South Dakota Deposit Account Rates and Deals

Reliabank Dakota is offering a competitive long-term CD with a 3.00% APY for a 45-month term. Minimum deposit is $5,000. The special is listed in the bank's savings rates page as of 12/11/09.

This special can be opened using the bank's online application (link on the left sidebar), and according to the CSR, it's available nationwide. This is the same application to open the bank's reward checking account that I reported on in January.

Update: I received some additional CD details from the CSR:

You can fund the CD by either wiring the money or mailing a check. As far as the 3% rate, if you let me know that you are sending a check we will honor that rate when the check gets here. That's not a problem.

The early withdrawal penalty would be 3 months interest. We do not charge a penalty if it has to be taken out early if it's for nursing home, medical or funeral expenses.

At maturity we can wire you the funds, mail a check or you could transfer into an ultimate checking.

The bank is also listing other competitive CD specials including a 2.00% APY 13-month CD and a 2.20% APY 29-month CD. However, these can't be opened online and require a branch visit.

One reader who commented about opening the bank's reward checking account in October mentioned that the account couldn't be funded with an ACH transfer even though the application makes it appear it's possible. He had to mail in a check with the signature card.

Another reader who opened the reward checking account commented a few days ago about receiving a hard credit pull via Equifax. He was told by the bank that they pull credit reports for customer identification.

Branches are located in the South Dakota cities of Estelline, Hayti, Hazel, Watertown and Hartford.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1945 (FDIC Certificate # 16221). It's a small bank with only $158 million in assets

Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates

• CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals

Minnwest Bank is offering a very competitive intro rate on its Prime Performance Money Market Account. The bank is guaranteeing a 2.50% APY until January 1, 2010 for balances above $10,000. In January, the rate will revert to 50% of the Prime Rate as published by the WSJ.

This special doesn't appear to be listed at the bank's website. A reader emailed me info on this, and I called today (8/10/09) for more details. According to the CSR, it's a savings account so you can't write checks. The rate for balances under $10,000 is 0.10%, but at least there are no monthly service fees.

The savings account has the typical limit of 6 withdrawals per month. They don't seem to offer an ACH bank-to-bank service, but they should accept ACH transfers that you request from another bank.

A branch visit is required to open the account, and it appears that this special is available at all of bank's branches. Branches are located throughout Minnesota including the cities of Redwood Falls, Montevideo, Luverne, Tracy and Minnetonka. There are also branches in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The bank is actually composed of six separate banks each with its own FDIC charter. All of the six fall under the Minnwest Corporation bank holding company, and all six begin with the name "Minnwest Bank". All six banks have their own ratings for safety and soundness. You can see all six by searching for "Minnwest Bank" at BauerFinancial and at Bankrate.com. BauerFinancial ratings range from 2 stars (problematic) to 4 stars (excellent). Bankrate ratings range from 1 star (lowest) to 4 stars (sound). Ratings are based on 3/31/09 financial data. Refer to the Minnwest Bank, M.V. FDIC page for FDIC insurance information. If you click on the bank holding company link, the FDIC information for the other five banks are listed.

Thanks to the reader who emailed me info on this special.

For other high-yield savings accounts available nationwide, refer to my weekly rate summary.

Update 7/24/09: The RateBuilder CD rate has fallen to 2.21% APY.

Choice Financial continues to offer a very competitive 13-month CD as part of its RateBuilder Accounts. When I first posted on Choice Financial in May, they were offering hot deals on both the savings account and this CD. In less than a week after the post, they made substantial rate cuts. The CD rate fell from 3.01% to 2.51% APY. As of 7/13/09, the CD rate is still 2.51% APY which is now a very competitive rate for a 13-month maturity. In addition, it has a limited add-on feature which allows you to make additional deposits to the CD up to the original deposit amount. Below is a summary of the CD features based on their disclosure (pdf) and based on what I was told by the CSR in May:

• 13-month term
• $5,000 minimum deposit
• Interest will be compounded and credited annually
• Early withdrawal penalty equals 6 months of interest on the amount withdrawan
• Grace period at maturity of 10 calendar days
• Add-on feature: You will be able to make additional deposits to the CD up to the original deposit amount without extending the term of the CD
• CD starts earning interest on the business day that they receive the initial deposit (CSR)
• CD rate that you will receive is the rate as of the date that they receive the application (CSR)
• When the CD matures, you may elect to have those funds withdrawn by a mailed check, ACH transfer or wire transfer (CSR)
• You can close the CD over the phone. They'll use security questions to verify your identity (CSR)

For more details of this CD and the savings account and to read comments of those who applied, please refer to my May account review.

Choice Financial is a small bank with 11 branches in North Dakota. You can review the details about their financials at this FDIC page. They have some solid ratings for safety and soundness: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 3/31/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 9423).

Other High Certificate of Deposit Rates

• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
• My weekly list of all nationwide CD deals
• Index of state CD and bank deals

First Bank & Trust is offering a reward checking account called easyGROW Checking. The account has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 4.01% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 0.75% APY on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.20% base rate if monthly requirements are not met
• Refunds all ATM fees worldwide without limit

The monthly requirements include:

• 10 Visa check card purchases
• 1 automatic payment or direct deposit
• Receive e-statements

Additional features of the account regardless of the monthly requirements include:

• $100 minimum initial deposit
• No minimum balance requirement
• No monthly service charge
• Requirements for the first statement cycle are waived

There's an online application at the bank's microwebsite. I used the website's chat feature and asked the CSR if people from any state could apply. According to the CSR, they do accept applications nationwide. After you apply, they'll mail you some documents including a signature card that must be filled out and returned. When I asked about a hard credit pull, the CSR said they "do a credit check as part of the application process."

First Bank & Trust is one of five banks that offer this same easyGROW Checking. They are all part of the Fishback Financial Corporation, a bank holding company. The websites of all these banks can be accessed from the Fishback Financial Corporation's home page at BankEasy.com. First Bank & Trust is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Three other of the banks are also located in South Dakota. The fifth bank, The First National Bank and Trust, is located in Pipestone, Minnesota.

First Bank & Trust has been a FDIC member since 1987 (FDIC Certificate # 27078). From the bank's FDIC page, you can get holding company info and the info on the other banks by clicking on the bank holding company link.

Other 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.

Update 7/24/09: Rates have dropped. Rate Builder Savings: 2.26% APY 30-day intro, 1.26% APY $5K-$25K, 1.51% APY $25K-$100K, 1.76% APY $100K+. Rate Builder 13-mo CD: 2.21% APY.

Update 5/12/09: Rates have dropped. Rate Builder Savings: 2.76% APY 30-day intro, 1.76% APY $5K-$25K, 2.01% APY $25K-$100K, 2.26% APY $100K+. Rate Builder 13-mo CD: 2.51% APY. Rates are from disclosure.

Choice Financial has two attractive deposit account deals: a savings account with a rate of up to 3.26% APY and a 13-month CD with a rate of 3.01% APY. The bank calls these their RateBuilder accounts. The savings account and CD are available nationwide. There's also a high-yield checking account for those in Minnesota, Montana and the Dakotas.

The savings account has a 30-day intro rate of 3.76% APY. After the intro period, the following tiered interest rates apply:

• 2.76% APY $5K to $25K
• 3.01% APY $25K to $100K
• 3.26% APY $100K and over

The above rates are listed at the RateBuilder Page as of 5/08/09. Note, the disclosure lists the rates for the bottom two tiers as interest rates rather than APY.

One downside to this account is that interest is only credited quarterly, and if the account is closed before the interest is paid, you'll lose the accrued interest. Some other features mentioned on the website and the disclosure (pdf) include:

• Minimum opening deposit of $5,000
• $2/month fee if balance falls below $5K on any day of the month
• Interest credited and compounded quarterly
• $50 closing fee if closed within first 90 days
• If account is closed before the interest is paid, you'll lose the accrued interest
• Typical limit of 6 withdrawals per month

RateBuilder Certificate of Deposit

There's also a good deal on the RateBuilder CD. As of 5/08/09, the rate is 3.01% APY for a 13-month term. Minimum deposit is $5,000. Some additional details mentioned in the disclosure (pdf) includes:

• 13-month term
• $5,000 minimum deposit
• Interest will be compounded and credited annually
• Early withdrawal penalty equals 6 months of interest on the amount withdrawn
• Grace period at maturity of 10 calendar days
• Add-on feature: You will be able to make additional deposits to the CD up to the original deposit amount without extending the term of the CD

Additional Details from the Customer Service Representative

For some additional details about the savings and CD, I called the bank's customer service number at 1-877-380-3623. At first, the voice message informed me that they were busy with other customers and that I should leave a message. Instead of leaving a message, I called back a little later and was quickly connected to a CSR. According to the CSR, they rolled out these RateBuilder accounts about 4 weeks ago. She said the posted rates are accurate. Some additional things I was told by the CSR include:

• No hard credit inquiry. They just use ChexSystem
• ACH service provided to allow electronic funding of savings account and CD. You can also mail a check
• Savings account has an ACH transfer service. Transfers are free, and there are no size limitations on transfers (CSR didn't appear too knowledgeable about this)
• CD rate locks at the time that the application is submitted

There were two interesting features mentioned in the disclosure that I tried to confirm with the CSR:

Savings account bonus: As described in the disclosure: Electronic gift certificate issued after receiving opening deposit valued at $10. Electronic account anniversary gift certificate issued one year from account opening date valued at $25 if your account has an average daily balance $500 on the account anniversary date. The CSR confirmed this. She said that the gift cerificate is for some online store.

Add-On Deposits in the CD: As descrbied in the disclosure: After the account is opened, you may make an unlimited amount of deposits. The total of the deposits may not exceed original amount of the opening deposit. The CSR did not think you could make additional deposits. Leave a comment if you are able to confirm. The add-on feature is limited in value since the add-on is capped to the initial deposit. Update: Another CSR confirmed that the CD does have this add-on feature.

Update: I received additional info from a CSR by email (I'm impressed by the speed of the replies). Below is what I received:

More RateBuilder CD info from the CSR:

The CD does have an add-on feature. You will be able to make additional deposits to the CD up to the original deposit amount without extending the term of the CD.

The CD starts earning interest on the business day that they receive the initial deposit. The CD rate that you will receive on the CD is the rate as of the date that they receive the application.

When the CD matures, you may elect to have those funds withdrawn by a mailed check, ACH transfer or wire transfer. You can close the CD over the phone. They'll use security questions to verify your identity.

More RateBuilder Savings Account info from the CSR:

I confirmed that they had mistakenly listed the rates instead of the APYs for the first two tiers on the RateBuilder webpage. It was correct in the disclosure. I've corrected the rates above.

The CSR didn't provide many additional details on their ACH bank-to-bank transfer service. They do seem to have such a service, and transfers are free.

You may fund the account by mailing a check, wire transfer or by ACH. This also applies to the RateBuilder CD.

Health Savings Account

Thc CSR confirmed that their Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are also available nationwide. A reader commented that she has been happy with their HSA for the last 3 years. It's a tiered account with rates that range from 1.04% APY to 2.53% APY as of 5/08/09. Refer to their HSA rates page for the latest info, and for general info and good nationwide options on HSAs, refer to this post.

Overview of Choice Financial Group

Choice Financial is a small bank with 11 branches in North Dakota. You can review the details about their financials at this FDIC page. They have some solid ratings for safety and soundness: 3.5 stars (good) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 12/31/08 financial data. The bank has been FDIC insured since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 9423).

Thanks to the reader who emailed me news of these online accounts.

US Bank has a competitive rate of 4.00% APY on its special 59-month CD. Its other CD specials include a 3.00% APY for 37 months and 2.15% APY for 13 months. Minimum deposit is $1,000. Interest is paid annually, and at maturity. These rates are listed at US Bank's Certificate of Deposit Page as of the morning of 2/15/09.

An important detail regarding this CD is a severe early withdrawal penalty. According to the CD disclosure, the penalty for the 59 month CD would be over 29.5 months of interest on the amount withdrawn. Here's how it's described in the disclosure:

If your account has an original maturity greater than one year, the penalty will be the greater of either A or B, plus a $25 early withdrawal fee.

A. One-half of the interest that would have been earned on the funds withdrawn if held for the entire term.

B. 3% of the amount withdrawn.

Early withdrawal penalties for long term CDs are typically only 6 months of interest, so this is much worse. If inflation forces interest rates to shoot up, a small early withdrawal penalty can save you a lot of money, when you want to close the CD and move the money into an account with a higher rate.

US Bank does have an online application. However, I was told last year you can only open the CD online if you already have a checking account with them and you use the checking account to fund the CD. Otherwise, you have to come into one of their branches. They do not accept checks by mail to fund a CD.

US Bank has branches in several states. Below is the list of states with the number of offices in each:

Arizona      -  60    Arkansas     -  47 
California   - 338    Colorado     - 147
Georgia      -   1    Idaho        -  91
Illinois     - 128    Indiana      -  24
Iowa         - 110    Kansas       -  31
Kentucky     - 125    Minnesota    - 135
Missouri     - 219    Montana      -  25
Nebraska     -  61    Nevada       -  58
North Dakota -  25    Ohio         - 332
South Dakota -  20    Tennessee    -  27
Texas        -   1    Utah         -  45
Washington   - 187    Wisconsin    - 127
Wyoming      -  14

Financial Overview

One advantage of US Bank is that it's in better shape than many others. As this article points out, it had a difficult fourth quarter, however, it still had a profit, and it continues doing better than many peers.

Its ratings for safety and soundness are good: 3.5 stars (good) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/08 financial data.

US Bancorp is the holding company for US Bank N.A. and US Bank N.A North Dakota. Both banks have separate FDIC charters, but US Bank N.A is the main one for deposits with $147.6 billion in deposits. US Bank has been FDIC insured since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 6548).

Other High Certificate of Deposit Rates

If you want over 4% on a CD, your best bet will be at a credit union. In my weekly summary I still have several credit unions offering over 4% on 5-year CDs. Two of the best are Northwest FCU with a 4.88% APY and Mountain America CU with a 4.50% APY. One advantage of Mountain America FCU is a mild early withdrawal penalty (only 3 months of interest).

Update 10/13/09: The account is now available nationwide.

Reliabank Dakota is offering a reward checking account called Ultimate Checking that pays 4.07% APY on balances up to $25,000 (1.01% for above) if the following monthly requirements are met:

• 12 check card purchases
• one direct deposit or ACH auto debit or bill pay
• receive electronic statements

If these are not met, the rate falls to 0.25%. Minimum initial deposit is $50. There is no monthly service change or minimum balance requirement.

There's an online application. I contacted the bank on 10/07/2009, and I was informed that they do accept applications from outside their market area. Please note that small banks often change the availability of these accounts. So please check with the bank for the latest policy.

Branches are located in the South Dakota cities of Estelline, Hayti, Hazel, Watertown and Hartford.

The bank has been FDIC insured since 1945 (FDIC Certificate # 16221).

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

Other Reward Checking Accounts

This is my first South Dakota reward checking account. 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.

Can banks afford to pay this high interest rate for the long-term? I discuss the issue in this recent post.

Account History:
10/07/09: online application and available nationwide per CSR
01/22/09: 4.07% APY up to $25K; 1.01% above: 0.25% base

Update 6/21/08: The special CD rates have fallen. Please check the bank's website for the latest rates and specials.

Great Western Bank has a CD promotion with a 3.63% APY on terms from 7 months to 27 months. The minimum deposit is $5,000, and an additional banking relationship is required.

There's no mention on the promotional page about the details of the required relationship. To view the rate, you must select your state and your zipcode. The only states that can be selected include Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota. Before you can apply, it requires you to pre-register for the CD by providing your email address or phone number. One of their bankers is suppose to contact you to finalize the details.

The bank has a 4 star rating (excellent) at BauerFinancial based on 3/31/08 data. It has been FDIC insured since 1935 (FDIC Certificate # 15289). It's a moderate size bank with $3.5 billion in assets and 102 offices in six states.

Thanks to the reader who mentioned these CDs in the finding-the-best-deals post.

Other High Certificate of Deposit Rates

For the terms of 12 to 27 months, the 3.63% APY is not the best yield, but for the shorter terms, it's competitive. Currently, the best 6-month CD yield at a bank that's available nationally is 3.82% APY at ISN Bank (see post). Corus Bank is close behind with a 3.70% APY. For a little longer term, Indymac Bank has the best deal with a 4.10% APY 10-month CD. For other CD rates available nationwide, please refer to my latest CD rate list.

First Dakota National Bank is offering up to $135 for opening a checking account and using certain services. Each service adds to the bonus as follows: $10 new checking account, $15 free checkcard, $20 free internet banking, $20 online bill pay, $20 eStatements, $20 direct deposit and $30 first AutoPay. A $50 minimum opening deposit is required.

This promotioin doesn't seem to be listed at the bank's website. It was advertised in today's Press & Dokotan newspaper. The ad is available online here. From the ad, it appears to requires a branch visit.

Branches are located in several South Dakota cities including Yankton, Sioux Falls, Salem and Mitchell. The ad only listed the Yankton offices, so be sure to call to verify if other branches will honor this promotion. The bank has been FDIC insured since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 4028).