High Interest Reward Checking and Savings Accounts at Franklin Bank & Trust Company

I was able to find another bank that is currently allowing people from any state to apply online for its reward checking account. Most banks either require a branch visit to open an account or limit new customers to their market area. It’s Franklin Bank & Trust Company, and it’s offering competitive rates on both a reward checking account and a companion savings account. I first reported on this bank and its reward checking account in early 2009. The rate has fallen, but the balance cap has held. The reward checking account is now called Kasasa Cash, and the companion savings account is called Kasasa Saver. Below is a summary of the rates and features of these accounts as of 8/27/2013:

Kasasa Cash account rates and ATM fee refunds if monthly requirements are met:

• 2.10% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 0.25% interest rate on the portion of the balance over $25,000
• 0.05% APY on entire balance if requirements are not met
• up to $25 in refunds on ATM fees per month ($5 per single transaction)

Kasasa Saver account rates if monthly requirements are met:

• 1.00% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 0.25% interest rate on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.05% APY on entire balance if requirements are not met

Monthly Kasasa Cash requirements to qualify for the above rates and ATM fee refunds:

• 12 check card purchases
• 1 automatic payment (ACH) or direct deposit
• receive e-Statements

These accounts have no monthly service fee or minimum balance requirement. The minimum deposit to open the accounts is $100.

When I first reported on this bank in January 2009, the bank was just offering the reward checking account. At that time it had a 5% APY for balances up to $25K.

Now Only Available to KY and TN Residents

Update 10/13/13: Online application now says that only residents of KY and TN are eligible to open these accounts.

If you click on the “apply now” button on the bank’s Kasasa Cash page, it’ll take you to an online application. The only restriction listed in the application is that you must be a US citizen to open an account online. I emailed the bank about eligibility, and I was told that they do accept applications from any state. This reply was received on 8/26/2013. Please note that small banks often change the eligibility rules for account opening. This has been very common with reward checking accounts. After a bank starts to get too many applications, it will start restricting new accounts to residents in their state or within their local market area. So if you try to apply for these Kasasa accounts and you are rejected because you’re outside their market area, it’s another case of a bank changing eligibility rules. Please leave a comment if that happens to you.

Bank Overview

Franklin Bank & Trust Company branches are located in the Kentucky cities of Bowling Green and Franklin. It’s a small bank with 71 employees and $290 million in deposits.

It has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) with a Texas ratio of 12.68% (above average) based on March 2013 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Franklin Bank & Trust Company for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1958 (FDIC Certificate # 17937).

How This Reward Checking Compares

For nationally available reward checking accounts, the Franklin Bank & Trust Company’s Kasasa Cash account is now a top deal. It’s one of only three reward checking accounts with rates of at least 2% for balances up to $25K. The other two are Security Bank’s Bonus Checking (2.05% APY) and ABCO Federal Credit Union’s Premiere Checking (2.02% APY).

Most of the banks that are offering reward checking accounts available nationwide have low balance caps. For example, AmericaNet Bank and its two sister banks (Redneck Bank and Evantage Bank) offer a 2.00% APY but it only applies to a balance of up to $10K. American Savings Bank offers a 2.00% APY for balances up to $15K, but I just learned last week that it has changed its eligibility rules. New customers must be residents of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, or West Virginia to be eligible to open the reward checking account.

The above rates are accurate as of 8/27/2013.

There are many local deals with reward checking accounts that pay over 2% for up to $25K. To find reward checking accounts in your state or that are available nationwide, please refer to our reward checking table. If you want to learn more about reward checking, this reward checking overview has many details.