Popular Direct Ups Plus Savings Rate

Yesterday, I addressed the issue of Popular Direct’s recent, and decidedly unpopular, 60 day account freeze in a blog post. You may want to read that post before you continue reading this blog post. Here are the opening sentences to help you decide if you think should read about the new policy.

Popular Direct has a new policy that prevents new customers from accessing money in their accounts for 60 days. This is an account freeze that prevents customers from withdrawing their funds, either by Popular Direct’s ACH transfer service or by ACH transfer services of other banks.

Welcome back.

In mid-May, Popular Direct discontinued its Exclusive Savings account after only being part of the product line for five months. In its stead, Popular Direct brought back its Plus Savings Account, which earned 1.85% APY at the time. As of yesterday, the Plus Savings Account now earns 2.00% APY.

The Account Disclosure for the Plus Savings Account states that,

• Minimum opening deposit is $5k
• $4 monthly service fee if the balance on any day is below $500.
• $25 early closing fee if account is closed within 180 days of opening.
• $5 monthly dormancy fee if there has been no activity for 12 months.
• Withdrawals only allowed via an external account, internal transfer to another Popular Direct account, or ACH.
• $5 fee for each additional debit exceeding the limit of six per statement cycle.
• Deposits only allowed via an external account, internal transfers to another Popular Direct account, ACH, or Popular Direct mobile app.

Popular Direct CDs

In addition to raising the Plus Savings Account APY, Popular Direct raised the rates on most of its CDs. With increases between 10-25 bps, several of Popular Direct CD APYs now rank in the top three for nationally available CDs. The minimum deposit for the CD is $10k, with no stated balance cap.

A significant issue with Popular Direct CDs is the harsh Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP). As stated on the CD Disclosure page, the EWP reads as follows:

For terms equal to or greater than 12 months but less
than 36 months, the fee is 270 days simple interest.

For terms equal to or greater than 36 months but less
than 60 months, the fee is 365 days simple interest.

For terms equal to or greater than 60 months,
the fee is 730 days simple interest.

Another downside related to the EWP is that it also applies to credited interest. According to the CD Disclosure:

Withdrawals of either credited interest and/or principal
prior to maturity will result in early withdrawal penalties

The CD Disclosure page also states that interest is compounded daily and credited on the last day of the month. The automatic renewal grace period is 10 calendar days following the maturity date.

Funding a Popular Direct CD must done through an external account from another U.S. financial institution that has been “validated through the External Account function in Popular Direct Online Banking.” After linking the external account, you may not change it for 60 days. Each time you change the external account, it cannot be changed for another 60 calendar days.

Thanks to DA reader, iamaroc, for his continued Forum posts on Popular Direct products.

Availability

As an online division of Popular Bank, Popular Direct’s website states,

All Popular Direct deposit products are offered by, and will be opened through, Popular Bank. Popular Bank is a Member FDIC institution and a New York state chartered bank.

Opening any type of account, including Popular Direct CDs and Popular Direct Plus Savings Account, must be done online.

Bank Overview

In April, Banco Popular North America was officially renamed Popular Bank.

Popular Direct/Popular Bank has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 7.35% (excellent) based on March 31, 2018 data. In the past year, the Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $269.76 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 4.54%. Please refer to our financial overview of Popular Direct/Popular Bank (FDIC Certificate # 34967) for more details.

Popular Bank was also the holding institution for the now defunct internet deposit platform, E-LOAN; on May 15, 2017, all E-LOAN deposit products became Popular Direct products. Popular Bank is currently the 11^th largest bank headquartered in New York, with assets in excess of $9.2 billion and more than 230,000 customer accounts.

How the Plus Savings Account Compares

When compared to the 213 Personal Savings accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide, Popular Direct’s Plus Savings Account APY currently ranks second.

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

How the CDs Compare

When compared to the 214 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, Popular Direct’s 1-year Popular Direct CD APY currently ranks second.

When compared to the 209 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, Popular Direct’s 2-year Popular Direct CD APY currently ranks first.

When compared to the 211 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, Popular Direct’s 3-year Popular Direct CD APY currently ranks second.

When compared to the 179 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, Popular Direct’s 4-year Popular Direct CD APY currently ranks third.

When compared to the 188 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, Popular Direct’s 5-year Popular Direct CD APY currently ranks fourth.

The above rates are accurate as of 7/24/2018.

To search for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD rates table.