High-Yield Reward Checking Account at South Carolina Bank and Trust - Local Only

Update 7/5/11: The top rate has fallen to 1.25% APY

South Carolina Bank and Trust is offering a high-yield reward checking account called Mad Money Checking. The account offers the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 1.25% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 0.05% APY on the portion of the balance over $25,000
• 0.05% base rate if qualifications are not met

The monthly requirements include:

• 10 Visa Debit Card purchases
• One direct deposit or automatic third party draft
• Receive e-Statements

Additional features of the account include:

• $50 minimum opening deposit
• No minimum balance requirement
• No monthly service charge
• Free online BillPay
• Requirements for the first month are waived for new checking account customers
• Multiple accounts can be opened, but requirements must be met for each

It appears a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located throughout South Carolina including the cities of Charleston, Columbia, Fort Mill, Greenville, Lexington, Myrtle Beach, Orangeburg and Walterboro.

Limited Time $100 Bonus

The bank is offering a promotion called Mad Money Mondays. Open a Mad Money Checking account at certain branches on certain Mondays in October and November 2009, and you'll receive a $100 cash bonus. Refer to the Mad Money Mondays page for the days, branches and details.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 6/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 13425).

Thanks to the reader who mentioned this reward checking account in the comments.

Other Reward Checking Accounts

The reward checking rate at South Carolina Bank and Trust is a little below average. However, South Carolina Bank and Trust is larger than the average bank offering reward checking. The bank has over 50 branches and $2.8 billion in assets. It seems like the larger banks tend to offer lower rates and or lower balance caps on their reward checking accounts.

To find reward checking accounts in other areas of the nation or to learn more about these accounts, please refer to my High Yield Checking website.

Rate History:

• 06/01/11: 1.25% APY up to $25K (rates are not shown on website)
• 01/01/11: 2.25% APY up to $25K (rates are not shown on website)
• 10/08/09: 3.25% APY up to $25K; 0.05% over; 0.05% base