MySavingsDirect Review 2024

Similar to the other Emigrant Bank online banking offshoots—DollarSavingsDirect and EmigrantDirect— MySavingsDirect has only very basic account offerings in its arsenal. You won’t find any checking accounts, money market accounts or other accounts and services. Below are the accounts currently available through MySavingsDirect.

Savings

MySavingsDirect offers a single saving account the MySavings Direct MySavings Account. This no-frills online savings account pays interest of 4.35% APY on all balances. As an online-only bank, MySavingsDirect doesn’t carry many of the overhead costs associated with traditional banks. With lower costs, it can pass along savings to customers by offering better interest rates and charging fewer fees.

MySavings accounts have no minimum deposit requirement, no monthly service fee and very few other fees and penalties. This is important because bank fees can often cancel out any interest gains. If your goal is to maximize your interest earnings, find a bank like MySavingsDirect that doesn’t charge many fees or offers easy ways to waive them.

CDs

MySavingsDirect Certificate of Deposit are only available to existing bank customers with an open savings account. This means that you must have a MySavings account to open a CD with MySavingsDirect.

The bank offers a variety of CD terms, from six months to 120 months. It’s not as common to find a bank offering terms of 10 years. Typically, longer terms equate to higher earnings. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with MySavingsDirect. You’ll earn the same rate with a five-year CD that you will with a 10-year CD. And this bank’s CD rates are lower than some of the best CD rates on the market. All CDs require a $1,000 minimum deposit.

Customers can purchase MySavingsDirect’s CDs with the following terms and rates:

MySavingsDirect customers have some options when it comes to the interest they earn on a CD. Earned interest can be withdrawn by electronic transfer at any time. Interest on its CDs compounds daily and is credited monthly. Like most banks, though, MySavingsDirect charges an early withdrawal penalty of up to 180 days’ interest if you need to withdraw principal funds before the CD’s maturity date. Only deposit funds into a CD that you can live without for the designated period.

CDs automatically renew once they reach maturity. MySavingsDirect will notify you shortly before your CD matures. During the grace period, you can choose to close your account, open another CD or withdraw existing funds or add more money to your CD.

MySavingsDirect was once known for an uncommon product paired with its banking services—precious metals. However, new sales of precious metals are no longer available through MySavingsDirect. Existing customers with previous purchases of precious metals can still access their investment. Options include keeping them stored in the bank’s secured vault, selling them or having them shipped to you.

If you choose to keep them stored, you will pay fees based on the value of your holdings. Fees are deducted from your MySavings Account. Like any investment, precious metals purchased through MySavingsDirect can lose their value at any time. Also, precious metals purchased through MySavingsDirect are not FDIC insured.

Unfortunately, like Emigrant Bank’s other online-only divisions, MySavingsDirect is far from a modern online bank. Accounts are only accessible online through the bank’s somewhat dated website. MySavingsDirect also lacks other modern features that are standard with many banks, like a mobile app. This makes accessing your account on the go difficult.

You can sign up for a savings account online. To fund your new account, you’ll need to link an external checking account. From there, you can either send a check by mail or transfer funds electronically. After the initial deposit, though, checks are no longer accepted. Everything revolves around electronic transfers, which can take between two and four business days to clear.

MySavingsDirect is far from a full-service bank. Without other account options, like checking accounts, customers are forced to bank with multiple financial institutions. It also lacks modern conveniences that are standard with many online and local banks, such as a mobile app and various ways to access funds. If these features are important to you, MySavingsDirect is not the bank for you.

If you’re a saver looking for a place online to keep your emergency fund or money for another savings goal, MySavingsDirect may be a good fit. It offers fairly competitive rates on its savings and CD accounts, although you can generally find higher rates at other online banks and credit unions.