2.00% High-Yield Checking With No Debit Card Requirements at PriorityONE Credit Union of Florida - Local Only

PriorityONE Credit Union is offering high-yield checking account called Go Green Checking. Unlike a reward checking account, it has no monthly debit card usage requirement. There are two requirements that are similar to most reward checking accounts:

• Direct deposit of at least $150 per month
• Receive electronic statements

If these requirements are met, you'll receive the following rates and features:

• 2.00% APY on balances up to $25,000 as of 10/23/09
• No monthly fees
• No minimum balance requirements

If the requirements are not met, the rate falls to 0%. It's not clear in the Go Green Checking page if there would be any monthly fees if the requirements are not met.

Membership is open to anyone who lives or works in Broward County. Also eligible are postal, federal or professional employees, trade groups and associations who reside within Florida. Immediate family members of anyone who is eligible to join (even if eligible person is not a member) are eligible. Refer to the credit union's Join-Us Page for the full details. Membership requires a minimum balance of $5 in the share savings account.

You can apply for membership at a branch or by mail. According to the instructions for applying by mail, you'll need to have your signature notarized. According to the Join-Us Page, membership will be subject to ChexSystems information.

Branches are located in the Florida cities of Sunrise, Ft. Lauderdale and Coral Springs. The credit union is also part of the Share Service Centers network which allows you to conduct many branch transactions at credit union offices around the nation that are part of the network.

The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are average: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 6/30/09 financial data. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 67444).

Thanks to the reader who emailed me news of this account.

Other High Yield Checking Accounts

This Go Green Checking is very similar to Alliant Credit Union's High Rate Checking (see account review). Alliant Credit Union's rate is a little lower, but on the plus side there is no balance cap that limits how much qualifies for the top rate. Alliant Credit Union is also open to anyone via PTA membership.

If you don't mind the debit card usage requirements, reward checking accounts will provide higher rates (see my reward checking website). Also, if you don't need checks or a high number of withdrawals, savings accounts may be a better option. There are still a few with rates of around 2% APY (see weekly summary list).

Tags: checking account, Florida