Spero Financial (SC) Offers Kasasa Brand Products Statewide

In mid-2019, Spero Financial (formerly known as SC Telco Federal Credit Union) began offering the Kasasa brand product line. The Kasasa Cash’s initial 3.00% APY on qualifying balances up to $15k has remained unchanged. Qualifying balances over $15k earn 0.25% APY, with non-qualify balances earning 0.05% APY.

The monthly qualification requirements include,

• At least 12 debit card purchases
• At least one direct deposit or ACH transaction
• Be enrolled in and receive eStatements

The Kasasa Cash account has no minimum balance requirement or monthly service fee, but does require a $100 minimum opening deposit. Unlimited check writing is available and a free debit card will be issued following account opening. Unlimited nationwide ATM fees will be reimbursed up to $25 per month, if qualification requirements are met. There is a limit of one Kasasa Cash account per primary account holder’s Social Security number and may not be used as a commercial account.

Kasasa Saver

The Kasasa Saver currently earns 1.15% APY on qualifying balances up to $100k. Qualifying balances over $100k earn 0.25% APY, with non-qualify balances earning 0.05% APY.

Kasasa Cash/Kasasa Cash Back earned rewards are automatically transferred to the linked Kasasa Saver account each month. The Kasasa Saver has no minimum balance requirement or monthly service fee, and does not have a minimum opening deposit requirement. There is a limit of one Kasasa Saver account per primary account holder's Social Security number.

Annual Earnings of Combined Kasasa Cash/Kasasa Saver Accounts

The potential combined annual earnings of the Kasasa Cash (3.00% APY/$15k) and the Kasasa Saver (1.15% APY/$100k) is approximately $1,600 (1.39% APY/$115k), which is an unusually high combined annual earnings on such a large balance.

Kasasa Cash Back

Spero Financial offers a Kasasa Cash Back account that earns 3.00% cash back on debit card purchases, limited to the first $300 in monthly debit card purchases. If you are planning on maintaining a balance of less than $3,000, the Kasasa Cash Back account would probably be a better deal than the Kasasa Cash account; the maximum annual earnings for the Kasasa Cash Back account is $108 ($9 per month).

The following warning is stated in the fine print on the Kasasa Cash landing page.

Accounts that do not meet the minimum service requirements during the monthly qualification cycle for a period of six (6) consecutive months will no longer qualify for a Kasasa account and the account(s) will be converted as follows: Kasasa Saver will convert to a Secondary Share account; Kasasa Cash Checking and Kasasa Cash Back Checking will convert to a Simply Checking Account, which is assessed a monthly service fee as outlined on the Fee Schedule. Upon removal from the Kasasa program, you will not be eligible for a Kasasa account in the future; however, an exception may be made at the discretion of the branch manager.

The Kasasa Brand

For those not familiar with the Kasasa brand, Kasasa Cash is a type of Reward Checking Account (RCA) developed by the Texas company, Kasasa, Ltd. According to the Kasasa website,

Kasasa: the free checking account that rewards each month for doing things you already do.

By performing certain actions valuable to your bank or credit union, like using your debit card or online banking, your institution makes more money, which they share with you in the form of rewards.

In case you were wondering, “Kasasa” is just a made-up word.

In a world where real-life people are too often taken for granted as account numbers,
we didn’t want to be the next [INSERT GENERIC NAME] checking account.

Availability

Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Spero Financial’s field of membership (FOM) includes virtually all South Carolina residents.

Individuals who live, work, worship, attend school, or volunteer in the South Carolina counties of Columbia, Easley, Greenville, Spartanburg, Simpsonville or Taylors, qualify for membership.

Immediate family members of current members and individuals who are eligible to join also qualify for membership. Immediate family is defined as “grandparents, parents, spouses, brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren, adoptive, step relations and those individuals who reside in the member or employee’s household and make up a single economic unit.”

South Carolina residents who are members of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation are eligible to join. The minimum contribution level is $25.

While there is a “Become a Member” button and an “Open a Kasasa Cash Account” button, they lead to a very politely worded Contact Me form. Following submission of the form, “a member representative will follow up shortly.“ Joining Spero Financial and/or opening a Kasasa brand product can be done at any of nine South Carolina branches, located in Anderson (2), Columbia, Easley, Greenville (2), Spartanburg, Simpsonville, and Taylors. Spero Financial branch lobbies are open by appointment only, with online scheduling available.

Open your membership account for only $5, signifying your ownership in Spero Financial.

Spero Financial participates in the CO-OP Share Branch and ATM networks, providing members with “free access to over 30,000 Shared-ATMs and over 5,000 shared banking locations.”

Credit Union Overview

Spero Financial has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 5.30% (excellent) based on September 30, 2020 data. In the past year, Spero Financial has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $48.28 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 15.45%. Please refer to our financial overview of Spero Financial (NCUA Charter # 361) for more details.

Spero Financial is currently the twelfth largest credit union headquartered in South Carolina, with more than 47,000 members and assets in excess of $418 million. Established in 1935 by a group of Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph employees, the credit union was originally known as Greenville Telco Federal Credit Union. Founding member William Wirt Stover’s car trunk served as the first “branch location.” Between 1962-1972, the field of membership was expanded to include all telephone employees in South Carolina, prompting the SC Telco Federal Credit Union rebrand. By 2009, mergers with three other credit unions (Wunda FCU, NP Employees CU, and Liberty FCU) expanded SC Telco’s footprint in Spartanburg, Florence, Columbia, and Greenville.

The Spero Financial rebrand occurred just this month. According to a July 2020 CUTimes.com article,

Two leading South Carolina credit unions have announced plans to unite under a new brand name in a move they said will help them become more cost efficient and better adapt to changing regulations.

Anderson Federal Credit Union, which has 13,000 members and $106 million in assets, will join with SC Telco Federal Credit Union, which has more than 56,000 members and $380 million in assets. Together, the credit unions will have 150 years of shared history and cover 10 branch locations across the Upstate and Midlands, according to a press release from SC Telco.

Pending approval from AFCU members, the merger is projected to be complete in February 2021.

How Kasasa Cash Compares

When compared to the High Yield Reward Checking Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available to all South Carolina residents and have maximum qualifying balances of at least $15k, Spero Financial’s Kasasa Cash APY currently ranks third.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 2/18/2021.

To look for the best Reward Checking Account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our High Yield Reward Checking Account Rates Table page.