Western State Bank Money Market APY Zooms Upward
Over the weekend, North Dakota-based Western State Bank (Western) substantially increased the rate on its nationally available High Yield Money Market* (HYMM). The new 5.15% APY applies to all balances up to $10 million. Should the balance exceeds the $10 million (in addition to accrued and credited interest), the account owner will be asked to reduce the balance in the account. While there is no minimum balance requirement, a HYMM does required a $5k minimum opening deposit.
*I have included a link to the HYMM’s landing page because it has its own URL that cannot be found on Western’s main website.
While the current 5.15% APY applies to all balances up to $10 million, the landing page lists six balance tiers, leaving open the possibility of tiered APYs in the future. Those six balance tiers are,
- $0-24,999.99
- $25,000-249,999.99
- $250,000-999.999.99
- $1,000,000-1,999.999.99
- $2,000,000-2,999,999.99
- $3,000,000 and up
When the HYMM became available on a nationwide basis in February 2019, the initial rate was 2.50% APY. Between August 2019 and January 2021, a series of ten rate drops resulted in a 0.50% APY that remained in effect until June 2022. In the past twelve months, the HYMM has had seven rate increases, adding a total of 465 bps (including the latest 60 bps increase).
Thanks to DA reader, redfarm, for the Forum post that provides some very helpful information including,
No minimum balance fees
10 withdrawals or debits from this account per monthly statement cycle
North Dakota based phone supportInterest is compounded and credited to your account monthly. It's calculated using the daily balance method, which applies a daily periodic rate to the principal in the account each day. This means that the interest from your account is calculated every day on a 365 day year/366 day for leap years.
Availability and Account Opening
Headquartered in Devils Lake, North Dakota, Western State Bank currently offers its High Yield Money Market on a nationwide basis to all U.S. citizens and resident aliens (18 years of older) with a valid Social Security number. The rest of the product line is only available to residents of Arizona and North Dakota.
Opening a High Yield Money Market account can be done online. According to CSR, a soft pull is done when applying for a HYMM.
Following account opening, HYMM transactions can be done at any of six North Dakota branches located in Devils Lake, Fargo, Granville, Towner, Upham, and West Fargo or the seven Arizona branches located in Casa Grande, Chandler, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sun City, and Sun City West.
Funding and Accessing
According the FAQs section,
There are five ways you can add money to your account:
1. Check: If you send a check to Western overnight, we’ll cover your delivery/shipping fees.
2. Wire transfer: When you wire the funds to Western State Bank, we'll cover the fee on both sides of the transaction. Western also allows one free outgoing wire per month.
3. "Pushing" funds via ACH: Your bank can initiate an ACH fund transfer to Western State Bank by providing them your Western account and routing number. The maximum amount you can send is determined by your bank
4. External transfers from Western State Bank Online Banking: After 60 days you will have access to External Transfer where you can add up to five external accounts and transfer money back and forth. The limits are $5,000 per day ($10,000 per 30-day period) transferred in and $10,000 per day ($20,000 per 30-day period) transferred out.
5. Bank visit: You can walk into any Western State Bank location (North Dakota or Arizona) and make a deposit.
You can also request that Western State Bank send a wire transfer to another bank by contacting the Wire Department at 701-499-6376 or [email protected]. One outgoing wire fee per month per account is waived. The wire is only available to be sent to the external account from which the initial deposit was made. Wire cut off time is 4 pm CT.
Western changed its FAQs section several years ago, removing much of the relevant information it previously provided. The following was confirmed by CSR.
- There are no monthly maintenance fees applied to the account.
- Debit cards and checks will not be issued on this account.
- There is no access to the account through an ATM withdrawal.
- A $5.00 fee is imposed for each additional withdrawal or debit over ten per month.
- If your balance plus accrued and credited interest exceeds $10,000,000.00, a representative from Western State Bank will contact you to reduce the balance in the account.
- A cashier’s check can be mailed to the address on file by contacting Customer Care (877-846-9345).
Beneficiaries
Unlimited beneficiaries with equal shares are allowed, but according to CSR, the Bank prefers an even number of beneficiaries. Social Security numbers are not required when naming a beneficiary.
Bank Overview
Western State Bank has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 4.87% (excellent) based on March 31, 2023 data. In the past year, the Western State Bank has increased its non-brokered deposits by $60.03 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 4.19%. Please refer to our financial overview of Western State Bank (FDIC Certificate # 39123) for more details.
In 1966, the Bank of Webster (established in 1902) was purchased by a group of investors, seeking to found a new bank. Two years later, the corporate name and headquarters were changed, and the Western State Bank of Devils Lake, North Dakota, opened its doors for business. Currently the eighth largest bank headquartered in North Dakota, Western State Bank has assets in excess of $1.8 billion and more than 29,000 customer accounts.
How the High Yield 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 Western State Bank High Yield Money Market APY currently ranks second.
The above information and rates are accurate as of 7/3/2023.
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.
