Update 1/6/2020: Rate has been reduced to 2% from 2.95%
[Updated 11/11/18: rate is now showing 2.95%. Updated below.]
Offer at a glance
- Interest Rate: 2.95% APY if requirements are met
- Minimum Balance: None
- Maximum Balance: $25,000 for 2.95% rate
- Availability: Nationwide. Need to be a U.S. Citizen to be able to open online
- Direct deposit required: None
- Additional requirements: eStatements & 12 debit card transactions per month
- Hard/soft pull: YMMV
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: None
- Insured: FDIC
The Offer
- Georgia Banking Company is offering a 2.95% APY checking account on balances up to $25,000 when you complete the following requirements:
- Enroll in eStatements
- Complete 12 debit card transactions [Read: How To Meet Minimum Debit & Credit Transaction Requirements]
- If you don’t meet the requirements the account earns 0.02% APY. Balances over $25,000 will earn 0.4% APY when requirements are met.
- You also get unlimited free ATM withdrawals if the requirements are met
The Fine Print
- Account transactions and activities may take one or more days to post and settle to the account and all must do so during the Monthly Qualification Cycle in order to qualify for the account’s rewards.
- The following activities do not count toward earning account rewards: ATM-processed transactions, transfers between accounts, debit card purchases processed by merchants and received by our bank as ATM transactions, non-retail payment transactions, and purchases made with debit cards not issued by our bank.
- Transactions bundled together by merchants and received by our institution as a single transaction count as a single transaction for the purpose of earning account rewards.
- “Monthly Qualification Cycle” means a period beginning one (1) business day prior to the first day of the current statement cycle through one (1) business day prior to the close of the current statement cycle.
- Limit one account per social security number.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
This account does not have any monthly fees to worry about.
Our Verdict
Assuming this is a soft pull it’s one of the better high interest savings accounts available nationwide that doesn’t require a direct deposit. There are other options that might be better depending on your circumstances, but this is definitely worth considering. If anybody signs up, please share your experiences in the comments below.
Hat tip to reader Conor C
View Comments (54)
These are accounts with interest. That's it. When they go down,they really go down.
This deal is dead
William Charles, please update Interest rate: 2%
Interest reduced to 2.00%
+1
ITS NOT WORTH THE EXTRA %
Hard pull on Equifax for me today for account opening.
On bankrate this bank only have 3 stars, is it mean anything ? Is it safe to put 25k here. Thanks.
On bankrate this bank only have 3 stars, is it mean anything? Is it safe to put my 25k here. Thanks.
FYI - I failed to meet the 12 debits on 1st and 2nd cycle and I still received the 2%+ interest credit on both statements. I also get the e-mail saying I qualified even though I didn't. I didn't intend to test this and I never had any intent not to do the 12 debit charges. I plan on doing my 12 going forward. Can a bank claw back interest?
Thanks
They will give you the 2.15% interest for the first 2 statements even if you don't meet the requirements (as a new customer) but post that you need to meet the req's to get that rate.
For me, it was a soft pull and I don't see any hit in my credit and the account is opened now for couple of weeks.
Updated, thanks