Banesco USA Adds Limited-Time Money Market Promo Rate

For a limited time, Florida-based Banesco USA is offering a BanesFlex Money Market Promo that earns 5.25% APY on balances of $300 and above. The minimum opening deposit is $2.5k of new money, which is defined in the FAQs as “money not currently deposited in a Banesco USA account.” (FYI – the current rate for the non-promo BanesFlex Money Market Account is only 1.35% APY.)

While this is a limited-time offer, CSR stated no end-date has been announced. When the promotion does end, the BanesFlex Money Market Promo will convert to a BanesFlex Money Market Account, earning the APY in effect at that time.

Past Savings Account Offers

This money market promo reminds me of the savings account deal Banesco offered in early 2019 when it increased the rate of its BanesGrow Savings Account to 2.47% APY, which at that time was near the rate leaders. That rate lasted until August 2019, just past the Fed's first rate cut. So that gives me hope that this new money market promo rate will last for a while.

Availability and Account Opening

Headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida, Banesco USA offers its product line to all U.S. citizens and resident aliens, 18 years or older, with a valid Social Security number. Each account signer is required to have a unique email address.

The BanesFlex Money Market Promo can be opened as an individual or joint account, but not in the name of a trust; trusts can be named as a beneficiary.

Opening a BanesFlex Money Market Promo can only be done online. For transactions that require a brick-and-mortar visit, Banesco USA has four Florida branches, located in Aventura, Coral Gables, Hialeah, and Miami, and a branch in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

N.B. – the BanesFlex Money Market Promo does not appear on Money Market Savings landing page: it can only be found on the first page of the online application.

Funding and Other Details

The following information about the BanesFlex Money Market Promo is from the Banesco USA website and online application, and a conversation with CSR.

• A soft pull is run when opening an account. One of the three credit bureaus will be used.
• Initial funding must be an ACH from a checking or savings account from an external institution.
• $2.5k minimum opening deposit of new money.
• Subsequent deposits can be made through BanescoMobile check deposit, ACH, Zelle, Banesco USA ATM, or at a branch location.
• $300 minimum balance required to earn 5.25% APY.
• Balances below $300 earn no interest.
• $2.5k minimum daily balance required to avoid $5 monthly service fee.
• $10 fee per each transaction in excess of the six allowed per cycle.
• Fee-free withdrawals using VISA(R) Debit Card at Banesco USA ATMs, Allpoint® ATMs and VISA Global network ATMs. Funds can also be withdrawn using BanescOnline or BanescoMobile, in a branch, or scheduling one-time or recurring payments in Online Bill Pay.
• ACH outgoing transfers initiated from Banesco USA are limited to $5k per day; there is no rolling 30-day or monthly limit.
• There is no limit to the number of external institutions that can be linked after the account is established.

The online application pop-up lists the following transactional limitations:

The annual transactional activity allowed is:

• Total incoming transaction activity, excluding initial deposit: $100,000.
• Total outgoing transaction activity: $100,000.
• No cash deposits.
• No international wires, outgoing and incoming.
• Any activity in excess of these amounts, or otherwise in violation of the account activity requirements, may result in account closure.

Bank Overview

Banesco USA has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.80% (excellent) based on September 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Banesco USA has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $400.37 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 20.77%. Please refer to our financial overview of Banesco USA (FDIC Certificate # 57815) for more details.

Banesco USA is currently the 13^th largest bank headquartered in Florida with assets in excess of $2.5 billion and more than 18,000 customer accounts. As I stated in previous Banesco blog posts, it’s important to mention the possible confusion between Banesco USA and Banesco, a Venezuelan bank.

Banesco USA was founded and granted an FDIC Certificate in 2006 and originally operated as BBU Bank. According to a 2011 PR Newswire article (now archived), the Bank was re-branded as Banesco USA in 2011,

after BBU Bank acquired and merged with Banesco International Bank of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The merger last September [2010] represented a $16 million capital infusion for BBU Bank for its operations in the United States and the new branch in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

According to Wikipedia,

Banesco is one of the first Venezuelan banks holding only Venezuelan capital. It was founded in 1977 as the Banco Agroindustrial Venezolano (Venezuelan Agroindustrial Bank), until it changed its name to Banco Financiero (Financial Bank) in 1987. In 1992, after changing their name to Bancentro, the bank was acquired by the Banesco Financial Organization, the banking division came to dominate the company and was combined with the other divisions to form a banco universal (universal bank).

The “About Us” page on Banesco USA's website states,

Banesco USA is a Florida state-chartered bank regulated by the Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) and completely independent of Banesco in other countries.

Bottom line, Banesco USA and Banesco (Velezuelan) are not the same financial institution.

How the BanesFlex Money Market Promo Compares

When compared to the nationally available Money Market Accounts and Savings Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that have low minimum balance requirements, there are six rates offered by nine financial institutions that are higher than currently available on the Banesco USA BanesFlex Money Market Promo. The following table is a sampling of those higher rates.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 2/16/2024.

To look for the best rates on liquid bank accounts, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Money Market Accounts Table and Savings Accounts Table.