New VirtualBank CD Rates: 5.25% 6-Month CD

VirtualBank increased the rates on all of their CDs today. The largest increase was in the 6-month and 9-month terms which increased from 5.00% to 5.25% APY. All the longer terms increased by 0.15%. The eMoney Market APY remains the same at 4.60%. The last CD rate change at VirtualBank occurred on April 5th. Below is the full list of CD rate changes:

Term       Old APY   New APY   Change
3 Months    4.85%     4.90%    +0.05%
6 Months    5.00%     5.25%    +0.25%
9 Months    5.00%     5.25%    +0.25%
12 Months   5.20%     5.35%    +0.15%
18 Months   5.20%     5.35%    +0.15%
2 Years     5.20%     5.35%    +0.15%
3 Years     5.20%     5.35%    +0.15%
4 Years     5.20%     5.35%    +0.15%
5 Years     5.25%     5.40%    +0.15%

The certificates of deposits have a $10K minimum deposit requirement. Based on info received from VirtualBank, the penalty for early withdrawal is one month of interest for the 3-month term, 3 months of interest for the 6 and 9 month terms, and 6 months of interest for the 12 month and longer terms.

One nice feature of these CDs is that they can be funded from money in your eMoney Market account. You can also have the CD money deposited in this account at CD maturity or if you need to do an early withdrawal. VirtualBank accepts instructions via the secure message system accessible when you are logged into your account.

So if you're interested in a VirtualBank certificate of deposit, I recommend first opening an eMoney Market account which is currently paying 4.60% APY. There's a $100 minimum opening deposit requirement but no balance requirement. You can even receive a $20 sign-up bonus through a referral (see post). For more info on the eMoney Market account, refer to this post.

The CD application process can be done online, however, you do have to send in a signature card. This can be printed during the application process. VirtualBank will also you mail you the signature card with a postage-paid envelope along with the CD documentation. For more info on VirtualBank's CDs, refer to this post in which I described my experiences with opening a CD with them.