Update on Zions Bank's Deseret Money Market Account

Zions Bank's Deseret Money Market Account now has a rate of 5.31% APY, up from 5.28% on my last report. It has been awhile since my first post on this money market account, so I called Zions Bank for more details. I was surprised to hear that the account does have check writing with free checks. When I called before, I was told that check writing is only available if you have the high yield checking account. This is a major difference from the Zions Internet Money Market Account which doesn't have check writing. Another perk with the Deseret MMA is that you get one free wire transfer per month. Below are the details of this Deseret MMA:

• 5.31% APY for balances over $50k
• 5.24% APY (same as Internet MMA) for balances over $1k
• No monthly fees, but no interest for balances under $1k
• Minimum opening deposit is $1k
• Offers check writing with free checks (you can order 20 at a time)
• One free incoming or outgoing wire transfer per month
• After the free wire transfer, there's a $15 fee for outgoing, $10 for incoming
• No ACH transfer system. You're allowed to push/pull funds from another bank's ACH system

For those who don't like pure online banks, Zions might be a good choice. It's a solid bank that has been FDIC insured since the FDIC program started in 1934. It has 152 branches in Utah and Idaho with over 2,500 employees. Bankrate.com rates the financial strength of Zions as 4 out of 5 stars (sound).

Credit for this update goes to Bill who mentioned this in the finding deals post.