Radius Bank Review: What are the Pros and Cons?

Radius Bank is an online bank that offers high yield savings and checking accounts.

Continue reading this guide to learn more about the Pros and Cons and what this bank has to offer.

What is Radius Bank?

Radius Bank is an online bank headquartered in Boston, MA. It offers checking accounts, savings accounts, trusts, CDs, loans, credit cards, business checking accounts, and business loans.

The bank opened its doors in 1987 and has $1.4 billion in assets today, making it a leading online bank. In 2020, Radius Bank was acquired by LendingClub. It’s the first time a fintech company has purchased a U.S.-regulated bank. LendingClub was looking for a better source of funding for their business.

LendingClub provides a platform for person-to-person lending between borrowers and lenders. It allows individuals to invest in loans for other people and then reap the benefits of interest the way traditional financial institutions have done historically.

Account Fees

Checking Account Fees
Here are some fees to be aware of for the checking accounts at Radius Bank:

• Monthly maintenance fee for Essential Checking account of $9.00
• $5.00 service charge fee per month for accounts with no activity for 12 consecutive months
• Daily overdraft fee of $5.00
• Expedited debit card fee of $35.00
• Returned item charge of $25.00
• Non-sufficient funds charge of $25.00 per item

Savings Account Fees
The only fee you need to worry about with the High-Yield Savings account is for expediting an ATM card. You’ll be charged $35.00.

CD Fees
If you withdraw your money from a CD before the term is up, you’ll be penalized 365 days’ worth of simple interest.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Get paid early: Receive your paycheck as early as Wednesday on pay week when your employer submits payroll files to the Federal Reserve
• No minimum deposit required once you’ve opened your accounts, except for CDs
• No ATM fees from Radius Bank
• Cash back rewards and interest-bearing checking accounts with two options to choose from
• Personal finance tools to help you track and analyze your spending habits

Cons

• Balance requirements for earning interest are high compared to other online banks
• Essential Checking account has a high monthly maintenance fee of $9.00
• Limited to 3 CD options when you are applying online

What Radius Bank Offers

High-Yield Savings
Radius offers a high-yield savings account with no monthly service fees. It takes just $100 to open. Once you’ve opened the account, there is no minimum balance to maintain. You can even get a free ATM card and enjoy no ATM fees from Radius.

To earn interest on your balances, you’ll have to keep a certain balance in your Radius High-Yield savings account.

Applying for a High-Yield Savings account is easy. It takes about 3 minutes and you’ll just need your Social Security number and $100 to open the account.

Rewards Checking
If you’re looking for a checking account that earns interest on your balance and gives you cash back on purchases, check out the Rewards Checking account at Radius Bank.

You’ll need $100 to open the account, but there are no minimum balance requirements after that. Here’s what you can expect:

• No monthly maintenance fees
• First order of checks is free
• Free debit card
• No ATM fees and unlimited rebates for fees charged by other banks

The Rewards Checking account also lets you receive your direct deposit up to two days early.

You can earn 1.00% cash back on all qualifying signature-based purchases each month with your Radius Rewards Checking account. In order to qualify, you must either:

• Keep an average balance of at least $2,500 each month or
• Have direct deposits totaling $2,500 or more each month

You’ll also earn interest on the balance you keep in your Rewards Checking account, but you’ll need to meet the minimum balance requirements.

Essential Checking
Radius offers an Essential Checking account for those who cannot qualify for their Superhero or Rewards checking options.

If you have some negative marks from prior bank accounts, Essential Checking is a great second-chance option to help you build a better banking record.

After you have 12 months of positive banking history with your Essential Checking account, you may be able to upgrade to a Rewards Checking account.

While there isn’t a minimum balance requirement, you will have a monthly service fee of $9.00. Here are some limits to be aware of:

• $500 daily debit card limit
• $1,000 daily check deposit limit
• $2,000 ten-day check deposit limit

CDs
Radius Bank offers CDs that are FDIC insured up to the maximum amount possible. You can choose from many increments, between 3 months and 5 years.

All the online options require a minimum balance of $500.

If you do need to withdraw your money before the CD term is up, you’ll pay fees equal to 365 days of simple interest.

Conclusion

Radius Bank is a great online bank offering several high-yielding accounts for you to choose from. Checking accounts that offer interest and cash back are very rare. But Radius lets you take advantage of both, plus a High-Yield savings account.