Massachusetts Banking Rates and News

Northern Bank & Trust Company is offering an 18-month CD and IRA CD with a 1.15% APY. Minimum deposit is $500, and the maximum is $500,000. This can be opened online and is available for personal and business accounts. This special CD is listed in this bank’s promotion page as of 6/17/2013.

The CD can be opened online, and according to the bank’s online account FAQs, U.S. residents are eligible to apply. Links to and information on the online application are available at this bank page.

The CDs can also be opened...

Citizens Bank and Charter One regularly have checking account promotions with nice bonuses. Both are brand names of RBS Citizens, N.A. Citizens Bank branches are primarily located on the east coast and Charter One branches are located in the Midwestern states of Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. Charter One is currently listing a bonus of up to $175. I can’t find a similar one at Citizens Bank, but when I called Citizens Bank at 888-411-7442, the CSR told me that this same $175 bonus is available. (see update below) However, he said a new customer will need to visit a...

The vast majority of high-yield reward checking accounts have a debit card usage requirement to qualify for the high interest rate. This can be a deal killer for those who don’t want to use debit cards due to security concerns or the desire to use cash-back credit cards. Thanks to a DA reader, I learned of a new reward checking account that doesn’t require debit card purchases to qualify for the high yield. It’s the Easy Rewards Checking at Bank of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. If you don’t want to use a debit card for purchases, you can qualify...

Institution for Savings did something unusual today. It not only raised its CD rate, but it also raised it to 2.00% APY. Its 4-year CD now has a 2.00% APY which is up from 1.75%. Its 5-year CD continues to have a 2.00% APY which is also very competitive in today’s environment. Minimum deposit is $500. One downside with these CDs is an early withdrawal penalty that’s above average. CDs with terms of 4 and 5 years have an early withdrawal penalty of 12 months of interest, earned or not earned. The CD details are listed in the

First Trade Union Bank has again updated its checking account promotion. It has also renamed its online checking account. It’s now called FT Checking. The promotion continues to offer a cash bonus of up to $100, but the requirements have changed. It now takes more time to earn the full $100. A link to the promotion details is listed in the bank's FT Checking page. Here are the new requirements to receive the full $100:

• Open a new FT Checking account by 5/31/13
• First Trade Union Bank will deposit $10 into your FT Checking for up to...

Mutual Bank in Massachusetts did something that is rare these days. It increased the rate of its reward checking account. Another nice change is that the bank is now allowing anyone from New England to apply online. The rate increase makes the reward checking competitive, but I wouldn’t call it a hot deal since it still has a small balance cap. There’s also a companion savings account called REALSaver which helps offset the checking's low cap. Below is a summary of the rates and features of these two accounts. These are based on the bank’s REWARDChecking...

Blue Hills Bank continues to offer a very competitive rate on its Triangle Statement Savings Account. This rate is 1.10% APY, and it has been at this level for the last year. A balance of at least $10,000 is required to qualify for this rate. Also, a Triangle Checking Account is required to open this savings account. A monthly service charge of $5 will be waived if you maintain an average daily balance of $2,500 in the savings account or a $5,000 minimum combined average daily balance in the savings and checking account. This rate is listed in the...

Athol Credit Union's internet division called Quabbin Online Credit Union is again offering a very competitive 6-month CD special. The 6-month CD special has a 1.25% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum is $100,000 per household. New money is required. This rate is listed at the credit union's rates page as of 3/18/2013. Thanks to the reader who emailed me news of this CD.

Quabbin Online Credit Union also has competitive savings and money market rates. The savings account has a 1.00% APY for all balances, and the money market account has a 0.90% APY...

EBSB Direct has recently increased the high-tier rate of its money market account to a very competitive level. It's now 1.17% APY for balances of $50K to $1 million. For balances between $5K and $50K, the rate is 0.25%. No interest is paid for balances under $5K. New money is required. These rates are listed at the EBSB Direct home page as of 3/4/2013. Thanks to DA member scottj who posted on this news in this forum thread.

One thing that has changed with EBSB Direct is that they are now only opening accounts for residents of Massachusetts. I...

Citizens Bank is offering a checking account bonus of up to $150. The bonus doesn't require too much work. One downside is that the checking accounts do have monthly service fees, but there are easy ways to avoid them. This promotion is scheduled to last until 2/28/2013. The details are listed at www.citizensbank.com/150. Here's summary of what's required to earn the full $150:

1. Open your first new personal checking account by 2/28/13
2. Get $50 when you setup direct deposit and have a single deposit of $500 or more clear your new checking account by 4/30/13
3. Get $50 when you...

Melrose Cooperative Bank is listing two deposit specials. The best deal is the 1-year CD special with a 1.50% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum initial deposit is $100,000. The CD also has a special feature. You have a one-time option to add or withdraw 50% of your initial deposit without incurring a penalty or extending the term of the CD. The bank also has good deals on its long-term standard CDs. Both the 4-year and 5-year CD have a 2.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. The special CD rate is listed in this

Trustco Bank is offering a $100 bonus for opening a new Trustco Free Interest Checking Account with direct deposit. This appears to be available at all of their branches in the states of Florida, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Vermont. Trustco Bank also has a 13-month CD special with a 1.00% APY, but this isn't available at all of their branches. It's not available in Northern New York or Florida. Thanks to DA member stormdog123 who mentioned this in the forum. These promotions are listed at Trustco Bank's website as of 1/21/2013. You'll have to enter your...