Vio Bank Ups Money Market Rate While Savings Account Rate Remains Low

Since I last wrote about Oklahoma-based Vio Bank’s Cornerstone Money Market Account (Cornerstone MMA) in March, a total of 37 bps has been added. The most recent rate increase occurred last week, with an additional 23 bps boosting the rate to 1.03% APY on all balances. A Cornerstone MMA can be opened with a $100 minimum deposit, with a balance cap of $2.5 million.

DA began tracking the Cornerstone MMA in April 2021 when it offered 0.61% APY on all balances. Two rate cuts in August and September 2021 brought the rate down to 0.55%, where it remained until the beginning of 2022 when a single basis point was added.

The last time I wrote about the Cornerstone MMA, the APY was 15 bps higher than the rate offered on the Vio Bank High Yield Online Savings (HYOS) account; with last week’s rate increase, the Cornerstone MMA rate is now 53 bps higher. Vio Bank launched the HYOS account in 2018.

A common tactic at online banks is to create new savings or money market accounts that offer the competitive rate while the older savings or money market accounts have rates that lag. This saves the bank money since many customers don’t take the time to open the new accounts and move their money.

With the name “money market”, it might appear that the Cornerstone MMA has some different features than the HYOS account, but they have the same features. Using the online chat, I asked a Vio Bank CSR about the differences. According to the CSR:

The difference between the two is the title of the account and the APY. They are very similar. The Money Market is just a newer account that offers a better rate at this time.

Existing customers who keep their money in the HYOS account instead of the Cornerstone MMA will miss out on quite a bit of interest.

Funding and Accessing the Cornerstone MMA

The initial deposit (minimum $100) must be made by ACH from the linked bank account named on the online application. After the account is established, up to five external bank accounts can be linked and deposits from those linked accounts can be made via ACH or wire. The speed of incoming ACHs is anywhere between 2-5 business days, with hold times for incoming ACH being 2 or 3 business days.

The Cornerstone MMA does not offer checking writing and no ATM/debit card is issued. According to CRS, the Cornerstone MMA is “a savings account, not a checking account.” As stated in the Vio Fee Schedule,

Please note, the use of a debit or ATM card, wallet checks, Bill Pay and sending an International Wire is not available on your Cornerstone Money Market or Online Savings account.

Any withdrawals must be made through ACH or wire. In the past, withdrawals initiated through Vio Bank’s online banking platform were limited to $5k per day, with an aggregate monthly total of $20k. That policy has changed for the better. According to Vio Bank’s FAQs page,

After account opening, transfers initiated through the Vio Bank External Transfer Service are limited to $25,000 per day and $100,000 per month. Vio Bank doesn't limit the amount of incoming and outgoing ACH Transfers initiated by a third party transfer service or another financial institution, but such transfers are subject to the Funds Availability Policy in your Account Agreement and under applicable law.

Vio Bank also allows customers to make deposits into their account by mailing a check (there is no pre-established limit for checks sent through the mail), depositing a check through the Mobile Deposit Service (limited to $100,000 per day and $250,000 per month) available in the Vio Bank Mobile App or by incoming wire transfer (there is no pre-established limit for wire transfers).

If Cornerstone MMA account holders want to do large ACH transfers, the best approach would be to push or pull funds using another bank that does not have small ACH limits.

In addition, the Online Banking Agreement (which provides a great deal of useful information about the ins-and-outs of Vio Bank transactions) states,.

External Transfers (inbound and outbound combined) are limited to and may not exceed $25,000 per day and per transaction and are limited to and may not exceed $100,000 per calendar month. Furthermore, the number of both inbound and outbound External Transfers is limited to five (5) transfers per day and nine hundred and ninety-nine (999) per calendar month.

Potential Fees

While there is no monthly maintenance or service fee, there are a couple potential charges to be aware of:

• $10 Excessive Transaction Fee for each withdrawal in excess of six per statement cycle, with Vio Bank reserving the right to close the Cornerstone MMA because of excessive withdrawls.
• $5 per month for paper statements ($2 for each additional copy requested).
• $30 for an outgoing domestic wire (outgoing international wires not available).

Beneficiaries

Multiple payable-on-death (POD) beneficiaries are allowed and Social Security numbers are NOT required for beneficiaries. Non-profit associations can now be named as a beneficiary, as can trusts. While there is no set number of beneficiaries that can be named, the online application can only accommodate two beneficiaries to be named at a time. To add more (or remove) beneficiaries, you can download the “Request to Add or Remove a POD Beneficiary” form.

Once you have signed and notarized this form, please submit it to Vio Bank via email to [email protected], fax to (405) 840-0862, or mail to P.O. Box 76149, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73147.

Availability

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Vio Bank offers accounts to US persons, defined as “a citizen or resident of the United States,” 18 years or older, with a valid Social Security number through an online application.

Only individual and joint accounts can be opened with Vio Bank, with custodial accounts and trust accounts not permitted. As mentioned above, trusts can be named as a beneficiary.

As an internet bank, Vio Bank has no brick-and-mortar branches. Opening a High Yield Cornerstone Money Market account (or any other Vio Bank product) can only be done online.

Bank Overview

As an online division of MidFirst Bank, Vio Bank operates under MidFirst Bank’s FDIC Certificate and shares its financial history.

Vio Bank/MidFirst Bank has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.34% (excellent) based on March 31, 2022 data. In the past year, the Bank increased its total non-brokered deposits by $2.44 billion, an excellent annual growth rate of 14.76%. Please refer to our financial overview of Vio Bank/MidFirst Bank (FDIC Certificate # 4063) for more details.

Note: Vio Bank’s FDIC Coverage page states,

Deposits held at Vio Bank are deposits of MidFirst Bank and are combined with any other MidFirst Bank deposits for FDIC insurance purposes. MidFirst Bank deposits includes deposits at MidFirst Bank and any of its divisions including Vio Bank, MidFirst Private Bank, 1st Century Bank, and MidFirst Direct.

MidFirst Bank (one of the five largest privately-owned banks in the United States) traces its roots to Midland Mortgage Company, which was founded in 1950 by a group of Oklahoma City area bankers. The name was changed to MidFirst Bank in 1982, following the purchase of a thrift charter. Currently the second largest bank headquartered in Oklahoma and the 66^th largest bank in the country, MidFirst Bank has assets in excess of $32 billion, more than 540,000 customer accounts, and 78 branch locations in Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, and California.

How the Cornerstone Money Market Compares

When compared to nationally available Money Market Accounts and Savings Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com, that do not require large balances or direct deposit, and do not have small balance caps, the Vio Bank Cornerstone Money Market rate currently ranks fourth.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 5/31/2022.

To look for the best rates on liquid bank accounts, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Money Market Accounts Table and Savings Accounts Table.