MyBankingDirect Matches EmigrantDirect

MyBankingDirect increased the interest rate of its money market account from 3.75% to 4.00% yesterday. However, the $25 signup bonus seems to be no longer available. At least it's not being advertised on their front page.

MyBankingDirect.com is a unit of New York Community Bank. It's similar to EmigrantDirect which is a unit of Emigrant Savings Bank of New York. Looks like there is some competition between these New York banks.

Without the signup bonus, I think MyBankingDirect.com will find it difficult to compete with EmigrantDirect. MyBankingDirect.com has a high $5000 initial deposit requirement. Also if the balance falls below $5000, you only earn 2.5%. If the balance falls below $1000, you're charged a $10 monthly fee. There's no minimum deposit or balance requirements at EmigrantDirect.

Unlike EmigrantDirect, MyBankingDirect does offer CDs. They are currently advertising a 5-month and 6-month CD. You would think the rates on these CDs would be higher than the money market rate. But that's not the case. The 5-month CD's rate is 3.75% APY and the 6-month rate is 4.00% APY. The only advantage of these CDs over the money market account is that the minimum deposit requirement is only $2500 rather than $5000.

Also unlike EmigrantDirect, MyBankingDirect offers ATM cards and doesn't limit the number of checking accounts that can be linked. However, they seem to charge a fee for ACH transfers. Also, I've heard many complaints from MyBankingDirect customers regarding their customer service. It can be very difficult to reach a customer service representative on the phone, and once you do, they don't seem too helpful. Some of these complaints were from commenters in my previous post on MyBankingDirect.

Do you have experience with MyBankingDirect? If you do, I would greatly appreciate comments about your experience.