New Jersey Banking Rates and News

1st Colonial Community Bank (southern NJ/Philadelphia metro area) has again increased the rates on their 3-year and 5-year CDs. The rates on these two CDs (also available as IRAs) have consistently risen since early 2012. 1st Colonial's website currently lists the 3-year CD at 1.51% APY and the 5-year CD at 2.01% APY. Both can be opened with an initial deposit of $500, but there is a maximum deposit of $250K per Tax ID Number. 1st Colonial's website states there is a "substantial penalty for early...

Aspire Federal Credit Union increased the rate of its 15-month CD to the competitive level of 1.26% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000. This rate applies to an eCertificate which are share certificates opened online via My CU Online. The rate is 0.10% lower if the certificate is opened at one of the credit union’s branches. This 15-month CD is listed in the credit union’s rates page as of 6/24/2014.

For more details about the CDs, please refer to Aspire’s Policies & Disclosures page. In the bottom half of the list...

USAlliance Federal Credit Union has made a nice change to its spring CD special. The rate of its special 35-month CD increased from 1.61% to 1.71% APY. Its special 13-month CD rate remains at the very competitive level of 1.21% APY. Both have a $500 minimum deposit with no maximum deposit. New money and eStatements are required. These specials are listed at the credit union’s CD specials page as of 5/23/2014.

In my last review of USAlliance CDs, DA member cumulus described his experience last year with opening a USAlliance...

USAlliance Federal Credit Union has regularly offered CD specials. The latest one is a spring special with two very competitive CD rates: 1.21% APY for a 13 month term and 1.61% APY for a 35 month term. Minimum deposit is $500, and there’s no maximum deposit. New money and eStatements are required. These specials are listed at the credit union’s CD specials page as of 5/2/2014. Thanks to DA readers cumulus and scottj who mentioned these promos in the DA forum.

Membership

The credit union has an online application that can...

Capital One is again offering a nice bonus for new business checking accounts. It’s not as nice as last year’s bonus, but it’s still a good deal. The current bonus is $250, and it’s scheduled to last until 4/30/2014. If it’s like past promotions, Capital One will probably extend it. The promotion requires a branch visit (see below for branch locations).

Here’s the link to the promotion at CapitalOne.com, and here’s a summary of what’s required to earn the $250 bonus:

• Show this offer to a banker when you open your new...

Manasquan Savings Bank has just launched a high-interest reward checking account under the Kasasa brand. It’s called Kasasa Cash, and it has a competitive rate and balance cap. The bank also launched three other Kasasa products. One is a savings account called Kasasa Saver and the other two are checking accounts called Kasasa Tunes and Kasasa Cash Back. Below is a summary of the rates and features of the Kasasa Cash and Kasasa Saver accounts as of 4/4/2014:

Kasasa Cash account rates and ATM fee refunds if monthly requirements are met:

• 2.00%...

South Jersey Federal Credit Union is offering a very competitive rate on a special 18-month CD. It has a 1.26% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit. The rate is also available in an IRA CD. This special is listed at the top of the credit union’s CD rates page as of 3/26/2014.

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in any of the following New Jersey communities: Atlantic City, Bridgeton, Camden, Millville, Pleasantville, Salem and Vineland. You can also be eligible via select employers or via...

Garden Savings Federal Credit Union has recently begun a promotion with three very competitive certificates. These include a 1.00% APY 6-month CD, a 2.02% APY 4-year CD and a 2.53% APY 5-year CD. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the credit union’s rates page as of 3/11/2014. They’re also listed in the credit union’s promotion page. According to that page, this is a limited-time offer that’s scheduled to end on 3/31/2014. Thanks to the DA member Sylvia who posted this promotion in the forum.

Update 3/26/2014:...

Last year I had mentioned the competitive IRA CD rates and the IRA cash bonuses at Columbia Bank in New Jersey. This promotion is still active. One thing that has changed is a higher 7-year IRA CD rate and a cash bonus for the 7-year IRA CD. The 7-year IRA CD rate is 2.30% APY, and the cash bonus is equal to 0.7% of a qualifying deposit of $10K or more. It’s a one-time bonus for funds that are rolled over into a new or existing IRA. For a $100K...

We’re not seeing a flood of higher long-term CD rates, but we continue to see a few banks come out with higher rates. The latest one is Clifton Savings Bank in Northern New Jersey. It just recently increased its 5-year CD rate to 2.50% APY (up from 1.75%). This rate also applies to the bank’s IRA CD. Minimum deposit is $500, and the early withdrawal penalty is one year of interest (according to a bank rep). There’s also a pretty good deal on a 30-month CD and IRA CD. It...

M&T Bank has long been offering promotions for its MyChoice Checking account. In the latest one you can earn a $100 cash bonus for opening the MyChoice Checking Account and setting up direct deposit. The promotion is scheduled to last until 6/27/2014. Please refer to the bank’s promotions page for the full details.

The offer’s small print has the details about the direct deposit requirements and what qualifies as direct deposit:

MyChoice Checking is not a free checking account. According to the MyChoice Checking page, there's a $6.95 monthly fee unless you...