If you are looking for a no-frills, no fee, high-yield online savings account experience – you may want to check out the latest offering from Emigrant Bank: MySavingsDirect.
What Is A MySavingsDirect Account ?
MySavingsDirect is an online savings account program offered by Emigrant Bank. The bank is currently offering an impressive 0.50% annual percentage yield (APY) for their online savings accounts. The APY is one of the highest in industry today, and significantly higher than the current national average.
MySavingsDirect accounts do not have any fees or minimums required, and customers have full 24/7 online & mobile access to their money.
What is the the APY for a MySavingsDirect Account?
The annual percentage yield (APY) for a MySavingsDirect Account is 0.50%. Furthermore, interest is compounded daily and credited monthly to your account.
Do MySavingsDirect Accounts Have A Service Fee?
At this time, MySavingsDirect does not currently have any service fees associated with their accounts.
What is the Minimum Deposit to open a MySavingsDirect Account?
At this time, there is no minimum deposit required to open a MySavingsDirect savings account.
How Do I Deposit and Withdraw Money From A MySavingsDirect Account?
Here are the ways you can deposit and withdraw money from a MySavingsDirect savings account. For instance:
Deposit
- Mobile Deposit
- Wire Transfer
Withdrawal
- Request a physical check be mailed to you
- Mobile Transfer
- Wire Transfer
What Are MySavingsDirect Account Fees?
Here is a breakdown of fees associated with MySavingsDirect accounts:
Type | Fee |
Maintenance Fee | $0 |
Excessive Transactions | $0 |
Balance Confirmation Letter | $30, and $5 for each additional copy |
Verification of Deposit Letter | $30, and $5 for each additional copy |
Legal Documents (processing subpoenas or levies, etc) | $100 |
Incoming Domestic Wire | $0 |
Outgoing Domestic Wire | $0 |
What Are The Benefits of A MySavingsDirect Account?
- Most noteworthy, they have a higher than average APY
- Subsequently, no minimum opening balance and no monthly minimum required
- Thirdly, the account has no monthly or annual maintenance fees or hidden penalties
- Additionally, their accounts can easily links to external banks for transfers
- Similar to other online banks, they do not charge you for your statements.
- In addition, there are no fees for excess monthly withdrawals
What Are The Disadvantages of A MySavingsDirect Account?
- No debit card / ATM access – In other words, money deposited into these accounts are not available for “immediate access”
- Secondly, MySavingsDirect does not currently offer the ability to open an accompanying checking account
- Thirdly, No mobile app
- Deposits made to your MySavingsDirect account electronically via ACH are not available for 5 business days. Furthermore, Check deposits accepted for your initial funding are not available for 10 business days.
While their 0.50% APY is a highly-competitive rate these days – there are a few banks that offer higher APY or may have better perks.
As of November 2022, here are some rates from competitors that you may want to check out:
- Aspiration Bank – 3.00% APY
- TAB Bank – 3.00% APY
- Citi Accelerate – 3.10% APY
- First Foundation Bank Online Savings – 3.60% APY
- Barclays Bank – 3.00% APY
- CIBC Bank – 3.27% APY
- Goldman Sachs – Marcus Account – 3.00% APY
- Synchrony Bank – 3.00% APY
- TIAA Bank – 0.80% APY
- Ally Bank – 0.75% APY
- Citizens Access – 0.75% APY
- Capital One 360 Performance Savings – 0.70% APY
- Discover – 0.70% APY
- American Express Personal Savings – 0.65% APY
- CIT Bank Savings Builder – 3.25% APY
- MySavingsDirect – 0.50% APY
- Vio Bank – 0.50% APY
- HSBC Direct – 0.05% APY
Is A MySavingsDirect Account FDIC-Insured?
Yes. MySavingsDirect is a FDIC member (Certificate No. 12054). Therefore, any funds deposited in a MySavingsDirect Savings Account is insured up to the maximum allowed by law.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a United States government corporation providing deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. commercial banks and savings institutions. The FDIC insures deposits according to ownership category (such as individual, joint or accounts with beneficiaries). Furthermore, the current maximum amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category.
How Do You Open A MySavingsDirect Account?
Opening a MySavingsDirect Account typically takes between 5-10 minutes. In other words, it is a fairly quick and straightforward process.
Start by clicking on the Open Now button on the MySavingsDirect home page.
The only requirements are that you are at least 18 years old, have a valid tax identification number, a legal address and a personal checking account in a US bank.
It is important to note: You can initially fund your account through a physical check – but after that, you must fund the account using your checking account from another bank.
In addition, if you still have questions, you can also call their Customer Service department at 877-752-1919.
When you submit your application, you will see a confirmation page that gives instructions to login as well as the status of your account.
After that, if you have successfully opened the account, the confirmation screen will allow you to log into your account immediately.
However, if you are not given information to login to your account on the confirmation screen – this means MySavingsDirect needs more information from you. They will contact you within 2-3 business days using the contact information you provided in the application.
How To Access Your MySavingsDirect Account:
Online: MySavingsDirect is an “online only” banking experience. The easiest way to access your account is by logging in with your username and password on: mysavingsdirect.com
Contact MySavingsDirect About Your Account:
By Phone:
- You can call MySavingsDirect toll-free at 877-752-1919, seven days a week, 8:00 AM – 11:30 PM ET
- Outside the US: 1-914-923-6716
By Email:
MSDCustomerService@MySavingsDirect.com
By Mail:
MySavingsDirect
13 Croton Avenue
Ossining, NY 10562
Bottom Line
In conclusion, banking with MySavingsDirect is a very basic experience. In other words, if you have a larger savings account balance, are comfortable with online-only banking and already have a checking account at another bank – using MySavingsDirect could be a great option for you to gain a much higher than average return on your investment by opening one of their high-yield accounts.
Moreover, if you’re looking a traditional banking experience or one with all the technological bells and whistles via a mobile app – this may not be the right choice for you.
Then again, savings accounts are really meant for your money to grow untouched (of course, with the exception of adding money), so immediate access to your money may not be a top concern when shopping around for a place to store it.
Banking Health Score
There are many banks and financial institutions to choose from and it is important to be able to distinguish the good from the bad. Furthermore, our team reviews each bank on a monthly basis to ensure that the information we share is as up to date as possible. Not only is the financial strength of a company important, but also how well their customer service is rated by actual customers like you.
We also believe that in order to determine how well a bank is functioning, you should utilize several sources in order to compare one bank to another.
That said, here is a list of scores from trusted sources that you should consider before making your banking decisions.
MySavingsDirect – Bank Health Scores
Bank Professor’s Bank Score = ⭐⭐⭐ 3 stars out of 5 stars
Additional Scores
- Bankrate’s Safe and Sound Rating: 2.9 out of 5 stars
- BauerFinancial Star Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
- BankTracker Troubled Asset Ratio: 16.36
- FDIC: Actively insured
More about the rating system:
- Firstly, BankProfessor rates banks monthly on a one-to-five scale based on revenue, net income, total assets, total equity, capital ratio, customer reviews, rating agency scores, profitability, and troubled asset ratio.
- Furthermore, Bankrate.com ranks banks and credit unions quarterly on a one- to five-star system, with one being the lowest rating and five the highest. The rating is given based on regulatory filings about the financial institution’s capital adequacy, asset quality, profitability and level of cash available. In other words, it compares those levels with peer and industry norms.
- Additionally, BauerFinancial offers a similar star rating system as Bankrate (a one- to five-star system, with one being the lowest rating and five the highest).
- Finally, BankTracker was created by the Investigative Reporting Workshop of American University and MSNBC.com. They determine a bank’s troubled asset ratio. According to the site, the ratio is “a strong indicator of severe stress inside a bank because it shows the bank’s ability to withstand loan losses”. In other words, the higher the ratio, the more “trouble” they are in.
How to Close An Account with MySavingsDirect
If you wish to close your account with MySavingsDirect, you will first need to make sure that all pending transactions have cleared before you transfer any of your remaining funds out of the account. Then, you will need to contact MySavingsDirect customer service at 1-877-752-1919 or send correspondence via mail to MySavingsDirect 13 Croton Ave, Ossining, NY 10562 requesting account closure.
All account closure requests will need to be made in writing (even if you call first). They may require you to send a written request via standard mail or e-mail. Make sure to ask the customer service representative which method is preferred.
You should receive a response or confirmation of account closure from MySavingsDirect within a few business days.
History
MySavings Direct is a subsidiary of Emigrant Savings Bank. Moreover, Emigrant is a private financial institution, and is said to be the oldest savings bank in New York City. Emigrant also now has become the 9th largest privately owned bank in the United States.
Founded in in 1850 by 18 members of the Irish Emigrant Society, Emigrant Bank’s goal was to serve the needs of the immigrant community in New York. In 1986, Emigrant Savings Bank made the switch from being a mutual savings bank to a stock savings bank due to several years of loss due to poor economic times. Then in 2005, Emigrant introduced Emigrant Direct – their own virtual bank, to help increase their online presence – and then in 2008 launched their MySavingsDirect branch.