Update 8/8/19: APY has been increased to 7% APY from 5.12% APY.
Offer at a glance
- Interest Rate: 7% APY when requirements are met, 0% if requirements aren’t met
- Minimum Balance: None
- Maximum Balance: $10,000 for 5% APY rate
- Availability: Must live, work, attend school or worship in El Paso, Texas.
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Unknown
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: $9, avoidable
- Insured: NCUA
The Offer
- Evolve FCU is offering a rate of 7% APY on balances up to $10,000 when you meet the following requirements:
- Make at least 30 debit card purchases [Read: How to meet debit card transaction requirements]
- Make at least 45 qualified transactions per quarter (this is kind of redundant as debit card transactions count and it already requires 30 of them).
- Register for eStatements
- In addition if this requirement isn’t met a $9 fee will also be charged
Avoiding Fees
$9 Monthly Fee
This account comes with a $9 monthly fee, this is waived if you met the requirements to receive the 5.12% APY rate.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find any mention of an early account termination fee in the fee schedule.
Our Verdict
Obviously a nice rate if you can met the requirements. I don’t like the fact a fee is charged if you don’t met the requirements though, as I feel you’re being punished twice. It also means you need to keep the account active and earning the higher rate or you need to close it, not great news is a better deal comes along. Still this is one of the best high yield savings accounts out there so will be worth considering for some people. As always please share your experiences in the comments.
Fee can also be avoided by having more then $5000 in the account
Any updates on the membership requirements and whether there’s an easy way to “get around them?” Say, a donation or something like with the other credit unions?
you used to be able to have a current member refer you, check the site or give them a call.
Yep had very poor experience with this CU. When they started doing the $9 fee i had no letter, no communication stating it was happening and that they converted my account. They said it was on the electronic statements, smh. I explained I was deployed. I tried mult times, but they woudnt budge on the $9/mo for 9+ mos. Plus, the requirements on this offer are ludicrous.
Going to El Paso this week
The rate is now 3%.
1) Go to El Paso.
2) Stop by one of the many churches and pray.
3) Open Evolve account.
I once tried to open an account at a far away credit Union based on a similar experience. (I had visited a local church a couple times.)
The credit union asked me to get supporting documents from the church to show I was a member. (I.e. While you don’t have to be a member to pray at most churches, this is what they asked for.). I imagine this varies from one credit Union to another.
You have to be an active participant for a while in a church to become a member (few months average). Saying a prayer in front of them is just showboating. I don’t have the time to become a member at the local churches (I live in Killeen) but I do believe there is a Doordash and Favor office there I can try to work with.
This now earns a whopping 7% APY on balances up to $10000! https://www.evolvefcu.org/accounts/epriority-checking
Hi everyone. At the top is says Availability: “Must live, work, attend school or worship in El Paso, Texas”. Is that enforced, how? Thanks.
Hi there. Anyone knows more on this requirement? Thanks 🙂
I own a house in El Paso, though I am military overseas.I will open an account.
Yes, it’s enforced. I live and work in Dallas, but my company has offices in El Paso. I gave it a try. They asked for a paystub or HR letter showing the El Paso address.
Did they do a hard credit check?
Per comment on depositaccounts.com, rate has increased to 7% as of Jan 1st.
https://depositaccounts.com/banks/evolve-federal-credit-union.html#overview
Too bad it’s so limited for membership.
You don’t want to join Evolve since they frequently change the fee schedule without properly notifying you, by burying the notice. This has happened to me three times already. First, they changed the requirement to avoid fees to having a checking account. Then they changed it to requiring 5 monthly debit card purchases. In January 2018, they changed it to requiring 15 monthly debit card purchases. Better to avoid a credit union that acts more fee-hungry like a bank with hidden disclosures. Honest institutions mail you a fee schedule update. Evolve stuck it on their website, blaming members for not knowing it was there.
How many credit unions REQUIRE 15 monthly debit transactions to avoid a fee? I don’t know of any others that require even 1 monthly debit transaction to avoid a fee. To top it off, the fee is an excessive $9 if you don’t have at least 15!
it’s 30 now, but I don’t care, I’ll use their debit card 40 times a month if I have to for the 7% APY. And I’ll make sure to stay on top of the fee schedule
FACTS! Yes this CU is a hot mess and they dont care.