DollarSavingsDirect Leads With Savings Account

As of this morning, there's a new savings account rate leader: DollarSavingsDirect’s Dollar Savings Account now earns 1.80% APY on all balances.

About ten months ago, DollarSavingsDirect starting raising the rate on its Dollar Savings Account, by adding an eye-catching 70 bps. Prior to that April 2017 rate hike, the Dollar Savings Account’s APY lay dormant at 0.55% for more than four years. Including today’s rate increase, a total of 125 bps have been added since last April.

The Dollar Savings Account used to have a $1k minimum opening deposit, but that requirement was changed sometime in late 2016. Currently, there is no minimum deposit balance required to either open the account or earn the stated APY; CSR stated the account could be opened with as little as $1.

The Dollar Savings Account can be opened with a single beneficiary, with the “address, social security number and the phone number of the beneficiary” required to complete the online application.

DollarSavingsDirect has a FAQs page, which answers a variety of questions from, “How do I open a Dollar Savings Account,” to “How can I add a joint depositor to my individual account?” The FAQs also explain how your funds are insured by the FDIC.

Since each of EmigrantDirect, DollarSavingsDirect and MySavingsDirect is an online banking division of Emigrant Bank, any deposits you have at Emigrant Bank, EmigrantDirect, DollarSavingsDirect or MySavingsDirect are aggregated and FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor.

60-Month CD

DollarSavingsDirect began offering CDs in the past few months, but with rates that prompted DA reader, Sperry8, to comment,

Crazy low. What's the point of even adding these, DollarDirect?

While there’s been little to no movement on most of the CD rates, DollarSavingsDirect seems to be making a statement with its 60-month CD (2.80% APY). In the past three months, there have been as many rate increases, including today’s addition of 15 bps. All of DollarSavingsDirect’s CDs can be opened with a $1k minimum deposit, and there are no stated balance caps.

Availability

DollarSavingsDirect is an internet division of Emigrant Bank, a New York City-based bank DollarSavingsDirect offers its product line to individuals who are “at least 18 years old, have a social security number, a legal US address, and a personal checking account in a US bank.”

Opening a Dollar Savings Account must be done online. The initial funding of a new Dollar Savings Account can be done online or by check, but subsequent deposits must be done electronically. As noted in the FAQs,

The check must be from the same bank account you established
as your linked funding account on the online application.

Note: a second checking account can be linked to the Dollar Savings Account, but cannot be added within the first 60 days following account opening. Only personal checking accounts qualify to be linked accounts.

Bank Overview

DollarSavingsDirect is an internet division of the New York-based Emigrant Bank, and as such operates under Emigrant Bank’s FDIC Certificate and shares its financial history.

DollarSavingsDirect/Emigrant Bank has an overall health grade of "B" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 18.58% (above average) based on September 30, 2017 data. The Bank has an excellent capitalization level (18.87%), the results of holding $6.53 billion in assets with $1.23 billion in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of DollarSavingsDirect/Emigrant Bank (FDIC Certificate # 12054) for more details.

Founded as Emigrant Savings Bank in 1850 by members of the Irish Emigrant Society, Emigrant Bank is the oldest savings bank in New York City.

DollarSavingsDirect is one of three online banking divisions of Emigrant Bank. The first online banking division was EmigrantDirect which launched in 2005. During those early years, EmigrantDirect was often the nationwide savings account rate leader, but that ended after a couple of years, and in 2012, the savings account rate bottomed at 0.50% where it remains.

DollarSavingsDirect was the second to launch in 2008, and it soon took over as the rate leader as EmigrantDirect’s rate fell. The rate leading status didn’t last, and the rate eventually bottomed at 0.55% in 2012. That rate held until April 2017 when DollarSavingsDirect went back to being a rate leader.

The third online banking division was MySavingsDirect which was launched in 2013. Its savings account soon became the most competitive of the three. Its best year was 2015 when the APY reached 1.25%, but that didn’t last long. In 2016, the rate fell to 0.85% where it remained until June 2017 when it increased to 1%.

Based on the history of Emigrant Bank’s online banking divisions, I don’t expect DollarSavingsDirect to remain a rate leader for the long run. Nevertheless, Emigrant Bank has kept DollarSavingsDirect a rate leader since last April, and it appears they’re going to keep it that way in 2018.

How the Dollar Savings Account Compares

When compared to the 208 Personal Savings accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide, DollarSavingsDirect’s Dollar Savings Account APY currently ranks first.

To look for the best Savings account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Savings Account Rates Table page.

How the CD Compares

When compared to the 181 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, requiring a similar minimum deposit and are available nationwide, DollarSavingsDirect’s 60-month CD APY currently ranks second.

The above rates are accurate as of 2/27/2018.

To look for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.