Written by Ali Cybulski, Published on 9/30/2024
Magnifi Financial is a community credit union open to people and businesses in select Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin counties. Individuals can also join with a $10 donation to the Magnifi Foundation, and businesses can qualify with a $50 contribution. The credit union serves members through a network of branches and digital services.
Products include checking and savings accounts as well as certificates, which are similar to bank certificates of deposit (CDs).
If you need a checking account, you’ll have four choices: Free Checking, eChecking, Relationship Checking or High-Yield Checking. Free Checking is a basic account that does not earn interest and has no monthly fee or minimum balance requirement. The eChecking account provides up to $12 in monthly ATM surcharge reimbursements and earns interest but charges a $5 monthly service fee with waivers available. That account as well as Relationship Checking and High-Yield Checking come with free Ready Reserve — a line of credit used to prevent overdrafts.
Relationship Checking accounts have an annual percentage yield (APY) of 0.30% for balances of $1,000 to $4,999 and 0.35% for balances of $5,000 and up; you won’t earn interest if your balance falls below $1,000. If you have an eChecking account, you’ll earn an APY of 0.35% with no minimum balance requirements.
The new High-Yield Checking Account pays an APY of up to 4.5% on balances as high as $20,000. Balances that exceed that amount earn APYs between 4.5% and 1.18%.
Requirements for this rate include at least 12 debit card transactions monthly, enrollment in electronic statements and a recurring direct deposit through the Automated Clearing House network. You’ll also need to maintain a $2,000 daily balance to avoid a $10 monthly fee. This account comes with unlimited check processing and ATM surcharge reimbursements of up to $12 monthly, plus a free line of credit to cover overdrafts.
Magnifi Financial also offers a variety of savings account options. Selections include a Personal Savings account, a Money Market account, a Youth Savings account and more. The Personal Savings account has an APY of 0.35%, and the Money Market account has an APY of 0.65% to 1.30% based on your balance.
The credit union also has some specialty accounts, such as WINcentive Savings, which offers prize drawing entries for every $25 you save. Save the Change automatically rounds up debit card purchases and transfers the amount from your checking account into this savings account. My Goal Savings allows you to create a fund geared toward an event or goal, with monthly deposits totaling between $20 and $400, and a maturity date for the account of up to one year from the opening date.
WINcentive earns a 0.05% APY; Save the Change earns a 0.75% APY; and My Goal earns a 2.00% APY.
Terms for certificates range from three to 60 months with a $500 minimum deposit. Rates depend on your balance and term. A three-month certificate with a balance of $500 to $24,499 earns an APY of 1.80%, for instance, while a 12-month certificate with a balance of $150,000 or more pays an APY of 5.00%.
With digital banking, you’ll be able to link all your accounts to view in a dashboard. The credit union provides your credit score as well as a digital wallet to pay for purchases, among other services. You can view account balances, transfer funds, deposit checks and more using the bank’s mobile app.
For customer service, you can get live help at 888-330-8482 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. You can also visit one of Magnifi’s 25 branches in Minnesota for assistance.
Magnifi Financial pros and cons
Pros:
• Variety of checking and savings accounts
• Several interest-earning checking accounts
• Low minimum deposit to open certificates
Cons:
• Certificate rates low depending on term and deposit
• $2,000 minimum daily balance required for high-yield checking account to avoid $10 monthly fee
• Money Market account $2,500 opening deposit, although balance does not need to be maintained
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in Magnifi Financial is open to individuals by making a $10 donation to the Magnifi Foundation.
Businesses can also join by making a $50 donation to Magnifi Foundation. Those who live, work, worship, volunteer, attend school, or do business in the Minnesota counties of Anoka, Benton, Becker, Carver, Clay, Chisago, Crow Wing, Douglas, Dakota, Grant, Hennepin, Isanti, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Pope, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wadena, Washington, Wilkin, or Wright; or the North Dakota counties of Cass or Richland; or the Wisconsin counties of Pierce or St. Croix also qualify for membership.
See current membership details
Beware Residency Requirements
You can join Magnifi, but you may not be able to get their best CD rates.
Residency requirements to get these CD rates were not provided at depositaccounts.com. At the Magnifi website, residency requirements were provided in fine print.
"Promotion is only available to residents of Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, or existing members as of February 5, 2024."
It woudl be helpful if depositaccounts.com would provide residency requirements for CD rates. I have contacted Magnifi to suggest that they make residency requirements more prominent on their website.
I would say that their customer service was great. They have a fairly clunky secure email system. I had to call them directly to clarify that they would not charge me any membership fees.
Cash In Change
I took my change to cash in the machine out front was broke they said can't help bull shit they have a coin machine in back don't know why i do my banking with them they never do anything for me been with the assholes from 2005
Data as of Q1 2025
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 68604 |
| Year Chartered | 1939 |
| Employees | 405 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.45% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 4.27% |
| Annual Interest Income | $30.6MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $2.49B$2.43B |
| Loans | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $1.97B$1.87B |
| Deposits | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $2.09B$1.94B |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $257.1MM$243.2MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $27.1MM$20MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $8.7MM$2.2MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $0$0 |
