Ten credit unions are beating some of the country's largest banks by a factor of three or more when it comes to rates on interest bearing checking accounts, according to a new study by financial website GOBankingRates.com. The site ranked checking account rates available based on its ongoing survey of deposit rates at more than 4,000 financial institutions in the United States each month.
The New Berlin, Wisc.-based Landmark Credit Union, which has $2.7 billion in assets and 249,000 members, led the credit unions list with its 7.50% APY on balances up to $500.
Balances over that earn 0.20% APY, according to the study. Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union of Seattle ($630 million, 43,000 members), Gateway Metro Federal Credit Union of Swansea, Ill. ($171 million, 15,000 members), School Employees Credit Union of Washington ($1 billion, 82,000 members) in Seattle, Georgia Heritage Federal Credit Union of Savannah, Ga. ($85 million, 8,000 members), Consumers Cooperative Credit Union of Gurnee, Ill. ($677 million, 64,000 members), SAC Federal Credit Union of Bellevue, Neb. ($776 million, 88,000 members) of Neb., On the Grid Financial Federal Credit Union ($39 million, 6,000 members) in Atlanta, Honor Credit Union of Saint Joseph, Mich. ($618 million, 57,000 members) and America's Federal Credit Union ($469 million, 42,000 members) of JBLM, Wash. rounded out the top ten, all bearing APYs of 5.00% or more.
“These rates topped out at 7.50% APY, which is more than five times the highest national checking account rate of 1.40% APY.
Even the No. 10 local checking account rate of 5.00% APY beats the best national checking account rate by 3.5 times,” the study said.
The study noted that the rates on the credit unions' interest bearing checking accounts had balance limits, meaning they apply only to the first $500 or $1,000, for example.
National banks generally did not have those restrictions though their overall rates were typically lower, the study said. Many national banks also have balance minimums, direct deposit requirements, monthly fees and debit card use requirements, it added.
The 10 best national and online checking accounts carried an average APY of 0.22%, with the highest being 1.40% at EverBank. The others were Bank of Internet USA, BankUnited, Nationwide Bank, iGObanking.com, Huntington Bank, Capital One, Presidential Bank, Zions Bank, and a four-way tie among Arvest Bank, Commerce Bank, Union Bank and Wells Fargo for 10th place.
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