Written by Dori Zinn | Edited by Ali Cybulski | Updated on 05/12/2025
Valley Direct is an online bank from Valley National Bank. The online institution offers a slim selection of products that includes certificates of deposit (CDs) and high-yield savings accounts.
You can bank entirely online with Valley Direct, or you can access in-person service at one of more than 200 Valley National Bank branches in Alabama, California, Florida, New Jersey or New York.
- High-yield savings accounts: Existing customers can open an account with as little as $1, but new customers must make an initial deposit of $1,000. The larger opening deposit for new customers equates to a slightly higher annual percentage yield (APY). Savers do not pay a monthly maintenance fee, and deposits are backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) up to $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership category. FDIC insurance also protects CDs up to $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership category.
- CDs: Valley Direct offers two CD options: a three-month term and a 12-month term. The shorter-term CD offers a higher APY than the longer-term CD, but you will need at least $25,000 to open an account. The longer-term CD, on the other hand, requires a $500 minimum opening deposit. Note that a penalty fee applies to account closures or withdrawals made before your CD’s maturity date.
Customer service: For live support by phone, call 866-899-9900 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday. You can also message the bank by clicking the Help tab and then the “Send us a message” button.
Pros and cons of Valley Direct
PROS
• Open accounts online easily and quickly – in less than five minutes
• Competitive APYs for CDs and high-yield savings accounts
• Low minimum opening deposit for new savings customers
CONS
• Few product options
• Minimal branches and ATMs compared with other online banks
• High minimum deposit requirements to earn the best-possible APY
One Of The Easiest HYSA Applications And Approval
I have several HYSAs. I'm always looking for yield. I read about Valley Bank's online division, ValleyDirect. For new customers the present yield is 5.05% APY. That is a rate that is hard to beat. So, I applied. They use Plaid for account verification. Having submitted myself in the past to Plaid, I figured I have nothing to lose at this point in time. Immediately after completing the application and the Plaid process I was approved, and an account number issued. Besides the top tier rate, what is attractive to me about Valley is they have a couple of branches in my city. So, I don't have to worry about ACH limits or delays. I can just stroll over to a branch, and have them stroke me a check. It doesn't get any better than this.
Daily Withdrawal Limits
FYI - If you're using their Savings Account for high $$$, there is a daily withdrawal limit of $25,000. Fine for 99.9% probably, but not for all. Then again, it's YOUR money so why the cap when others like CIT or DollarSavingDirect, etc., have none?
Wanted To Open An Account But...
I'm grateful for this site where you can read the reviews before making a commitment with an online bank. In my view, ValleyDirect came up on top for banks offering a 5% return. So I began opening an account, they even accepted a joint applicant. However, when I wanted to fund the account through Plaid, I noticed that I couldn't use any of my accounts that allowed a large daily limit for money transfers, not even Synchrony. That's my biggest issue. I want to be able to move money when I want to and not be limited by say a $5000 daily limit. I tried putting in 3 different banks that allowed large daily transfers and all 3 were not recognized by Plaid. At that point, I just couldn't go through with the application for my own piece of mind. Something to think about.
SCAM ARTISTS OF JERSEY
Filed Complaint with CFPB and OCC against them and having served NO ARBITRATION NOTICE I will be suing them: Valley feels in-liberty to violate recognized and federally sanctioned rules: (A) They falsely place hold on my account to avoid paying interest, subsequent to an ACH transfer. (B) They place long (11-14 days) hold on deposited Certified Bank Checks, even when you have far more than the check sitting in your account. (C) They are reckless with record keeping, e.g., they do not divulge, disclose, or mail acknowledgement of successful designation of beneficiary (until I filed complaint with CFPB against them). (D) They have undisclosed terms (policy) to defraud you, e.g, $300 minimum balance on account. (E) They have hands off (unaccountable) attitude of management from top down. See my CFPB complaint and Valley's response thereof, which I authorized CFPB to publish.
Data as of Q1 2025
Health Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 9396 |
| Year Established | 1927 |
| Employees | 3719 |
| Primary Regulator | OCC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.74% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 5.79% |
| Annual Interest Income | $784.8MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $61.82B$60.99B |
| Loans | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $48.11B$49.51B |
| Deposits | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $50.17B$49.29B |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $8.03B$7.3B |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $578.2MM$469.2MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $354.2MM$300.6MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $7.7MM$88K |