wire transfers are allowed, for a fee. You’ll need to complete a Wire Transfer Agreement form using DocuSign before sending a wire for the first time.
• External transfers from Western State Bank Online Banking: You can set up to five external accounts and transfer money back and forth. The limits are $5,000 per day ($10,000 per rolling 30 day period) transferred in and $10,000 per day ($20,000 per rolling 30 day period) transferred out. This option is restricted for the first 60 days.
• Bank visit: You can make a withdrawal at any of our locations. Lobbies are open again.
• “Pull Funds” from us, using another bank: Using your external bank’s online banking platform, you can link your Western State Bank account and transfer the funds from us. There is no dollar-amount restriction for this option on our side. Check with your external bank to see if they have restrictions as far as the amount you are able to initiate from that bank.
Thank you,
Gadget - Bank Bonus Geek for another G-2 quality report. I’m still on cool-down at PNC for another 9 months, but I plan to hit Citi like a rented mule shortly, so I’ll hold off on Western State.
(I feel too sorry for Ken to tell him to suck it. He clearly put a lot of work into DA and it’s quite useful within its domain, but the community that has developed there is toxic to say the least.)
Well, Citi is very generous in its approvals, so I think you would be fine. Citi’s biggest thing is to show an error, and apparently, the problem is caused by having the previous checking account still attached to your online banking profile, which can be fixed over chat.
I really don’t want you to tell Ken to suck it. Nobody is right all the time, and their site is good for other purposes like the financial info of banks. The application is very clear they want a post-paid phone bill (cell or home) uploaded, but maybe at some point, they changed the policy to include util bills.
I would suggest anyone applying to upload a utility bill on that page if they cannot produce a phone bill with their name on it. Will save you a day of time going back and forth on email.
Does anyone who opened this comment on if they pull Chex or not?