At Virtual Bank they do not pay interest on funds arriving via ACH until the next business day following the day they receive the funds. And, yes, I am writing about a situation where the ACH is initiated external to Virtual Bank!
What’s more, Virtual Bank does not warn customers in advance regarding this little theft. I picked it up one day by detecting my accrued interest was off.
That said, I believe most financial institutions DO pay interest on ACH funds upon receipt. It’s just that I doubt they are required to do so.
As with every other aspect of banking, and especially as regards liquid funds, ya gotta watch these banking birds like a hawk!
I just opened my seventh PurePoint NPCD, last one for a while. All my NPCD accounts are quite new since I only went in when the interest rate hit 2.6%. Obviously I have more than $10,000 in the bank at this point, at all times, without regard to my savings balance.
I telephoned the bank to inquire about any impact my new NPCD account balances might have on my savings, an account I have owned and used for quite a long time. In the past, with PurePoint savings, it was required to keep a minimum of $10,000 on deposit if you wanted to garner the high 2.35% interest rate.
The PurePoint rep told me it continues to be the case that $10,000 minimum is required in savings to earn the 2.35% rate. The balances in my NPCD accounts do not count; the accounts are separate. So said the rep with whom I spoke.
Now of course it always has been possible to carry a PurePoint savings balance less than $10,000. Heck, you can leave a very small balance in the account if you wish and escape penalty. However, if your savings balance falls below $10,000, you do not earn 2.35% on your money that is in PurePoint savings, according to the rep who answered my call.
Ok who’s gonna call the third rep to break the tie? No I assume you’re right Shinobi and my rep either told me incorrectly or I misunderstood what they said. The issue is you have to have $10000 to OPEN the savings to my understanding? You can then drop the amount and the interest earned?
I talked with them today so i can tell you…yes, you must open a purepoint savings account with $10,000…if you drop below that, after opening, it stays open but the interest rate drops to like 0.25% apy…
I agree with this . . . . which is why I was careful to state that everything I was posting was based on the word of just a single rep.
I make no such assumption. See my writing just above.
I really am unable to remember. I opened quite a while back.
Yes, I know this is correct because I have done so without any trouble.
ETA
Just for the record I can tell you my PurePoint savings account has become an important part of my financial life. At this point it is close to being as important to me as my Alliant membership. But my reason is not gonna apply to many other people:
I like PurePoint savings because I do, each month, a large number of (for lack of a better term) “collections”. This just means I am using ACH to pull in money from a wide variety of other places. At PurePoint, each time I initiate an ACH collection my interest on the funds commences instantly. Hence my effective rate of interest, using PurePoint savings, is above the nominal 2.35%. Said another way, it is commonplace for my PurePoint savings available balance to be significantly less than my total balance.
I love PurePoint savings given the high utility the account offers me.
I am posting here because I want to comment on the Grow Financial money market deal Ken has begun featuring front and center. Grow is Tampa based, offering 2.75% APY with a one year rate lock.
I studied the deal a bit several days ago, but did not pursue with vigor because there is so much else going on with PurePoint and all. Anyway, point I want to make is that Grow’s SEG list is a MILE long, and their website specifically states either “employed by” or, emphasis OR, “a member of”.
I have to believe with a list that long there might be opportunity to sneak in. Just sayin’.
Q: Pretty thin gruel, Shin. You got a link you can share so we can check out that list for ourselves?
Regarding Grow, this is an annoyance:
“No ACH transfers directly out of the Money Market account. Funds must be transferred from the Money Market account to a Grow Financial checking or savings account, and then an ACH transfer can be initiated. There are no dollar limits on ACH transfers.”
Funds must be transferred only from checking or savings accts. Would you be charged from your Money Mkt acct allotted 6 moves a month, for moving funds to checking or savings?
OK, I’m back regarding Grow having just read the comments over on Ken’s website. Apparently this might work out, as I earlier had hoped, regardless where you live. Be certain to read there comment #8 by steve_okc. He mentions Friends of Military Families for $5. Might be enough to get us in.
I’m not really seeing a problem with needing a checking or savings account unless there is a charge for those accounts or a high minimum balance or some other annoying “gotcha”. I do admit it’s a minor nuisance, but surely not a deal killer at the high 2.75% APY interest rate with a dynamite one year rate lock. What’s not to like? I mean, 2.75% APY is a darn great interest rate for liquid funds.
ETA
OK, there is some stuff on the fees sheet you need to take into consideration:
Folks, I’m going to give this one a try. (Grow FFCU
I have an old HSBC account that I haven’t used for a while, but I still have it open. Liquid funds that pay 2.75% are to good to pass up. Yes, I don’t like the 6 monthly withdrawal drawback but, I can cope with that. ACH transfers (for me) will come in & out of other accounts & connect with Grow.
I still like my EBSB account even with the 3 day hold on funds. It will be easy enough to keep money there as a holding spot. There is no $ limit on inward bound transfers & outward is $150K.
So a new plan is sit to go!! Unless I read of some pitfall here.
I’m all in on this one as well. Bank is getting slammed with calls but that’s to be expected in that they are offering the highest rate on a liquid account with a 12 month rate guarantee!!!
Yeah, I’m also a go with Grow. But have been unable to reach a person who can complete my membership. Hope account remains available when (if) I’m finally able to break through.
ETA
Uh oh!! Ken just squirrelled the Grow deal with an update. Appears as if, yeah, we can join . . . but we still cannot access the 2.75% deal!!! Read Ken’s update first, then the comments.
shinobi, I filled out the membership app last night. Everything went very well, in 15+ minutes I had my acct #. I enrolled in online banking shortly afterward. I had a problem with password & called the # listed & a nice man walked me through. I can log into acct now but it show $1 in savings hasn’t processed yet.
Of course last night they were not busy like today. I remember you telling us all, if we see something that looks good, don’t waste time. So I followed your advice.
Well, once again, membership is not the issue. Ken does not challenge our ability to achieve membership.
Instead, Ken is saying that the 2.75% APY MM deal is not being offered to all members!! Be certain to read his Grow update. It is prominently displayed.
shinobi, when I log into my account, I can see where I can add the MM deal to the acct. Right now I am adding a few CU’s which I will get the small deposits in the Savings acct. When that is complete I will ACH transfer money into the savings acct. From the Savings I will transfer money over to the opened MM account. It looks like the same system Andrews CU had.
This is my plan!! Just hoping there is no glitch!!
