Amalgamated Bank Has Nationally Available Online Savings

Just two weeks ago, Amalgamated Bank debuted its Online Savings account, with an initial 0.90% APY on all balances. Given the state of liquid account rates, I was surprised that a new, nationally available savings account would have such an unremarkable APY. Amalgamated Bank remedied that situation yesterday by adding 70 bps to the Online Savings (1.60% APY).

According to the fine print on the Online Savings promotion page,

The promotional APY is available for the first 12 months from account opening on the
entire balance, and is subject to change after the 12 months at the bank’s discretion.

The Online Savings account has no monthly fees, no minimum opening deposit requirement, and no minimum balance requirement. This account must be opened online; it cannot be opened in-branch. According to the Account Opening Disclosure (attached to the online application),

There is no limit to the number of in-person deposits
or withdrawals you can make to or from this account.

Other transactions are limited to the standard six per month, with a $5 per item fee assessed beyond the allotted six.

UPDATE 4/18/2018: I did a Live Chat this morning concerning the Bank’s ACH capabilities. Here’s what I found out.

Do you have an ACH bank-to-bank transfer service and is it free to make transfers?

We do offer an external transfer service that allows you to link an external account so you can transfer funds to and from the account. This service is free.

What are the dollar limits for incoming and outgoing transfers?

Our external transfer service has a daily transaction limit of $5,000. However, at the time of account opening, the maximum amount you can transfer from an external account is $100,000.

Any restrictions on ACH transfers initiated by another bank?

No, there is not.

What's the process to link to external accounts? How many links are allowed?

There isn't a limit on how many accounts you can link. To use the external transfer service, you must first enroll in online banking once the account is opened. Then, you would add the external account by providing the account and routing number. In 2-3 business days, we would send 2 micro deposits to the external account. Once you receive those deposits you just need to login to your online banking account and provide the amounts.

Availability

Headquartered in New York City, Amalgamated Bank offers its product line to all U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens, 18 years or older, with a valid Social Security number.

As the name suggests, the Online Savings account must be opened online to receive the promotional rate.

Amalgamated Bank has twelve New York branches, located in New York City (5), The Bronx (3), Brooklyn (2), and Queens (2). There is also one branch in Washington, D.C., located on K Street.

Bank Overview

Amalgamated Bank has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 6.89% (excellent) based on December 31, 2017 data. In the past year, Amalgamated Bank increased its total non-brokered deposits by $262.08 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 9.62%. Please refer to our financial overview of Amalgamated Bank (FDIC Certificate # 622) for more details.

Amalgamated Bank was founded in 1923 by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and was New York City’s first labor bank. In the first years of operation, Amalgamated Bank instituted two innovations to help working people: the first unsecured personal loans for working families were introduced in 1924, and shortly afterward, the first foreign-exchange transfer service was initiated. The latter allowed immigrants to safely send funds to relatives in Europe, payable in dollars. Amalgamated Bank is currently the largest majority union-owned bank in the country, holding assets in excess of $4.05 billion.

How the Online Savings Account Compares

When compared to the 208 Savings Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that available nationally, Amalgamated Bank's Online Savings Promotional APY currently ranks ninth. The one year rate guarantee only adds to the account’s intrinsic value.

The above rates are accurate as of 4/18/2018.

To compare the top Savings account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Savings Account Rates Table page.