First Foundation Bank Online Savings Account 2024 Review
An online savings account can be a safe, secure way to grow your money. First Foundation Bank offers an online savings account with an exceptional annual percentage yield (APY). There are no monthly maintenance fees and no minimum balance requirements to meet.
Our Verdict
The First Foundation Bank Online Savings Account is a great option for savers who want to earn an above-average APY. This digital savings account is available nationwide and you can easily manage your account online.
Saving with First Foundation Bank could be ideal for people who:
- Want to earn a solid competitive APY from a savings account?
- Don't want to pay a monthly maintenance fee.
- Are comfortable with online and mobile banking.
- Would like an ATM card with their savings account.
You can open a savings account with First Foundation Bank online in minutes. The minimum opening deposit is $1,000 and you'll need to use new money to fund the account. New money means transferred from another bank.
First Foundation Bank Online Savings Account Pros & Cons
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Compared to Other Savings Accounts
Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings Account
Synchrony Bank's High Yield Savings Account has no minimum deposit requirement, no minimum balance requirement and no monthly fees. The APY is below the rate you could earn with First Foundation Bank but it may be more accessible to new savers. In addition to high yield savings accounts, Synchrony also offers money market and CD accounts.
Quontic High Yield Savings Account
If you have at least $100 to start saving, you might consider a high yield account from Quontic. Quontic is an adaptive digital bank offering savings accounts, CDs, money market accounts and checking accounts.The savings account APY is below what First Foundation Bank offers but you can get some competitive rates with Quontic's CDs.
Lending Club High Yield Savings Account
Lending Club's High Yield Savings Account features a solid APY, though it's less than what First Foundation Bank offers. There are no monthly maintenance fees for this account and the minimum deposit is $100. You can get an ATM card, which is great if you need to withdraw cash from savings.
Liberty Savings Bank High Yield Savings Account
Liberty Savings Bank offers a Big Interest Bundle that combines interest checking with a savings account. The combined APY isn't bad, but it's still less than what you'd get with First Foundation Bank. However, there are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
Interest Rates
First Foundation Bank offers one of the best APYs of any online savings account. The biggest catch with this account is the opening deposit requirement.
If you don't have at least $1,000 to deposit, this account probably isn't a good fit. But you can still get great rates with other online banks, including some of the savings accounts mentioned above.
And it's important to remember that the APY isn't the only thing to consider when looking for a savings account. Here are a few other things you might want to keep in mind.
- Opening deposit requirements, if any
- Minimum balance requirements to earn interest
- Monthly maintenance fees and ways to waive them
- Interest compounding frequency and when it's credited to your account
- How rates apply (i.e., tiered or across all balances)
- Mobile and online banking access
- ATM access and whether an ATM card is available
First Foundation Bank requires you to make a larger deposit. But it could be worth it in order to earn the most interest on your savings.
Fees
Any time you're opening a bank account it's always a good idea to check out the fees. There may be no monthly fee but there could still be other charges.
Here's how the fees at First Foundation Bank compare.
Other Service Fees - First Foundation Bank Online Savings
| Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $0 |
| Out-of-network ATM fee | $0 |
| Paper statement fee | $0 |
| Stop payment fee | $35 |
| Insufficient funds fee | $35 |
| Return deposit fee | $0 |
| Incoming wire transfer | $10 |
These fees are pretty standard and for the most part, you might not have to worry about paying them with a First Foundation Bank savings account.
If you decide to get an ATM card with your savings account, First Foundation Bank will reimburse foreign ATM fees up to $20 per transaction. There's no monthly reimbursement limit.
ATM Access
ATM cards are available by request, which is a plus if you want to be able to withdraw cash occasionally.
There's a daily ATM limit of $500 and a daily POS limit of $2,500. As mentioned, First Foundation Bank offers unlimited fee reimbursements monthly, with a $20 cap on reimbursement per transaction.
That means you can use any bank's ATM to withdraw cash, regardless of where you are.
Account Management/Features
First Foundation Bank offers branch banking access in limited locations. But you can always manage your savings account online or through the First Foundation Bank mobile app.
In terms of features and functionality, you can use online or mobile banking to:
- Check your balances
- Move funds between First Foundation Bank accounts
- Schedule transfers between linked accounts at a different bank
- Pay bills
- Review account statements
- Deposit checks with mobile deposit (up to $15,000 per day)
- Set up account alerts and notifications
- Review and update your personal information
The only thing you really can't do with this account is visit a branch if you don't live near one. But you can always hit the ATM if you need to make a withdrawal.
FDIC Insurance
FDIC insurance protects your accounts at member banks in case of a bank failure. The regular FDIC coverage limit is $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership type, per financial institution.
Is First Foundation Bank FDIC-insured? Yes, which means your accounts are safe on the off chance that the bank fails. If that should happen, the FDIC would step in to make sure you get your money back, up to the insured limit.
