EverBank has a new-account promotion in which you can earn a cash bonus of up to $75. A $50 bonus is awarded when you open the Yield Pledge Money Market Account with a minimum deposit of $20,000. A $25 bonus is awarded when you open the FreeNet Checking Account with a minimum deposit of $10,000. You must maintain these balances for at least 4 statement periods, and they'll credit your accounts with the bonuses on the 5th statement cycle.
These bonuses are on top of the 3-month rate promo. As of 7/27/10 the promo interest rate is 2.25% for the first 3 months. The promo rate applies to the first $50K for the money market account and the first $100K for the checking.
New Remote Deposit Feature
One new banking feature that I noticed at EverBank is an online check deposit service in which you can scan your paper checks at home to make deposits. According to the CSR, they currently have a limit of $10K per day. This service is free and available for both the checking and money market accounts. A separate form must be filled out and mailed or faxed.
Competitive Rates but Monthly Service Charges
EverBank's standard rates have remained competitive. One downside is that you do have to watch out for monthly fees.
Yield Pledge Money Market
The current ongoing money market yield is 1.26% APY. They list a first year APY of 1.51%. This 1.51% is an average APY based on 3 months of 2.25% and 9 months of 1.26% APY. Note, the 1.51% could go down since only the 2.25% is guaranteed for the first 3 months.
There's a $8.95 monthly fee if average monthly balance is below $5,000.
FreeNet Checking Account
EverBank's FreeNet Checking yield has also been competitive, but it's a tiered rate that ranges from 0.51% APY for under $10K up to 1.26% APY for $100K and up. Note, these are the ongoing yields, and not the first-year APYs that include the 3-month intro rate.
There's no monthly fees unless you register for optional Online Bill Pay. If you choose Online Bill Pay, there's an $8.95/month fee if average monthly balance is below $5,000.
Account Application
According to the CSR, you'll need to print out the signature card when you complete the online application. You can fund a new account with a check or wire transfer. An ACH transfer is a potential option, but according to the CSR, not everyone may qualify for this option (most apparently don't qualify). You can also apply by phone, and they can Fed-Ex you the signature card to sign.
EverBank continues to do a hard credit inquiry in the application process. EverBank has a detailed description of their credit inquiry in the online application. I was told they do a hard credit inquiry via Experian that may temporarily ding your credit score. Readers have also mentioned this in the comments.
One nice aspect of EverBank is that they offer several types of accounts in addition to just individual and joint accounts. These include custodial, trust and IRAs. In addition, the application allows you to designate POD beneficiaries. Not too many internet banks offer all of these options.
ACH Bank-to-Bank Transfers
EverBank doesn't provide many details on its website of their ACH transfer service. Here are some of the transfer service features that I was told by the CSR today. Note, the transfer limits have changed from what I was told last year.
- Limits on EverBank initiated ACH transfers: $50K/day and $200K/month
- ACH transfers initiated online are free
- No limit on number of ACH links to your external bank accounts
Over the last few years, readers have commented that EverBank's transfers are slow with transfer times taking 4 to 6 days with at least 2 days of lost interest. I've been told this is due to EverBank's fraud prevention process. EverBank also allows wire transfers. Incoming wire transfers are free.
Other Types of Accounts: World Currency CDs
For those who are worried about inflation and the weakening dollar, you may want to look into EverBank's World Currency CDs. Note, you can lose money in these due to risks associated with currency fluctuations. I described what happen to EverBank's Iceland CDs in this post. For more details on these World Currency CDs, please refer to my World Currency CD post.
Bank Overview
EverBank has been a FDIC member since 1998 (FDIC Certificate # 34775). It's one of the larger internet banks with $9.56 billion in assets.
EverBank's ratings for safety and soundness continue to be strong: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial, 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 4 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview for EverBank). These ratings are based on 3/31/10 financial data.
