4.01% Checking Account at an Arkansas Bank - $25K Max (Little Rock)
POSTED ON BY Ken Tumin
Update 8/12/09: The top yield has fallen to 4.01% APY. Refer to the bottom of the post for the rate history.
Bank of Little Rock is offering a high yield checking account called the Kasasa Cash. It pays 4.01% APY for balances up to $25K. Balances above $25K earn 0.60%. The main requirements are 10 debit card point of sale transactions per statement and direct deposit (or auto draft/debit). It offers free ATM's nationwide with refunds of all charges and there's no minimum balance requirement.
Update 5/13/09: The bank has added a companion savings account called Kasasa Saver. If you meet the monthly Kasasa Cash requirements, you'll earn 3.01% APY on balances up to $1 million in the Kasasa Saver account.
There's now an online application for the Kasasa accounts. However, it only accepts zip codes of their local market area.
The bank has four Little Rock branches. The bank is FDIC insured.
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.
Rate History:
08/12/09: 4.01% APY up to $25K
05/13/09: Account name changed from Ultimate Checking to Kasaa Cash. Added Kasasa Saver Account.
03/13/09: 4.51% APY up to $25K; 0.60% APY over $25K
04/20/08: 5.01% APY up to $25K; 1.01% APY over $25K
01/05/07: 6.01% APY up to $25K; 1.51% APY over $25K
Bank of Little Rock is offering a high yield checking account called the Kasasa Cash. It pays 4.01% APY for balances up to $25K. Balances above $25K earn 0.60%. The main requirements are 10 debit card point of sale transactions per statement and direct deposit (or auto draft/debit). It offers free ATM's nationwide with refunds of all charges and there's no minimum balance requirement.
Update 5/13/09: The bank has added a companion savings account called Kasasa Saver. If you meet the monthly Kasasa Cash requirements, you'll earn 3.01% APY on balances up to $1 million in the Kasasa Saver account.
There's now an online application for the Kasasa accounts. However, it only accepts zip codes of their local market area.
The bank has four Little Rock branches. The bank is FDIC insured.
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.
Rate History:
08/12/09: 4.01% APY up to $25K
05/13/09: Account name changed from Ultimate Checking to Kasaa Cash. Added Kasasa Saver Account.
03/13/09: 4.51% APY up to $25K; 0.60% APY over $25K
04/20/08: 5.01% APY up to $25K; 1.01% APY over $25K
01/05/07: 6.01% APY up to $25K; 1.51% APY over $25K
One can fulfill the DD requirement of Presidential by sending an ACH from another bank!
A while back I used to send ACH from ING over to Presidential every month in the first week and in the second week I used initiate reverse ACH to bring those funds back to ING. Presidential had no problem with this sort of DD!
- SVG
- no branch visit needed
- 5.00% APY
- no maximum balance
- no direct deposit or debit card usage requirement
- free ATM's (even rebates others fees)
- free checks (I paid a couple bucks to get duplicates)
- free Bill Pay
- prepaid envelopes to mail in deposits
- very friendly service from a "personal banker" when needed
negatives:
- short telephone hours (esp. if you're not on the east coast)
- account can be opened online, but some paperwork must be done by mail
- no built-in ACH facility, but "plays well with others"
I've had it for a little over a month, and have been happy so far. I'm not giving up my local account just yet, but I'm "migrating" my deposits and withdrawals to it. I like the fact that, for a "distant", out-of-state bank, they seem set up for this kind of relationship. I wonder how a bank that focuses on local customers (even if they don't strictly require a branch visit to open an account) will be at handling the "unusual" situation of a distant customer - even if they mean well, they may not have existing processes in place, and everything may require more effort than it would at a place where that kind of relationship is commonplace.