PurePoint Financial Raises Online Savings
PurePoint Financial (PurePoint) marked its first anniversary in February. In its first year of operation, PurePoint’s nationally available product line has consisted of an Online Savings account and four Online CDs. The Online Savings rate was raised today to 1.75% APY on balances of $10k and above; balances below $10k continue to earn 0.25% APY. The minimum opening deposit is $10k.
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.75*% | $10k | - | PurePoint Financial | Online Savings | |
| OTHER TIERS: 0.25% → Up to $10k | |||||
This is the fourth rate increase for the Online Savings since PurePoint opened its virtual doors, with a total of 50 bps added. Since it was introduced, the Online Savings APY has been just shy of the current online savings and money market accounts rate leaders. As of today, just four banks offer a higher nationally available savings account rate, and only one bank has a higher nationally available money market rate.
It should be noted that in the past, PurePoint has offered higher rates at some of its financial centers. As DA reader, Sperry8, stated in a Forum post today,
Basically matching their local rate for those that lived near a branch. The local rate did not rise and remains tied with the online rate now. The 1 yr CD also went up from 2% to 2.2%, a .2% APY increase.
12-month Online CD
As Sperry8 noted, PurePoint also increased the rate on its 12-month Online CD today to 2.20% APY. A minimum of $10k is required to open any PurePoint CD. There have been six rate changes for the 12-month Online CD, with a total of 80 bps added to the APY.
As stated in PurePoint’s “Guide to Our Certificates of Deposit,” the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
The Early Withdrawal Penalty assessed will equal 181 days of simple interest at the rate being paid on the amount withdrawn.
PurePoint's other three Online CDs also had rate increases today, and they're now all very competitive. Please refer to the CD section of our PurePoint hub page to see these rates.
FAQs
PurePoint’s FAQs are quite detailed and provide a large amount of information, including,
We offer individual, joint and personal trust accounts. PurePoint doesn’t currently offer business or brokerage accounts.
How many external linked accounts can I set up?
You may link up to 10 external accounts per customer from other financial institutions to your PurePoint accounts.
What can I do at a Financial Center?
Open saving accounts and CDs Update your personal information (such as home or mailing address), beneficiary details, and other information related to your account.
The last quote about Financial Centers is interesting, in that PurePoint represents a new model of internet banks, almost a hybrid between brick-and-mortar institutions and “pure” internet banks. The Financial Centers are not “bank branches,” and as such, do not accept cash deposits. Staff members just assist customers in opening accounts and answering questions. The intent appears to be to help those individuals who are worried or uncertain about internet banks by providing a tangible resource, i.e., a building filled with people who will interact with them face-to-face.
Thanks to DA readers, FrankSavage and Speery8, for their Forum posts this morning about PurePoint Financial.
Availability
As an online division of Union Bank, PurePoint Financial is headquartered in New York City and offers its product line to all U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents. Union Bank, which is headquartered in San Francisco, is a subsidiary of UnionBanCal Corporation, a bank holding company formed by the merger of The Bank of California and Union Bank in the late 1990s.
Opening an account with PurePoint Financial can be done online, or at any of 21 Financial Centers located in,
Florida – Aventura, Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Harbor, St. Petersburg, and Tampa
Illinois – Chicago, Glendale Heights, La Grange, and Skokie.
New York – Brooklyn Heights, New York City, and Scarsdale
Texas – Dallas, Houston (2), Plano, Southlake, Sugar Land, and The Woodlands.
Note, a new financial center in Boca Raton, Florida is “coming soon.”
Bank Overview
As the online division of Union Bank, PurePoint Financial operates under Union Bank’s FDIC Certificate and shares its financial history.
Union Bank/PurePoint Financial has an overall health rating of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.63% (excellent), based on December 31, 2017 data. The Bank has an excellent capitalization level (14.54%), the result of holding $118.54 billion in assets with $16.83 billion in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of Union Bank/PurePoint Financial (FDIC Certificate # 22826) for more details.
We designed PurePoint™ Financial to empower our clients to save more. And while we're a new brand, we’re not new to banking. As a division of MUFG Union Bank, N.A., we share in the rich 150-year history of serving clients in the United States. Our global parent company, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), is the 5th largest financial group in the world with total assets of over $2.59 trillion.
How the Online Savings Account Compares
When compared to the 202 Savings Accounts that are nationally available, PurePoint Financial’s Online Savings APY currently ranks fourth, regardless of minimum deposit requirement.
To compare the top Savings account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Savings Account Rates Table page.
How the Online CD Compares
When compared to the 195 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, PurePoint Financial's 12-month Online CD APY ranks third.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
The above rates are accurate as of 4/6/2018.
suboptimum subsidiary But I tend to and a measureof little tedium
I've been banking with PurePoint since shortly after they opened for business. I have made many ACH transfers, both using their service and push and pull transfers from another bank. I have never encountered a problem, however, on one occasion I initiated a transfer involving a rather significant amount. In that case I received a telephone call from their fraud department to confirm that I had actually initiated the transfer. The call took less than two minutes and the transfer proceeded without delay. I have found them to be reliable, professional and attentive to customer needs. They may not be a rate leader, but they know how to treat customers well, and they have never failed to pass along rate increases to existing customers unlike the current rate leader.
They claimed that they have tried to contact me several times to confirm the transfer (which was a complete lie).
I found out later that the money from my external account were already pulled on Wednesday afternoon but never showed up in my purepoint account.
The call was not friendly and they tried to pin the late ACH transfer on me. I had to cancel the trip and the meeting and the transfer and the flight. I closed the account and they sent me a certified check (overnight). My business deal did not go through do to breach of contract.
"But this is 2018 and PurePoint appears to have cleaned up their act."
As long as they act as censorship for ACH, there will be resentment from anyone banking with them.
Time of events is irrelevant in this case.
I moved out of PurePoint & left a small balance $12. It is hard to keep up with liquid savings rates, but for now I have to go with Popular.