3.5% APY Money Market at Wachovia

This might be a sign that brick-and-mortar banks will be fighting back against the online banks. Wachovia is offering 3.5% APY for at least a year on its money market account. It does require a minimum deposit of $10K. If the balance drops below $10K, the APY falls way down to 0.25%. This deal is good until the end of September. You can apply online, by phone, or at one of their branches.

If you already have an online bank like EmigrantDirect or HSBC, this deal is probably not worth it. However, if you don't like online banking or already a Wachovia customer, this may be a good deal.

Wachovia is the largest bank in the southeast US and is the second largest US bank in terms of number of branches. Last year it acquired SouthTrust Corporation. Back in 2001 Wachovia merged with First Union Corporation (more at Wikipedia.).