Salem Five Direct Competitive 6-Month CD Special Available Thru 6/25/2023

Salem Five Direct is offering a 6-month CD Special with a 5.55% APY that’s scheduled to be available through June 25, 2023. This is the same Special that is being offered at the primary bank, Salem Five, and on its home page, the end date of June 25, 2023 is specified. There isn’t a similar end date listed at SalemFiveDirect.com, but I’ve confirmed that this end date also applies at Salem Five Direct. As DA reader, RZ, stated in a comment to a Forum post by DA reader, scottj,

They are getting plastered with applications so delays will be inevitable but hopefully not as disappointing as with Northern. Promo ends 6/25 but the agent assures me that this only applies to date of the application. There is also a 10 day period allowed to mail in a check if bank transfer (initiated from Salem) or internal transfer is not selected.

Massachusetts-based Salem Five Direct is still offering a series of CD Specials. Of the five available CD Specials, the 6-month currently has the most competitive rate – 5.55% APY. The CD Specials have a $10k minimum deposit and $500k maximum deposit.

As stated in the CD Specials Account Disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

You may make withdrawals of principal from your account before maturity only if we agree at the time you request the withdrawal. If you withdraw principal before the maturity date, a penalty equal to 2% of the principal balance withdrawn will be charged to your account.

If the amount of the penalty exceeds the amount of earned interest that has not already been paid to you, we may have to deduct some of the penalty from your principal.

Availability and Account Opening

Salem Five Direct opened its virtual doors nearly 16 years ago. As an online division of Massachusetts-based Salem Five, Salem Five Direct offers its product line on a nationwide basis to all U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens who have valid Social Security numbers.

As an internet bank, Salem Five Direct has no brick-and-mortar branches. Opening any type of account, including a 6-month CD Special can only be done online.

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from a Live Chat with CSR.

• Funding – ACH, check, or internal transfer.
• Interest – Compounded/credited monthly and can be transferred to another account or sent out as a check. (Must be requested in writing by either letter or secured message in online banking.)
• Maturing Funds – ACH, wire transfer ($25 fee), cashier’s check to address on file, or internal transfer.
• Beneficiaries – Only one beneficiary can be designated, with Social Security number required.
• Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal as an 182-day CD.
• Credit Check – “Salem Five reserves the right to do a soft or hard pull when applying for an account at our discretion. For security purposes, we are unable to disclose which credit reference or reporting agency(ies) that are used by the bank.”

Bank Overview

As an online division of Salem Five, Salem Five Direct operates under Salem Five’s FDIC Certificate and shares its financial history.

Salem Five Direct/Salem Five has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.72% (excellent) based on March 31, 2023 data. In the past year, the Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $494.99 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 10.93%. Please refer to our financial overview of Salem Five Direct/Salem Five (FDIC Certificate # 23296) for more details.

Established in 1855, Salem Five Cents Savings Bank was known as the "Nickel Bank," because the first day’s deposits ranged from five cents and up. Headquartered in Salem, Massachusetts, the Bank has always considered itself innovative, and in 2015 added the Cardless Cash ATM, which allows customers to “open the bank’s mobile app on their smartphone, put in the amount they want withdrawn, then visit an ATM, scan a QR code, and pick up their money.”

Between 2013-2018, Salem Five Bancorp (parent company of Salem Five) completed the acquisitions of three Massachusetts banks: Stoneham Savings Bank (2013), Georgetown Bank (2017), and Sage Bank (2018). Salem Five is currently the sixth largest bank in Massachusetts, with assets in excess of $6.7 billion and nearly 177,000 customer accounts.

How the 6-Month CD Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, only one credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Salem Five Direct 6-month CD Special. The following table compares the 6-month CD Special to the two highest-rate CDs from other banks and the two highest-rate CDs from credit unions.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 6/22/2023.

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