Investors eAccess Has $250 Bonus On New eAccess Checking
My most recent blog post about Investors eAccess was two years ago, shortly after New Jersey-based Investors Bank launched its first internet division. The initial offering included three products with excellent rates, with the 6-month No Penalty CD (2.50% APY) having the most competitive rate. Within two months, the rates started to fall and by the beginning of May 2021, the rates on the eAccess Money Market, 10-month CD, and 6-month No Penalty CD had all bottomed out at 0.15% APY.
While the rates have become far from competitive, Investors eAccess is currently offering a $250 bonus when opening a new eAccess Checking account (non-interest bearing). The fine print on the eAccess Checking landing page explains how the bonus works.
Offer not available to any account owner with an existing personal checking account.
Bonus is up to $250, $25 per month for 10 months. Reward payments will cease at the earlier of reaching $250 total or 11 consecutive cycles from the date you opened your account.
To be eligible to receive monthly bonus you must maintain a monthly average balance of $1,000 or more AND satisfy one (1) of the following transaction activity requirements:
- you have an ACH direct deposit(s) totaling $500 or more during your statement cycle;
- OR, you have Mobile Check Deposit(s) totaling $500 or more during your statement cycle;
- OR, complete 10 Point-of-Sale (POS) transactions during your statement cycle, using your eAccess Visa Debit Card linked to your account.
Just about everything you need to know about the eAccess Checking account is available in FAQs document, including
How do I fund my eAccess account?
Deposits to this account are permitted to be made at any time in the form of ACH transfer, incoming wire transfer, or by check via mail or Mobile Deposit.
What is the minimum balance required to open an eAccess Checking account?
A minimum deposit of $50 is required to open this account. You have 35 business days to fund a new eAccess Checking account.
How can I make withdrawals from my eAccess Checking account?
Withdrawals from this account are only permitted to be made via ACH transfers; withdrawals via outgoing wire transfers or debit card. Checks are not permitted.
Is there a monthly fee for the eAccess Checking Account?
Yes, there is a Minimum Balance to avoid Monthly Maintenance Fee: There is a monthly maintenance fee of $10 on this account. This fee may be waived if one of the following requirements has been satisfied:
- You maintain a minimum monthly average balance of $1,000.00 or more; OR
- You have recurring direct deposit of $500.00 or more per monthly statement cycle. Examples of recurring direct deposit include Payroll, Pension Benefits, or Social Security payments. ACH activity that does not represent these types of deposits do not qualify; OR
- You have 10 or more Point-of-Sale (POS) transactions per monthly statement cycle using your Investors Bank eAccess YourStyle Debit Card linked to this account.
Availability
Launched in January 2019, Investors eAccess is the internet division of Investors Bank, a community-oriented bank serving the residents of New Jersey and the New York City metropolitan area. All US citizens and permanent residents, 18 years or older, are eligible to open an account through Investors eAccess’ online banking platform. Only individual and joint ownership accounts can be opened and are not available as beneficiary, POD, Trustee, or business accounts.
Opening an eAccess Checking account and applying for the $250 bonus can only be done online. The online application does not have to be completed in one sitting.
If you cannot finish the application in one sitting you can save and return later. Once
you begin the application you will have 14 days to complete it before it is deleted.
Bank Overview
As an online division of Investors Bank, Investors eAccess operates under Investors Bank’s FDIC Certificate and shares its financial history.
Investors eAccess/Investors Bank has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 4.04% (excellent) based on December 31, 2020 data. In the past year, the Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $1.66 billion, an excellent annual growth rate of 10.01%. Please refer to our financial overview of Investors eAccess/Investors Bank (FDIC Certificate # 28892) for more details.
Investors Bank was incorporated in 1926 as the Washington Rock Building and Loan Association. The twelve original bank directors were prominent Milburn, New Jersey businessmen, including a lawyer, a pharmacist, a hardware store owner, and a deli operator.
In April 1942 the association changed its name to Investors Savings and Loan Association. Although the association was smaller than the rival Millburn Building & Loan Association, after enactment of new savings and loan laws in New Jersey, Investors was able to purchase the Millburn Association's assets in July 1942 to bring total assets to $2 million.
Beginning in 1977, a series of nine acquisitions helped Investors Bank grow into the second largest bank headquartered in New Jersey, with deposits in excess of $19 billion and more than 633,000 customer accounts.
Bottom Line
Having to complete only one of three transactional requirements makes earning the $250 checking bonus fairly easy, even though it’ll take about a year to earn the full amount. The $500+ in Mobile Check Deposit(s) requirement is probably the most convenient way to qualify and it avoids the need for a direct deposit or debit card purchases.
Earning $250 on a $1k deposit in twelve months is the approximate equivalent of a 25% APY.
When interest rates are low, savings and checking bonuses have more of an impact. To earn $250 in a typical online savings account (with a 0.50% APY) would require a $50k balance for a year.
If you don’t qualify for the eAccess Checking bonus, check out our full list of the best savings and checking account bonus offers.
The above information and rates are accurate as of 5/21/2021.
Investors Bank also has similar current $250 bonus offer on another checking account called YourStyle Checking. However there is a subtle but potentially essential difference in the language of the requirements.
For the eAccess Checking offer it says:
"To be eligible to receive monthly bonus you must maintain a monthly average balance of $1,000 or more AND satisfy one (1) of the following transaction activity requirements: you have an ACH direct deposit(s) totaling $500 or more during your statement cycle;..."
But for the YourStyle Checking offer it says:
"To be eligible to receive monthly bonus you must satisfy the following transaction activity requirements: you have an ACH deposit(s) totaling $500 or more during your statement cycle;..."
Link to the YourStyle Checking offer:
https://www.myinvestorsbank.com/Personal/Banking/Checking/YourStyle-Checking
Note that the former requires "an ACH direct deposit(s)" and the latter only requires "an ACH deposit(s)."
Just about everything you need to know about the eAccess Checking account is available in FAQs document, including
***
s there a monthly fee for the eAccess Checking Account?
Yes, there is a Minimum Balance to avoid Monthly Maintenance Fee: There is a monthly maintenance fee of $10 on this account. This fee may be waived if one of the following requirements has been satisfied:
You maintain a minimum monthly average balance of $1,000.00 or more; OR
You have recurring direct deposit of $500.00 or more per monthly statement cycle. Examples of recurring direct deposit include Payroll, Pension Benefits, or Social Security payments. ACH activity that does not represent these types of deposits do not qualify; OR
You have 10 or more Point-of-Sale (POS) transactions per monthly statement cycle using your Investors Bank eAccess YourStyle Debit Card linked to this account.
(emphasis supplied)
If I might ask - did you get a hard credit pull on this one, or a ChexSystems pull?
In that link you provided for the YourStyle-Checking it states in the 1st paragraph
(after the bullet points);
"* Plus, you have choice and control on how to waive the monthly fee: receive a direct deposit of $500 or more each statement cycle,".
Are we sure they will accept ANY ACH deposit and not require Direct Deposit for the YourStyle vs eChecking? Perhaps someone missed the word 'direct' in that last set of rules & restrictions...
The quote you refer to is about waiving the monthly fee, not earning the bonus.
If you look at the footnotes, #1 is about earning the bonus and only requires an ACH deposit.
Footnote #3 is about the ways to waive the monthly fee and for that purpose it requires a direct deposit unless you meet one of the other requirements to waive the fee (such as having a balance of at least $1k).
So the answer is that according to what is written, direct deposit is not required to qualify for the bonus. And that is how it is working for me.
It's good for at least 3 extra trips to Taco Bell every month!
For others like me, I was only able to sign up for eAccess, and the $1k balance is required.
There is no credit card funding.
It's increasingly challenging to find bonuses or high interest. More institutions are demanding ACH direct deposits, spelled out as paycheck (I don't get one), pension (don't get), or SS ( only get one payment, which is already committed to a tasty rewards checking @ Presidential Bank. My regards to Ken for the article.).
I have been following this blog for many years to great success. Poor market today for savers, but thank you sooo much, Ken, for your efforts!
"You maintain a minimum monthly average balance of $1,000.00 or more; *OR*"
According to CSR and Account Disclosure it is
"This fee may be waived if you maintain a monthly average balance of $1,000 or more *AND*"
[1] Disclosure.... "This account is an Electronic Transfer Only account. Deposits to this account are permitted at any time in the form of ACH direct deposit, incoming wire transfer, paper check, or electronic check; cash deposits are not permitted."